Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Java

Submission + - Cross-Platform Malware Exploits Java To Attack PCs And Macs (zdnet.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Security vendors have discovered a new piece of malware that attacks both PCs and Macs. It uses the same Java security vulnerability exploited by the Flashback malware that infected hundreds of thousands of Macs. While the attack vector is the same as in Flashback, this Java applet checks which OS it is running on and downloads suitable malware for it.
The Internet

Submission + - Sony: Internet video service on hold due to Comcast data cap (arstechnica.com)

suraj.sun writes: An executive from Sony said Monday that concerns about Comcast's discriminatory data cap are giving the firm second thoughts about launching an Internet video service, that would compete with cable and satellite TV services. In March, Comcast announced that video streamed to the Xbox from Comcast's own video service would be exempted from the cable giant's 250 GB monthly bandwidth cap. "These guys have the pipe and the bandwidth," he said. "If they start capping things, it gets difficult."

Sony isn't the first Comcast rival to complain about the bandwidth cap. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has also blasted Comcast's discriminatory bandwidth cap as a violation of network neutrality. Comcast controls more than 20 percent of the residential broadband market, which means that Comcast effectively controls access to one-fifth of any American Internet video service's potential customers.

Science

Submission + - World's Oldest Blood Cells Found on Iceman (sciencemag.org)

sciencehabit writes: A team of researchers has zoomed in on two spots on the body of the Iceman, a mummified, 5300-year-old hunter found frozen in the Alps in 1991: a shoulder wound found with an embedded arrowhead and a hand lesion resembling a stab wound. The scientists used atomic force microscopy, a visualization method with resolution of less than a nanometer, to scan the wounds for blood residue. They discovered red blood cells—the oldest in the world to be found intact—as well as fibrin, a protein needed for blood to clot. The presence of fibrin indicates that the Iceman, nicknamed Ötzi, didn't die immediately after being wounded.
Education

Submission + - German Science Minister Faces Plagiarism Scandal

An anonymous reader writes: Germany's minister for science and education, Annette Schavan, faces allegations that substantial parts of her PhD thesis have been copied (German, Google translation) without proper attribution. According to the Wordpress blog that brought up the accusations, 56 out of 325 pages of her thesis contain instances of plagiarism. Schavan is the same minister who called an earlier instance of plagiarism by the former German defense minister to be "embarassing".
Shark

Submission + - Finally, a shark with a Laser (wired.com)

An anonymous reader writes: From the article: Relax, Dr Evil. Your inspired request for “sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached” has finally been fulfilled in the real world.
Encryption

Submission + - Scrambls puts control of social media back in the hands of users (infoworld.com) 1

An anonymous reader writes: Fun story by Rob Lemos in InfoWorld today... his twitter post offers a good question for slashdot:

"A fight in the making? Service to encrypt social net posts and give users role-based access control"

I love the idea... flip a switch on the browser plug-in to scramble what I'm posting for control and privacy on any social media or website?

I see Facebook, Twitter, etc. both loving and hating this.

Privacy

Submission + - Mozilla Breaks Ranks With Tech Industry To Denounce CISPA (forbes.com)

Sparrowvsrevolution writes: Mozilla has taken a public stand against the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, saying that it has a "broad and alarming reach" that "infringes on our privacy." That makes it the first major tech firm to speak out against CISPA. Facebook, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Oracle and Symantec are all included among the companies that support the bill, which passed the House late last month and is now being considered in the Senate. Google has so far declined to take a stand supporting or opposing the bill.
Education

Submission + - MIT & Harvard start new online education partnership (edxonline.org)

Lluc writes: MIT and Harvard have started a new online education partnership called edX, an "open-source technology platform to deliver online courses." They plan to offer classes starting in Fall 2012. Perhaps this nonprofit venture is a better method for online education than Udacity, the startup created by Stanford professors after their wildly successful free online course offerings.
Businesses

Submission + - Facebook To Go Public On Friday, May 18 (ibtimes.com) 1

redletterdave writes: "The IPO on everyone's minds for the past few years — and possibly the biggest one in history — is upon us: Facebook will finally make its Wall Street debut on Friday, May 18, 2012. Sources also say Facebook will begin its IPO roadshow on Monday, May 7, and will eventually list its shares on the Nasdaq (not NYSE) with the ticker symbol "FB." Facebook looks to raise anywhere from $5 billion to $10 billion during its roadshow to achieve a $100 billion valuation, which would make it one of the biggest IPOs of all-time."

Submission + - Old is the New Green (heartpine.com)

heartpine11 writes: The greenest building is the one that’s already built. Quoting American architect Carl Elefante, “We cannot build our way to sustainability; we must conserve our way to sustainability.” We must all of us make wiser use of what we already have. Former host of PBS’ This Old House Steve Thomas, speaks on sustainability and historic preservation as the opening speaker at Restore Jacksonville Saturday, May 5. The event is free to the public at the Jacksonville Main Library Conference Center, 303 North Laura Street, Jacksonville, FL 32202. Attendants will learn how to formulate a plan for maintaining their historic homes and gain valuable information about the local resources, both public and private, that can help them achieve their goals. There is also an emphasis this year on energy efficiency for historic homes. Saturday you will find the educational sessions, film screenings, and rehabilitation resources. Sunday features sustainability tours and a special ULI Jane’s Walk Tour, exploring the legacy of urbanist Jane Jacobs. A special offering includes a two-day workshop for contractors and other professionals in the building industry to reinforce preservation standards and discuss energy efficiency for historic homes in hot and humid climates. Goodwin Heart Pine will be an exhibitor at the Restoration Resource Expo Hall.
Programming

Submission + - EU court rules programming languages cannot be copyrighted (computerworlduk.com)

strawberryshakes writes: Software companies could now reverse engineer programs without infringing copyright laws after the European Court of Justice ruled that the functionality of a computer program and the programming language it is written in cannot be protected by copyright.

The ruling was related to a case brought by SAS Institute against World Programming Limited.

Earth

Submission + - Finding the Hottest Spots on Earth by Satellite (naturenplanet.com)

fishmike writes: "The traditional way to measure temperatures on Earth is with a thermometer, and the World Meteorological Organization, the U.S. National Weather Service, and other scientific institutions have established some very specific guidelines for how to do it. The air temperatures reported by your local meteorologist are measured by a thermometer situated 1.2 to 2 meters off the ground and shielded from direct sun. However, it cannot be measured in the shade of a building, mountain, or tree."
Android

Submission + - Motorola wins Xbox and Windows 7 ban in Germany (bbc.com)

Celexi writes: In a surprising move, Motorola mobility which is to be taken over by Google, has won an injunction preventing the distribution of windows 7 and the xbox in Germany until Microsoft starts paying royalty fees for the patents Microsoft is said to be infringing( two patents needed used to display H.264). The ruling is suspended as of now because of an restraining order, the effect in the rest of the EU and US if the ban is enforced if the restraining order is lifted, is unclear.

Slashdot Top Deals

In every non-trivial program there is at least one bug.

Working...