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Submission + - Studying the Internal Ballistics of a Combustion Driven Potato Cannon (arxiv.org)

Submitted by LiavK
LiavK writes: 'Potatoes launched with acetylene were also destructive to wooden boards and plastic objects initially employed as backstops before transitioning to 6mm thick steel plate..'

Son, you need to get yourself some acetylene. Just one of the conclusions reached by a team US Air Force researchers studying the efficacy of different combustible propellents in potato cannons.

Submission + - International Space Station switching to Linux (extremetech.com) 2

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The United Space Alliance, which manages the computers aboard the International Space Station in association with NASA, has announced that the Windows XP computers aboard the ISS have been switched to Linux.

“We migrated key functions from Windows to Linux because we needed an operating system that was stable and reliable.”

In specific, the “dozens of laptops” will make the change to Debian 6. These laptops will join many other systems aboard the ISS that already run various flavors of Linux, such as RedHat and Scientific Linux. As far as we know, after this transition, there won’t be a single computer aboard the ISS that runs Windows.

Submission + - Mayan Pyramid in Belize Levelled by Construction Crew

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: If an imposing 2300-year old Mayan temple situated at the Nohmul complex in northern Belize was on your list of things to see before you die, you're too late. The monument was essentially destroyed by a construction crew in order to provide gravel for road construction. Archaeologists expressed shock, as Nohmul (the "great mound") was a major Mayan religious center in its day. While the pyramid was situated on private property, such historical sites are supposedly protected by ordinance, and officials may file criminal charges.

Submission + - Cross-platform Java flaws?

Submitted by dgharmon
dgharmon writes: What is the break-down by platform of exploitable Java bugs?

Submission + - Microsoft Patents "Cartoon Face Generation"

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: The latest round of patents granted by the USPTO included one for Cartoon Face Generation, an invention which Microsoft explains 'generates an attractive cartoon face or graphic of a user's facial image'. Microsoft adds, 'The style of cartoon face achieved resembles the likeness of the user more than cartoons generated by conventional vector-based cartooning techniques. The cartoon faces thus achieved provide an attractive facial appearance and thus have wide applicability in art, gaming, and messaging applications in which a pleasing degree of realism is desirable without exaggerated comedy or caricature.' A Microsoft Research Face SDK Beta is available. Hey, too bad Microsoft didn't have this technology when they generated Bob from Ralphie!

Submission + - A Saudi Arabia Telecom's Surveillance Pitch (thoughtcrime.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Last week I was contacted by an agent of Mobily, one of two telecoms operating in Saudi Arabia, about a surveillance project that theyâ(TM)re working on in that country. Having published two reasonably popular MITM tools, itâ(TM)s not uncommon for me to get emails requesting that I help people with their interception projects. I typically donâ(TM)t respond, but this one (an email titled âoeSolution for monitoring encrypted data on telecomâ) caught my eye.

Really, itâ(TM)s no shock that Saudi Arabia is working on this, but it is interesting to get fairly direct evidence that itâ(TM)s happening. More to the point, if youâ(TM)re in Saudi Arabia (or really anywhere), it might be prudent to think about avoiding insecure communication tools like WhatsApp and Viber (TextSecure and RedPhone could serve as appropriate secure replacements), because now we know for sure that theyâ(TM)re watching.

For the rest of us, I hope we can talk about what we can do to stop those who are determined to make this a reality, as well as the ways that weâ(TM)re already inadvertently a part of that realityâ(TM)s making.

Submission + - StreamingAudioRecorderPlus (streaming-audio-recorder.org)

Submitted by susan2013
susan2013 writes: Sometimes, you may want to capture the online radio, audio, music or other streaming audio from Youtube, Pandora, BBC, Amazon or audio website. But you don't know how to record and save this mutlimedia stuff? Now the Streaming Aduio Recorder Plus can solve your problem and make you listen your favorite audio/music content on PC, MP3 player or your cellphone. This Streaming Audio Recorder application works directly with your sound card with the near-perfect quality. So you can listen anytime and anywhere by using this tool. No matter what kind of Windows OS, vista or windows7 and windows 8, it works very well.

Submission + - Defense Distributed Liberator Takedown

Submitted by Bob9113
Bob9113 writes: The top of the download page for the 3D model files of the Liberator — the 3D printable handgun from Defense Distributed — now bears the following notice: "DEFCAD files are being removed from public access at the request of the US Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information." There are no links on the page to download the .stl model files. The Wikipedia page for Defense Distributed suggests that the model files can still be found on torrent sites, though torrenting those files may have significant legal implications.

Submission + - Kinectasploit: Hack tools meet Kinect (scmagazine.com.au)

Submitted by mask.of.sanity
mask.of.sanity writes: While Hollywood often fails to portray hacking, one researcher has made the art of exploitation look more like the big screen. Kinectasploit is hacking in the form of a first-person shooter that melds Microsoft's Kinect controls with 20 hacking tools including Metasploit, Snort, Nessus, John the Ripper and Ettercap. The work in progress can be downloaded from github.

Submission + - IRS Targeted Jewish Groups In Addition to Tea Party Groups (jewishpress.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: More troubling details are emerging in the IRS scandal over the targeting of Tea Party groups previous covered on Slashdot. It has come to light that the IRS also targeted Jewish groups: " . . . Z STREET filed a lawsuit . . . claiming it had been told by an IRS agent that because the organization was “connected to Israel,” its application for tax-exempt status would receive additional scrutiny. . . the IRS agent told a Z STREET representative that the applications of some of those Israel-related organizations have been assigned to “a special unit in the D.C. office. .” . . At least one purely religious Jewish organization, one not focused on Israel, was the recipient of bizarre and highly inappropriate questions about Israel. Those questions also came from the same non-profit division of the IRS at issue for inappropriately targeting politically conservative groups. The IRS required that Jewish organization to state “whether [it] supports the existence of the land of Israel,” and also demanded the organization “[d]escribe [its] religious belief system toward the land of Israel.” — The same article noted House Ways and Means Committee chair David Camp has announced his committee will be holding hearings shortly, and issued a press release: "The IRS absolutely must be non-partisan in its enforcement of our tax laws. The admission by the agency that it targeted American taxpayers based on politics is both shocking and disappointing. . ."

Submission + - Micro Robots that Gets into Your Eye and can Prevent Blindness (thefutureofthings.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Newly developed microbots can help prevent blindness — All the cells in our body including our lungs and brain as well as our retina need oxygen otherwise permanent blindness can occur, in some instances in as little as few hours. Until now it has been difficult for physicians to measure how much oxygen reach the eyes, but a new micro robot developed by Swiss researchers that can be inserted into the eye and controlled magnetically could help solve this problem.

Submission + - Drones: Coming Soon To The New Jersey Turnpike? (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by redletterdave
redletterdave writes: The FAA predicts 30,000 drones will patrol the US skies by 2020, but New Jersey drivers could see these unmanned aerial vehicles hovering above the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway much sooner than that. New Jersey lawmakers from both Republican and Democratic parties have introduced a number of bills to tackle the drones issue before the federal government starts issuing the first domestic drone permits in September 2015.

Submission + - Should the US Goverment Reduce the Deficit? (mpopost.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A recent survey finds that most Americans wrongly believe that reducing the deficit is the recommended way out of a recession. Additionally, most Americans don't realize that the federal deficit has been getting smaller in recent years--65% think it's actually getting bigger.

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