spiffyman - Slashdot User

Submission + - Building a (fast) Wikipedia offline reader (softlab.ntua.gr)

Submitted by

ttsiod

on Monday August 13, 2007 @11:45AM

ttsiod writes: "An internet connection is not always at hand... I wanted to install Wikipedia on my laptop to be able to carry it along with me on business trips... After trying and rejecting the normal (MySQL-based) procedure, I quickly hacked a much better one over the weekend, using open source tools. Highlights: (1) Very fast searching (2) Keyword (actually, title words) based searching (3) Search produces multiple possible articles, sorted by probability (you choose amongst them) (4) LaTEX based rendering for Mathematical equations (5) Harddisk usage is minimal: space for the original .bz2 file plus the index built through Xapian (6) Orders of magnitude faster to install (a matter of hours) compared to loading the "dump" into MySQL — which, if you want to enable keyword searching, takes *days*. Enjoy!"

Submission + - iPhone Hacked by Security Firm (nytimes.com)

Submitted by spiffyman on Monday July 23, 2007 @01:22AM

spiffyman writes: The New York Times is reporting that the iPhone has been hacked. From TFA:

The researchers, working for Independent Security Evaluators, ... said that they could take control of iPhones through a WiFi connection or by tricking users into going to a Web site that contains malicious code. The hack, the first reported, allowed them to tap the wealth of personal information the phones contain.
I.S.E. will display the hack at the Black Hat conference, but unlike other researchers, they have submitted a report and a patch to Apple. Also, the article contains an apparent acknowledgment of the report by Apple.

Submission + - Temp. difference observed between Sun's poles

Submitted by ATestR on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @05:10PM

ATestR writes: From the Article (science.nasa.gov), one pole of the sun is cooler than the other. That's the surprising conclusion announced today by scientists who have been analyzing data from the ESA-NASA Ulysses spacecraft.

Measurements of the Northern Solar pole taken by Ulysses in 1994 and 1995 observed a temperature difference of 7 — 8 percent from the recent measurements taken of the Southern pole. Since the average Solar temperature has been measured to be constant during this twelve year period, the scientists invovled with the project are scratching their heads over the difference.

Submission + - Saudi Free Speech Campaign Goes Online

Submitted by

cultrhetor

on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @04:59PM

cultrhetor writes: "Following the arrest of ten Saudi activists involved in circulating a petition in favor of protecting freedom of expression, fellow reform advocates have posted the petition online, according to a BBC news article posted today. According to the article, By placing their petition on the internet, the Saudi activists are taking an enormous risk. From the article:

The petition calls for elections in which both men and women would be allowed to vote.
The signatories want freedom of expression to be protected by law and they want the powers of the interior ministry curtailed.
But the Saudi authorities have made it clear they will not tolerate public calls for political change.
What do you think? Can the Internet be use effectively to change policy in truly authoritarian governments?"

Submission + - Google and cable firms warn of risks from Web TV

Submitted by

RebelScum

on Friday February 09, 2007 @12:36PM

RebelScum writes: "According to this article in Reuters, Google says the Internet was not designed for TV, and warns media companies that it won't offer the QoS that customers expect."

Submission + - SPAM: Study: Security pros fail to secure their own Wifi

Submitted by

alphadogg

on Friday February 09, 2007 @12:10PM

alphadogg writes: "More than half of the wireless LAN devices being used at this week's massive RSA Conference on information security are themselves unsecured. [spam URL stripped]w ifi-security.html"

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