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Robotics

Submission + - SPAM: Robot soldiers are being deployed

Submitted by
destinyland
destinyland writes: "As a Rutgers philosopher discusses robot war scenarios, one science magazine counts the ways robots are already being used in warfare, including YouTube videos of six military robots in action. There are up to 12,000 "robotic units" on the ground in Iraq, some dismantling landmines and roadside bombs, but "a new generation of bots are designed to be fighting machines." One bot can operate an M-16 rifle, a machine gun, and a rocket launcher — and 250 people have already been killed by unmanned drones in Pakistan. He also tells the story of a berserk robot explosives gun that killed nine people in South Africa due to a 'software glitch.'"
Link to Original Source
Earth

Submission + - Freaks Survive in Nature Because They Are Cryptic

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Researchers have found that birds will target salamanders that look like the majority — even reversing their behavior in response to alterations in the ratio of a distinguishing trait. "Maintenance of variation is a classic paradox in evolution because both selection and drift tend to remove variation from populations," says Benjamin Fitzpatrick, from the University of Tennessee. "If one form has an advantage, such as being harder to spot, it should replace all others. Likewise, random drift alone will eventually result in loss of all but one form when there are no fitness differences. There must therefore be some advantage that allows unusual traits to persist." Fitzpatrick and his team placed a selection of food-bearing model salamanders into a field for six days, with striped models outnumbering the unstriped by nine to one, or vice versa (pdf). On test days, the numbers were evened out. In each case, Blue Jays were more likely to attack the models that had been most prevalent over the previous six-day period. "We believe that the different color forms represent different ways of blending in on the forest floor," Fitzpatrick said. "Looking for something cryptic takes both concentration and practice. Predators concentrating on finding striped salamanders might not notice unstriped ones.""
Security

Submission + - Schneier: We don't need a cybersecurity czar (threatpost.com) 3

Submitted by Trailrunner7
Trailrunner7 writes: Threatpost.com reports that security guru Bruce Schneier says not only should the NSA not run cybersecurity for the federal government, no one should. "Really what I think is it shouldn't be anybody. We do better without a top-down hierarchy. Our economic and political systems work best when there isn't a dictator in charge, when there isn't one organization in charge. My feeling is there shouldn't be one organization in charge. Not only shouldn't it be the NSA, it shouldn't be anybody," Schneier said.
Sun Microsystems

Submission + - MySQL to become Drizzle

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: MySQL has announced a project to refactor MySQL to be a more Drizzle like database. Is this a sign that the forks of MySQL have outgrown their ancestor and are now in the position of having it chase them?
Security

Submission + - Hackers Breach 160k Med Records at UC Berkeley

Submitted by nandemoari
nandemoari writes: Hackers have reportedly infiltrated restricted computer databases at the University of California Berkeley, putting the private data of 160,000 students, alumni, and others at risk. According to UC Berkeley, computer administrators determined that electronic databases in University Health Services had been breached by overseas criminals on April 21, 2009. Information contained on the breached databases included Social Security numbers, health insurance information and non-treatment medical information such as records of immunization and names of treating physicians.
Graphics

Submission + - Intel GMA500 graphic and Linux

Submitted by i-neo
i-neo writes: You have probably already heard of the Intel GMA 500 graphic chipset that is integrated in the Poulsbo chipsets (UL11L, US15L, US15W). In fact it is commonly found in netbooks such as Sony's VAIO P series, Dell's Inspiron Mini Series 12, and Acer's Aspire One 751.

One great thing about it is that it provides great features for a low power consumption.

Unfortunately there is little support for the graphic driver on Intel side. Since the GMA 500 is specific, it cannot benefits the unified drivers developed by Intel. On Windows XP you will have to install a specific driver (read not installed by default) to unleash the power of your graphic card, you might then be able to view 1080p movies on your netbook (geek knows why ;) ).
But on Linux there is simply no support, so your best chance to have a GUI is to use the VESA Xorg driver... This article details the issues.

I am really surprised to see so little support for this graphic card on Linux since Linux is the OS of choice for embedded system such as netbooks. There are some binary blobs available for older Xorg / kernels, but they do not work anymore.

The goal of this story is to give more visibility on the Poulsbo / GMA 500 support issue on the manufacturer side as well as on the customer side. When you choose a netbook, it may be an important criteria if you intend to use Linux. A few customers have already began regrouping in this facebook group to highlight the problem.

So what is Intel waiting for to provide proper support for this graphic chipset ? Is it due to licensing issues with PowerVR ?
Enlightenment

Submission + - Feel free to let your mind wander (examiner.com)

Submitted by mmmscience
mmmscience writes: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m5d12-Feel-free-to-let-your-mind-wander A new study shows that the brain is fully engaged when we daydream, tackling difficult, subconscious problems as our attentiveness to the task at hand fades. Contrary to the notion that daydreaming is associated with negative connotations (such as laziness), researchers from the University of British Columbia [UBC] have found "that brain areas associated with complex problem-solving — previously thought to go dormant when we daydream — are in fact highly active during these episodes."
Transportation

Submission + - 220MPH Solar-Powered Bullet Train on AZ horizon (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by
Mike
Mike writes: "An ambitious Arizona company has recently revealed plans for a solar powered bullet train that will streak across the desert at 220mph, traveling from Tuscon to Phoenix in 30 minutes flat. Proposed by Solar Bullet LLC, the system comprises a series of tracks that would serve stations including Chandler, Casa Grande, Red Rock and Marana, and may one day stretch as far as Mexico City. The train would require 110 megawatts of electricity, which would be generated by solar panels mounted above the tracks."
NASA

Submission + - Spirit stuck in soft soil on Mars

Submitted by cheros
cheros writes: NASA reports that the Spirit Mars lander is presently stuck in soft soil. The lander's wheels are halfway sunk into the soil and they are planning simulation tests to see if they can get it out again.

I hope they can get it out of there because it's picking up enough new energy to work with, however, it only has 5 wheels left to work with — one of the wheels hasn't been working for years. Fingers crossed..
Censorship

Submission + - 'Creative Industries' call for file-sharers ban (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by
siloko
siloko writes: "An alliance of so-called 'Creative Industries', including the UK Film Council, have signed a joint statement asking the UK government to force ISPs into banning users caught sharing illegally. In an "unprecedented joint statement", the alliance predicted a "lawless free-for-all" unless the government ensured the "safe and secure delivery of legal content". The previous tactic of pursuing individual file-sharers in the courts appear to have been abandoned. "Instead, [the government] should provide enabling legislation, for the specific measures to be identified and implemented in an Industry Code of Practice," it recommends. One wonders how they remain 'creative' in their vocation when they keep on trotting out the same old story backed up by imaginary statistics (they claim 50% of net traffic in the UK is illegal content but provide no evidence for this figure). The BBC also has a blog entry dissecting their statement."

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