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Programming

Submission + - And "e" appears from nowhere (mostlymaths.net)

Submitted by RBerenguel
RBerenguel writes: How many random numbers between 0 and 1 (on average) do you need to make a sum greater than 1? Apparently, e
A quick numerical experiment in Clojure (odd for a Hello, world in this language) and then the (easy) mathematical proof
Canada

Submission + - Canadian politician criticized over crime comments (montrealgazette.com)

Submitted by selven
selven writes: In Canada, it seems like tough-on-crime is not as easy a free ticket to popularity as is previously thought. A senior cabinet minister in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government came under fire yesterday for suggesting that Canada needs to build more prisons, in part because of a rise in unreported crimes. "We're very concerned ... about the increase in the amount of unreported crimes that surveys clearly show are happening," Day (the cabinet minister) said at a news conference. "People simply aren't reporting the same way they used to." However, Statistics Canada quickly shot down Day's assumptions, saying that since they surveyed only eight types of unreported crimes their numbers cannot be compared to police-reported crime statistics. Actual numbers, however, find themselves received with unwelcoming arms by Harper's government: "We do not use statistics as an excuse not to get tough on criminals," Stephens wrote in an email.

Submission + - Paypal virtual card alternatives (paypal.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Paypal has quietly killed the paypal plugin and the related virtual card service. The service generated on the fly, one time use credit card numbers. When I called in and inquired about the service I was told that the service has been discontinued, but may be relaunching something similar depending on interest. They are treating inquiries as a sort of petition, taking down names and contact info. The forums seem to be a lost cause, as no Paypal reps have replied to the numerous posts regarding Virtual cards being discontinued. Does anyone know of a good alternative source of one time use credit card numbers?
Security

Submission + - WiFi WPA2 vulnerability found (networkworld.com)

Submitted by BobB-nw
BobB-nw writes: Perhaps it was only a matter of time. But wireless security researchers say they have uncovered a vulnerability in the WPA2 security protocol, which is the strongest form of Wi-Fi encryption and authentication currently standardized and available.

Malicious insiders can exploit the vulnerability, named "Hole 196" by the researcher who discovered it at wireless security company AirTight Networks. The moniker refers to the page of the IEEE 802.11 Standard (Revision, 2007) on which the vulnerability is buried. Hole 196 lends itself to man-in-the-middle-style exploits, whereby an internal, authorized Wi-Fi user can decrypt, over the air, the private data of others, inject malicious traffic into the network and compromise other authorized devices using open source software, according to AirTight.

"There's nothing in the standard to upgrade to in order to patch or fix the hole," says Kaustubh Phanse, AirTight's wireless architect who describes Hole 196 as a "zero-day vulnerability that creates a window of opportunity" for exploitation.

Submission + - A Few More Laps in the Fusion Race

Submitted by tcgibian
tcgibian writes: In the fusion power race, the ITER tokamak and the NIF laser fusion projects still seem to be troubled with technical problems, huge costs, sparse results, and a time frame of decades. However, one of the other contenders, the Dense Plasma Focus device constructed in New Jersey by a team headed by Eric Lerner, seems to be making consistent progress.

This device differs from the others in that it works with natural forces rather than trying to counteract them. The machine, called Focus Fusion-1, uses natural plasma instabilities to focus the discharge of a bank of capacitors into a tiny, intensely hot point, called a plasmoid. This device has already achieved 1 MegAmp currents at 30KV with temperatures of up to 600 million degrees, and regularly fuses Deuterium fuel. The other, better known projects have yet to achieve this level of reliable performance.

Since first operation on October 15, 2009, this DPF machine has being refined and is being brought up to full power at 45KV, and when this is achieved, its next important hurdle will be the aneutronic fusion of Boron 11 and Hydrogen. This reaction promises the generation of electricity by direct means with negligible radioactivity in the process, fuel, or byproducts, unlike competing designs.

Whether or not this method can lead to cheap and safe fusion power should be demonstrated within a year or two. The output of of pB11 fusion, a flash of X-rays and a stream of high velocity Helium nuclei can both be harvested to generate electricity, and theory again points to a surplus above that needed to operate the device.

Although theory can be quenched in the cold bath of results, the Lerner team has been rather successful to date at validating their theories. Despite the sparse funding and lack of official attention, this project could turn into the little engine that could.
Wine

Submission + - Wine 1.2 released (winehq.org)

Submitted by
David Gerard
David Gerard writes: "Stuck with that one Windows app you can't get rid of? Rejoice — Wine 1.2 is officially released! Apart from running pretty much any Windows application on Unix better than 1.0 (from 2008), major new features include 64-bit support, bi-directional text and translation into thirty languages. And, of course, DirectX 9 is well-supported and DirectX 10 is getting better. Packages should hit the distros over the weekend, or you can get the source now."
Businesses

Submission + - GAO Says Airlines Getting Billions from New Fees

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "CNN reports that the House subcommittee on aviation held hearings to consider a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office on the fees airlines have charged in recent years on unbundled services that once were considered part of the ticket price and heard that airlines reported revenue of $7.9 billion from baggage fees and reservation change and cancellation fees in calendar years 2008 and 2009. Witnesses from GAO, the Department of Transportation and associations for air travel and travel agents all urged the government to require uniform pricing information from airlines to help consumers make easy comparisons. "We believe that the proliferation of these fees and the manner in which they are presented to the traveling public can be confusing and in some cases misleading," said Robert Rivkin, the Department of Transportation's general counsel. Published fares used by consumers to choose flights don't "clearly represent the cost of travel when these services are added." However, Spirit Airlines President and CEO Ben Baldanza defended the practice of unbundling, saying it allows his airline to charge lower fares (PDF) and allows the customers the choice to purchase the services or not. "Carrying more than one bag is not necessary for all travelers and we believe it is unfair to charge those customers for extra services they do not use," testified Baldanza adding that bag fees have led customers to pack less reducing total baggage on flights which has lowered airline's operating costs and resulted in fewer lost or damaged bags."
Biotech

Submission + - Antibodies that prevent HIV infection (scienceblog.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Scientists have discovered two potent human antibodies that can stop more than 90 percent of known global HIV strains from infecting human cells in the laboratory, and have demonstrated how one of these disease-fighting proteins accomplishes this feat. According to the scientists, these antibodies could be used to design improved HIV vaccines, or could be further developed to prevent or treat HIV infection.
Music

Submission + - Open Source Music Fingerprinter C&D'd (google.com)

Submitted by Nushio
Nushio writes: The code wasn't even released, and yet Roy van Rijn, a Music & Free Software enthusiast received a C&D from Landmark Digital Services, owners of Shazam, an Android application that allows you to find a song, by listening to a part of it. And if that wasn't enough, they want him to take down his blog post (Google Cache) explaining how he did it because it "may be viewed internationally. As a result, [it] may contribute to someone infringing our patents in any part of the world".
Security

Submission + - Hack Exposes Pirate Bay User Data (krebsonsecurity.com)

Submitted by tsu doh nimh
tsu doh nimh writes: Hackers from Argentina recently broke into the database for thepiratebay.org, the Internet's largest torrent search engine, exposing user names, Internet addresses, and (MD5) hashed password data on more than 4 million users, according to Brian Krebs. He interviewed the leader of the group, which is also marketing a new browser exploit kit called "Impassioned Framework," as saying they briefly considered what the information would be worth to the RIAA and MPAA, before going public with the breach. From the story: "Probably these groups would be very interested in this information, but we are not [trying] to sell it,” Russo told KrebsOnSecurity.com in a phone interview. “Instead we wanted to tell people that their information may not be so well protected.”
Censorship

Submission + - UK Police Threaten Teenage Photojournalist (wordpress.com)

Submitted by IonOtter
IonOtter writes: In what seems to be a common occurrence, and now a costly one, Metropolitan Police in the UK still don't seem to be getting the message that assaulting photographers is a bad idea. UK press photographer Jules Matteson details the event in his blog, titled The Romford Incident. The incident has already been picked up by The Register, The Independent and the British Journal of Photography, which contains an official statement from the Metropolitan Police.

Submission + - Kagan against porn and "hate speech" (politico.com)

Submitted by
DesScorp
DesScorp writes: "SCOTUS nominee Elena Kagan hasn't left much of a paper trail during her legal career, which may make gauging her ideas and opionions somewhat difficult. But there are some positions she has made clear statements on, among them, pornography and "hate speech". In a 1993 University of Chicago seminar on the subject, Kagan argued that the government wasn't doing enough about the spread of porn or hate speech. She argued that new approaches were needed to fight their spread, as well as taking a fresh look at old approaches, such as obscenity laws. Kagan included herself among"“those of us who favor some form of pornography and hate speech regulation” and told participants that “a great deal can be done very usefully” to crack down on such evils.
Kagan steadfastly argued that pornography was a threat to women as it contributed to sexual violence, and on that basis could be prosecuted to some degree. "“Statutes may be crafted in ways that prohibit the worst of hate speech and pornography, language that goes to sexual violence. Such statutes may still be constitutional,” Kagan assured the meeting. She pressed for “new and harsher penalties against the kinds of violence against women that takes place in producing pornography, the use of pandering statutes and pimp statutes against pornographersperhaps the initiation—the enactment of new statutes prohibiting the hiring of women for commercial purposes to engage in sexual activities.”"

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