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Science

Submission + - Wasps Battle Ants by Dropping Them (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: If the yellow jacket wasp wants to bully something small, it eschews the stinger for something more creative. When it comes upon a swarm of ants on food it wants, the wasp will simply pick the pests up and fling them away: a previously undocumented way of dealing with a competitor. (Two videos included of wasp vs. ant "cage matches")
Android

Submission + - New Android Spyware Uploads Photos, Logs and Messa (securityweek.com)

Submitted by wiredmikey
wiredmikey writes: Following reports earlier this week of multiple variants ofHong Tou Tou, two additional spyware programs targeting Android devices have been reported this week.

Android SpywareDubbed "SW.SecurePhone", when installed, will run in secretly in the background and monitor the phone and collect data to save on the SD card. The data, including messages, call log, location of the phone, recorded sounds around the phone and pictures in the phone, will then be uploaded to a remote server every 20 minutes.

While the threats reported earlier this week were mainly surfacing in China, this spyware is mainly spreading in the U.S via Internet download, though its not clear the impact it has had so far and is likely not a large number of users.

Submission + - Ghaddafi--a lesson in crazy rants! (upfrontafrica.com)

Submitted by
mmvugy
mmvugy writes: "So--it looks like some folks on our face book discussion did predict the impending implosion of Ghaddafi's 40 year stronghold on Libya. During the Egyptian revolution,we talked about the prospect of this kind of upraising taking place in other parts of Africa. And for over a week now, the upheaval has shattered the regime across much of the country. Reports say that even as Ghadaffi continues to control the capital Tripoli, protesters have taken towns and cities along nearly the entire eastern half of the 1,000-mile Mediterranean coastline. But many watching these events say that Ghadaffi is not Mubarak or Ben Ali.Jon Stewart of the daily show called him 'a different kind of crazy'.

Today Ghadaffi gave an incoherent long rambling rant in which he basically said that he would die as a martyr. "I am a fighter, a revolutionary from tents ... I will die as a martyr at the end," he said. "I have not yet ordered the use of force, not yet ordered one bullet to be fired ... when i do, everything will burn." He said

Now we have always known that the man once described as a ‘mad dog’ by Reagan was a tad bit crazy,but we didn’t know the extent of his craziness. Aside from the eccentric antics like living in a tent,40 virgins for body guards,calling himself the king of kings etc,he was able to rule Libya for over 40 years. Now his grip has unraveled and the people are demanding freedom. His response;snipers shooting at mourners,military jets shooting at protesters and other gruesome reports. But the comic nature of his rant was no lost on me. So I thought to myself--after his speech--which leaders are likely to have called him and how did that conversation go..

Part of our Facebook discussion on the Libyan crisis:

Jøel Tweed: I knw man, how about that rant of American planes shooting on Libyan protesters, crazy!!!

Mutungi Tumusiime: This guy is delusional!! Is he serious???

Mulongo Lucy Ntombi: Im also watching him on France24..He is really stubborn and proud.. he wants to die as a martyr and he is nt stepping down.

Mike Li: everytin is sentenced to death as I can see....

Keven L Antoine: theyre all out of touch
22 hours ago

Naki Wala Saida: sevo iz next??????

Edmund Kagire: Rumour has it that he was high on something before the speech....

Francine Usanase: Libya and Iran will be a fight to the finish line. I think Ghaddafi will commit suicide before he's toppled.

Jösh b: OBAMA shd say something!!!! If he can't he shd return that peace prize that was given 2 him!
22 hours ago

Michael Rukundo Kooiman: Viva la revolución
22 hours ago

Kunle Ifesanya: @ Tweed; What with American planes? America did not manufacture the planes to shoot protesters, it was Ghadaffi's choice to use it for his own purpose. I find it disturbing that people seem to relish heaping blames on America, even in matters they are not involved it. Obama did not insult nor assault Americans when he lost the Mid-terms, so why should he be scape goat for Ghadaffi's actions?

Jonathan Chadiha: They all want to hang on for dear life, as though there were no qualified people to run the country, even better than they have:-)

Emmanuel Safari: Good point Ifesanya, these so-called leaders who do not want to let the people determine who the best leader for them is should all get outta the house!!
20 hours ago

Jonathan Chadiha: But they do not want to do that, Safari. So they dare you force them out:-) That is the only way they know how!!
19 hours ago

Neema Ruta: I was wondering, what does it take for the UN forces to go into a country (could be a peace keeping mission but with license to engage if need be) — does anyone know?
17 hours ago

Jonathan Chadiha: I think the people in the country have to invite them. Or else show that they are so helpless,they need outside help based on what the regime in power is doing to the wanainchi. Otherwise, the UN can be perceived as interfering in local issues of a sovereign nation.:-)

Lisa Vives: I'm still waiting to hear what the African Union has to say about their old friend... (Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega is sad!)

Clara Alexandra Frenk: Is anyone actually surprised that Gadhafi said something crazy?

Filmon Simon: It is very sad that he declared war on his own people.....He is "Super Dictator" and will soon leave with super humiliation. There is nothing that can hold back a united mass.

Kagire Danson: At one time, I almost reluctantly believed that Ghadaffi was on the verge of falling & leaving. Allover a sudden, he his up now with even more threatening techniques against his own people...Killing anyone protesting...calling them cockroaches, rats, drunkards, drug-addicts etc...Take care Libyans!!

Rama Isibo: deluded coward

Ahmed Ayub: The rumor further claims he is doin Coke Edmund.

Edmund Kagire: LoL @ Ayub,last kicks of a dying horse....but on the other hand, I feel sorry, he is being humiliated!!Not the Gadaffi we knew!!
0 comments
21
feb
Africa's energy problems-Is solar energy the answer?
Posted by J. Muneza M'vunganyi in Africa, Electricity, Solar Energy
This week on Upfront we looked at Africa's energy's problems. Even though research shows that Africa has enormous energy resources,many African cities and villages lack the capacity to deal with their local energy needs. The only explanation would be that African governments are under utilizing their natural resources. If Africa developed its energy resources,it would have enough to serve its needs and more to export. Most governments have vastly invested their money--usually aid,into hydro power. There has been little exploration in alternative and innovative energy solutions.

Many of the initiatives have been taken by the private sector and other non-governmental entities. That explains why in some countries we see small-scale solar, wind, and geothermal devices in operation providing energy to urban and rural populations. The application of renewable energy technology has the potential to alleviate many of the problems that Africans face.

I attended a panel discussion a couple of months ago at the Harvard University Business School. One of the speakers Robert Freling opened his talk with a slide that opened our eyes to an often overlooked fact. Africa is indeed a 'dark continent'. Over one-third of the estimated 1.6 billion people have no access to electricity! Robert also pointed out that the majority of African counties are only able to provide access to electricity to only 20% of their citizenery. He also said something that caught my ear..."energy is a human right and should be accessible to all"

It is a fact that any poverty reduction strategy should have energy at the top of its priority list.

So what is the one thing that we can access with such limitless abundance...? The sun. The discussion among our listeners and guests was centered around solar energy as the solution to all our energy problems. Research shows that over 50 percent of African countries receive on average 325 days per year of bright sunlight. This gives solar power the potential to bring energy to virtually any location in Africa without the need for expensive large scale grid level infrastructural developments. The Sun emits more energy in one second than is available in all of the fossil fuels present on earth and therefore has the potential to provide all of our current and future global energy requirements. Since the fuel source for renewable energy is clean and free, African nations can protect their people, their environment, and their future economic development by using renewable energy sources to this end they have a number of possible"

Submission + - Does Syfy really love sci-fi? (denofgeek.com) 1

Submitted by
brumgrunt
brumgrunt writes: "Has Syfy fallen out with science fiction altogether? A look at its latest scheduling shows that it's further away from its roots than ever. So is this now as good as it gets?"

Comment Re:Wikileaks has officially jumped the shark (Score 1) 142

by lupinstel (#35300780) Attached to: Wikileaks Opens Official Online Store

I know what you mean man. Wikileaks sold out and only started leaking information about big countries like the US and info on big corporate banks. There is this website I know of that is totally going to break the news on the manipulation of the false tooth and potassium storage unit market of Liechtenstein. I would tell you the web address (you have probably never heard of it) but the server is really small so you probably wouldn't be let in anyway.

Submission + - The uncertain future of NYC's last arcade (motherboard.tv)

Submitted by HansonMB
HansonMB writes: With Pictures: At around nearly the same time every year, rumors start to crop up that Chinatown Fair, the last beloved vestige of New York City’s video arcade golden age, will soon be facing its final days. It happened again last week when tweets and blog posts reignited talk of the legendary arcade’s imminent foreclosure. Without even talking to anyone, you could feel a sense of looming dread as gamers of all ages partook of their usual button-pounding pastimes. But the Fair, which has stood in one form or another on Mott Street just off Canal since the 1950’s, isn’t going down without a fight.
Security

Submission + - Russian Drug Cops Storm Rogue Pharmacy Party (krebsonsecurity.com)

Submitted by tsu doh nimh
tsu doh nimh writes: Brian Krebs has posted a fascinating, inside look at a battle that's been brewing between two Russian men who run a pair of the largest online rogue pharmacy programs in the world. The story focuses more on Pavel Vrublevsky, the man alleged to run Rx-Promotion — a pharmacy program that specializes in selling addictive, controlled substances like Oxycodone — and how Russian drug authorities recently raided a party in Moscow thrown for Rx-Promotion affiliates who had been competing for cash and prizes and the grand prize — a one kilogram bar of gold.

Submission + - Tableau Learns from WikiLeaks Mistakes (eagereyes.org)

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "Tableau got some bad press when they removed a visualization of data about the leaked cables on WikiLeaks. They've now come up with a new data policy that is based on the First Amendment. The new policy would no longer let them take down that visualization."
Music

Submission + - 24-bit: the new way to make you pay more for music (pcpro.co.uk) 3

Submitted by
Barence
Barence writes: "Apple and music labels are reportedly in discussions to raise the audio quality of of the songs they sell to 24-bit. The move could see digital downloads that surpass CD quality, which is recorded at 16 bits at a sample rate of 44.1kHz. It would also provide Apple and the music labels with an opportunity to "upgrade" people's music collections, raising extra revenue in the process. The big question is whether anyone would even notice the difference between 16-bit and 24-bit files on a portable player, especially with the low-quality earbuds supplied by Apple and other manufacturers. Labels such as Linn Records already sell "studio master" versions of albums in 24-bit FLAC format, but these are targeted at high-end audio buffs with equipment of a high enough calibre to accentuate the improvement in quality."

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