Submission + - Amazon to Buy Woot (nytimes.com) 1
somaTh writes: The New York Times is reporting that the deal of the day site Woot will be bought by Amazon sometime in the third quarter.
Submission + - Droid X ad takes cheap shot at iPhone antenna woes (boygeniusreport.com)
Karunamon writes: Apparently Motorola thinks the antenna issues that are plaguing the iPhone 4 are a laughing matter.
Based upon this full page ad that was published in today's New York Times, I would have to agree.
Based upon this full page ad that was published in today's New York Times, I would have to agree.
Submission + - Things you drink can be use to track you (sciencemag.org) 1
sciencehabit writes: Science reports: Have you lapped up any lemonade in Laramie? Downed a daiquiri in Denver? Knocked back a microbrew in Boston? New research suggests that your visits to such places can be tracked by analyzing chemical traces in your hair. That's because water molecules differ slightly in their isotope ratios depending on the minerals at their source. Researchers found that water samples from 33 cities across the United State could be reliably traced back to their origin based on their isotope ratios. And because the human body breaks down water's constituent atoms of hydrogen and oxygen to construct the proteins that make hair cells, those cells can preserve the record of a person's travels. Such information could help prosecutors place a suspect at the scene of a crime, or prove the innocence of the accused.
Feed Engadget: Remote Auxiliary Power System recharges our special forces straight from overhea (engadget.com)
If you're the type who gets a little nervous connecting jumper cables to your Accord after you forgot and left the trunk open overnight (again), this is one military gadget you will probably not be coveting. It's called RAPS: the Remote Auxiliary Power System. US Air Force Spec Ops personnel requested "something like Batman" that would enable them to add some juice to their night vision goggles, GPS units, and Hello Kitty media players while in the field, and this is the result. When thrown over a power line it makes contact with the bare ground and then cuts through the insulation into the live wire within, pulling the power down to an AC/DC transformer built into the spool. This device has proven safe for use in the rain and even underwater, but we're thinking we'd rather sing "Kumbayah" to ourselves than recharge our iPods in this manner. Video demonstration after the break, which also explains where the power actually comes from!
Remote Auxiliary Power System recharges our special forces straight from overhead power lines (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Submission + - Suspicious login protection extended to all Google (arstechnica.com)
climenole writes: "If you use any kind of Google account, Google will now alert you if it believes there have been suspicious logins from unusual locations. It's like credit card fraud protection, but for the Internet!"
Comment Actually, yeah, he has. (Score 5, Informative) 283
No wharrgarbl like political wharrgarbl, amirite?
Read this.
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/
Liberal Watchdog Questions White House Gmail Use 283
MexiCali59 writes "Liberal watchdog CREW has joined Republican Congressman Darrell Issa in calling for an investigation into whether White House staffers regularly use private email accounts to communicate with lobbyists. The allegations, first reported last week by the New York Times, would likely constitute a violation of federal law as well as an ethics pledge created by Obama upon taking office last year."
Comment Re:I read the blog post by "YouTube" (Score 1) 426
That is a bug that needs fixed or a feature that needs added, then. It's not impossible.
Comment Careful now.. (Score 1) 335
The only problem with that is that big media is on the side of those we wish to attack. With an attitude like that, it's only a matter of time before the wrong kind of publicity is received, and any legitimacy goes down the tube.
Submission + - Liberal watchdog questions White House Gmail use (thehill.com)
MexiCali59 writes: Liberal watchdog CREW has joined Republican Congressman Darrell Issa in calling for an investigation into whether White House staffers regularly use private email accounts to communicate with lobbyists. The allegations, first reported last week by the New York Times, would likely constitute a violation of federal law as well as an ethic pledge created by Obama upon taking office last year.
Comment Re:I read the blog post by "YouTube" (Score 1) 426
Everything you just mentioned can be handled via AJAX.
Submission + - Street-Legal Tron Lightcycles for Sale on eBay (inhabitat.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Get your PayPal account ready, because the ultimate nerd accoutrement is for sale on eBay. Just in time for the release of Tron Legacy, it’s the Lightcycle! That’s right, the fortuitously named Parker Brothers Choppers in Melbourne, Fla., will build five working lightcycles in five different colors, with the option of a high-powered electric drivetrain. You can get yours for a mere $35,000.
Submission + - Fark creator says wisdom of crowds is overrated (thehill.com)
GovTechGuy writes: Fark.com founder Drew Curtis thinks seeking public input on policy issues is pretty much a waste of time. The chief executive of the humorous news aggregation site said there is far too much emphasis on allowing anyone to comment when most people have nothing of value to say. His remarks came Tuesday at a media conference hosted by the Poynter Institute in Washington.
"The 'wisdom of the crowds' is the most ridiculous statement I've heard in my life. Crowds are dumb," Curtis said. "It takes people to move crowds in the right direction, crowds by themselves just stand around and mutter." Curtis pointed to his own experience moderating comments on Fark, which allows users to give their often humorous take on the news of the day. He said only one percent of Web comments have any value and called the rest "garbage."
Another example Curtis pointed to is America Speaking Out website recently launched by House Republicans to allow the public to weigh in on the issues and vote for policy positions they support. Curtis called the site an "absolute train wreck."
"It's an absolute disaster. It's impossible to tell who was kidding and who wasn't," Curtis said.
Bonus: check out the comments on the post, which are both hilarious and further evidence that Curtis is onto something.
"The 'wisdom of the crowds' is the most ridiculous statement I've heard in my life. Crowds are dumb," Curtis said. "It takes people to move crowds in the right direction, crowds by themselves just stand around and mutter." Curtis pointed to his own experience moderating comments on Fark, which allows users to give their often humorous take on the news of the day. He said only one percent of Web comments have any value and called the rest "garbage."
Another example Curtis pointed to is America Speaking Out website recently launched by House Republicans to allow the public to weigh in on the issues and vote for policy positions they support. Curtis called the site an "absolute train wreck."
"It's an absolute disaster. It's impossible to tell who was kidding and who wasn't," Curtis said.
Bonus: check out the comments on the post, which are both hilarious and further evidence that Curtis is onto something.
Submission + - Regular Domains Have More Malware Than Porn Sites (theregister.co.uk)
SnugglesTheBear writes: "New research pours scorn on the comforting but erroneous belief that Windows surfers who avoid smut and wares on the web are likely to avoid exposure to malware.
A study by free anti-virus firm Avast found 99 infected legitimate domains for every infected adult web site. In the UK, Avast found that more infected domains contained the word "London" (such as the blog section of http://kensington-london-hotels.co.uk/ than the word "sex". Among the domains labelled as infected by Avast was the smart phones section of the Vodafone UK website. The mobile phone operator's site contained a malicious JavaScript redirect script that attempted to take advantage of an unpatched Windows Help and Support Centre flaw (CVE-2010-1885) to infect the machines of visiting surfers."
A study by free anti-virus firm Avast found 99 infected legitimate domains for every infected adult web site. In the UK, Avast found that more infected domains contained the word "London" (such as the blog section of http://kensington-london-hotels.co.uk/ than the word "sex". Among the domains labelled as infected by Avast was the smart phones section of the Vodafone UK website. The mobile phone operator's site contained a malicious JavaScript redirect script that attempted to take advantage of an unpatched Windows Help and Support Centre flaw (CVE-2010-1885) to infect the machines of visiting surfers."
