Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
The Internet

Submission + - Finaly we get new elements in HTML 5

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Pure HTML enhancements grew hardly at all in the last eight years. It basicaly stopped in 1999 with HTML 4. Now the future looks bright. Recently, HTML has finaly came back to life. Eight years is a long time to wait for new features, especially in the fast-moving world of the Web. Take a look at how HTML 5 is restoring some of the excitement of the early days of the web with its new enhancements.
Programming

Submission + - Are you administrator of your workstation?

Submitted by muanis
muanis writes: Options

1 — Yes, Im the root of it
2 — Yes, but not officially
3 — No, and I hate not to be
4 — No, but Im confortable with it
Security

Submission + - Trojan creation for dummies (heise-security.co.uk)

Submitted by
juct
juct writes: "With the Pinch Builder toolkit creating Trojan horses with arbitrary characteristics takes just a few mouse clicks. It offers a choice of various programs whose passwords the Trojan can steal from infected systems, including ICQ, Trillian, Mozilla, Opera, various FTP programs. Incorporated tools can also obtain credentials from protected Windows environments such as users' Internet Explorer and Outlook passwords. It is also possible to specify additional spyware functionality, for example to read keyboard entries, create screenshots or to log files sent via Internet Explorer. And the "best" of all: this beast is sold on the internet..."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Digital camera costs to go crazy in Europe

Submitted by Brad Binglinton
Brad Binglinton writes: In the unlikely event that you're planning to buy a digital camera in Europe, think again. According to CNET.co.uk, the European Comission is going to increase taxes on certain cameras with certain video recording capabilites. "At the moment, all digital cameras are manufactured outside Europe. They're all imported. All of them. Currently, there's a European Commission-imposed 4.9 per cent import tariff on camcorders, but not on cameras, whatever their video-recording abilities. "
Security

Submission + - Holes in Firefox password manager (heise-security.co.uk)

Submitted by
juct
juct writes: "Although the Mozilla developers have fixed a known hole in the password manager of Firefox & Co, a door remains open for exploitation. According to an article on heise Security attackers can still use JavaScript to steal passwords. However, the real problem might not be Firefox' password manager. If users can set up their own pages containing script code on a server, the JavaScript security model breaks. Heise Security demonstrates the possible password theft in a demo."
X

Submission + - X performance (stdazi.com)

Submitted by
stdazi
stdazi writes: "I've noticed that many people associate Linux with KDE, Gnome,etc.. Indeed, window managers form a huge part of a Linux desktop. There's a lot of fuss about the new scheduling algorithm introduced in the Linux kernel and all that makes me think about what's the point of people reporting better experience running X applications and compiling fat sources with the newest scheduler, if the whole X system looks way too fat? I know nothing about the internal architecture of X but I'm wondering if a redesign could make it work better (and, eventually faster). What I want to say is, that the major CPU hog on an average desktop machine is X, and, that makes me wonder if there's really no way to improve it's performance? Do you think it's time for a rewrite/redesign (and with rewrite, I mean a rewrite not caring about backward compatibility), or is X just performing tasks that can't be done in a better way."
Robotics

Submission + - Bird sized airplane opens intelligence options (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "Look up in the sky — it's a bird, it's a plane it's...both? Researchers today introduced a very cool micro-aircraft shaped like the swift — one of nature's most efficient flyers. The RoboSwift can sweep its wings back and forth, changing the shape and the wing's surface area. The idea is to make the aircraft fly more efficiently and agilely than fixed-wing aircraft. The micro — airplane is powered by a special propeller that folds during gliding to minimize air drag. RoboSwift steers by sweeping back one wing more than the other. The difference in wing position allows RoboSwift to make very sharp turns. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/17672"
The Internet

Submission + - What makes a good home page?

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: I was just visiting one of my favourite technology sites, CNET.co.uk, and I noticed that it's had a redesign, which I like a lot. But as a fledgling Web designer just out of university, I wonder what makes a good home page, not just for technology sites but any site in general. Many people quote Google as a good home page design template because it's simple, but in my personal experience, a plain, simple design doesn't work for every site and depends greatly on the content you're trying to promote.
Space

Submission + - Dark Matter and Superconductivity (lanl.gov)

Submitted by
Philip Sargent
Philip Sargent writes: "A paper which appeared on arXiv today proposes that certain characteristics of dark matter can be detected in laboratory experiments.

Coincidentally, these tests involve the rotating superconductors much beloved by antigravity afficionados.

"Recent laboratory experiments with rotating superconductors show that three so far unexplained experimentally observed effects (anomalous acceleration signals, anomalous gyroscope signals, Cooper pair mass excess) can be physically explained in terms of a possible interaction of dark energy with Cooper pairs..."

"We show that this model can account simultaneously for the anomalous acceleration and anomalous gravitomagnetic fields around rotating superconductors measured by Tajmar et al. and for the anomalous Cooper pair mass in superconductive Niobium, measured by Cabrera and Tate. It is argued that these three different physical effects are ultimately different experimental manifestations of the simultaneous spontaneous breaking of gauge invariance, and of the principle of general covariance in superconductive materials." http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/0707.1797"
Security

Submission + - FBI used CIPAV for secret online search (heise-security.co.uk)

Submitted by
juct
juct writes: "The FBI has used PC spyware for the first time to reveal the identity of an offender who sent bomb threats to a high school in Washington state. According to heise Security a declaration from the FBI official who applied for the search warrant describes the mode of operation of the spyware which the FBI is using under the abbreviation CIPAV (Computer and Internet Protocol Address Verifier)."
The Media

Submission + - Study: Scientists not very Religious

Submitted by Davin
Davin writes: Study finds that top scientists are not very religious, but that is not because they studied science.
http://www.buffalo.edu/news/8732
"The first systematic analysis in decades to examine the religious beliefs and practices of elite academics in the sciences supports the notion that science professors at top universities are less religious than the general population, but attributes this to a number of variables that have little to do with their study of science."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Guy throws pc off his windows, cops sympathize

Submitted by
Lisandro
Lisandro writes: "Reuters reports that a German man threw his computer off the window in the middle of the night, disturbing his neighbors who called the police, which promptly excused him, sympathizing with his technical frustrations. A police spokeman was quoted saying "Who hasn't felt like doing that?" when consulted."
Biotech

Submission + - All Humans Evolved from a Single Origin in Africa (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by
Invisible Pink Unicorn
Invisible Pink Unicorn writes: "Researchers at the University of Cambridge have combined studies of global human genetic variations with skull measurements worldwide to conclusively show the validity of the single origin hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis contended that different populations independently evolved from Homo erectus to Home sapiens in different areas. The lead researcher explains, 'The origin of anatomically modern humans has been the focus of much heated debate. Our genetic research shows the further modern humans have migrated from Africa, the more genetic diversity has been lost within a population. However, some have used skull data to argue that modern humans originated in multiple spots around the world. We have combined our genetic data with new measurements of a large sample of skulls to show definitively that modern humans originated from a single area in Sub-saharan Africa.' The article abstract is available from Nature."
Programming

Submission + - Python Magazine Launches (pythonmagazine.com)

Submitted by
njcajun
njcajun writes: "The Python community now has its own magazine, available in print and digital format. The first issue is scheduled for October 1, but their website is offering discounted subscriptions and a chance to win a MacBook for those who subscribe now. They're also seeking Python authors, so if you're doing something cool with Python and want some extra cash, let them know. Visit the Python Magazine site, or view the announcement by their Editor in Chief."
Programming

Submission + - Best Web Programming Practices

Submitted by superflat
superflat writes: I often see stories on Slashdot bemoaning how web developers don't care about XSS protection and security. As I developer I know that I don't know that much about it (but I try and do what I can) but would like to have a good reference that covers the basics and some of the not so basic stuff that I should look out for. Could the folks here at slashdot suggest some good books to get me started?

Slashdot Top Deals

WARNING TO ALL PERSONNEL: Firings will continue until morale improves.

Close