7377412
submission
truesaer writes:
I'll be spending all of next year backpacking through South America. In the past I've used internet cafes while away, but this time I plan to bring a netbook and rely primarily on wifi hotspots. I'll be facing the same issues and risks that business travelers in hotels and airports face, as well as those that millions of other backpackers, gap-year travelers, and students encounter. Since my trip is so long I'll have no choice but to access my banking, credit card, and investment accounts on public networks. Other than an effective firewall, a patched system, and the use of SSL what else should I do to protect my information? Keep in mind that many places have very poor bandwidth and latency, and that I will not have a system at home to connect through.
7351056
submission
The Installer writes:
Frank's legislation would allow the Treasury Department to license and regulate online gambling companies that service American customers. Frank argues that online gambling should be legal as a matter of personal liberty and that the federal government could collect increased tax revenues if Internet gambling is regulated.
In September, a U.S. appeals court in Philadelphia upheld the 2006 law, rejecting a challenge from an association of offshore bookies that the federal prohibition was too vague and violated privacy rights.
U.S. bettors have been estimated to supply at least half the revenue of the $16 billion Internet gambling industry, which is largely hosted overseas.
7344506
submission
ericatcw writes:
Through tools such as Visual Basic and Visual Studio, Microsoft may have done more than any other vendor to make drag and drop-style programming mainstream. But its superstar developers seem to prefer old-school modes of hacking code. During the panel at the Professional Developers Conference earlier this month, the devs also revealed why they think writing tight, bare-metal code will come back into fashion, and why parallel programming hasn't caught up with the processors yet.
7330444
submission
Geoffrey.landis writes:
Andrew Rivkin of the NYT blog profiles Judith Curry, a climate scientist at Georgia Tech who-- unlike many climate scientists-- does not simply dismiss the arguments "climate skeptics," but attempts to engage them in dialogue. She can, as well, be rather pointed in criticizing her colleagues, as in a post on the skeptic site climateaudit where she argues for greater transparency for climate data and calculations (mirrored here). In this post she makes a point that tribalism in science is the main culprit here-- that when scientists "circle the wagons" to defend against what they perceive to be unfair (and unscientific) attacks, the result can be damaging to the actual science being defended.
Is it still possible to conduct a dialogue, or is there no possible common ground? Stay tuned.
6967380
submission
vvaduva writes:
Basic algebra involving fractions and decimals stumped a group of City University of New York freshmen — suggesting city schools aren't preparing them, a CUNY report shows. During their first math class at one of CUNY's four-year colleges, 90% of 200 students tested couldn't solve a simple algebra problem, the report by the CUNY Council of Math Chairs found. Only a third could convert a fraction into a decimal.
6408165
submission
alphadogg writes:
Delta Air Lines is being sued for allegedly hacking the e-mail account of a passenger rights advocate supporting legislation that would allow access to food, water and toilets during long delays on the tarmac. Kathleen Hanni, executive director of Flyersrights.org, alleges Delta obtained sensitive e-mails and files and used the material in an attempt to derail the "Airline Passenger's Bill of Rights of 2009," of which four versions are pending before Congress. The suit was filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and seeks a minimum of $11 million in damages. Flyersrights.org, a nonprofit organization founded in 2007, had been investigating surface delays in air travel.Link to Original Source
6348115
submission
RobGoldsmith writes:
ESA astronaut Frank De Winne became the first European commander of the International Space Station this morning with the departure of Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka who had filled this role since April. De Winne is the first non-American and non-Russian to take on this role. Watch the videos and view images here.
6343767
submission
CuteSteveJobs writes:
Could Microscopy be in for a new golden age? Wired previews the desktop-sized Hitachi TM-100 Electron Microscope. Light microscopes can magnify up to 400X (1,000X albeit at lower quality) — just enough to see bacteria as shapes — but this one offers 20X to 10,000X giving some amazing pictures. Unlike traditional electron microscopes, this one plugs into a domestic power socket and specimens don't need any special preparation; It's point-and-shoot much like your typical digital camera. So easy, a grade-schooler could use it and earlier this year that's what happened: The kids at Iwanuma Elementary School in Miyagi, Japan got their own electron microscope. At $60,000 you'll have to give up on the BMW, but the hope is with economy of scale (so far 1,000 have sold) and miniaturization the price will continue to drop. The only bad news? It runs XP.
6330923
submission
phantomfive writes:
In Iowa and Scotland there are reports of a type of cloud not yet recognized by the World Meteorological Foundation. It seems the cloud does not match any of the clouds in the International Cloud Atlas, and thus there is a campaign underway to have it included. Some have said the clouds look like armageddon has arrived. For me, writing clouds all these times makes me want to eat cotton candy.
6306555
submission
Matt_dk writes:
For the first time, astronomers have confirmed that an asteroid contains frozen water on its surface. Analysis of asteroid 24 Themis shows evidence of water ice along with organic compounds widespread across the surface. The scientists say these new findings support the theory that asteroids brought both water and organic compounds to the early Earth, helping lay the foundation for life on the planet.
6296137
submission
Barence writes:
Microsoft is planning to make Windows 8 an 128-bit operating system, according to details leaked from the software giant's Research department. The discovery came to light after Microsoft Research employee, Robert Morgan, carelessly left details of his work on the social-networking site, LinkedIn. His page read: "Working in high security department for research and development involving strategic planning for medium and longterm projects. Research & Development projects including 128-bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan. Forming relationships with major partners: Intel, AMD, HP and IBM." It has since been removed.
6292499
submission
pickens writes:
Pickens writes:
Cory Doctorow writes that Ralph Lauren issued a DMCA takedown notice after Boing Boing republished the photoshop disaster contained in a Ralph Lauren advertisement in which a model's proportions appear to have been altered to give her an impossibly skinny body with the model's head larger than her pelvis. Doctorow says that one of the things that makes their ISP Priority Colo so awesome is that they don't automatically act on DMCA takedowns and proceeded to dare Lauren to sue. "This is classic fair use: a reproduction "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting," etc," writes Doctorow. "Copyright law doesn't give you the right to threaten your critics for pointing out the problems with your offerings." Doctorow adds that every time Lauren threatens to sue he will "reproduce the original criticism, making damned sure that all our readers get a good, long look at it," "publish your spurious legal threat along with copious mockery," and "offer nourishing soup and sandwiches to your models."
6280275
submission
