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Google

Submission + - Legal fight over access to cell phone passwords (wsj.com)

Submitted by dstates
dstates writes: The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is in a legal fight with the FBI over access to passwords that will unlock the data on a cell phone. Earlier this year Google refused to unlock an alleged pimp's Android cellphone even after the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained a search warrant. The problem is that the FBI may have a warrant for a very specific piece of information, but once they have unrestricted access to a person's smartphone, they have access to information about vast swaths of the individual's life. Apple has taken a different strategy burning a unique encryption key into the silicon of each iPhone which neither Apple nor its suppliers retain. As a result, once someone makes 10 unsuccessful unlock attempts on an iPhone, the data is irretrievably gone.
Cloud

Submission + - Apple Reportedly Planning Streaming Music Service (slashdot.org)

Submitted by
Nerval's Lobster
Nerval's Lobster writes: "Apple plans on taking a big bite of the streaming-music market, according to unnamed sources speaking to The New York Times.

Those sources suggested that an Apple streaming-music service would “probably” center on an app of some kind, and link to iTunes in order to better evaluate the listener’s musical interests. In broad strokes, that would make it similar to Spotify, a streaming-music service that also requires an app. Other popular cloud-music hubs, including Pandora and Last.fm, operate primarily as browser-based services.

The Wall Street Journal, citing its own unnamed sources, indicated that any Apple streaming service would work on iOS devices such as the iPad, Macs, and “possibly on PCs running Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system.” In keeping with Apple’s intense rivalry with Google, one source added, the service would not appear on Android devices."

Submission + - Speeding up web applications the easy way

Submitted by asaywer
asaywer writes: MIT researchers have come up with a system that aims to speed up web applications that interact with databases. The system works by automatically converting part of the source code into database stored procedures and push them into the database, and can furthermore dynamically switch the amount of source code to be converted based on the current system load. The experiments in their paper shows up to 3 times throughput improvement in database benchmarks. More info can be found in a MIT press release.

My question is, do developers still use stored procedures these days? I thought hosting compiled code on app servers is always going to be more efficient than database stored procedures?
Microsoft

Submission + - Windows Phone 8 SDK - By Appointment Only (i-programmer.info)

Submitted by mikejuk
mikejuk writes: Developers worried about the changes that might be waiting for them in the new Windows Phone 8 API are going to have to wait even longer to find out. Microsoft has just announced that the SDK will be available soon, but only to the developers it approves.
If you already have a published app, then you can apply to be part of the program but the announcement says:
"But I do want to set your expectations that program access will be limited."
The public SDK will be made available "later this year" which is behind the time table that developers were led to expect.
As you can imagine, the developer community, judging by the comment stream, is less than happy.
What makes this whole strange development even more strange, is that the announcement was made on the day Nokia previewed a range of WP8 devices.
The Nokia launch got most of the publicity, so perhaps the idea was that a little negative news wouldn't be noticed.
The real question is, why the limited availability?
Is there some dark secret lurking in the SDK?
Technology

Submission + - The Galileo Thermometer was not invented by Galileo (scienceblogs.com)

Submitted by
GregLaden
GregLaden writes: "The object known as the Galileo Thermometer is a vertical glass tube filled with a liquid in which are suspended a number of weighted glass balls. As the temperature of the liquid changes, so does the density. Since each glass ball is set to float at equilibrium in a sightly different density of the liquid, as the temperature increases, each glass ball sinks to the bottom. It turns out that this thermometerc was actually invented by a team of instrument inventors that formed a scientific society who had the impressive motto "Probando e Reprobando," which in English means "testing and retesting." The Accademia del Cimento operated under the leadership of the Grand Duke Ferdinand II from 1657-1667 in Florence, Italy.

According to Peter Loyson, who has written a corrective article for the Journal of Chemical Education, Galilio did invent a temperature measuring device called a thermoscope."
Power

Submission + - Spinach Protein Boosts Efficiency of "Biohybrid" Solar Cells (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: Popeye gets his strength from downing a can of spinach and what works for him also works for solar panels. Researchers at Vanderbilt University led by David Cliffel and Kane Jennings have come up with a way to dope silicon with a protein found in spinach to create a more efficient "biohybrid" solar cell that produces substantially more electrical current than previous efforts and may one day lead to cheaper, more efficient solar panels.

Submission + - The Motivated Rejection of Science (guardian.co.uk)

Submitted by Layzej
Layzej writes: New research to be published in a forthcoming issue of Psychological Science has found that that those who subscribed to one or more conspiracy theories or who strongly supported a free market economy were more likely to reject the findings from climate science as well as other sciences. The researchers, led by UWA School of Psychology Professor Stephan Lewandowsky, found that free-market ideology was an overwhelmingly strong determinant of the rejection of climate science. It also predicted the rejection of the link between tobacco and lung cancer and between HIV and AIDS. Conspiratorial thinking was a lesser but still significant determinant of the rejection of all scientific propositions examined, from climate to lung cancer. Curiously, public response to the paper has provided a perfect real-life illustration of the very cognitive processes at the center of the research.
Programming

Submission + - How Would You Fix the Linux Desktop? (itworld.com) 2

Submitted by
itwbennett
itwbennett writes: "Slashdot readers are familiar with the Torvalds/de Icaza slugfest over 'the lack of development in Linux desktop initiatives.' The problem with the Linux desktop boils down to this: We need more apps, and that means making it easier for developers to build them, says Brian Proffitt. 'It's easy to point at solutions like the Linux Standard Base, but that dog won't hunt, possibly because it's not in the commercial vendors' interests to create true cross-distro compatibility. United Linux or a similar consortium probably won't work, for the same reasons,' says Proffitt. So, we put it to the Slashdot community: How would you fix the Linux desktop?"
Businesses

Submission + - It's Easy To Steal Identities (Of Corporations) (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruh
jfruh writes: "Two lawyers in Houston were able to exploit business filing systems to seize control of dormant publicly traded corporations — and then profit by pushing their worthless stock. In many states, anyone can change important information about a publicly registered company — including the corporate officers or company contact information — without any confirmation that they have anything to do with the company in the first place. Massachusetts requires a password to do this through the state registry's website, but they'll give you the password if you call and ask for it. Long focused on individual ID theft, state governments are finally beginning to realize that corporate ID theft is a huge problem as well."
Japan

Submission + - Mt Fuji may be close to erupting (wired.co.uk)

Submitted by SpuriousLogic
SpuriousLogic writes: The pressure in Mount Fuji's magma chamber is now higher than it was in 1707, the last time the nearly 4,000-metre-high Japanese volcano erupted, causing volcanologists to speculate that a disaster is imminent.

The new readings, taken by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, reveal that the pressure is at 1.6 megapascals, nearly 16 times the 0.1 megapascals it takes to trigger an eruption.

This, lead volcanologist on the case Eisuke Fujita told Kyodo News, is "not a small figure".

Researchers have speculated for some time that the volcano, located on Honshu Island 100km southwest of Tokyo, is overdue an eruption. In 2000 and 2001 a series of low-frequency earthquakes were recorded beneath the volcano, leading to widespread predictions of an imminent blow. Since the March 2011 tsunami and the 6.4 magnitude earthquake that followed four days later, Japan has been on tenterhooks, and in May 2012 a professor from Ryukyu University warned that a massive eruption within three years would be likely because of several major factors: steam and gases are being emitted from the crater, water eruptions are occurring nearby, massive holes emitting hot natural gases are appearing in the vicinity and finally, the warning sign that pushed the professor to make the announcement, a 34km-long fault was found underneath the volcano. The fault, experts suggested, could indicate a total collapse of the mountainside if there is another significant shift, and it would probably cause a collapse in the event of an eruption, leading to huge mud and landslides.

The new readings prove that the localised tectonic shifts of 2011 have indeed put immense pressure on the magma chamber, but the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention has qualified its warning by noting that pressure is just one contributory factor to an eruption. The 1707 quake, however, was itself caused by a recent earthquake that amped up the pressure in its magma chamber.

"It's possible for Mount Fuji to erupt even several years after the March 2011 earthquake, therefore we need to be careful about the development," a representative said.

A 2004 government report originally estimated that an eruption would cost the country £19.6 billion. However, new studies are underway by Honshu Island's Shizuoka prefectural government. The study is focussing on the potential damage that would be caused by a series of simultaneous earthquakes in the Tokai, Tonankai and Nankai regions located along the Nankai Trough, where it is feared another earthquake will soon take place. The most recent models have revealed that, in the worst-case scenario, 323,000 people would die and the tremors could trigger an eruption at Mount Fuji.

Regions that would be affected, including Kanagawa, Yamanashi and Shizuoka, plan to hold a test run of an evacuation by 2014, with a meeting of local governments covering progress of the plans and of shelter preparations slated for April 2013.
Transportation

Submission + - Texas Opens Fastest US Highway With 85 Mph Limit 1

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Most highways in the US top out at 75 mph while some highways in rural West Texas and Utah have 80 mph speed limits but all that is about to change as Texas opens a stretch of highway with the highest speed limit in the country, giving eager drivers a chance to rip through a trip between two of the state’s largest metropolitan areas at 85 mph for a 41-mile toll road between Austin and San Antonio. “I would love it,” says Austin resident Alan Guckian. “Sometimes it’s fun to just open it up.” But while some drivers will want to test their horsepower and radar detectors, others are asking if safety is taking a backseat as a 2009 report in the American Journal of Public Health found that more than 12,500 deaths were attributable to increases in speed limits on all kinds of roads and that that rural highways showed a 9.1 percent increase in fatalities on roads where speed limits were raised. “If you’re looking at an 85 mph speed limit, we could possibly see drivers going 95 up to 100 miles per hour,” says Sandra Helin, president of the Southwestern Insurance Information Service. “When you get to those speeds, your accidents are going to be a lot worse. You’re going to have a lot more fatalities.""
Books

Submission + - Judge Approves Settlement In eBook Price-Fixing Case (reuters.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: On Thursday a U.S. District Judge approved a settlement between the Department of Justice and three publishers accused to colluding to inflate ebook prices. 'The Justice Department had accused Apple and five publishers in April of illegally colluding on prices as part of an effort to fight internet retailer Amazon.com Inc's dominance of e-books. The publishers who agreed to settle are News Corp's HarperCollins Publishers Inc, CBS Corp's Simon & Schuster Inc and Lagardere SCA's Hachette Book Group. Apple; Macmillan, a unit of Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck GmbH; and Pearson Plc's Penguin Group have vowed to fight the Justice Department's lawsuit with a trial due to start on June 3 next year.' The decision came after a lengthy period of public comment. According to the AP, 'The ruling released Thursday cast aside the strident objections of Apple, other book publishers, book sellers and authors who argued the settlement will empower Internet retailing giant Amazon.com Inc. to destroy the "literary ecosystem" with rampant discounting that most competitors can't afford to match. Those worries were repeatedly raised in court filings about the settlement. More than 90 percent of the 868 public comments about the settlement opposed the agreement.'
Education

Submission + - Science wins over creationism in South Korea (nature.com) 1

Submitted by ananyo
ananyo writes: South Korea’s government has urged textbook publishers to ignore calls to remove two examples of evolution from high-school textbooks. The move marks a change of heart for the government, which had earlier forwarded a petition from the 'Society for Textbook Revise' to publishers and told them to make their own minds up about the demands. The petition called for details about the evolution of the horse and of the avian ancestor Archaeopteryx to be removed from the books.
In May, news emerged that publishers were planning to drop the offending sections, sparking outrage among some scientists. The resulting furore prompted the government to set up an 11-member panel, led by the Korean Academy of Science and Technology.
On 5 September, the panel concluded that Archaeopteryx must be included in Korean science textbooks. And, while accepting that the textbooks' explanation of the evolution of the horse was too simplistic, the panel said the entry should be revised rather than removed or replaced with a different example, such as the evolution of whales.
Programming

Submission + - Comments on Code Comments?

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: It seems like comments are on programmers' minds these days. The problem with comments, as Zachary Voase sees it, is that our editors display comments in such a way as to be ignored by the programmer. And over at Scripting News, Dave Winer shares some comments on comments, noting how outlining features allow programmers to see and hide comments as desired. 'The important thing is that with elision (expand/collapse),' explains Winer, 'comments don't take up visual space so there's no penalty for fully explaining the work. Without this ability there's an impossible tradeoff between comments and the clarity of comment-free code.' Winer also makes the case for providing links in his code to external 'worknotes'. So, what are your thoughts on useful commenting practices or features, either implemented or on your wishlist?

Submission + - Symantec claims several attacks were coordinated (symantec.com)

Submitted by trokez
trokez writes: Symantec have monitored the activities of a group using a specific trojan (Hydraq/Aurora) since 2009. The particular group has been connected (by Symantec) to the attack on Gmail in China, but also other high profile attacks. The attacks seems to be industry spionage, with the defense industry and its' suppliers in focus.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: How to begin work in IT freelancing

Submitted by king.purpuriu
king.purpuriu writes: I'm a computer science high school student and I'm looking for some work in IT freelancing. I have had a interest in computers and programming for a while, and I began learning on my own before high school. I would like to gain some experience (eg: what the bulk of the jobs in various markets require, various technologies/frameworks and their usage) and possibly make some money on the side (don't think too much; at this point, any non-negative amount will do). Key areas are web development, app programming and scripting. What solutions do you recommend? Any tips or tricks I should be aware of? How is the payment (in terms of fees and commissions; I'm from European country) and which solutions do you recommend? I would also be willing to do some small stuff for free for experience (small static sites, small scripts etc.)
NASA

Submission + - NASA's Historic Giant Crawler Gets a Tune Up for Modern Times (transportationnation.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Retired space shuttles are being readied for museums, but there’s one piece of equipment at the Kennedy Space Center that dates back to before the moon landing and it’s not going anywhere. NASA’s giant crawler transporter is the only machine with enough muscle to move Apollo rockets and space shuttles out to the launch pad, and after nearly 50 years on the job the agency’s decided there’s still no better way to transport heavy loads.

It’s about as wide as a six lane highway, higher than a two story building, with huge caterpillar treads at each of its four corners. With the mobile launch platform and a rocket or space shuttle on its back, the crawler en route for the launch pad was like a skyscraper rolling slowly down a highway.

Regular roads can’t handle the five and a half million pound weight of the crawler.
PlayStation (Games)

Submission + - PlayStation Vita hacked, homebrew on the way (playerattack.com)

Submitted by dotarray
dotarray writes: Just nine months after launch, and gamers claim to have hacked the PlayStation Vita, meaning homebrew games and apps might not be so far away. Back in April, the Vita Half-Byte Loader meant that Sony's latest handheld was capable of playing unsigned code within the built-in PSP emulator. Now though, an affiliated developer claims he's figured out how to get unsigned Vita code running as well.
Beer

Submission + - Open source beer? Serve cold, with a heated licensing discussion. (shareable.net)

Submitted by
sethopia
sethopia writes: "Sam Muirhead enjoys a couple of open source beers and delves into their licenses (Creative Commons BY-NC-SA) and the recent CC Non Commercial license controversy. As Sam writes, "Depending on your point of view, the Non Commercial license is either the methadone that can wean copyright junkies off their all-rights-reserved habit, or it is a gateway drug to the psychedelic and dangerously addictive world of open source and free culture.""

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