saturndude - Slashdot User

Submission + - 'Dead' Rocket Explodes In Orbit

Submitted by

Jacob

on Wednesday February 21, 2007 @07:14PM

Jacob writes: "A rocket which malfunctioned during launch a year ago recently exploded in orbit over Australia, and a number of amateur astronomers, including Rob McNaught (discoverer of Comet McNaught) were able to photograph the explosion and the resulting debris. NASA are now tracking over 1000 fragments, meaning that this has produced more space junk than China's recent ASAT test, it's possible that the fire and explosion were triggered by an encounter with space junk in orbit, and it's also possible the new junk cloud could impact other satellites in the future."

Submission + - Colorado prison turns to inmates to run Help Desk

Submitted by

PetManimal

on Wednesday February 21, 2007 @06:48PM

PetManimal writes: "A Colorado prison system has an unusual solution to handle help desk support issues in the face of antcipated budget cuts: Assigning inmates to handle telephone support, PC tracking, and PC imaging and repairs. Besides training the inmates to take over help desk duties, one of the main challenges was convincing staff to trust the help desk:

The transition wasn't entirely smooth, noted Kim Withers, a help desk supervisor for the agency. "It was a big obstacle in the beginning for the staff to call [the inmates] and ask for help," said Withers. Some corrections workers were also concerned about how much information inmates would be allowed to see on their screens during a help desk call.
The article says the agency used a software tool to limit some of the information that the inmate workers could see. No word on how much the inmates are paid, though."

Submission + - When Information Security Gets Physical

Submitted by llamalicious on Wednesday February 21, 2007 @06:38PM

llamalicious writes: An article on Dark Reading gives a bit of insight into the hidden dangers of engaging in corporate security "dirty-work". A seemingly simple task provides two security contractors with an unpleasant awakening to the realities of attempting to covertly retake company property from a crooked employee.

From the article: "Our success was short lived when he turned and saw us walking out with his machine. His polished, professional demeanor changed for the worst when he saw us trying to leave the building. He raced toward us and began trying to pry the laptop from my colleague's hands, while cursing and calling us unprintable names."

Submission + - 1and1 servers attacked

Submitted by on Wednesday February 21, 2007 @06:07PM

An anonymous reader writes: Servers of 1and1 web services have been attack. There are thousands of websites that are being redirected.

Submission + - Extreme Makeover to Tackle Walter Reed

Submitted by

nola77

on Wednesday February 21, 2007 @05:34PM

nola77 writes: "http://www.finitetimes.com/2007/02/21/extreme-make over-to-tackle-walter-reed/"

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