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Wireless Networking

Submission + - 10 Internet Connections at Same Time (connectify.me) 4

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: As a follow up to the story about Verizon being forced to allow tethering, the engineers at Connectify climbed on the roof and made a video showing an 85Mbps download rate through a combination of a tethered Verizon mobile phone and ALL of the available open Wi-Fi networks. It’s a darn shame that they cancelled the unlimited 3G on the Kindle, tether 20 of those bad boys and you could have had a real Internet connection.

Submission + - Inside the Grum Botnet (krebsonsecurity.com)

Submitted by tsu doh nimh
tsu doh nimh writes: An examination of a control server seized in the recent takedown of the Grum spam botnet shows that the crime machine was far bigger than most experts had assumed. A PHP panel used to control the botnet shows that it had just shy of 200,000 systems sending spam when it was dismantled in mid-July. Researchers also found dozens of huge email lists, totaling more than 2.3 billion addresses, as well evidence it was used for phishing and malware attacks in addition to mailing pharmacy spam. Just prior to its takedown, Grum was responsible for sending about one in six spams worldwide.

Submission + - The Verge interviews Neal Stephenson (theverge.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: You all like Stephenson, right? "In a sprawling interview with The Verge, the author offered up some of his many plans and thoughts, including a new “research-heavy” novel, his trouble with Twitter, and why Kickstarter might be superior to venture capital."
Security

Submission + - US to drive 3,000 Wi-Fi linked vehicles in massive crash avoidance trial (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "The US Department of Transportation said it will run a massive road test of cars, trucks and buses linked together via WiFi equipment in what the agency says will be the largest test of automated crash avoidance technology to date. The test will be conducted by the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), and feature mostly volunteer participants whose vehicles have been outfitted with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication devices ."
Network

Submission + - "Knitted" Wifi Routers Create Failover Network for First Responders (securityweek.com)

Submitted by wiredmikey
wiredmikey writes: Wireless Internet routers used in homes and offices could be knitted together to provide a communications system for emergency responders if the mobile phone network fails, German scientists reported on Monday.

In many countries, routers are so commonplace that they could be used by police and fire departments if cell towers and networks are down or overwhelmed by people caught up in an emergency, they say. This rich density means that an emergency network could piggyback on nearby routers, giving first responders access to the Internet and contact with their headquarters.

The researchers suggest that routers incorporate an emergency "switch" that responders can activate to set up a backup network, thus giving them a voice and data link through the Internet. This could be done quite easily without impeding users or intruding on their privacy, the study argues. Many routers already have a "guest" mode, meaning a supplementary channel that allows visitors to use a home's wifi.
Robotics

Submission + - Cheap four-fingered robot hand edges closer to human dexterity (nature.com)

Submitted by
ananyo
ananyo writes: "A robot that can reproduce the dexterity of the human hand remains a dream of the bioengineering profession. One new approach to achieving this goal avoids trying to replicate the intricacy of the bones, joints and ligaments that produce our most basic gestures.
A Sandia National Laboratories research team has adopted just such a strategy by designing a modular, plastic proto-hand whose electronics system is largely made from parts found in cell phones. The Sandia Hand can still perform with a high level of finesse for a robot, and is even capable of replacing the batteries in a small flashlight. It is expected to cost about $10,000, a fraction of the $250,000 price tag for a state-of-the-art robot hand today.
The Sandia Hand’s fingers are modular and affixed to the hand frame via magnets. This gives the researchers the flexibility to design interchangeable appendages tipped with screwdrivers, flashlights, cameras and other tools. The fingers are also designed to detach automatically to avoid damage if the hand hits a wall or other solid object too hard. The researchers say the hand can even be manipulated to retrieve and reattach a fallen finger. The Hand’s current incarnation has only four fingers, including the equivalent of an opposable thumb. In the video with the article, the Sandia Hand demonstrates a number of capabilities, including, perhaps most impressively, dropping a AA battery into a flashlight."
Apple

Submission + - Apple is not the most valuable company ever, despite what everyone says (networkworld.com)

Submitted by colinneagle
colinneagle writes: Contrary to most reports, Apple is not yet the most valuable company of all time, according to calculations made by the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR).

Stories published by the likes of Bloomberg, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal ran headlines such as "Apple sets record for most valuable company," noted the CJR's Audit blog. But they were wrong, the press watchdog contended.

"Apple is not the biggest or most valuable company in history--not by a long shot," argued CJR. "Apple's $622 billion market cap is a nominal record, which means 'in name only,' or alternatively, not really. That's because it's a record only if you don't adjust Microsoft's 1999 market cap for inflation. Sorry, but you have to adjust any number like this that's that old for inflation — it's comparing apples to oranges not to do so."

According to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices, Microsoft's market capitalization — the value of all outstanding shares — peaked at $620.6 billion in December 1999.

Apple's market cap was $622.5 billion at the end of trading Monday. It had been even higher earlier in the day. But when adjusted for inflation — it requires $1.38 in 2012 dollars to equal $1 in 1999 dollars — Microsoft's $620.6 billion balloons to $853.4 billion, or over $200 billion more than Apple's current cap.
Data Storage

Submission + - Amazon's Glacier Offers Archival Storage in the Cloud (slashdot.org)

Submitted by
Nerval's Lobster
Nerval's Lobster writes: "Amazon is expanding its reach into the low-cost, high-durability archival storage market with the newly announced Glacier.

While Glacier allows companies to transfer their data-archiving duties to the cloud—a potentially money-saving boon for many a budget-squeezed organization—the service comes with some caveats. Its cost structure and slow speed of data retrieval make it best suited for data that needs to be accessed infrequently, such as years-old legal records and research data.

If that sounds quite a bit like Amazon Simple Storage Service, otherwise known as Amazon S3, you’d be correct. Both Amazon S3 and Glacier have been designed to store and retrieve data from anywhere with a Web connection. However, Amazon S3—“designed to make Web-scale computing easier for developers,” according to the company—is meant for rapid data retrieval; contrast that with a Glacier data-retrieval request (referred to as a “job”), where it can take between 3 and 5 hours before it’s ready for downloading."

Submission + - Mobile Operator Grabs 4G Lead in UK But Will Anything Work on It? (wsj.com)

Submitted by
pbahra
pbahra writes: "Finally, the U.K. is going to get a 4G mobile-Internet service. For a country that was once at the cutting edge of mobile telephony, its lack of a high-speed mobile broadband was becoming a severe embarrassment. Everything Everywhere, Britain’s largest mobile network operator, has been granted permission by U.K. regulator Ofcom to provide next-generation LTE services as early as Sept. 11. Although Ofcom’s ruling is a significant step for the U.K.’s telecoms future, the choice of frequency — 1,800 MHz — means that devices that can take advantage of the much faster data speeds that LTE offers—theoretically up to 100 megabits a second—are limited. Currently the only significant market using the frequency is South Korea. While 1,800 MHz is in use in a small number of European countries, and in Australia, numbers of users are small in comparison to the U.S.. This means devices may be harder to get and cost more. So anyone who thinks their new iPad is going to zip along at 4G speeds is going to be disappointed; the new iPad only supports U.S. LTE frequencies. For the same reason, those hanging on for the new iPhone, expected to be announced on Sept. 12, in the hope that it will be LTE-compliant are unlikely to have good news. Even if there is a new iPhone, and even if it is LTE enabled, will it operate on Everything Everywhere’s frequency?"

Submission + - Disney Channel Sitcom Denigrates Open-Source Software (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by
Dr. Manhattan
Dr. Manhattan writes: "In a recent episode of the Disney channel sitcom Shake It Up, a stereotypical 'nerd' character manages to bring down a school network due to a "virus... hidden in" "open source code". Naturally, this is a "rookie mistake". Hopefully this is just a case of writers reaching for random buzzwords, though some speculate it's "anti-open-source propaganda."
Transportation

Submission + - Video Purports to Show Successful Hover Bike Test Flights (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: Videos released by California-based tech research company Aerofex appear to show successful test flights of a prototype hover bike that gains lift from two large ducted rotors. Aeroflex claims its hover bike allows the pilot intuitive control over pitch, roll and yaw without need of artificial intelligence, flight software or electronics of any kind.
Technology

Submission + - What are the risks of buying "grey market" technology? (bit.com.au)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Australian government has been running an inquiry into why technology is so much more expensive to buy down under than in the US. In response to the price difference, many consumers are turning to the Internet to buy tech that is imported through unofficial channels at cheaper prices from the US. Not to miss out on sales, some retailers are starting to setup special websites that sell this way too. The so-called “grey market” can save you cash, but could it cost you more in the long run? This article looks at some of the potential problems for people buying technology this way.
NASA

Submission + - Mirrors Finished for James Webb Space Telescope (space.com)

Submitted by eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: On August 15th, sendoff ceremonies were held at Ball Aerospace (subcontractor to Northrop Grumman) for the 18 gold-coated, ultrasmooth, 4.2-foot (1.3 meters) hexagonal beryllium primary mirror segments that will comprise the 21.3-foot (6.5 m) primary mirror of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Over 90% of the back material was taken out of these mirrors to make them light enough so that 18 could be launched into space where they must operate at minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 240 degrees Celsius). The mirrors will be adjusted by computer controlled actuators that are vital to JWST producing high-quality sharp images. The tennis court sized JWST will reside at L2 and is hyped to allow us to see 'back to the beginning of time.' NASA has provided a video of the computer animated metamorphosis with many more videos at the JWST site.
Software

Submission + - Windows 8 gets Personal Use License for homebuilt PC (geek.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft has never really acknowledged or supported those among us who choose to build their own PCs. Windows licensing is usually offered in three forms: full retail product license, retail upgrade license, and OEM license. If you want to build your own machine at the moment, Microsoft expects you to buy a full retail copy of Windows.

With Windows 8 that all changes and Microsoft has decided to actively support individuals who want to build their own machines or run Windows 8 as a virtual machine. That support comes in the form of a new license option called the Personal Use License for System Builder (PULSB).

With PULSB, Microsoft is dumping the full retail license used in previous versions. Instead it is offering a version of Windows 8 to be installed as the main operating system on a single system meant for personal use, or in a virtual machine running on an existing PC (running any legal OS such as Windows 7, Mac OS X, or your favorite flavor of Linux).
Math

Submission + - Prisoners Dilemma Solved? (i-programmer.info)

Submitted by mikejuk
mikejuk writes: Game theory is well established enough there to be no deep shocks left to surprise us, but one of the most studied games, the Prisoner's Dilemma has returned to center stage. The surprise is that there is a winning strategy — not for a single round but when the game is played repeatedly the players can attempt to maximize their “winning”. Until recently it was thought that the best strategy was the tit-for-tat ploy of simply doing what your opponent did at the last move. This gives a 50:50 split of the time in jail no matter what the opponent plays and has long been thought to justify ethical values — if you defect I’ll do the same.
Now Freeman Dyson (yes that Freeman Dyson) and William Press have discovered that tit-for-tat is just a special case of a strategy called Zero Determinant or ZD. Using a ZD strategy the player can ensure that they receive a fixed percentage of their opponents jail time no matter what they play. In tit-for-tat the percentage is 50% but the ZD player can set this at 20% or 10% so always doing better than their opponent no matter what strategy they play.
If ZD is so good why doesn’t it occur in nature? The answer is that it isn’t evolutionary stable because when two ZD players meet they do worse than ZD against any other strategy and hence when there are too many ZD players in a population it becomes a disadvantage.
One possible solution is to recognize other smart ZD players and avoid them seeking out the dumb evolutionary players instead. Could this be why intelligence evolved?
paper pdf
Government

Submission + - Everything Everywhere Gets UK 4G Go-Ahead (techweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by
judgecorp
judgecorp writes: "UK operator Everything Everywhere has been given the go-ahead by regulator Ofcom to start 4G services on spectrum previously issued for 2G, while other operators will have to wait for a much-delayed auction later this year. Rival Vodafone is outraged — although the delay to the 4G auction was at least partly due to its arguments."
Space

Submission + - First Evidence Discovered of Planet's Destruction by Its Star (psu.edu)

Submitted by Dupple
Dupple writes: 20 August 2012 — The first evidence of a planet's destruction by its aging star has been discovered by an international team of astronomers. The evidence indicates that the missing planet was devoured as the star began expanding into a "red giant" — the stellar equivalent of advanced age. "A similar fate may await the inner planets in our solar system, when the Sun becomes a red giant and expands all the way out to Earth's orbit some five-billion years from now," said Alex Wolszczan, an Evan Pugh Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Penn State, University, who is one of the members of the research team. Wolszczan also is the discoverer of the first planet ever found outside our solar system.
Security

Submission + - Anonymous attacks UK government websites in 'Operation Free Assange' (computerworlduk.com) 1

Submitted by Qedward
Qedward writes: The Ministry of Justice has experienced problems with the availability of its website following a denial-of-service (DDoS) attack by Anonymous, which is demanding freedom for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who was granted asylum by Ecuador last week.

The hacker group said that it had taken down the Justice Ministry website as part of its 'Operation Free Assange'. The British police have stated that they will arrest Assange if he comes out of the Ecuador embassy in London, where he has taken refuge since June, to extradite him to Sweden where he is wanted for investigations into alleged sexual misconduct.

Other government sites, including the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office and the Prime Minister's site, have also been targeted

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