Comment i once invented anti-technology technology... (Score 3, Funny) 146
couldn't figure out why the darn thing kept blowing itself up....
Submission + - Leaked: Entire equipment list of US forces in Iraq (wikileaks.org)
James Hardine writes: There are many reports on the Wikileaks release of a spectacular 2,000 page US military leak, possibly the most militarily significant leak
of the war. The leak consists of the names, group structure and equipment registers of all units in
Iraq with US army equipment. It exposes secretive document exploitation centers, detainee
operations, elements of the State Department, Air Force, Navy and Marines units, the Iraqi
police and coalition forces from Poland, Denmark, Ukraine, Latvia, Slovakia, Romania, Armenia, Kazakhstan and El Salvador. The material represents nearly the entire order of battle for US forces in Iraq and is the first public revelation of many of the military units descr
ibed. Among other matters it shows that the United States has violated the Chemical Weapons Convention.
Submission + - Students Design Open Source Video Card 1
acronica writes: With the Open Graphics Project advancing slowly a few students picked up the idea to do it all smaller, faster, and more importantly, cheaper. From the site; "We'd love to have an OGD1 card and are amazed by it's specifications, but for us and a lot of people, this card is simply too much. So that's where this card comes in, to give you all the fun of developing on programmable hardware, designing video cards and architectures, for a price that won't hurt your wallet." Will this make way for open source enthusiasts to build a true open source system?
NIST Opens Competition for a New Hash Algorithm 187
Invisible Pink Unicorn writes "The National Institute of Standards and Technology has opened a public competition for the development of a new cryptographic hash algorithm, which will be called Secure Hash Algorithm-3 (SHA-3), and will augment the current algorithms specified in the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 180-2. This is in response to serious attacks reported in recent years against cryptographic hash algorithms, including SHA-1, and because SHA-1 and the SHA-2 family share a similar design. Submissions are being accepted through October 2008, and the competition timeline indicates that a winner will be announced in 2012."
Submission + - Germany passes invasive surveillance law 2
An anonymous reader writes: Today at 14:05, the German parliament passed an extensive surveillance law, including an extremely extensive data retention duty for all telecommunication providers. They must now gather and store virtually all data generated by an act of telecommunication, including for example IP addresses, Email headers, Phone number and the location of mobile subscribers. This gargantuan amount of data has to be kept for six months.
These records may be accessed for all crimes "committed by means of telecommunication", allowing virtually unlimited access for law enforcment agencies.This is the first time in the history of the German republic that a basic human right (the secrecy of correspondence) is abolished in it's entirety.
http://www.tagesschau.de/inland/vorratsdatenspeicherung22.html (German, it's all over the german internet by now)
In related news, German secretary of interior Wolfgang Schäuble, compared objectors to Adolf Hitler:
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/98718 (also in German)
These records may be accessed for all crimes "committed by means of telecommunication", allowing virtually unlimited access for law enforcment agencies.This is the first time in the history of the German republic that a basic human right (the secrecy of correspondence) is abolished in it's entirety.
http://www.tagesschau.de/inland/vorratsdatenspeicherung22.html (German, it's all over the german internet by now)
In related news, German secretary of interior Wolfgang Schäuble, compared objectors to Adolf Hitler:
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/98718 (also in German)
AntiPiracy Macrovision Bug is Actually Six Years Old 177
twitter writes "A recently reported Macrovision bug has actually been around for six years, according to Computerworld. 'Flawed antipiracy software now being exploited by attackers has been bundled with Windows for the last six years to protect game publishers, Macrovision Corp. said today. The "secdrv.sys" driver has shipped with all versions of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista ... users do not have to play a SafeDisc-protected game to be vulnerable.' The article goes on to play down danger and claim that Vista is safe, but ZDNet notes: 'Malware authors are actively exploiting a zero-day privilege escalation vulnerability ... [which] can be exploited overwrite arbitrary kernel memory and execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM privileges. This facilitates the complete compromise of affected computers.'"
Monitor Draws Zero Power In Standby 405
fifthace writes "A new range of Fujitsu Siemens monitors don't draw power during standby. The technology uses capacitors and relays to avoid drawing power when no video signal is present. With political parties all over Europe calling for a ban on standby, this small development could end up as one of the most significant advances in recent times. The British Government estimates eight percent of all domestic electricity is consumed by devices in standby."
Submission + - Software turns GPS phone into 'emergency beacon' (itwire.com)
WirePosted writes: "A new application for GPS smartphones can report the user's location when things go wrong."
Submission + - Computer screens makin' you blind? (sciam.com)
Scott R. writes: "From SciAm.com — Ophthalmologists, optometrists and other eye professionals note a seeming link between myopia, also called nearsightedness, and "near work" — visual activities that take place at a distance of about 40 centimeters (16 inches) from the eye — such as reading a book. Staring at a computer screen qualifies as well, though monitors usually are around 50 centimeters (20 inches) away.
But only a small — and mysterious — subset of people see myopic progression from near work, whether they are focusing on a computer or accounting books.
The fact that near work doesn't lead to myopia in all of us, however, doesn't mean sitting close to a computer screen causes no problems. Though for most it is not permanently damaging, computer near work leads to an uncomfortable, at times debilitating, list of symptoms collectively known as eyestrain."
MIT Offers City Car for the Masses 290
MIT's stackable electric car, a project to improve urban transportation will make its debut this week in Milan. "The City Car, a design project under way at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is envisioned as a two-seater electric vehicle powered by lithium-ion batteries. It would weigh between 1,000 and 1,200 pounds and could collapse, then stack like a shopping cart with six to eight fitting into a typical parking space. It isn't just a car, but is designed as a system of shared cars with kiosks at locations around a city or small community."
Cell Phone Jamming on the Rise 942
netbuzz writes "It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone either, as the number of inconsiderate dolts who yammer away oblivious to the disruptions their yapping is causing those around them continues to rise. Pocket-sized cell jammers are becoming a hot item, while proprietors of restaurants and the like look to defend themselves as well. Yes it's illegal, but given that the rudeness is pretty close to criminal as well, it's unlikely to stop any time soon."
