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Science

Anti-WiFi Wallpaper Available Next Year 167

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the orbital-mind-control-lasers dept.
hypnosec writes with good news for folks who want to live in a Faraday cage. From the article: "A new type of wallpaper, which has been developed by scientists from the Institut Polytechnique Grenoble INP and the Centre Technique du Papier, will go on sale in 2013 after a Finnish firm Ahlstrom acquired the license. What looks like a bog-standard wallpaper roll actually contains silver particles that allows it to filter out up to three different frequencies simultaneously. It is not the first time that such a technology has surfaced. Back in 2004, BAE Systems was tasked by Ofcom to come up with a similar solution based on what was then called a stealth wallpaper. It used copper instead of silver and blocked Wi-Fi signals while letting GSM, 4G and emergency calls through. Back then, though, a square meter cost £500, whereas the Wi-Fi wallpaper devised by the French researchers should be priced reasonably, with costs matching those of a 'classic,' mid-range wallpaper according to M. Lemaître-Auger, from Grenoble INP."
Programming

The Ugly Underbelly of Coder Culture 715

Posted by Soulskill from the not-so-old-boys-club dept.
snydeq writes "Today's developers are overwhelmingly young and male, and they're barring the door from a more diverse workforce, writes Fatal Exception's Neil McAllister. 'Software development isn't just failing to attract women. It's actively pushing them away. ... Put all the pieces together, and you're left with an impression of developers that's markedly different from the geeks and nerds they're made out to be in popular culture. On the contrary, developers harbor the same attitudes and engage in the same behaviors you see whenever a subculture is overwhelmingly dominated by young males. They've even coined a clever name for programmers who think and behave like fraternity pledges: brogrammers,' McAllister writes. 'Developers like to think of their culture as a meritocracy, where the very best developers naturally rise to the top. But as long as the industry tends to exclude more than half of the potential workforce, that's nothing but pure arrogance.'"
Google

Microsoft Files EU Antitrust Complaint Against Motorola Mobility 148

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the evil-fighting-evil dept.
judgecorp writes "Microsoft has filed a complaint with the European Commission complaining that Motorola Mobility is charging too much for use of its patented technology in phones and tablets. The complaint follows a similar one by Apple last week, and will need to be resolved by Google as it takes charge of Motorola Mobility."

Comment Achievement (Score 2) 71

by BlueLightning (#39003967) Attached to: Golden Delicious Now Shipping Hackable Openmoko GTA04

After meeting some of the people involved at FOSDEM this year I've joined the group buy for this device. It's a little on the expensive side, to be sure, but I joined not just because I would like the device itself but because I think they deserve support. It's pretty amazing that a small company such as theirs have been able to put together a working phone with most of the features you expect - sure it's not going to be the next iPhone killer, but it does have reasonable specs. I'm sure they had a lot of fun doing it as well, and I look forward to the opportunity to play with the hardware.

I'd encourage anyone who still has an older Neo1973 / Freerunner and who can spare the money to do the same.
Bug

Software Bug Caused Qantas Airbus A330 To Nose-Dive 603

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the bugs-on-a-plane dept.
pdcull writes "According to Stuff.co.nz, the Australian Transport Safety Board found that a software bug was responsible for a Qantas Airbus A330 nose-diving twice while at cruising altitude, injuring 12 people seriously and causing 39 to be taken to the hospital. The event, which happened three years ago, was found to be caused by an airspeed sensor malfunction, linked to a bug in an algorithm which 'translated the sensors' data into actions, where the flight control computer could put the plane into a nosedive using bad data from just one sensor.' A software update was installed in November 2009, and the ATSB concluded that 'as a result of this redesign, passengers, crew and operators can be confident that the same type of accident will not reoccur.' I can't help wondering just how a piece of code, which presumably didn't test its input data for validity before acting on it, could become part of a modern jet's onboard software suite?"
Earth

Minor Quakes In the UK Likely Caused By Fracking 318

Posted by Soulskill from the bsg-fans-confused dept.
Stirling Newberry writes "Non-conventional extraction of hydrocarbons is the next wave of production, including natural gas and oil – at least according to its advocates. One of the most controversial of the technologies being used is hydraulic fracture drilling, or 'fracking.' Energy companies have been gobbling up Google ad words to push the view that the technology is 'proven' and 'safe,' while stories about the damage continue to surface. Adding to the debate are two small tremors in the UK — below 3.0, so very small – that were quite likely the result of fracking there. Because the drilling cracks were shallow, this raises concerns that deeper cracks near more geologically active areas might lead to quakes that could cause serious damage."

Comment Re:QT 4 still buggy and slow compared to QT 3? (Score 2) 161

by BlueLightning (#37925272) Attached to: KDE 3.5 Fork Trinity Releases First Major Update

Totally unsubstantiated claims. And FYI, porting something from Qt3 to Qt4 is not just a matter of switching libraries; painting among other things has to be done in a different way. This is one of the reasons why Plasma was written from scratch instead of porting Kicker in the first place.
Government

TSA Doing Random Truck Searches On Tennessee Highway 578

Posted by samzenpus from the papers-please dept.
OverTheGeicoE writes "TSA is expanding its presence to the American road system. As part of its Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) program, TSA agents are now working at 5 weigh stations and two bus stations in Tennessee. They are randomly checking trucks with 'drug and bomb sniffing dogs', and encouraging truck drivers to join their First Observer Highway Security Program and report anything suspicious that they see to authorities. VIPR is allegedly not a response to any particular threat."
EU

EU Debates Installing a Black Box On Your Computer 459

Posted by samzenpus from the all-the-better-to-track-you-with dept.
bs0d3 writes "EU MEP Tiziano Motti (Italy), wants everything you do online to be logged and saved, for the sake of the children. Like a black box installed on every computer. He proposes an early warning system of criminal activity, specifically whenever an image of sexually abused children is detected, an alarm, goes to the authorities to be able to see who uploaded it. Tiziano Motti was a politician who just over a year ago managed to get a majority of European Members of Parliament to support the proposal to expand the data storage directive to Google searches. The purpose was to protect children from pedophiles — the same excuse he is using now. His proposal involves a technology called Logbox. And just as with an aircraft's black box, Logbox is installed on computers, laptops, smartphones, and e-readers because yes, all that can be connected to the internet."

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