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Japan

Submission + - Fukushima's fallout of fear (nature.com)

Submitted by
gbrumfiel
gbrumfiel writes: "Experts believe that the many thousands who fled from the Fukushima nuclear disaster received very low doses of radiation. But that doesn't mean there won't be health consequences. Nature magazine travelled to Fukushima prefecture and found evidence of an enormous mental strain from the accident. Levels of anxiety and PTSD-like symptoms are high among evacuees. Researchers fear that, in the long run, the mental problems could lead to depression and substance abuse among those who lost their homes. In other words, even if no one develops cancer as a direct result of radiation, the health effects could still be very real."
Idle

Submission + - Google did not run over a donkey (thenextweb.com)

Submitted by
iONiUM
iONiUM writes: "From the article: "Here’s a story you don’t see every day. Google on Wednesday has gone on record to deny reports that one of its Google Maps Street View cars killed a donkey in the Kweneng region of Botswana. Seriously, we’re not kidding: the story got big enough that the company actually had to waste resources dispelling the speculation."
How long until they have a similar debacle, but surrounding a human instead?"
Java

Submission + - New Java Exploit on Sale for $5,000 (ibtimes.co.uk)

Submitted by
DavidGilbert99
DavidGilbert99 writes: "Another day, another Java zero-day vulnerability is uncovered. Any it's already been exploited with the exploit put up for sale by the administrator of an exclusive underground forum for the paltry sum of $5,000.

Coming just days after Oracle patched the last zero-day vulnerability, it signifies the scope of the problem facing Oracle and unless something happens and soon, they could be facing a huge catastrophe."
China

Submission + - Audit Reveals Developer Outsourced His Job To China (net-security.org)

Submitted by
Orome1
Orome1 writes: "Log analysis can reveal a lot of security mistakes and fails, but a lot of security sins, too. Take for example the incident recently shared by Verizon's Risk Team: called in by a critical infrastructure company to investigate what seemed to be a breach of its networks by the hands of Chinese-based hackers, they ended up discovering a complex scam perpetrated by one of the company's most respected employees. The employee, Bob, spent less that one fifth of his six-figure salary for a Chinese firm to do his job for him. Authentication was no problem, he physically FedExed his RSA token to China so that the third-party contractor could log-in under his credentials during the workday. It would appear that he was working an average 9 to 5 work day."
Displays

Submission + - Touchscreen Laptops, Whether You Like Them Or Not (cnet.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: With CES all wrapped up, an article at CNET discusses a definite trend in the laptops on display from various manufacturers this year: touchscreens. Intel and Microsoft are leading the way, and attempting to grab the industry's reins as well: 'just to make sure the touch message was crystal clear, Intel issued an edict to PC partners during its CES keynote: all next-generation ultrabooks based on its "Haswell" chip must be touch.' With tablets and detachable/convertible computers computers coming into the mainstream, it seems the manufacturers have something to gain by condensing their production options. The article says, 'What does that mean to consumers? Your next laptop will likely be touch, whether you like it or not.'
Patents

USPTO Asks For Input On Software Patents 209

Posted by Soulskill from the first-step-is-admitting-you-have-a-problem dept.
New submitter MouseTheLuckyDog writes "The patent office is reviewing its policy on software patents and is asking for feedback (PDF). Groklaw reports that the USPTO will be hosting a pair of roundtable sessions in February, during which the public will have the ability to attend and put forth their viewpoints. From the article: 'It's obvious the USPTO realizes there is serious unhappiness among software developers, and they'd like to improve things. Software developers are the folks most immediately and directly affected by the software patents the USPTO issues, and it's getting to the point that no one can code anything without potentially getting sued. I don't wish to be cynical, though, as that's a useless thing. So maybe we should look at it as an opportunity to at least be heard. It's progress that they even thought about having a dialogue with developers, if you look at it that way.' If you can make it to Silicon Valley on February 12 or New York City on February 27, go and make your voice heard."
China

Submission + - China's 2nd Stealth Fighter Takes Flight: Is it For Sale? (thediplomat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: China's 2nd stealth jet, the J-21 or designated as the F-60, took flight recently. The jet is China's second 5th generation fighter, of a similar style to America's F-22 or F-35. While little is know of the plane there are many questions that are being asked. Could the plane be for export? Can it compete with America's best stealth fighters that have some serious mechanical and cost issues? If China can sell the plane at a cheaper price and actually make it work correctly, it could have a winner on its hands
Patents

Submission + - Cisco CEO Blasts Patent Trolls and Patent Abuse (techdirt.com)

Submitted by AlphaWolf_HK
AlphaWolf_HK writes: At the recent Gartner Symposium Expo, Cisco CEO John Chambers had a few words to say about patent trolls: "It is a mess; There are patent trolls everywhere," said Chambers, noting that patent problems impose huge costs on every company. He didn't stop there though, he also suggested that companies stop suing their peers. Speaking to the audience, he said for "his peers" in the room, "you shouldn't be suing your peers." He also adds that patent litigation slows down innovation. He recommends throwing out the whole patent system, and starting from the beginning. Cisco's official stance (outside of John Chambers) is that we are really in need of patent reform, with specific ideas at eliminating patent trolls and patent shopping.

Also of interest, is Cisco's ongoing patent war with Tivo, (who many argue is also a patent abuser) by fighting Tivo's patents with their own patents, a la Samsung vs Apple.

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