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Google

Submission + - Google, Sun to finally take on Microsoft?

Submitted by Trion
Trion writes: Nearly two years after they were expected to announce a Microsoft Office killer (or is it even likely?), Sun Microsystems and Google may finally be planning to do it. Or not. Mary Jo Foley, in her ZDNet blog, has reported that she got confirmation from a Sun representative that the company plans to make a StarOffice-related announcement on Wednesday that will have a "significant impact in the industry about the adoption of Open Document Format and availability of free MS Office-compatible comprehensive office suite". Google had also secretly added Sun's StarOffice software suite to its Google Pack of recommended applications. StarOffice is integrated with Google Search and Google Desktop.
Displays

Submission + - 3D Animations in Mid-Air Using Plasma Balls (gizmodo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Japanese boffins are now making animations by creating small plasma balls in mid-air. The technology doesn't use vapor or strange gases, just lasers to heat up oxygen and nitrogen molecules: up to 1,000 brilliant dots per second, which makes smooth motion possible. They could be used as street signs, advertising or to create giant plasma monsters to destroy entire cities. Maybe.
Mozilla

Submission + - The Days of Insecure Firefox Are Here (osweekly.com)

Submitted by
akakakak
akakakak writes: "Matt Hartley of OSWeekly.com comments on the upcoming securities flaws of Firefox. He writes, "We have seen exploits come and go with Firefox for years, but this is the first time that I am aware of that Firefox really appears to have their backsides to the wall because of such a serious problem. And despite the knowledge that they'll get a handle on this just a quickly as possible, one cannot help but feel the browser's innocence has been taken away forever. Am I wrong here? Has Firefox always been this vulnerable and it is only now that we are seeing this come to fruition? Email me above. I would be interested in your thoughts on this matter."
PC Games (Games)

Submission + - Where Are All The Free MMORPGS ? 3

Submitted by DarkrhaveN
DarkrhaveN writes: My girlfriend asked the other day if I could find her a free MMORPG ala WoW and Everquest. I decided to search a bit more but got caught up in hokey pay sites and other things when it dawned on me to just ask the slashdot community. Where are all the free MMORPGS ?
Security

Submission + - Goldman in 1.5bn bail-out as computer model fails (computerworlduk.com)

Submitted by
Cheese Toasty
Cheese Toasty writes: "A hi-tech hedge fund belonging to Goldman Sachs was so badly hit by last week's stockmarket turbulence that it lost over $1.5bn (£750m) of its value after the computer algorithms it was using for algorithmic trading failed to deal with the unpredictable markets. http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/it-busin ess/it-organisation/news/index.cfm?newsid=4586"
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Do you have to be smart to be rich? (pressesc.com) 3

Submitted by
amigoro
amigoro writes: "Do you have to be intelligent to be wealthy?

The answer is yes, according to a study which tracks a large group of young US baby boomers, but only if all other factors are held constant. But regression results suggest that statistically, there is really no distinguishable relationship between IQ scores and wealth."
Education

Submission + - Disney asks UW for Baby Einstein video retraction

Submitted by
reube
reube writes: "Robert A. Iger, President and CEO of Walt Disney, has demanded an immediate retraction and clarification of a press statement issued by the University of Washington (UW) and described the press statement 'misleading, irresponsible and derogatory.' The press statement says something about 'Baby Einstein' marketing claims and its failure to boost learning language in infants and yet the study by which the press statement was based did not specifically say so. The press release read as:
'Despite marketing claims, parents who want to give their infants a boost in learning language probably should limit the amount of time they expose their children to DVD's and videos such as 'Baby Einstein' and 'Brainy Baby.' Rather than helping babies, the over-use of such productions actually may slow down infants eight to 16 months of age when it comes to acquiring vocabulary, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute.'"
Security

Submission + - New glitches in touch screens -- 40% failure rates (blorge.com)

Submitted by
destinyland
destinyland writes: "A new investigation by Dan Rather found 40% of voting machine touch screens from one parts supplier had to be returned as defective. It was only discovered after a new manager took over the manufacturing plant in "the shanty towns of Manilla." Even the $2.50-a-day workers were spotting parts defects, but their hurried managers would perform only one test — shaking the machine to see if anything rattled. A Florida elections specialist ultimately had to return 1800 touch screen voting machines as defective, because selecting the first box on a ballot would highlight the second box. But even after testing newer machines, he's not re-assured. "It seems like they'll work today, and tomorrow they might not work... They're just unreliable, in my opinion.""
Google

Submission + - Google Privacy Plain and Simple - or Illusion?

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: In his blog post, Arik from SecuriTeam mentions his views on the recent Google blog posting on their privacy policy. "I strongly suggest you watch the clip and have your own opinion. Below is my own: What Maile neglects to mention is that Google keeps all the queries you submit together, correlated by your cookie, including the user you use to login to Google, the links you clicked on in search results, any site you visited with a Google ad, every address you mapped, every product you searched, every video you watched, etc. which makes up a nice profile of your behavior online." How much privacy do we have, really?
Power

Submission + - Paper-thin Carbon Nanotube Battery on the Horizon (physorg.com)

Submitted by
Max Romantschuk
Max Romantschuk writes: "As reported by the Inquirer: "Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have nanoengineered a flexible paper thin battery. According to Physorg, the battery is lightweight, ultra thin and completely bendy." This should have interesting applications... I already want to wrap it around my bicycle frame to power my lighting setup. Or how about combining it with flexible electronics and e-paper? As mentioned, there's more on the nano-paper battery at Physorg."
Security

Submission + - Your cell phone number is no longer unlisted (wisebread.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: According to the Seattle Times, a locally-owned company named Intelius is putting together a cell phone directory that is supposed to be accurate. It costs $15 to search for an individual's cell phone number. That's right — for $15, your cell number can be given out to anyone. You might not have heard of Intelius before, but they are one of those companies that touts their services in background checks. You may have seen ads or received spam emails warning you to do a background check on your date? That's Intelius. They also purchased a small company that does a lot of background check work for employers.
Biotech

Submission + - The Myth, the Math, the Sex (nytimes.com) 3

Submitted by
gollum123
gollum123 writes: "A nice article in the NYtimes talks about how statistical data which has been repeatedly given out about why men are more promiscuous than women, cannot be logically consistent with math ( http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/weekinreview/12k olata.html?em&ex=1187150400&en=a1f8d851ad6790a6&ei =5087%0A ). One survey, recently reported by the federal government, concluded that men had a median of seven female sex partners. Women had a median of four male sex partners. Another study, by British researchers, stated that men had 12.7 heterosexual partners in their lifetimes and women had 6.5. but mathematicians contend that the conclusion that men have substantially more sex partners than women is not and cannot be true for purely logical reasons. The number of partners must be about the same,not different by a factor of 2. Sex survey researchers say they know that this is correct. Men and women in a population must have roughly equal numbers of partners. So, when men report many more than women, what is going on and what is to be believed? The most likely explanation for such a result according to the math people by far, is that the numbers cannot be trusted. The problem is that when such data are published, with no asterisk next to them saying they can't be true, they just "reinforce the stereotypes of promiscuous males and chaste females"."
Biotech

Submission + - U.S. life expectancy lags behind other countries (cnn.com)

Submitted by
gollum123
gollum123 writes: "For decades, the United States has been slipping in international rankings of life expectancy, as other countries improve health care, nutrition and lifestyles ( http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/08/13/life.expectan cy.ap/index.html ). A baby born in the United States in 2004 will live an average of 77.9 years. That life expectancy ranks 42nd, down from 11th two decades earlier, according to international numbers provided by the Census Bureau and domestic numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics. Forty countries, including Cuba, Taiwan and most of Europe had lower infant mortality rates than the U.S. in 2004. The U.S. rate was 6.8 deaths for every 1,000 live births. It was 13.7 for Black Americans, the same as Saudi Arabia. There are also other Racial disparities. Black Americans have an average life expectancy of 73.3 years, five years shorter than white Americans. Black American males have a life expectancy of 69.8 years, slightly longer than the averages for Iran and Syria and slightly shorter than in Nicaragua and Morocco."
Security

Submission + - Web Site Offers to Ruin People (foxnews.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "FoxNews reports, " A service offering a complete "revenge package" in which people can destroy the financial status and relationships of their enemies at the click of a mouse is being offered over the Internet. For as little as $20 a month, customers of the confidentialaccess.com Web site can make the credit ratings of people they dislike plummet, and even have them suspected of fraud. Victims' bank accounts can be shut down remotely and all their essential utilities cut off. Fake e-mails and text messages which purport to come from someone else, such as the victim's spouse, can be sent containing false accusations of affairs or sexual liaisons. ""

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