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Hardware

Submission + - A RaspberryPi Case that Tastes Like Plastic (kickstarter.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Raspberry Pi is a great, cheap little device... but lately the cases that have been coming out have been slow to market... and expensive. Most of them cost close the the cost of the Pi itself. This kickstarter campaign is striving to obtain high design and low cost.
Government

Submission + - Playmate-cum-Frisky Friday Creator Gets U.S. Genius Visa

Submitted by Freshly Exhumed
Freshly Exhumed writes: Shera Bechard, the Canadian-born former girlfriend of Playboy Enterprises founder Hugh Hefner, would not be an obvious candidate for the special visas that the U.S. government reserves for “individuals with extraordinary ability.” Playboy magazine named Bechard Miss November in 2010, and she also started an online photo-sharing craze called “Frisky Friday.” Neither seems quite on the level of an “internationally recognized award, such as a Nobel Prize,” which the government cites as a possible qualification. But Los Angeles immigration lawyer Chris Wright argued that Bechard’s accomplishments earned her a slot. The government ultimately agreed. That kind of success has put Wright on the map as the go-to visa fixer for both Hollywood and Silicon Valley. It also highlights the use of so-called genius visas known as O-1s and EB-1s, which have largely escaped political controversy and are now the immigration solution of choice for many entrepreneurs.
The Military

Submission + - Those pixelated Army uniforms? "universally failed in every enviornment" (dailymail.co.uk) 2

Submitted by
michaelmalak
michaelmalak writes: "Those pixelated U.S. Army uniforms that we've been seeing since 2004? Turns out they don't work, and they and $5b are being scrapped. "'Essentially, the Army designed a universal uniform that universally failed in every environment,' an Army specialist who served in Iraq told The Daily. 'The only time I have ever seen it work well was in a gravel pit.'""
HP

Submission + - HP Kills ARM-based Windows Tablet, Likely Thanks To Microsoft Surface (hothardware.com) 1

Submitted by
MojoKid
MojoKid writes: "That didn't take long. HP has publicly confirmed that it has cancelled plans to bring a Windows RT (aka Windows on ARM) tablet to market in time for the Windows 8 debut. The company has decided to focus on its x86 customer base instead. HP spokesperson Marlene Somsak has said that "The decision was influenced by input from our customers. The robust and established ecosystem of x86 applications provides the best customer experience at this time and in the immediate future." Sources at HP have confirmed that Microsoft's Surface unveil last week was a huge factor in this decision. HP isn't willing to go head to head with Microsoft when it comes to launching new, unproven products. Abandoning x86 is impossible, but dropping Windows ARM is a way for the computer manufacturer to signal its supreme displeasure without unduly risking market share. It also increases the burden on Surface itself. If other OEMs follow suit, MS could find itself as the only vendor selling ARM-based W8 tablets."

Submission + - Spray-on batteries turn ordinary household objects into objects with batteries (nature.com)

Submitted by boneglorious
boneglorious writes: As reported in Slate (http://tiny.cc/ne9ngw) a team from Rice University report in the most recent issue of Nature (http://tiny.cc/is9ngw) that they have formulated the components of rechargable batteries into a liquid with which they then coated objects in such a way as to duplicate the layered dipole structure of a battery.

This technique was applied to a number of substrates, including glazed ceramic tile and an ordinary beer mug. The battery was then connected to a charging source. I take some issue with the Slate headline because the beer mug did not actually "become a power source" in that the battery itself was then connected to a solar cell for charging. However, my main concern is that the graduate students have not yet begun selling the obvious product, rechargable reheating coffee mugs, on thinkgeek where I can purchase one yet. Unfortunately for my daily displeasure at discovering my caffeine source has grown cold, this is currently a rather expensive process due to the safety risks of the caustic chemicals involved, and to the sensitivity of the constituents to oxygen and moisture.
Businesses

Submission + - Apple Transitions Hardware Leadership (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by
redletterdave
redletterdave writes: "Apple will begin transitioning the leadership role within its hardware engineering department, now that Bob Mansfield, who led the engineering of many of Apple's most successful products since 2005, has decided to retire. Apple was quick to name Dan Riccio — currently the VP of hardware engineering for the iPad — as Mansfield's successor, mentioning that Riccio will learn the new role over several months. During that time, the hardware engineering team will continue to report to Mansfield."

Submission + - Spray-on batteries turn ordinary household objects into objects with batteries (nature.com)

Submitted by boneglorious
boneglorious writes: As reported in Slate (http://tiny.cc/ne9ngw) a team from Rice University report in the most recent issue of Nature (http://tiny.cc/ph9ngw) that they have formulated the components of rechargable batteries into a liquid with which they then coated objects in such a way as to duplicate the layered dipole structure of a battery.

This technique was applied to a number of substrates, including glazed ceramic tile and an ordinary beer mug. The battery was then connected to a charging source. I take some issue with the Slate article because the beer mug did not actually "become a power source" in that the battery itself was then connected to a solar cell for charging. In addition to the obvious application of making rechargable reheating coffee bugs, this could also be applied to actual power sources. However, due to the safety risks of the caustic chemicals required and the sensitivity of the constituents to oxygen and moisture, this is currently a rather expensive process.
Censorship

Submission + - Google Bans Guns and Ammunition from Google Shopping (google.com) 1

Submitted by fallen1
fallen1 writes: Please note — this message has not appeared in the mainstream news as of yet. I came across this on Facebook as a post by a business that deals in accessories and then went to Google Shopping and confirmed it.

STORY:
It appears that in the last 72 hours or so, Google has decided that shopping for Guns (and related merchandise), Ammunition, and Knives is now banned on their Google Shopping service. While there may be an argument for some items not to be available over the internet, you are not going to (usually) find person-to-person firearms selling on the internet. To legally send firearms from state to state, you must either have a Federal Firearms License (FFL) or you must utilize the services of someone who has an FFL. Plus, unless it is you personally or perhaps a very good friend with the FFL, then there is also a fee involved to transfer the weapon. ALL of these things limit and restrict the selling of firearms on the internet.

Are there ways around these limitations? Yes, but it is not easy and firearms sellers whose records are "iffy" tend to get audited and then fined/jailed and so on. You have to meet age requirements to buy ammunition. Knives? At this moment it seems hunting and survival knives are still in the Shopping channel but since they are listed on the Google Shopping policies page as "prohibited", I can only imagine they will be a target soon.

What reason, other than censorship, could there be to ban firearms (and accessories), ammunition, and knives from Google Shopping? I see where Google is turning their Shopping channel into a COMMERCIAL site — http://googlecommerce.blogspot.com/2012/05/building-better-shopping-experience.html — and can only imagine that they didn't want to deal with those items.

Google Shopping provided an easy interface to search for different items and find out what price ranges were out there so you could go into local stores, pawn shops, or whatever armed (pun intended) with enough information to make an informed purchasing decision. Now to use Google to make price comparisons and find out ranges you will have to search for websites, THEN search those sites one by one, and THEN build a matrix of pricing information. What should take half of an hour if you are a cautious buyer will now take 2 hours or longer.

Epic FAIL for Google

Submission + - Credit Card Numbers are Stolen from USC Food Stores (latimes.com)

Submitted by maratumba
maratumba writes: Yesterday, students of University of Southern California got an email saying that "The university recently identified a security breach affecting credit card purchases made at food outlets on the USC University Park and Health Sciences campuses." Apparently a third party software system used in transactions in some dining halls has been breached between the period May 21st — June 21st and possibly earlier. They can't tell which card numbers have been compromised because of privacy reasons. They recommend the students to keep an eye on their credit card statements.
The Internet

Submission + - ICANN Cancels 'Digital Archery' Program (itworld.com)

Submitted by
itwbennett
itwbennett writes: "ICANN announced today that it has canceled the Digital Archery contest that it had planned to use to decide which gTLD applications would be evaluated first and gave no indication of what it will do instead. In making the announcement, Cherine Chalaby, chair of the gTLD Program Committee, said, 'We will not make a decision in Prague but will take all of the ideas into account and build a roadmap,' adding that the roadmap will detail the next steps and timelines as well as assess implications to applicants and the risk to the program."
Cloud

Submission + - Google Announces Compute Engine - At Last An Alternative to Amazon AWS

Submitted by mikejuk
mikejuk writes: Google's Compute Engine is the first credible alternative to Amazon's AWS. Until today the cloud was Amazon — now at last it's a two-horse race (or more).
The announcement includes the line:
"...allows Google Compute Engine to give you 50% more compute for your money than with other leading cloud providers"
And we know who "other leading cloud providers" are! A full price table is available and from this, for example, a single core image with 3.75GB and 420Gbytes of storage is $0.145 per hour, which is a lot more power than the same rate would buy at AWS.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: How would you install temporary bandwidth in a remote location? (racewindham.com)

Submitted by
Chris.Nelson
Chris.Nelson writes: "I have a friend in the media room at the Windham World Cup mountain bike race. The mountain is in a rural area with fairly limited Internet bandwidth but suddenly there are a hundred journalists trying to post photo and video of the event, not to mention thousands of spectators walking around with Wi-Fi enabled smart phones. Of course they can lock down the access points and prioritize traffic but a better answer would be to boost their bandwidth. The ISP doesn't have the pipes so another channel seems to be called for.

I've seen cell carriers bring temporary/mobile cells to fairs and festivals where there is a short-term burst of users. How would you do the same thing for a short-term burst of Internet users? The satellite Internet providers I've researched don't seem to have very big pipes either."
Security

Submission + - AutoCAD Worm Medre.A Stealing Designs, Blueprints (threatpost.com)

Submitted by Trailrunner7
Trailrunner7 writes: Security researchers have come across a worm that is meant specifically to steal blueprints, design documents and other files created with the AutoCAD software. The worm, known as ACAD/Medre.A, is spreading through infected AutoCAD templates and is sending tens of thousands of stolen documents to email addresses in China. However, experts say that the worm's infection rates are dropping at this point and it doesn't seem to be part of a targeted attack campaign.

The worm first hit researchers' radar about six months ago, and when they began digging into the situation, they discovered that not only was the worm highly customized and well-constructed, it seemed to be targeting mostly machines in Peru for some reason. Researchers at Eset notcied a major spike in activity from the worm in Peru two months ago and started the process of figuring out what it was doing and where it came from. What they found is that ACAD/Medre.A was written in AutoLISP, a specialized version of the LISP scripting language that's used in AutoCAD.
Social Networks

Submission + - Reddit Was Built By A Horde of Fake Accounts (vice.com)

Submitted by derekmead
derekmead writes: How, exactly, did Reddit get so big? Well, according to Reddit cofounder Steve Huffman, in the early days the Reddit crew just faked it ‘til they made it. In a video for Udacity, an online source for education and lectures, Huffman describes how the first Redditors populated the site’s content with tons of fake accounts.

These days, with the site’s users wary of people using expendable accounts to try to seed their own content, it seems nuts that an army of fakers would be seeding content all over the site. But early on, Huffman said that using fake accounts driven by the founders was key to building the tone they wanted to the site. Basically, by populating the site with accounts whose strings they pulled, the Reddit crew could shape the discourse and sharing of the site in the direction they wanted, and as the real user base grew, those standards held, allowing the fake accounts to fade away.
Apple

Submission + - US Judge Has Outbreak of Common Sense in Apple/Motorola Patent War (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by sl4shd0rk
sl4shd0rk writes: Federal Judge Richard Posner seems to be a man who "gets" the screwed up patent system in the US. As Apple pressed for more injunctions against Motorola regarding alleged patent infringement, Judge Posner has stressed the two companies should just "get along" and pay each other royalties. A jury trial set to start last week was cancelled when Posner ruled that neither side could prove damages, and grilled Apple's legal team saying an injunction against Motorola would be "contrary to the public interest,". Furthermore, as Apple tried to plead its injunction case concerning four patents, Posner called the U.S. patent system "chaos" and said an order barring the sale of Motorola phones could have "catastrophic effects.".

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