37283739
submission
dstates writes:
The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is in a legal fight with the FBI over access to passwords that will unlock the data on a cell phone. Earlier this year Google refused to unlock an alleged pimp's Android cellphone even after the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained a search warrant. The problem is that the FBI may have a warrant for a very specific piece of information, but once they have unrestricted access to a person's smartphone, they have access to information about vast swaths of the individual's life. Apple has taken a different strategy burning a unique encryption key into the silicon of each iPhone which neither Apple nor its suppliers retain. As a result, once someone makes 10 unsuccessful unlock attempts on an iPhone, the data is irretrievably gone.
35431875
submission
dstates writes:
An industry has grown up around patents guaranteeing exclusive access to testing of mutations in specific genes, but recently the Supreme Court rejected a biotechnology patent saying laws of nature cannot be patented, and threw the issue of patents on genes back to the lower courts. The Court of Appeals is now preparing to hear arguments on whether genes can be patented. The results will have major implications. On the one hand, restricting access to whole regions of the human genome will stifle scientific progress. On the other, companies like Myriad Genetics and Optimal Medicine use the patents to protect years of work invested in research, but this also means preventing other companies from offering diagnostics based on competing faster and lower cost technologies to analyze mutations in these genes.
35243397
submission
dstates writes:
A strong solar storm eruption on July 12, 2012, resulted in a large solar flare, and a wave of plasma stoked by this X-class solar flare, the most intense type, is headed towards Earth. This blast of charged particles, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), is forecast to ignite a geomagnetic storm on Earth over the weekend. Unfortunately, the two main Federal agencies responsible for monitoring and predicting the consequences of such an event cannot agree on how big an impact the storm will have on earth. NOAA predicts it will be minor, maybe moderate. NASA says it will be moderate to severe. The intensity of the storm matters. If NOAA’s right, and the storm is minor, people living at high latitudes could be treated to some brilliant auroras over the weekend, but otherwise no big deal. If NASA’s right, and the geomagnetic storm is strong to severe, Earth-orbiting satellites could get disoriented and the electrical grid could experience widespread voltage control problems among other issues. I guess we will see soon who is right!
33210911
submission
dstates writes:
You paid for it, you should be able to read the results of publicly funded research. The National Institutes of Health have had a very successful open access mandate requiring that the results of federally funded biomedical research be published in open access journals. Now there is a White House petition to broaden this mandate. This is a jobs issue. Startups and midsize business need access to federally funded technology research. It is a health care issue, patients and community health providers need access, not a few scientists in well funded research institutes, and even wealthy institutions like Harvard are finding the prices of proprietary journals unsustainable.
29987711
submission
dstates writes:
Technology Review reports a chilling demonstration at the RSA security conference in which George Kurtz and colleagues from security startup CrowdStrike showed on stage that a real, unmodified Android phone could be hacked by a single web click. Kurtz, acted as a busy user who received a text message asking him to download an update to his phone's software. When he clicked on the link in that message, the phone's browser crashed and the device rebooted. Once restarted, the device appeared unchanged, but a silent, malicious app had been installed that relayed all his phone calls and text messages to the attacker, who could also track his location on a map. The bugs exploited are present in the distributions used by 90% of Android users worldwide.
29091131
submission
dstates writes:
In response to publishing industry attempts to choke off public access to publicly funded research, Representative Doyle has introduced the Federal Research Public Access Act to broaden and strengthen open access to federally funded research. Open access is critical for patients seeking to learn the latest about their disease as well as nurses and physicians treating them. It is critical for people in start ups and small businesses who do not have access to university subscriptions, and it is critical for universities that are now paying millions in subscription fees. Show your support for enhanced public access to federally funded research, sign the White House petition supporting the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2012.
24664594
submission
dstates writes:
What happens when Apple ships 100,000 iPhone 4S in a day? Answer, 100,000 users all try to activate their new phones. AT&T's activation servers are struggling under the load. Apparently Verizon and Sprint are doing a better job keeping up with the load.. See CNET and MediaPost.
23209206
submission
dstates writes:
A Berkeley professor, Chris Hoofnagle and The Wall Street Journal reports (sorry, paywalled content) that many popular websites including MSN and HuLu are using advanced tracking technology (supercookies) to track users even when the user deletes ordinary cookies. These supercookies hide in browser cache directories and Flash cookies. Jonathan Mayer, a Standford graduate student reports that these supercookies are able to steal user browsing histories and other data. Why have the browser vendors not implemented warning boxes ("XXX wants to access your browsing history. Allow or Block?")? How much else can these supercookies access?
20955006
submission
dstates writes:
NPR reports that singer Jonathan Coulton, an internet rock star now grossing half a million dollars a year with out the aid of a record label or contract. He came to LA to be a musician, but to make ends meet he took up jobs in software. He attributes his big break to a posting of his song Code Monkey on Slashdot. For more Slashdot posting on Coulton, including the original Code Monkey post search slashdot.
20294912
submission
dstates writes:
As a mostly happy new iPad owner, I love having lots of apps, but I have got to ask, where is the universal set of gestures for navigation? Pinch and open mostly mean zoom out and in, but sometimes you tap to open, sometimes double tap. Sometimes right swipe is back, som times there is a back button, sometimes you just have to go to home and navigate back down. ... Reminds me of the early days of GUIs when every application had it's own menu set with differt top level menus and different placement of various functions. Made life chaos for users. We have been there, done that, and gestures are much worse. At least with a menu, you had a printed tag you could read. Gestures are all magic handshakes until you know them. Seems like the tablet community should not have to learn the value of consistency all over again.
17439706
submission
statesman writes:
The Associated Press reports that teens who text frequently are three and a half times more likely to have sex. A survey of 4,200 public high school students in the Cleveland area found that one in five students sent more than 120 text messages a day or spent more than 3 hours a day on Facebook. Students in this group were much more likely to have sex. Alcohol and drug use also correlate with frequent texting and heavy Facebook use.
7863776
submission
dstates writes:
In the nice try but no such luck department, the Associated Press reports that a convicted rapist sent news organizations a notice to prevent the use of his name without his consent. Apparently former state Rep. Ted Alvin Klaudt is attempting to suppress the news of his own crimes. AP is having none of it. Their legal counsel says that names cannot be copyrighted and trademark applies only in the context of specific commercial goods and services. Mr. Klaudt found his fifteen minutes of fame.
