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Transportation

Submission + - Old cars are getting ahead with new tech (extremetech.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Historic car races might seem like the last place you’d find modern auto technology. The cars are lovingly restored to their full, authentic racing glory, and care is taken not to allow modern tweaks to improve their performance. Surprisingly, though, both the pits and the cars are crammed with modern technology to help drivers improve their performance. Long-term benefits from tech at the race track isn’t confined to racers, though. Researchers are hoping to use what they find by monitoring drivers’ bodies and brains, along with the cars, to build better and safer cars for all of us.
Privacy

Submission + - Windows 8 Tells Microsoft About Everything You Install (nadim.cc)

Submitted by
musicon
musicon writes: "According to Nadim Kobeissi, Windows 8 is configured by default (using a new featured called Windows SmartScreen) to immediately tell Microsoft about every app you download and install. This is a very serious privacy problem, specifically because Microsoft is the central point of authority and data collection/retention here and therefore becomes vulnerable to being served judicial subpoenas or National Security Letters intended to monitor targeted users. This situation is exacerbated when Windows 8 is deployed in countries experiencing political turmoil or repressive political situations.

Additionally, it may be possible for a 3rd party to intercept SmartScreen’s communications to Microsoft and thus learn about every single application downloaded and installed by a target."
NASA

Submission + - Mirror, Mirror Out in Space, How To Dust Off Your Face? 2

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "One of the challenges with space telescopes and other satellite instruments is keeping their mirrors, lenses, and other surfaces free of dust and other contaminants. A Goddard researcher now has developed a way to dust these devices while the instruments are in space."
Role Playing (Games)

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Explaining role-playing games to the uninitiated?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: As a kid in the late 1970's and the 1980's, Dungeons and Dragons, as well as many other fine tabletop roleplaying games, figured heavily in my life. From learning about various forms of governments (theocracies, oligarchies, etc.) and Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology, to what N.B. and et al. mean, to the social glue that enabled people like me to get together, write cool adventures, problem-solve, and have a blast doing it all, role playing games were a powerful force in my life. The thing is, I still enjoy playing them. A lot. I get together once a month with friends and we play for sometimes up to eight straight hours of epic battles, puzzles, legends, lore, and camaraderie.

All of this, unfortunately, seems totally alien to someone who did not grow up with RPGs and who has never experienced the sheer joy of a dungeon crawl. Have you ever had to explain to your spouse or significant other why you value gaming so much, or why it is ok to spend a hunk of time with other gamers? How do you begin to relate it all to them?
Operating Systems

Submission + - Genode OS Framework 12.08 runs on base ARM hardware, revives NOVA support (osnews.com)

Submitted by
martiniturbide
martiniturbide writes: "As posted on OSNews a new version (release 12.08) of Genode OS Framework had been released. It comes with the ability to run Genode-based systems on ARM hardware without an underlying kernel, vastly improves the support for the NOVA hypervisor, and adds device drivers for the OMAP4 SoC.
"Genode is a novel OS architecture that is able to master complexity by applying a strict organizational structure to all software components including device drivers, system services, and applications. The Genode OS framework is the effort to advance the Genode OS architecture as a community-driven Open-Source project. ""
Bug

Submission + - Serious problems with USB and Ethernet on the Raspberry Pi (raspberrypi.org)

Submitted by rephlex
rephlex writes: The USB controller used in the Broadcom BCM2835 (which is the SoC the Raspberry Pi uses) has buggy drivers which have been causing problems for many of its users. In addition to this the Pi can only supply an unusually low amount of current to its USB devices, just 140 mA approximately, and using a powered hub to sidestep this limit exacerbates the issues caused by the USB drivers. Even Ethernet is affected as the Ethernet controller used on the Raspberry Pi is connected to the SoC via USB. This has resulted in packet loss and even total loss of network connectivity in certain situations, see https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux/issues/29. Attempts have been made in the past to fix the buggy USB drivers as there are other devices which use this problematic controller. None of these attempts seem to have achieved very much.
Education

Submission + - Why Professors Love (and Loathe) Technology (insidehighered.com) 1

Submitted by
dougled
dougled writes: "Survey of 4,500 college professors (and campus technology administrators) reveals what faculty members think of digital publishing (they like it, but don't do it very much), how much they use their campus learning management systems (not nearly as much as their bosses think), and how digital communication has changed their work lives (they're more productive, but far more stressed)."
China

Submission + - Chinese automaker launches remote control family car (gizmag.com)

Submitted by cylonlover
cylonlover writes: When we think of remote control cars, we generally think of scaled-down vehicles that can easily get caught up underfoot. Not so Chinese automaker BYD, which has upsized the remote control car with the release of its Su Rui model in China. The mid-size family saloon that seats five includes Remote Driving Control technology that allows the driver to get out of the car and drive it using the included remote control “key.”
Apple

Submission + - Apple and Samsung both get South Korea bans (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by Mackadoodledoo
Mackadoodledoo writes: A South Korean court has ruled that Apple and Samsung both infringed each other's patents on mobile devices.

The court imposed a limited ban on national sales of products by both companies covered by the ruling.

It ruled that US-based Apple had infringed two patents held by Samsung, while the Korean firm had violated one of Apple's patents.

The sales ban will apply to Apple's iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and its tablets the iPad and iPad 2.
Open Source

Submission + - Interesting new Linux based Firewall avoids iptables (sphirewall.net) 2

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: An interesting new Linux based Firewall/Router system has emerged that actually avoids using iptables. Seemingly the project has been in the works for several years but has just been released officially by the developers. They claim by not using iptables, and instead their own kernel module, it is possible to achieve features other open source firewalls cannot. The firewall, called Sphirewall, comes in the form of a Debian-based Linux distribution, but can also be installed from the source. According to developers, it is very flexible, and provides an open JSON API, can easily be plugged into any existing environment.
Security

Submission + - NIST Publishes Draft Guidelines for Server BIOS Protection (paritynews.com)

Submitted by hypnosec
hypnosec writes: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) US, has come up with a set of proposed guidelines for security of server BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) – the mechanism on which most modern day computers rely on during boot up. Recently quite a few malware have been known to persistently infect computer systems and cannot be removed even on OS re-installs and NIST is proposing a set of measures through which the BIOS can be made more secure and resistant to such firmware manipulating attacks. Mebromi is one such Trojan. NIST published the draft guidelines [PDF] earlier this week and has proposed four different features through which the server BIOSes can be made more secure – authenticated update mechanism; secure local update mechanism (optional); firmware integrity protections; non-bypassability features.
Security

Submission + - LulzSec's Sabu continues work with feds (computerworld.com.au)

Submitted by
angry tapir
angry tapir writes: "Former Lulz Security leader "Sabu," who turned on his colleagues to work with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, is scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 22 after a judge granted a six-month delay earlier this week. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York wrote in a letter that Monsegur has continued to help government prosecutors and asked that his sentencing be moved six months ahead. Monsegur was scheduled for sentencing on Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska approved the request on Tuesday, according to court documents."
Linux

Submission + - Arch Linux For Newbies? Manjaro is here! (muktware.com) 2

Submitted by Penurious Penguin
Penurious Penguin writes: Well within the top ten Linux distros, Arch Linux has a strong following for sure. But with an installation process requiring a little more involvement than the average distro, not every prospective user is ready to embrace the Arch Way, and understandably so. This is where Manjaro steps in. With a 100% compatibility with Arch, uncompromising adherence to principia KISS and a pre-configured Xfce, — or alternatively available GNOME & KDE — those who've been hesitating to explore Arch now have a few less excuses.

And a little side-note for those still bitter about the lack of package-signing: You'll be glad to know that Arch fully implemented package-signing in June of 2012.
Australia

Submission + - Aussie Tax Office wants phone tapping, data retention (itnews.com.au) 1

Submitted by schliz
schliz writes: The Australian Taxation Office has called for phone-tapping powers while backing a controversial proposal to force telcos to store web traffic and subscriber data for up to two years. It said such data may be crucial to investigations, with the Commissioner of Taxation previously explaining that the connection between criminals and their finances made them "especially vulnerable to revenue collection agencies, because of the ability to identify the discrepancy between their wealthy lifestyle and modest tax declarations".

The Tax Office's statements come after this week's passage of new legislation that will allow law enforcement agencies to force internet service providers to store data on subscribers while an official warrant is sought.
The Internet

Submission + - Rep. Nadler Proposes The RIAA Bailout Act Of 2012 (techdirt.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Ah, the whole fight over licensing and royalty rates for internet radio had been quiet for a little while, but has sprung back up thanks to Rep. Jerry Nadler proposing a music royalty bill that would effectively bump up the rates that cable and satellite radio stations have to pay to make them more aligned with the insanely high rates that internet streamers are supposed to pay (rates so high, and set by a group of judges who don't appear to know what the internet is half the time, that no real business can be built off of them). This is in contrast to a different, but similar, attempt by Rep. Jason Chaffetz to basically bring the internet rates back down to the same rates as those other providers.
Censorship

Submission + - Detained Ex-Marine Ordered By Judge To Be Released (wtvr.com)

Submitted by Penurious Penguin
Penurious Penguin writes: A few days ago, news of an ex-marine detained for his Facebook posts reached far and wide throughout the interweb. It was a hotly debated affair and considered from many perspectives. Today, a judge citing a lack of facts regarding the detention has since ordered the release of Brandon Raub.

It's a strange case undoubtedly, but perhaps even stranger when taking into account a few things, like the possibility of forced medication. It has been reported that Raub had made claims that one of the psychiatrists involved in the case threatened him with forced medication. For history polymaths, government proposals of forced medication may not be a surprise and the case of Susan Lindauer may be remembered.

The situation may seem more or less strange when harkening back to 2009, when Fusion Centers targeted Ron Paul supporters, certain universities, and conspiracy theorists as threats to national security, even logging anti death-penalty and anti-war activists into federal terrorism databases.

Personally, I find myself wondering what sorts of epic dangers someone like Noam Chomsky might seem to pose after a stressful day and a few beers, if overheard by certain departments.
Security

Submission + - Shamoon malware linked to Saudi Aramco attack (computerworld.com.au)

Submitted by
angry tapir
angry tapir writes: "A timer found in the Shamoon cyber-sabotage malware discovered last week matches the exact time and date when a hacktivist group claims to have disabled thousands of computers from the network of Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia. "We penetrated a system of Aramco company by using the hacked systems in several countries and then sent a malicious virus to destroy thirty thousand computers networked in this company," a group called the "Cutting Sword of Justice" said in a Pastebin post on Aug. 15. "The destruction operations began on Wednesday, Aug 15, 2012 at 11:08 AM (Local time in Saudi Arabia) and will be completed within a few hours." That same day, Saudi Aramco confirmed that some sectors of its computer network were affected by a computer virus that infected workstations used by its employees."
Games

Submission + - The Hungry Dead Are Waiting for You in Tulsa Oklahoma

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Kyle Arnold writes that inside a 10,000-square-foot former arcade in Tulsa Oklahoma, Tony Johnson has turned a vacant retail space into a zombie-filled maze, creating a post-apocalyptic scenario where diseased corpses hunt for human flesh using the fast-growing "airsoft" trend combined with some elements that might appeal to consumers who are not obsessed with military and tactical games. Johnson dims the lights, unleashes a few costumed zombies, and sends eight customers at a time into the post-apocalyptic maze on a mission drawn from movies, video games and comic books. "I love zombie horror movies, and how do you get closer than this?" says Johnson. "We split up the games into different missions like Save the Scientist or Find the Medicine Kit. And the entire time you're being hunted by zombies." The facility uses low-powered airsoft pistols along with protective vests and goggles and players have to hunt for fully loaded weapons if their guns run out of ammunition. "A lot of the games are starting to sell out," says Johnson. "And it's not just the die-hard airsoft players that are coming. We get a lot of young adults and couples out here just to have a good time.""

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