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Intel

Submission + - Thunderbolt on Windows: Hardware and Performance Explored (hothardware.com)

Submitted by
MojoKid
MojoKid writes: "Intel's Light Peak technology eventually matured into what now is known in the market as Thunderbolt, which debuted initially as an Apple I/O exclusive last year. Light Peak was being developed by Intel in collaboration with Apple. It wasn't a huge surprise that Apple got an early exclusivity agreement, but there were actually a number of other partners on board as well, including Aja, Apogee, Avid, Blackmagic, LaCie, Promise and Western Digital. On the Windows front, Thunderbolt is still in its infancy and though there are still a few bugs to work out of systems and solutions, Thunderbolt capable motherboards and devices for Windows are starting to come to market. Performance-wise in Windows, the Promise RAID DAS system tested here offers near 1GB/s of peak read throughput and 500MB/s for writes, which certainly does leave even USB 3.0 SuperSpeed throughput in the dust."
IOS

Submission + - IDC Predicts Windows Phone to Overtake iOS by 2016 (forbes.com) 3

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: By the end of 2016, according to International Data Corp., Microsoft‘s Windows Phone 7 will inch ahead of Apple‘s iOS to become the world’s #2 mobile operating system. Google‘s Android is expected to remain the world’s best-selling mobile OS, but with share shrinking steadily between then and now.
Education

Submission + - Journal offers flat fee for 'all you can publish' (nature.com)

Submitted by
ananyo
ananyo writes: "In what publishing experts say is a radical experiment, a new open-access venture is asking its authors for only a one-off fee to secure a lifetime membership that will allow them to publish free, peer-reviewed research papers. The venture, called PeerJ, formally announced its launch on 12 June.
The model represents a big departure for science publishing, which has traditionally been dominated by two basic business models. Either subscribers pay for access, or authors pay for each publication — often thousands of dollars — with access being free."
Google

Submission + - UK Reopens Investigation Into Google Street View Data Slurping (techweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by
twoheadedboy
twoheadedboy writes: "Google is facing fresh questions over its slurping of Wi-Fi payload data in the UK, as the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) sent an angry letter to the tech behemoth. It follows a US FCC report which found the engineer who created the code that grabbed the data told other Google employees about it. That report also found that data including medical listings and visits to pornographic sites was also taken by Google — not just limited information like Google had originally claimed. The ICO wants to know why it didn't get the same level of detail as the FCC did, and it wants to see the designs of the data slurping software. Google could face a £500,000 fine if the ICO decides the case is serious enough. The ICO's letter says it "seems likely that such information was deliberately captured during the Google Street View operations conducted in the UK.""
The Internet

Submission + - "Inventor of email" gets support of Noam Chomsky (reuters.com)

Submitted by
Ian Lamont
Ian Lamont writes: "Shiva Ayyadurai, who famously claims to have invented email as a teenager in the 1970s, is back. A statement attributed to Noam Chomsky offers support for Ayyadurai's claim while attacking "industry insiders" for stating otherwise. The statement reads:

Given the term email was not used prior to 1978, and there was no intention to emulate "...a full-scale, inter-organizational mail system," as late as December 1977, there is no controversy here, except the one created by industry insiders, who have a vested interest to protect a false branding that BBN is the "inventor of email", which the facts obliterate.

"
Privacy

Submission + - Remember Spokeo? Fined $800K by FTC for Marketing Its Services To Employers. (forbes.com)

Submitted by nonprofiteer
nonprofiteer writes: Spokeo was one of the first public-facing person-profiling companies to attract the ire of those profiled. Taglined "not your grandmother's phonebook" it offers up profiles pulled from public records, social networking sites, etc, including your address, worth of your home, who's in your family, your estimated wealth, your hobbies and interests, etc. People freaked out when they first discovered it. Apparently, the company was selling reports to employers, but not following principles set forth by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Federal Trade Commission is fining them $800,000. FTC also chastises them for writing fake positive reviews 'round the Web (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/06/spokeo.shtm).
Google

Submission + - Google Blockly - A Language With A Difference (i-programmer.info)

Submitted by mikejuk
mikejuk writes: There are aspects of Google that increasingly don't make sense. First they dump App Inventor — a graphical language for Android apps — in a fit of spring cleaning and closures — and now they have launched another Scratch like graphical language, Blockly.
However Blockly is different. It works like Scratch or App inventor but it is written in JavaScript. This means it can be included in any web page or web app very easily. This in turn means that it can be used for education, getting people to learn to program, or as an easy to use script generator for the app. The FAQ gives the example of automating GMail filters and mangement.
The additional difference is that Blockley can compile its programs to JavaScript, Dart or Python so you can take the script and develop it further.
This is a really good idea. As long as Google doesn't throw this one out in a fit of reorganization and spring cleaning, this is a welcome new language.
Good luck Blockly!
Technology

Submission + - A Third of US Teenagers Text or Send Emails While Driving (cdc.gov)

Submitted by
SmartAboutThings
SmartAboutThings writes: "The study reveals that almost a third of the US teenagers (32.8%) are texting or sending emails while driving. The guys are a bit more confident they can handle both activities, as a 34.9% percentage of the students revealed. The young ladies were a little more cautious, but not by much, as 30.4% of them are still willing to send SMSs or emails and drive at the same time."
Space

Submission + - NASA Rover Will Contaminate Its Samples of Mars (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: The Curiosity rover will definitely find evidence of an advanced civilization if it lands safely on Mars. That's because any rock samples the rover drills will be contaminated with bits of Teflon from the rover's machinery, NASA announced during a press teleconference. The bits of Teflon can then mix with the sample, which will be vaporized for analysis. The problem for the scientists is that Teflon is two-thirds carbon—the same element they are looking for on Mars.
Science

Submission + - The end of nature (vice.com)

Submitted by __aaqpaq9254
__aaqpaq9254 writes: Christopher Mims has a wonderful essay on the "shifting baselines" of how societies, including scientists, view nature, and how our short life spans and cultural amnesia wreck any sense of what nature has been in the past, such as what we experienced as children. Great essay
Apple

Submission + - Analyzing the MacBook Pro with Retina display (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Late yesterday, Apple released a next-generation 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. It has a 2880×1800 220 PPI display. The normal 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs have also been updated, but the 17-inch MBP has been retired, in effect replaced by the new Retina display MBP. Without a doubt, this new laptop is an engineering marvel in the same league as the original iPhone or MacBook Air. During the WWDC keynote presentation yesterday, Sir Jonathan Ive appeared on screen to say, “To create something that is genuinely new, you have to start again. With great intent, you disconnect from the past. It is without doubt, it’s the very best computer we’ve ever built.” When Paul Schiller showed a cutaway photo of the new laptop, it was patently clear that Ive wasn’t being hyperbolic: The Retina display MBP really looks nothing we’ve ever seen before. Here, ExtremeTech dives into the engineering behind the laptop, paying close attention to that new and rather shiny display — and the fact that this thing has no user-replaceable parts at all."
Power

Submission + - "Tin Whiskers" Could Triple the Capacity of Lithium-Ion Batteries (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: For over 60 years, electrical engineers have been trying to minimize the problem of tin whiskers. Growing on tin-plated electronics, the needle-like structures get up to ten millimeters long, and can cause short circuits. Instead of trying to eliminate them, however, Washington State University’s Prof. Grant Norton has been looking into ways of growing them – albeit in a controlled manner. His research has led to the creation of a tin battery anode, which he claims could triple the capacity of lithium-ion batteries.
Robotics

Submission + - Famous Uncanny Valley Essay Translated, Published in Full (ieee.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: IEEE has published an English translation [http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/the-uncanny-valley] of the 1970 essay in which Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori introduced the now-famous concept of the Uncanny Valley. The original essay was in Japanese, and IEEE says this is the first publication of a translation authorized and reviewed by Mori. They also have an interview with Mori [http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/humanoids/an-uncanny-mind-masahiro-mori-on-the-uncanny-valley], who still thinks that robot designers should not attempt to 'cross' the Uncanny Valley.
Science

Submission + - Giant cosmic impact may have driven humans to farming (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by
hessian
hessian writes: "These new data are the latest to strongly support the controversial Younger Dryas Boundary (YDB) hypothesis, which proposes that a cosmic impact occurred 12,900 years ago at the onset of an unusual cold climatic period called the Younger Dryas. This episode occurred at or close to the time of major extinction of the North American megafauna, including mammoths and giant ground sloths; and the disappearance of the prehistoric and widely distributed Clovis culture. The researchers' findings appear June 11 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Science

Submission + - Stroke risk spikes in healthy adults who don't get enough sleep (msn.com)

Submitted by
hessian
hessian writes: "Attention, busy middle-aged folks. You may be healthy and thin, but if you habitually sleep less than six hours a night, you still could be boosting your risk of a stroke.

That’s the surprising conclusion of a new study being presented Monday at SLEEP 2012, the annual meeting of the nation’s sleep experts."
Facebook

Submission + - House of Commons could force social networks to identify internet trolls (techworld.com)

Submitted by concertina226
concertina226 writes: Websites such as Facebook and Twitter could be forced to unmask so-called internet trolls, under new government proposals in the Defamation Bill.

The move comes after a British woman won a landmark case to force Facebook to reveal the identities of internet trolls. On 30 May, Nicola Brookes from Brighton was granted a High Court order after receiving “vicious and depraved” taunts on Facebook.

The bill, which is being debated in the House of Commons today, will allow victims of online abuse to discover the identity of their persecutors and bring a case against them. The move also aims to protect websites from threats of litigation for inadvertently displaying defamatory comments.

“As the law stands, individuals can be the subject of scurrilous rumour and allegation on the web with little meaningful remedy against the person responsible,” said Justice Secretary Ken Clarke.
Censorship

Submission + - Swear in public? Pay $20 fine in Mass. town (google.com) 2

Submitted by PolygamousRanchKid
PolygamousRanchKid writes: Residents in Middleborough have voted to make the foul-mouthed among them pay fines for swearing in public. Officials insist the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to crack down on loud, profanity-laden language used by teens and other young people in the downtown area and public parks. The measure could raise questions about First Amendment rights, but state law does allow towns to enforce local laws that give police the power to arrest anyone who "addresses another person with profane or obscene language" in a public place.

Another local merchant, Robert Saquet, described himself as "ambivalent" about the no-swearing proposal, likening it to try to enforce a ban on the seven dirty words of George Carlin, a nod to a famous sketch by the late comedian. "In view of words commonly used in movies and cable TV, it's kind of hard to define exactly what is obscene," said Paquet, who owns a downtown furniture store.

What about if they say 'Jehovah' . . . ?
Google

Submission + - India fails, Russia leads at Google Code Jam (go-hero.net)

Submitted by Migala77
Migala77 writes: Now that the third round for Google Code Jam is finished and only 25 contestants are left, we can look at which nationalities performed well and which didn't. Code Jam contestant foxlit has the stats, and some interesting things can be seen. Although there were over 3000 contestants from India in the qualification round (17% of the total) , only 3 of those managed to reach the third round (0.7% of the round 3 contestants) . This in contrast to Russia with 77 out of 747, and Belarus with 13 out of 114 reaching the third round. The US performed somewhat below average too, with only 25 out of 2166 contestants making it to the third round.
Are Indian and, to a lesser extent, US programmers just not good enough, or is there another explanation?
Biotech

Submission + - Sequencing company certifies genome as free of 'Gypsy or Jew' genes (nature.com) 2

Submitted by
ananyo
ananyo writes: "From the Nature story:
"Hungary’s Medical Research Council (ETT), which advises the government on health policy, has asked public prosecutors to investigate a genetic-diagnostic company that certified that a member of parliament did not have Roma or Jewish heritage.
The MP in question is a member of the far-right Jobbik party, which won 17% of the votes in the general election of April 2010. He apparently requested the certificate from the firm Nagy Gén Diagnostic and Research. The company produced the document in September 2010, a few weeks before local elections.
Nagy Gén scanned 18 positions in the MP’s genome for variants that it says are characteristic of Roma and Jewish ethnic groups; its report concludes that Roma and Jewish ancestry can be ruled out."
The test is of-course nonsense, and notions of 'racial purity' have long been discredited."

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