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Submission + - Kickstarter project anonabox has been suspended for potential fraud (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Anonabox is a project on Kickstarter to build a self-contained Tor router. It proved very popular, exceeding its funding threshold within days. Rumors and accusations started flying almost immediately. On 17 October, email went out from Kickstarter that the project had been suspended and the contributions would be refunded to backers. The official reason is "A review of the project uncovered evidence that it broke Kickstarter's rules." Early indications are that the project claimed to be building original hardware but was actually repacking cheaper hardware from elsewhere. They are accused of requesting a $51 pledge for a $20 router.

Submission + - The One App You Need on Your Resume if You Want a Job at Google

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: Jim Edwards writes at Business Insider that Google is so large and has such a massive need for talent that if you have the right skills, Google is really enthusiastic to hear from you — especially if you know how to use MatLab, a fourth-generation programming language that allows matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, creation of user interfaces, and interfacing with programs written in other languages, including C, C++, Java, Fortran and Python. The key is that data is produced visually or graphically, rather than in a spreadsheet. According to Jonathan Rosenberg , Google's former senior vice president for product management, being a master of statistics is probably your best way into Google right now and if you want to work at Google, make sure you can use MatLab. Big data — how to create it, manipulate it, and put it to good use — is one of those areas in which Google is really enthusiastic about. The sexy job in the next ten years will be statisticians. When every business has free and ubiquitous data, the ability to understand it and extract value from it becomes the complimentary scarce factor. It leads to intelligence, and the intelligent business is the successful business, regardless of its size. Rosenberg says that "my quote about statistics that I didn't use but often do is, 'Data is the sword of the 21st century, those who wield it the samurai.'"

Submission + - Lead Mir Developer: "Mir More Relevant Than Wayland In Two Years"

Submitted by M-Saunders
M-Saunders writes: Canonical courted plenty of controversy with it announced Mir, its home-grown display server. But why did the company choose to go it alone, and not collaborate with the Wayland project? Linux Voice has an interview with Thomas Voss, Mir's lead developer. Voss explains how Mir came into being, what it offers, and why he believes it will outlast Wayland.

Submission + - Hidden Consciousness in Vegetative Patients Could Be Detected by Simple Test (ibtimes.co.uk)

Submitted by concertina226
concertina226 writes: Scientists from Cambridge University have discovered a new way to detect consciousness in vegetative patients by studying brainwaves, which could offer fresh hope for unresponsive brain damage patients and their families.

The scientists analysed the brain networks of 32 vegetative, comatose and minimally conscious patients as well as 26 healthy people with electroencephalography (EEG).

They then used a type of applied mathematics known as Graph Theory to analyse the EEG data in order to search for patterns of communication across brain regions.

In the brains of healthy people, there are "rich and diversely connected networks" of brain activity, which are lacking in the brains of patients with brain damage. However, some of the vegetative patients were found to have brain activity patterns that are similar to those of healthy people.

Submission + - How Curved Spacetime Can Be Created In A Quantum Optics Lab

Submitted by KentuckyFC
KentuckyFC writes: One way to explore the link between quantum mechanics and general relativity is to study the physics that occurs on a small scale in highly curved spacetimes. However, these conditions only occur in the most extreme environments such as at the edge of black holes or in the instants after the Big Bang. But now one physicist has described how it is possible to create curved spacetime in an ordinary quantum optics lab. The idea is based on optical lattices which form when a pair of lasers interfere to create an eggbox-like interference pattern. When ultracold atoms are dropped into the lattice, they become trapped like ping pong balls in an eggbox. This optical trapping technique is common in labs all over the world. However, the ultracold atoms do not stay at a fixed location in the lattice because they can tunnel from one location to another. This tunnelling is a form of movement through the lattice and can be controlled by changing the laser parameters to make tunneling easier or more difficult. Now one physicists has shown that on a large scale, the tunneling motion of atoms through the lattice is mathematically equivalent to the motion of atoms in a quantum field in a flat spacetime. And that means it is possible to create a formal analogue of a curved spacetime by changing the laser parameters across the lattice. Varying the laser parameters over time even simulates the behaviour of gravitational waves. Creating this kind of curved spacetime in the lab won't reveal any new physics but it will allow researchers to study the behaviour of existing laws under these conditions for the first time. That's not been possible even in theory because the equations that describe these behaviours are so complex that they can only be solved in the simplest circumstances.

Submission + - South Korean ID system to be rebuilt from scratch after massive leaks

Submitted by AmiMoJo
AmiMoJo writes: South Korea's national identity card system may need a complete overhaul following huge data thefts dating back to 2004. The government is considering issuing new ID numbers to every citizen aged over 17, costing billions of dollars. The ID numbers and personal details of an estimated 80% of the country's 50 million people have been stolen from banks and other targets. Some 20 million people, including the president Park Geun-hye, have been victims of a data theft. Citizens are unable to change their credentials, which are used in many different sectors, making them an attractive target for hackers.

Submission + - Debian talks about systemd begins once again (debian.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A couple of months ago the TC of Debian decided for systemd. This is now subject for discussion once again and Ian Jackson has stated that he wants a general resolution, so every developer within the Debian project can decide. After a short time the required amount of supportes has been reached and the discussion can start once again.

Submission + - Ettercap 0.8.1 released (github.com)

Submitted by LocutusOfBorg1
LocutusOfBorg1 writes: After 369 files changed, 26952 insertions(+) and 17530 deletions(-),
the Ettercap Development Team is proud to annunce the new v0.8.1-Lombroso release, carrying a ton of bug fixes and some new features such as ipv6 capabilities, new attacks like the ipv6 nd poisoning and a lot more!

check it out while it's hot!
Note: I'm upstream developer.

Submission + - CryptoWall 2.0 Ransomware Moves to TOR Network (fox5vegas.com)

Submitted by stephendavion
stephendavion writes: Dangerous new ransomware variant storms onto the scene using the anonymous TOR network, taking down systems and networks unlucky enough to be caught in its path. KnowBe4 issued an alert to IT Managers that a new version of the world's most widespread ransomware CryptoWall has migrated to the TOR network. It has been upgraded to version 2.0, and continues to encrypt files so that a ransom can be extracted if there are no backups or if the backup process fails, often a common occurrence. KnowBe4 received a panic call from an IT admin who was hit this week with CryptoWall. The admins workstation became infected with the malware. The workstation was mapped to 7 servers and within an hour, the entire server farm was shut down. The admin explained he had backups but it would take days to recover the data and get them back up and running. The companys operations would be severely impacted. The cyber criminals hit pay dirt with this one and the admin ended up paying the ransom, 1.3 Bitcoin, rather than face the serious costs caused by days of downtime, said Stu Sjouwerman, KnowBe4s CEO. This is the next generation of ransomware and you can expect this new version to spread like wildfire.

Submission + - The Physics of why Cold Fusion isn't real

Submitted by StartsWithABang
StartsWithABang writes: If you can reach the fabled "breakeven point" of nuclear fusion, you’ll have opened up an entire new source of clean, reliable, safe, renewable and abundant energy. You will change the world. At present, fusion is one of those things we can make happen through a variety of methods, but — unless you’re the Sun — we don’t have a way to ignite and sustain that reaction without needing to input more energy than we can extract in a usable fashion from the fusion that occurs. One alternative approach to the norm is, rather than try and up the energy released in a sustained, hot fusion reaction, to instead lower the energy inputted, and try to make fusion happen under “cold” conditions. If you listen in the right (wrong?) places, you'll hear periodic reports that cold fusion is happening, even though those reports have always crumbled under scrutiny. Here's why, most likely, they always will.

Submission + - Jailed Journalist and Former Anonymous Activist Barrett Brown Seeks Leniency (freebarrettbrown.org)

Submitted by ageisp0lis
ageisp0lis writes: Brown's defense is appealing to Judge Sam A. Lindsay to use leniency and sentence him to time served. Brown has accepted responsibility for his conduct. He was originally charged with sharing a hyperlink to stolen information, and after that was dropped, he pled guilty to hiding his laptops, transmitting a threat, and accessory after the fact to an unauthorized access to a protected computer. He's now facing 8.5 years maximum in prison. When he is sentenced on November 24th, he will have already spent over two years in jail. Given the innocuous nature of his crimes and the lack of tangible harm resulting from them, his supporters feel that he should be set free, and they are collecting letters addressed to the judge in this case.

Submission + - Chemists Grow Soil Fungus On Cheerios, Discover New Antifungal Compounds (acs.org)

Submitted by MTorrice
MTorrice writes: Many drugs that treat bacterial and fungal infections were found in microbes growing in the dirt. These organisms synthesize the compounds to fend off other bacteria and fungi around them. To find possible new drugs, chemists try to coax newly discovered microbial species to start making their arsenal of antimicrobial chemicals in the lab. But fungi can be stubborn, producing just a small set of already-known compounds.

Now, one team of chemists has hit upon a curiously effective and consistent trick to prod the organisms to start synthesizing novel molecules: Cheerios inside bags. Scientists grew a soil fungus for four weeks in a bag full of Cheerios and discovered a new compound that can block biofilm formation by an infectious yeast. The chemists claim that Cheerios are by far the best in the cereal aisle at growing chemically productive fungi.

Submission + - Making Best Use Of Data Center Space: Density Vs. Isolation (itworld.com)

Submitted by jfruh
jfruh writes: The ability to cram multiple virtual servers on a single physical computer is tempting — so tempting that many shops overlook the downsides of having so many important systems subject to a single point of physical failure. But how can you isolate your servers physically but still take up less room? Matthew Mobrea takes a look at the options, including new server platforms that offer what he calls "dense isolation."

Submission + - Facebook 'Safety Check' lets friends know you're OK after a major disaster 1

Submitted by rtoz
rtoz writes: Facebook has launched a new Tool which is named as "Safety Check".

The Facebook Safety Check tool will notify your friends so that they know you're OK after a major disaster.

In times of disaster or crisis, people turn to Facebook to check on loved ones and get updates.

During a major disaster, Safety Check will help you:

        Let friends and family know you’re safe
        Check on others in the affected area
        Mark your friends as safe

When the tool is activated after a natural disaster and if you’re in the affected area, you’ll receive a Facebook notification asking if you’re safe.

Facebook will determine your location by looking at the city you have listed in your profile, your last location if you’ve opted in to the Nearby Friends product, and the city where you are using the internet.

If you’re safe, you can select “I’m Safe” and a notification and News Feed story will be generated with your update. Your friends can also mark you as safe.

Submission + - School's out: The challenges of the international eSports scene as a teenager (redbull.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It's well known that many of eSports' brightest stars are in their teens or early 20s, which means they often struggle to meet the demands of training and competing while completing their studies, but increasingly we're seeing young gamers break through who haven't even finished high school. An interview with 16 year old Hearthstone champion James “GreenSheep” Luo reveals the challenges the Brit faces after qualifying for BlizzCon. Surprisingly (and perhaps indicative of eSports' growing mainstream acceptance), Luo's school were a help and not a hindrance. "For Dreamhack Stockholm I had to ask school for sometime off and I was unsure how they would react,” he said. “But fortunately they were really supportive of me and said it would be a wonderful experience for me."

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