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Submission + - Death does not do Apple and its users apart

Submitted by Bismillah
Bismillah writes: Ever wondered what happens to your Apple account when you die? Unless a death certificate is provided, it'll remain active under current policies. http://www.itnews.com.au/News/339056,apple-user-you8217ll-be-one-for-life.aspx

Or, you could enter bogus data into the account but that would require some serious forethought to achieve before you die...

Submission + - Method found to unlock Qualcomm based Motorla Phones

Submitted by FlatEric521
FlatEric521 writes: In a blog post over at Azimuth Security, Dan Rosenberg explains how certain models of Motorola Android phones based on the Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset (including the Atrix HD, Razr HD, and Razr M) can be permanently unlocked. He writes, "I will present my findings, which include details of how to exploit a vulnerability in the Motorola TrustZone kernel to permanently unlock the bootloaders on these phones."

Submission + - Degrees for all doesn't mean great jobs for all (yahoo.net)

Submitted by walterbyrd
walterbyrd writes: Over-qualified grads are being forced into unsatisfying jobs which don't suit their skills, a report has found. In an article published in the journal Human Relations, Belgin Okay-Somerville (PhD, Human Resource Management) from the University of Aberdeen and Professor (of Human Resource Management) Dora Scholarios from the University of Strathclyde claim that the number of "skilled jobs" no longer matches the number of "skilled workers". This means that graduates have no choice but to take rubbish jobs or, at best, "intermediate level" positions.

In a related story: Wanted: McDonald's Cashiers ... With College Degrees When it comes to getting a job, college degrees aren't what they used to be. Perhaps the most glaring proof of that comes from a job opening at a Winchendon Mass., McDonald's, which is requiring applicants to have one or two years' worth of experience and a bachelor's degree for a cashier position.
Google

Submission + - Google Maps for iPhone violates European data protection law (itworld.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: When users install Google Maps on their iPhone, the option to share location data with Google is switched on by default. By doing this, Google violates European data protection law, according to a German data protection watchdog.

When the app is downloaded, Google prompts users to accept its terms of service and privacy policy in the startup screen. On the same screen, the Maps app warns users that they are about to share their location data with Google. "Help us improve Google, including traffic and other services. Anonymous location data will be collected by Google's location service and sent to Google, and may be stored on your device," Google tells users.

However, the option box next to the text is switched on by default, which isn't allowed by European data protection law, said Marit Hansen, deputy privacy and information commissioner at the Independent Centre for Privacy Protection Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, in an email.

When a company wants to process personal data, users have to give informed consent instead of opting out, she said. "So I conclude that the current implementation is not compliant with current European data protection law, even if Google now offers an opt-out possibility," Hansen said.
Android

Submission + - California sues Delta Air Lines over mobile privacy (ca.gov)

Submitted by mrheckman
mrheckman writes: California is suing Delta Air Lines for violation of California's on-line privacy law. Delta failed to "conspicuously post a privacy policy within their mobile app that informs users of what personally identifiable information is being collected and what will be done with it" after a 30-day notice. Delta's app collects "substantial personally identifiable information such as a user’s full name, telephone number, email address, frequent flyer account number and pin code, photographs, and geo-location". Why is it we still can't control what permissions an app has on our phones? It's absurd and disturbing that an app for checking flights and baggage demands all of those permissions.

Submission + - Raspberry Pi Model A, First Photos and Video (adafruit.com)

Submitted by
coop0030
coop0030 writes: "The first photos and videos of the Model A production samples are now available. The Raspberry Pi Model A is the newest low-cost computer from the Raspberry Pi Foundation. Compared to the popular Model B, the Model A forgoes the Ethernet Controller, has 256MB of RAM, and has a single USB port. A benefit of the missing Ethernet controller is that power consumption is reduced. This allowed them to reach their goals of a low-cost $25 computer. The release date is for sometime early in 2013."
Biotech

Fast DNA Origami Opens Way For Nanoscale Machines 21

Posted by Soulskill from the building-with-nano-cranes dept.
ananyo writes "DNA strands can be coaxed to fold up into shapes in a matter of minutes, reveals a study published in Science (abstract). The finding could radically speed up progress in the field of DNA origami. DNA origami involves using short DNA strands to hold a longer, folded strand in place at certain points, like sticky tape. Until now, assembling the shape has involved heating the DNA and allowing it to cool slowly for up to a week. But researchers at the Technical University of Munich in Germany have worked out that for most of the cooling period, nothing happens. But when a crucial temperature is reached, the whole structure forms suddenly. The researchers now aim to design nanostructures with optimal folding temperatures close to 37 C, the temperature at which mammalian cell cultures are grown, so that DNA machines could one day be used in biological settings."

Comment It's not arrogance . . . (Score 1) 823

by smarkham01 (#41766489) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Rectifying Nerd Arrogance?

It's a life style based on a personality defect. Never being willing to accept that others are your equal, or betters, puts you in the lowest class of humanity. I have done what you're learning to o and am better at it simply because it is colored with experience. I have also rebuilt engines and transmissions for heavy equipment and made a decent living at it. Yet I except that there are others out there who have it faster and better then I have.

You'll either learn to accept people and your place among them or grow up to be another Sheridan.
Space

Virgin Galactic's Quiet News: Virgin Now Owns The SpaceShip Company 112

Posted by timothy from the big-spaceship dept.
RocketAcademy writes "While all eyes were focused on SpaceX, which is preparing for another launch to the International Space Station, Virgin Galactic quietly put out a press release. Virgin Galactic has acquired full ownership of The SpaceShip Company, which will build production versions of SpaceShip Two. Ownership was previously shared with Scaled Composites, which built SpaceShip One and is building the SpaceShip Two prototype. There have been rumors of strained relations between Virgin Galactic and Scaled Composites. This news, which was not announced until after the close of business Friday, raises some interesting questions about Virgin's relationship with Scaled and its plans for the future."

Comment Re:Bipartisan support (Score 1) 548

by smarkham01 (#38008024) Attached to: Bipartisan Internet Sales Tax Bill Introduced

> In many places the amount of property tax is fixed at the time of purchase and never increases.
Sorry, but that is local or state problem, easily fixed b y requiring periodic re-appraisal for taxes. My property is reevaluated at least every three years, and if the re-evaluation misses the FMV by xx percent, the State has a value they are more than ready to replace the County's valuation with.
Image

Scientists Find Tears Are the Anti-Viagra 207

Posted by samzenpus from the blood-hound-gang-is-wrong dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The male test subjects didn't know what they were smelling, they were just given little vials of clear liquid and told to sniff. But when those vials contained a woman's tears (collected while she watched a sad movie), the men rated pictures of women's faces as less sexually attractive, and their saliva contained less testosterone. Is this proof that humans make and respond to pheromones? The researcher behind the study doesn't use that controversial word, but he says his findings do prove that tears contain meaningful chemical messages."
Facebook

Twitter Fights US Court For WikiLeaks Details 268

Posted by samzenpus from the we're-not-gonna-take-it dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Micro-blogging site Twitter is opposing an order from a US court to reveal the account details of supporters of WikiLeaks. Twitter has called on Facebook and Google to reveal whether they also received similar court orders. As part of the US government's investigation into WikiLeaks, a court ordered Twitter, in mid-December, to give details of accounts owned by supporters of the whistle-blower site. Twitter has protested against the subpoena and informed the individuals whose account information has been requested, while raising the possibility that other social networking players have received similar orders."

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