Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Submission + - Martin Jetpack Climbs 5000 Feet Above Sea Level (tvnz.co.nz)

Submitted by rh2600
rh2600 writes: For years the Martin Jetpack has stayed just a few feet off the ground, invoking frequent suspicion about its true abilities. Well, today that all changed with the first climb test in New Zealand (with weighted crash-test dummy) reaching over 5,000 feet above sea level. The emergency parachute test was also a success. Kiwis can indeed fly.
Programming

Submission + - Tiny cores are here, and they change programming (futurechips.org) 3

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Intel is returning to in-order cores after two decades with Atom and Knights. ARM is already building in-order cores for iPhones, iPads, and Androids. IBM has switched to in-order cores after building generations of out-of-order cores. This indicates a clear trend that in-order cores are back in the mainstream. Highlighting the performance characteristics of in-order and out-of-order cores, Dr. Aater Suleman's article explains why programming for in-order cores is very different from programming for the now-traditional out-of-order cores. Thus, this new trend requires a change in compilers, tools, and programming techniques. Compilers need to get better at removing useless code and instruction scheduling. Programmers need to weigh new trade-offs and perform classic optimizations that have been forgotten. I liked this article particularly for the very simple code examples and a simple explanation of in-order and out-of-order differences. The message is clear: programmers and compilers need to understand in-order cores and target their code better.
News

Submission + - FTC Cracks Down On Foreclosure Fraud Operation (shawcapitalmanagementscaminfo.com)

Submitted by
glacierwong
glacierwong writes: "http://www.totalmortgage.com/blog/foreclosures/ftc-cracks-down-on-foreclosure-fraud-operation/11001

By Michael Kling on March 16, 2011

Share|

As many homeowners continue to have trouble meeting their mortgage payments, foreclosure scams have proliferated.

Saying it is cracking down on foreclosure scams, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) broke up a national operation based in Florida that it says targeted financially distressed consumers using direct mail, the Internet, and telemarketing. These borrowers were falsely promised loan modifications.

Giving an idea of how pervasive these foreclosure scams are, the state of Florida foreclosure prevention website, the Hardest Hit Fund, begins by warning about copycat websites. Website visitors, the Hardest Hit Fund website warns, should verify that the website is the official site before providing personal information. Application for and participation in the program is free.

According to the FTC, the scam operation promised loan modifications even to homeowners whose lenders had already denied their modifications or who had already received foreclosure notices. The scam artists charged up to $2,600, typically ask for half of the fee up-front, claiming a success rate of up to 100 percent.

The group often mislead homeowners to believe they are affiliated with, or approved by, the homeowners’ lenders. They told consumers not to contact their lenders and to stop making mortgage payments, claiming that falling behind on payments will demonstrate the consumers’ hardship to lenders.

The defendants, listed as U.S. Mortgage Funding Inc., Debt Remedy Partners Inc., Lower My Debts.com LLC, David Mahler, Jamen Lachs, and John Incandela, Jr., also known as Jonathan Incandela, Jr., allegedly violated the FTC Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule. They were not accused of breaking the FTC’s recent Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule, which bans providers of mortgage foreclosure rescue and loan modification services from collecting fees until homeowners accept a written offer from their lender or servicer, since their ads predated the rule.

The FTC filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Filing a complaint indicates the FTC believes that laws were broken but is not a ruling that the defendants broke the law."

Submission + - Easy for Germany to end nuclear power (thelocal.de) 1

Submitted by
mdsolar
mdsolar writes: "A rapid phase-out of nuclear energy would have only a modest impact on Germany’s economy, according to a Federal Environment Agency (UBA) report.

The report, seen by the Frankfurter Rundschau argued that if nuclear power plants were completely shut down by 2017, electricity prices would increase from 0.6 to 0.8 cents per kilowatt hour and there would be “no significant loss” in economic growth.

A shutdown would “have substantial benefits and outweigh the modest increases in electricity prices,” the report said.

The report also said the withdrawal could be achieved without the risk of electricity blackouts because “sufficient surplus reserve capacity” exists."
Microsoft

Submission + - "Cookiejacking" Puts 900 Million IE Users At Risk (digitizor.com)

Submitted by dkd903
dkd903 writes: An independent Computer security researcher and expert — Rosario Valotta has devised an attack on Microsoft's Internet Explorer (MSIE) which can remotely hijack your browser cookies and potentially cause damage to you by stealing digital credentials of your various user accounts on sites like Facebook, Twitter and more.

Comment Interesting, but not a "Nano-Viewing Record" (Score 2) 65

by doomsday_device (#36195264) Attached to: Nano-Viewing Record Broken
SNOM (Scanning Near-field scanning optical microscopes) can easily resolve images at 100 nm at visible wavelengths and have done so for some years now. You can actually buy these microscopes commercially. I'm sure this new method is better than SNOM in some regard, or has the potential to be, but the resolution they achieved is not really a "Nano Viewing Record". More a lens building record.

Non-optical methods like scanning force microscopy have resolved far better than that for years now, of course. Albeit without the ability do do spectroscopic measurements.

Interesting approach though.
The Media

Submission + - AP Files FOIA Request for Bin Laden Photos

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "The Atlantic reports that President Obama's decision to withhold the visual evidence of Osama bin Laden's death has created a fundamental disagreement between the White House and the Associated Press, one of the largest journalism organizations in the world, prompting the news organization to file a Freedom of Information request for the bin Laden photos. "This information is important for the historical record," says Michael Oreskes, senior managing editor at The Associated Press. "That's our view." AP's FOIA request includes a reminder of the president's campaign pledge and a plea to be more transparent than his predecessor. "The Obama White House 'pledged to be the most transparent government in U.S. history," writes the AP, "and to comply much more closely with the Freedom of Information Act than the Bush administration did.'"The AP isn't alone in wanting more insight on the specifics of the raid. When it eventually surfaced that bin Laden was not killed in a firefight, his wife wasn't used as a human shield, there was no live footage of the event and the "mansion" where he lived was only worth between $250,000 and $480,000, many became skeptical of the White House's narrative. Other organizations that have filed FOIAs include Politico, Fox News, Judicial Watch and Citizens United. Oreskes sympathizes with the president. "This is obviously one of his most difficult decisions and we understand that.""
Science

Submission + - Discovery backs theory oil not 'fossil fuel' (wnd.com)

Submitted by 0ddity
0ddity writes: A study published in Science Magazine today presents new evidence supporting the abiotic theory for the origin of oil, which asserts oil is a natural product the Earth generates constantly rather than a "fossil fuel" derived from decaying ancient forests and dead dinosaurs.

Submission + - FCC Commish Leaves FCC to Become Lobbyist (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Meredith Attwell Baker, one of the FCC Commissioners, is leaving the FCC to become a lobbyist for Comcast-NBC, just four months after approving their merger deal. She refused to put any significant conditions on the merger, saying that the deal would 'bring exciting benefits to consumers that outweigh potential harms.' Comcast has released an official statement saying that, 'Meredith’s executive branch and business experience along with her exceptional relationships in Washington bring Comcast and NBCUniversal the perfect combination of skills.'
Cellphones

Submission + - It's official: cell phones are killing bees (inhabitat.com) 5

Submitted by greenerd
greenerd writes: Scientists may have found the cause of the world’s sudden dwindling population of bees – and cell phones are to blame. Research conducted in Lausanne, Switzerland has shown that the signal from cell phones not only confuses bees, but also leads to their death. Over 83 experiments have yielded the same results.
Space

Submission + - Sailing the Titan Seas (jhuapl.edu)

Submitted by gpronger
gpronger writes: NASA has awarded The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) to manage a proposed exploration of the methane oceanon Titan. Next year APL will be submitting a project plan to NASA, which will be one of three submittals. If chosen launch would be in 2016 with arrival at Titan in 2023.

The "Titan Mare Explorer" or TiME would be the first exploration of an extraterrestrial ocean with the craft landing and floating on the ocean. The mission would be led by principal investigator Ellen Stofan of Proxemy Research Inc. in Gaithersburg, Md. Lockheed Martin in Denver would build the TiME capsule, with scientific instruments provided by APL, Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and Malin Space Science Systems in San Diego.

This is part of NASA's Discovery Program and would be the next mission, funded and supported by NASA.
Google

Submission + - Google Lobbies Nevada To Allow Self-Driving Cars (nytimes.com) 1

Submitted by b0bby
b0bby writes: The NY Times reports that "Google, a pioneer of self-driving cars, is quietly lobbying for legislation that would make Nevada the first state where they could be legally operated on public roads. ...The two bills, which have received little attention outside Nevada’s Capitol, are being introduced less than a year after the giant search engine company acknowledged that it was developing cars that could be safely driven without human intervention. "
Science

Submission + - Vanderbilt creates more effective insect repellant (vanderbilt.edu)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Imagine an insect repellant that not only is thousands of times more effective than DEET — the active ingredient in most commercial mosquito repellants — but also works against all types of insects, including flies, moths and ants.

That possibility has been created by the discovery of a new class of insect repellant made in the laboratory of Vanderbilt Professor of Biological Sciences and Pharmacology Laurence Zwiebel and reported this week in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In preliminary tests with mosquitoes, the researchers found the new class of repellant, called Vanderbilt University Allosteric Agonist or VUAA1, to be thousands of times more effective than DEET. The compound works by affecting insects' sense of smell through a newly discovered molecular channel.
The Internet

Submission + - Experimental app could keep ISPs honest (networkworld.com)

Submitted by alphadogg
alphadogg writes: A browser-based app developed by Georgia Tech researchers is designed to help Internet users make better use of their bandwidth – and to make sure ISPs are holding up their end of the bandwidth bargain. The Kermit app, which is being shown off Wednesday at the CHI 2011 Conference on Human Factors in Computing in Vancouver, emerges at a time when service providers are starting to place bandwidth caps not just on wireless services, but on wireline services, too. AT&T, for example, is putting such caps in place this month for its DSL and U-verse customers. At least initially, such caps aren't expected to affect all but the very heaviest bandwidth users.

Slashdot Top Deals

A morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable. -- Thomas Jefferson

Close