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Submission + - SETI@Home, just not @School 3

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Apparently the most prolific of users in the SETI@Home community has resigned his job as a school technology supervisor after it was revealed he had the software installed on some 5000 school machines. The school claims to have lost $1 Million in upkeep on the affected machines. Check it out: http://www.kpho.com/news/21778774/detail.html
Idle

Submission + - Leggo my Eggo! (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by Mushkode
Mushkode writes: Not only are Eggo waffles going to be missing from store shelves, but apparently, people are attempting to cash in on the impending shortage by auctioning off the frozen treats on eBay and other auction sites. And while it may sound crazy to pay $50 or more for a box of blueberry Eggo's now, how might people be feeling in four or five months, when there are no Eggos to be had on the store shelves?

Submission + - See-through mobile phone first

Submitted by Twibble
Twibble writes: Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson has been showing off the world's first see-through display on a mobile device — utilising that most retro tech of all: LCD.

The Xperia Pureness is designed to be an anti-iPhone, according to one of its designers — with a focus on the simple things in mobile life: talk, text and time, rather than fart apps and restaurant finders. While Pureness may look pretty nifty — and have a suitably weighty price-tag ($1,075) — it is not quite as cunning as the phone that lets you see through clothes.

Submission + - An Einstein robot with human facial expression (ted.com)

Submitted by TEDChris
TEDChris writes: This short demo at the TED Conference caused enormous buzz. Hanson Robotics founder David Hanson showed how his Einstein robot could mimic his own facial expressions in unnerving manner. Is this paving the way to machines we think about in a very different way? The equivalent to forging across cinema's 'uncanny valley'? Or is it likely to turn out to be a dead end?
Science

Submission + - The End of Moore's Law (insidescience.org)

Submitted by BuzzSkyline
BuzzSkyline writes: Physicists have found that there is an ultimate limit to the speed of calculations, regardless of any improvements in technology. According to the researchers who found the computation limit, the bound "poses an absolute law of nature, just like the speed of light." While many experts expect technological limits to kick in eventually, engineers always seems to find ways around such roadblocks. If the physicists are right, though, no technology could ever beat the ultimate limit they've calculated. At the current Moore's Law pace, computational speeds will hit the wall in 75 years. A paper describing the analysis, which relies on thermodynamics, quantum mechanics and information theory, appeared in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters.
Idle

Submission + - Malaysia Slows Divorce Rate With Free Honeymoons

Submitted by samzenpus
samzenpus writes: samzenpus writes "Officials in Malaysia are trying to slow down the divorce rate by offering feuding couples a three-day honeymoon package to help bring that spark back into their marriages. After all, what could more romantic than three days of talking about your faults over a lovely fruit plate, and three drunken nights at the hotel bar watching the love of your life flirt with some random guy on a business trip? Terengganu Welfare Community Development and Women Affairs committee chairman, Ashaari Idris says, 'We can understand newlyweds having problems understanding one another, where a slight skirmish could lead to a separation but it is unacceptable for those married more than two decades to file for divorce.'"
Idle

Submission + - Malaysia Slows Divorce Rate With Free Honeymoons

Submitted by samzenpus
samzenpus writes: Officials in Malaysia are trying to slow down the divorce rate by offering feuding couples a three-day honeymoon package to help bring that spark back into their marriages. After all, what could more romantic than three days of talking about your faults over a lovely fruit plate, and three drunken nights at the hotel bar watching the love of your life flirt with some random guy on a business trip? Terengganu Welfare Community Development and Women Affairs committee chairman, Ashaari Idris says, 'We can understand newlyweds having problems understanding one another, where a slight skirmish could lead to a separation but it is unacceptable for those married more than two decades to file for divorce.'
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Banking Aggregation Websites

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I have been attempting to keep a budget and track my spending habits. This led me to looking at online budgeting aggregation websites (e.g. Quicken Online, Yodlee, Mint, or Wesabe). These sites expect the user to provide their online banking credentials. How secure are these websites? I am not about ready to hand this information over to a service like this, but it appears that millions of people do. This also made me realize just how useful it would be to have a read only account for financial institutions, for budgeting as well as electronic tax filing.
Does anyone on Slashdot have experience with these services, or knowledge of their security?
Technology

Submission + - Henry Kissinger says burn 'em if you got 'em. (foxnews.com) 1

Submitted by
El Fantasmo
El Fantasmo writes: "My main point is, "Who decides who gets to have advanced technologies such as nuclear energy?" and "Why can't countries/governments just come out and say e.g., 'Hey, Iran, we just don't trust that you won't turn Israel into a sheet of green glass.' when they suspect the technology to be used to harm?"

An interview of Henry Kissinger by Greta van Susteren sparked this. Why is it OK for Henry Kissinger to tell Iran that they have no reason to pursue nuclear energy because they have plenty of natural gas and oil to burn? Who is the United States to forbid "environmentally friendly" energies? Yes, I understand that the precess for nuclear fuel enrichment and weapons grade are exactly the same and Iran isn't open about what's actually going on, but does that mean they can't have nuclear energy until they have nuclear weapons? Kissinger, apparently, doesn't even entertain the idea of an open and inspectable nuclear energy program. Are these the kinds of minds to which we should listen, respect and value? We don't let foreigners inspect our nuclear facilities because they think we're doing something fishy. Who/where are the companies providing all the specialized equipment, ore and/or yellow cake?

I don't think anyone has concrete answers, but I'm wondering how/if the /. community thinks "advanced technologies" should be leveraged or allocated from the "haves" to the "have nots." Please, don't focus too much on US, Iranian politics; it's just a current example."
Security

Submission + - Using Aluminum Oxide Paint to Secure Wi-Fi (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "The BBC is reporting on people using aluminum oxide in their paint to block wi-fi signals from leaving their home into their neighbor's homes. Aluminum oxide resonates at the same frequency as wi-fi and other radio waves blocking your data encrypted or not from going outside your home. Maybe not a flawless solution as it may also block AM/FM signals. You or your neighbors may be unwittingly already using this as most pre-finished wood flooring uses this as a protective coating."
Businesses

Submission + - Oracle Fined for Benchmark Claims

Submitted by
pickens
pickens writes: "Information Week reports that the Transaction Processing Council, which sets benchmarks for measuring database performance, has fined Oracle $10,000 for Oracle's ads published August 27 and September 3 on the front page of the Wall Street Journal which violate the "fair use" rules that govern TPC members by "comparing an existing TPC result to something that does not exist." The ads said to expect a product announcement on October 14 that would demonstrate that some sort of hybrid Oracle-Sun setup would offer two-digit performance on the TPC-C online transaction processing test compared to IBM's 6 million transaction per minute result on its Power 595 running AIX and DB2. The TPC Council serves as a neutral forum where benchmark results are aired and compared. "At the time of publication, they didn't have anything" submitted to the council says Michael Majdalany, administrator of the council adding that that Oracle is free to use TPC numbers once it submits an audited result for the Sun-Oracle system. Fines by the TPC are infrequent with the last action a $5,000 fine levied against Microsoft in 2005 for unsupported claims about SQL Server. "It takes a fairly serious violation to warrant a member being fined," says Majdalany. Oracle published the claims as the company faces steepening losses of Sun Sparc customers to IBM and HP, which have seen the period of uncertainty over the future of Sun's hardware as a time to poach Sun customers."
Windows

Submission + - "Windows 7 compatible" PCs must be 64-bit (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by
Barence
Barence writes: "Microsoft has started certifying PCs as "compatible with Windows 7" — and looks to have avoided the mistakes that dogged the Vista Capable scheme. Whereas Microsoft certified PCs that could only run Vista Home Basic last time round, this time PCs will have to work with all versions of Windows 7 to qualify for the sticker, including 64-bit versions of the OS. Microsoft also claims that "products that receive the logo are checked for common issues to minimise the number of crashes, hangs, and reboots experienced by the user.""

Submission + - Indiana: Show your papers, citizen, or stay out of (in.gov)

Submitted by
qqtortqq
qqtortqq writes: "SecureID is here to help you, citizen! In Indiana, after January 1, 2010, Indiana/US citizens must now prove they are citizens of the USA, citizens of Indiana, here in the USA legally, and have a social security number (or cannot get one) in order to get a "SecureID" enhanced license in the state of Indiana. Don't wish to, or can't participate by showing one document proving your identity; and one document proving your Social Security number; and one document proving your lawful status in the United States; and two documents proving your Indiana residency? Then "federal officials may restrict customers from boarding aircraft or entering a federal facility in the future," according to the Indiana BMV."
Science

Submission + - SPAM: Hydrogen fuel cell to charge your mobile phone

Submitted by
dreemteem
dreemteem writes: "Taiwanese researchers have built a new mobile-phone recharger based on fuel cell technology they say will cost little once manufacturing partners are on board.
The handset rechargers, which contains the fuel cell, will cost around £20, while the fuel itself will come in small blue plastic tubes for about 20p each, said Jerry Ku, a researcher at the Industrial Technology Research Institute, a government funded lab in Taiwan.
"The fuel canisters are inexpensive and small. They could be sold at 7-Eleven," he said."
Link to Original Source

Submission + - Heart patient with no pulse (straitstimes.com) 2

Submitted by
laggist
laggist writes: "Heart patient in Singapore implanted with artificial heart that pumps blood continuously, allowing her to be very alive without a pulse.

From the article: '.. the petite Madam Salina, who suffers from end-stage heart failure, would not have been able to use the older and bulkier models because they can only be implanted in patients 1.7m or taller. The 30-year-old administrative assistant is the first recipient here to get a new artificial heart that pumps blood continuously, the reason why there are no beats on her wrist.'"

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Gee, Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

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