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How Apple's iOS Went From Insecure To Most Secure 312

Posted by CmdrTaco from the shaking-in-my-boots dept.
GMGruman writes "There's no such thing as a perfectly secure operating system, but security experts agree — somewhat grudgingly in some cases — that iOS, Apple's mobile operating system, is the most secure commercial OS today, mobile or desktop. It didn't start that way of course, and Robert Lemos explains what Apple did to go from insecure to most secure."
The Almighty Buck

AT&T Lowers Data Access To Just $500/GB 339

Posted by CmdrTaco from the cheap-at-twice-the-price dept.
GMGruman writes "No doubt in a move to demonstrate how having fewer carriers (once it buys T-Mobile) will be good for US cellular customers, AT&T has announced lower data pricing for customers not on contract: On a per-gigabyte basis, GoPhone users will only pay $500 rather than the previous $5,000. Such a deal. The pricing is indeed lower, but even the best option for such users is five times more than regular customers pay. And given that pay-as-you-go pricing is what the poor and people living paycheck to paycheck use, the result is those who can afford the least still pay by far the most."
Movies

George Lucas to Resurrect Dead Movie Stars? 296

Posted by samzenpus from the meesa-think-dis-is-creepy dept.
According to his director friend Mel Smith, George Lucas has a plan for upcoming movies more insidious than a whole Gungan cast. Smith says Lucas is buying the rights to old movies in order to put dead actors in his films. He says, "George has been buying up the film rights to dead actors in the hope of using computer trickery to put them all together, so you'd have Orson Welles and Barbara Stanwyck alongside today's stars." Even if Smith is lying, it makes you wonder who long it will be until Hollywood starts to recycle actors as well as scripts.
Biotech

The Spread of Do-It-Yourself Biotech 206

Posted by Soulskill from the not-just-for-terrorists-and-governments-anymore dept.
zrbyte writes "Are you an electronics hobbyist or a garden shed tinkerer? If so, then move aside, because there's a new kid on the block: the DIY biotechnologist. The decreasing price of biotech instrumentation has made it possible for everyday folks (read: biotech geeks) with a few thousand dollars to spare to equip their garages and parents' basements with the necessary 'tools of the trade.' Some, like PCR machines, are available on eBay; other utensils are hacked together from everyday appliances and some creativity. For example: microscopes out of webcams and armpit E. coli incubators. Nature News has an article on the phenomenon, describing the weird and wonderful fruits of biotech geek ingenuity, like glow-in-the-dark yogurt. One could draw parallels with the early days of computer building/programming. It may be that we're looking at a biotech revolution, not just from the likes of Craig Venter, but from Joe-next-door hacking away at his E. coli strain. What are the Steve Wozniaks of biotech working on right now?"
Programming

StarCraft AI Competition Results 113

Posted by Soulskill from the teaching-skynet-the-zerg-rush dept.
bgweber writes "The StarCraft AI Competition announced last year has come to a conclusion. The competition received 28 bot submissions from universities and teams all over the world. The winner of the competition was UC Berkeley's submission, which executed a novel mutalisk micromanagement strategy. During the conference, a man versus machine exhibition match was held between the top ranking bot and a former World Cyber Games competitor. While the expert player was capable of defeating the best bot, less experienced players were not as successful. Complete results, bot releases, and replays are available at the competition website."
Google

Skyhook Wireless Sues Google Over Anti-Competitive Practices 228

Posted by Soulskill from the location-location-location dept.
dwightk writes "According to a lawsuit brought by Skyhook Wireless, Google allegedly forced Motorola, among other Android handset makers, to use Google's own location services instead of alternatives like Skyhook's. Quoting the lawsuit: 'In complete disregard of its common-law and statutory obligations, and in direct opposition to its public messaging encouraging open innovation, Google wielded its control over the Android operating system ... to force device manufacturers to use its technology rather than that of Skyhook, to terminate contractual obligations with Skyhook, and to otherwise force device manufacturers to sacrifice superior end user experience with Skyhook by threatening directly or indirectly to deny timely and equal access to evolving versions of the Android operating system and other Google mobile applications.'" John Gruber points out another interesting excerpt from the complaint regarding Google's procedure for determining Android compliance, which includes what Skyhook calls an "amorphous outline of additional, non-standardized requirements" that "effectively gives Google the ability to arbitrarily deem any software, feature or function 'non-compatible.'"

Comment Re:Sandbox (Score 5, Funny) 225

by repka (#32970994) Attached to: Adobe Putting PDF Reader In a Sandbox

Sounds suspiciously Apple-like. iPhone apps do this very thing.

No shit Sherlock: sandboxing, emulation, memory and hardware virtualization, CPU ring modes are all Apple inventions from 1970s and Windows 7 you're browsing from right now has its code base from Apple Lisa of that era.

Submission + - No more sublets through craigslist in New York

Submitted by yurik
yurik writes: No more craigslist. No more AirBnB. Soon if you visit New York, hotel may be your only lodging option. NY state bills A10008 / S6873 sponsored by hotel lobby seek to outlaw individuals renting out our apartments for less than a month.

From http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2010/06/new-york-considers-ban-on-vacation-rentals/98153/1 — "New York state senators vote on a bill that would make it illegal for any homeowner or renter to sublet for less than a month. The new law would be a blanket ban on short-term rentals no matter how ethical the renter is."

Another ref http://current.newsweek.com/budgettravel/2010/06/new_york_controversy_a_crackdo.html

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