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Feed Science Daily: Spaceflight Can Change Bacteria Into More Infectious Pathogens (sciencedaily.com)

From feed by sdfeed
Space flight has been shown to have a profound impact on human physiology as the body adapts to zero gravity environments. Now, a new study has shown that the tiniest passengers flown in space -- microbes -- can be equally affected by spaceflight, making them into more infectious pathogens. Compared to bacteria that remained on earth, the space-traveling Salmonella had changed expression of 167 genes. After the flight, animal virulence studies showed that bacteria that were flown in space were almost three times as likely to cause disease when compared with control bacteria grown on the ground.
Music

Submission + - Music industry wants credit card nums in ID3 tags (michaelrobertson.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In an obituary for AnywhereCD which closes in one week, MP3.com founder Michael Robertson chronicles how at least one record label wanted him to put credit card numbers of buyers into songs. Fascinating story about how at least some of the labels still don't get it and why AnywhereCD is about to buried.
Google

Submission + - Google sued for $5b for crimes against humanity (theregister.co.uk) 2

Submitted by
mytrip
mytrip writes: "A Pennsylvania crusader has slapped Google with a $5bn lawsuit, claiming that the world's largest search engine is endangering his personal safety.

With a suit filed in federal court, Dylan Stephen Jayne insists that the company is guilty of "crimes against humanity" because its name turns up when his social security number is scrambled and turned upside down.

By calling itself Google, Jayne argues, Google has exposed him to attack by an army of culturally diverse, net-savvy terrorists. "A person regardless of race or religion that wishes to cause acts of terrorism would look for social security numbers that are made readily available on the public use databases," his suit reads.

And he's adamant that if Google claims ignorance, many people could end up dead or buck naked. "The 'I don't know' defense obviously is a waste of money, time, and puts the lives of Americans and illegal aliens at risk of death or serious undress.""
Operating Systems

Submission + - Linux vs. Mac: Should I Get a Mac? (osweekly.com) 4

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: OSWeekly.com ponders on whether or not it's better to get a Mac over Linux. The author writes, "Then again, I have to come back full circle and ask myself — do I really 'need,' or even want, OS X over a pure Linux box? Under the hood, it's basically the same thing, which is a hat tip to Apple. Incredibly secure and simple to use. Personally, the most compelling reason to use this OS would not be for iTunes. It would also be for the fantastic applications designed to make video editing a breeze. Is this something I really want to do on a notebook? If I went MacBook Pro perhaps, but it's really more of a desktop sort of a task for an iMac, I think. I don't know yet, it does seem like OS X is looking better all the time. I can hammer out scripts like I do in Linux fairly easily, and now, thanks to VMWare Fusion, I can even use my beloved Evolution PIM where Entourage is not a great replacement for me. Maybe it's time to upgrade my notebook after all?
NASA

Submission + - Amazon Forest Unexpectedly Resistant to Drought (nasa.gov)

Submitted by
koalapeck
koalapeck writes: "NASA's earth observatory has an interesting article on the role drought plays in the Amazon Rain Forest.

"The extensive forests of South America's Amazon are turning out to be tougher than expected when it comes to withstanding the onslaughts of a changing climate. A team of U.S. and Brazilian scientists using the insightful eyes of two NASA satellites has shown that one of the worst droughts in decades could not stop the undisturbed regions of the Amazon forest from "greening up.""
Operating Systems

Submission + - 10.5 Leopard hacked to run on Windows computers. (profit42.com)

Submitted by
profit42
profit42 writes: "Maybe you already knew that it was possible to install OSX Tiger (10.4.10) on your Windows computer, but a few days ago hackers cracked Leopard and placed a patcher on the bay of pirates which allows you to install Leopard (10.5, build 9A466) on your Windows computer.

You only need the original build 9A466 install DVD, the patcher and at least a SSE2 supporting CPU. This last requirement is important though most CPU's support SSE2.

You can find more detailed instructions about installing etc. in a long installation guide (print it guys, in case your computer stops working) on profit42.com"
Windows

Submission + - Vista SP1 and XP SP3 - Leaked by Microsoft? (neosmart.net)

Submitted by Mariam Hollander
Mariam Hollander writes: Microsoft's two most awaited releases: Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista SP1. Betas for both leaked just days apart. A big coincidece or a Microsoft master plan?

NeoSmart's analysis of both the XP SP3 and Vista SP1 leaks is quite interesting: were these two builds leaked (unofficially) by Microsoft in an attempt to unofficially guage the response of the online community to these releases, fix some bugs before they officially even exist, and deliver a perfect service pack? Most importantly, is this Microsoft taking advantage of its last chance to save face and fix what has been the most-criticized version of Windows to date, before it gets out of hand?

[J]ust how likely is it that the two most valuable products still in development and without a single official release would leak to the internet just days apart? Especially when the Windows Vista build ships as a time-bombed release, it makes us wonder: Is Microsoft really in the practice of time-bombing internal development releases that only exist in the hands of people who have access to hourly builds?
Businesses

Submission + - Choose not to go to uni. Choose an apprenticeship. (megt.com.au)

Submitted by
Linda Nall
Linda Nall writes: "Natalie and Daniel Hofmann started their Hunter region carpentry and building business with partner Simon Frewin in February this year.

They had big plans to grow the business, particularly in the environmental building disciplines. This is a time of high risk for any new venture. Many fail in the early years due to poor management practices. Ideas, dreams and hopes can be dashed in this critical period.

Natalie admits she was just learning about business management. There's payroll and taxation and awards to come to grips with as well as planning for growth you hope will happen.

"We just couldn't have grown without help from MEGT Group Training," says Natalie. "We needed the extra hands to cope with the workload, so hunted around for an apprentice.

"When Dan first said to me we are going to take on an apprentice my first question was, how can we do that and afford to? MEGT came around and explained the process and what was involved. It was a new game for me because I am a new employer myself and I am just learning. It took the risk out of making a mistake when employing someone else.

"We found out that MEGT could take care of all the apprenticeships needs we had. They found the right person, organised the right training and monitored it. They look after his pay, his superannuation, WorkCover — all the details involved in the building and construction industry.

"That allowed our company to grow faster at this early stage of our business and not have to wait until we had a bigger infrastructure. As we grow further, so too, I know we will be able to put on new apprentices to cope with that growth.

"While my husband is a qualified carpenter, I am the office manager and do the invoices, the letters, the debtors and suppliers. I am the first point of contact for any administration needs.

"It's our dream to build an extremely successful business.

"We are going down the line of energy efficiency because it is something we have a passion for. We believe that homes in the future will have to be retro fitted with energy efficiencies and we will be in the right place for that.

"My advice to people who are a bit older is not to think you are too old to be an apprentice. It is only four years to qualify for something that you will do for the rest of your life. Four years can pass fairly quickly when you are going to use it to start your own business as we have.""
Editorial

Submission + - Open Letter to Anyone Asking Me For Computer Help (pretheory.com)

Submitted by
wastedbrains
wastedbrains writes: "So you're having a problem with your computer, eh? Yes, you're right, I do know something about computers and yes, I was a computer science major. Will I fix your problem?

I'll certainly try. I'm more than happy to help you to the best of my ability. You're a friend and I'm glad I can help you. I know you'd do the same for me and in all likelihood, I'll be hitting you up for free financial/legal/medical/automotive advice in the near future. I happen to have an area of expertise and I genuinely don't mind helping you out.

That said, here's some friendly advice that will make this experience as painless as possible for both you and I"
Security

Submission + - Security Firm: Avoid web numbers withiPhone (spidynamics.com)

Submitted by
Abaddon
Abaddon writes: "Web security firm SPI Dynamics has uncovered multiple security flaws in Safari's phone number dialing feature on the iPhone. Attacks are launched from websites and can force the iPhone to call arbitrary numbers without the users consent, track what calls a user makes, and crash the phone. From the article: For example, an attacker could determine that a specific website visitor "Bob" has called an embarrassing number such as an escort service. An attacker can also trick or force Bob into dialing any other telephone number without his consent such a 900-number owned by the attacker or an international number. SPI has done some pretty cool things with JavaScript in the last year so its possible that this attack is caused by JavaScript."
Media

Submission + - RIAA Must Pay Attorney Fees of $68,685.23

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The RIAA has lost its first case against a file-sharer accused of copyright infringement. The court has granted the defendant a total of $68,685.23. Has the RIAA given up? Not quite, according to a statement provided to Slyck.com.

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