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Submission + - Japan's Alleged Death Threat-Making, Cat-Hacking Programmer Says He's Innocent (vice.com)

Submitted by Daniel_Stuckey
Daniel_Stuckey writes: Inside the memory card in the cat's collar, authorities found a resentful message criticizing the police along with versions of the virus (iesys.exe) used to carry out the threat messages, which were made remotely, through other people’s computers. If you hadn’t heard about the story in the news, you'd be forgiven for confusing it with the plot of a Haruki Murakami novel.

In Tokyo District Court Wednesday, the former employee of a Japanese IT company wore a black suit, a wide smile, and pleaded not guilty to 10 charges brought against him. The Japan Times explained the string of threats were directed at “schools and kindergartens attended by the Emperor Akihito’s grandchildren,” as well as a Japan Airlines jet headed for New York. The plane had to stop midflight, costing the airline ¥9.75 million (about $93,000).

Submission + - Google Apps licence unsurprisingly forbids forking, promotes Google services 1

Submitted by Sockatume
Sockatume writes: If you want to ship a phone with Google's apps on it, you need to licence them. A copy of the OEM licencing agreement from 2011 was recently leaked, and Ars Technica provides a summary. Amongst the rules: a company licencing Google Apps can't act in a way that would fragment Android, but must also maintain the platform's open-ness; most of Google's services must be included; Google apps must be defaults, and placed within a couple of clicks of the default home screen. No surprises but it's interesting to see the details laid out.

Submission + - Vikings' Secret Code Cracked (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: What may look like mere scratches is much more. A 900-year-old Viking code known as jötunvillur has been cracked. The code-cracker, runologist Jonas Nordby from the University of Oslo, deciphered the system after realizing he needed to replace the original runic character with the last sound used to pronounce it. For instance, the runic character ‘k’ is pronounced ‘kaun,’ so k becomes n. Nordby believes secret messages were created by the Vikings for entertainment. One piece of wood reads: "Kiss me".

Submission + - Amphibious Trimaran is Made For More Than Just Water (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: Here's one you might not have heard before ... Whaddaya get when cross a hovercraft, an airboat and a pontoon boat? Give up? An ATASD, or Amphibious Trimaran with Aerostatic Discharge! OK, it's not that funny, but the vehicle itself is pretty cool. It can travel over virtually any surface, and should soon be heading into production.

Comment Cryonics vs. Cryogenics (Score 2) 625

by Gavin Scott (#46229495) Attached to: Majority of Young American Adults Think Astrology Is a Science

Indeed, I think it's probably a good sign that kids today probably don't know what Astrology is and figure that it's "the one with the telescopes".

Similarly how many people here know the difference between Cryonics and Cryogenics? One is the study of ultra-low temperature, and the other is the movement surrounding freezing your body after you die with the goal of resurrecting you later when technology advances far enough. But do you know which is which without looking it up?

G.

Comment A couple things... (Score 2) 46

by Gavin Scott (#46223093) Attached to: Tiny Motors Controlled Inside Human Cells

A couple things...

The environment inside a cell is nothing like a lake or ocean that you can go merrily boating through. The cell is packed with molecules jostling each other around and it's random thermal motion that rules that world. Overcoming that with a motor and expecting to maneuver around to specific places just does not seem like it is going to be effective.

Nature is actually quite fond of electric motors (you have lots of them in every cell in the form of ATP Synthase, and they're used by bacteria to drive flagella etc.) but has apparently not found them useful for maneuvering around inside a cell.

G.

 

Submission + - Open Source -- The Last Patent Defense? (outercurve.org)

Submitted by dp619
dp619 writes: A developer might fly under the patent troll radar until she makes it big, and then it's usually open season. Apple just shared that it has faced off 92 lawsuits over just 3 years. Even Google's ad business is at risk. Well known FOSS attorney Heather Meeker has blogged at the Outercurve Foundation on what to consider and what to learn if you're ever sued for patent infringement. Meeker examined how provisions of open source licenses can deflate a patent troll's litigation and shift the balance in favor of the defense.

Submission + - GMail is down 3

Submitted by vhfer
vhfer writes: Gmail is allowing logins but then reports:

We’re sorry, but your Gmail account is temporarily unavailable. We apologize for the inconvenience and suggest trying again in a few minutes. You can view the Apps Status Dashboard for the current status of the service.

Submission + - Celebrating Dungeons & Dragons' 40th Anniversary

Submitted by disconj
disconj writes: With the 40th anniversary of the release of Dungeons & Dragons coming up this weekend, the Internet is ablaze with reflections on its legacy. Dave Ewalt gives an intro for the uninitiated. Ethan Gilsdorf explains how "all I need to know about life I learned from 'Dungeons & Dragons.'" Jon Peterson presents a video show-and-tell of rare artifacts from D&D's development. How did D&D change your life, and what will you be doing to celebrate this Sunday?

Comment Geez, it's just a test flight. (Score 2) 117

by Gavin Scott (#45933471) Attached to: SpaceShipTwo Sets a New Altitude Record

The original Spaceship One went something like five or six times higher, so I presume these are just "low altitude" test flights before they try for "space".

It's notable as continued progress in the development and testing of the Spaceship Two vehicle and system, not for its altitude.

Use of the word "record" in the summary is not particularly helpful.

G.

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