Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
United States

Submission + - SPAM: Deadly virus is killing Honey Bees

Submitted by
FiReaNGeL
FiReaNGeL writes: "Between 50 and 90 percent of the commercial honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in the United States have been disappearing, a problem named Colony Collapse Disorder. Few, if any, dead bees are found around the hive. The disorder is making it difficult for U.S. commercial beekeepers to pollinate crops. About a quarter of beekeeping operations were affected by CCD during the 2006-2007 winter alone. Recently, scientists have found a probable cause : a virus. "Our extensive study suggests that the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) may be a potential cause of Colony Collapse Disorder" said scientists from Columbia University. "Our next step is to ascertain whether this virus, alone or in concert with other factors such as microbes, toxins and stressors, can induce CCD in healthy bees". CCD is a puzzling phenomenon occurring in the United States in which all adult bees disappear from the hive, leaving the honey and pollen behind."
Link to Original Source
The Internet

Submission + - DOJ Questions Net Neutrality Rules (itworld.com)

Submitted by
narramissic
narramissic writes: "In a brief filed Thursday with the FCC, the DOJ warned against imposing net neutrality regulations on broadband providers, saying that net neutrality rules could 'inefficiently skew investment, delay innovation, and diminish consumer welfare' and could also result in increased fees to all broadband users. 'Free market competition, unfettered by unnecessary governmental regulatory restraints, is the best way to foster innovation and development of the Internet,' the DOJ said."
The Internet

Submission + - Wikipedia blocks Overstock.com from editing 1

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: Known for having a media director that obsessively stalks critics, Overstock.com's IP address range has now been banned from editing on Wikipedia. Longtime Wikipedia staffer, David Gerard, posted this on the Administrators' Noticeboard Tuesday afternoon: "I've just blocked 65.116.112.0/21, which is an IP range (a) owned by Overstock.com (b) widely used by them for spamming, COI editing and attempted intimidation of administrators dealing with them. I strongly suggest against unblocking this range under any circumstances"
Networking

Submission + - Indictment highlights file-sharing risks (komotv.com)

Submitted by
Bomarc
Bomarc writes: "From KOMO TV website, an article about how Gregory Thomas Kopiloff used Limewire, Soulseek and other "peer-to-peer" file-sharing programs to troll other computers for financial information, which he used to open credit cards for an online shopping spree, according to a four-count indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court on Thursday.

The news article isn't big on details, but it does outline the risks with "peer-to-peer" file-sharing programs. Carried by the By Associated Press"
The Courts

Submission + - Justice Department Opposes Net Neutrality (wsj.com)

Submitted by
thornomad
thornomad writes: "I was saddened (though not surprised) to read that the Justice Department opposes net neutrality saying that it could "hamper development of the internet". While it may seem counter-intuitive to me, they argue that allowing ISPs to provide different levels of service/speed for different content will benefit consumers. They did promise to "continue to monitor and enforce any anticompetitive conduct to ensure a competitive broadband marketplace" — not that anyone was worried about that."
Communications

Submission + - Verizon smokes out another family

Submitted by
netbuzz
netbuzz writes: "This time it's a Philadelphia family having to watch smoke billow from the front of their home after another Verizon FiOS tech drills into another electrical wire. The really bad PR news for Verizon? The homeowner happens to be a business reporter for Associated Press. But, hey, at least there was some good news, too, this time: The reporter had very nice things to say about FiOS ... aside from the installation.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/19126"
Quickies

Submission + - World has 4 billion phone lines (yahoo.com)

Submitted by
Christopher Blanc
Christopher Blanc writes: "Largely because of the mobile phone boom in developing countries, telephone service has quadrupled in the past decade to 4 billion lines worldwide, according to a report Tuesday from the U.N. telecommunications agency. The International Telecommunications Union counts 1.27 billion fixed lines and 2.68 billion mobile accounts. 61 percent of the world's mobile subscribers are in developing countries, the ITU said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070904/ap_on_hi_te/un _booming_phones"
United States

Submission + - Pentagon admits breach but won't say who did it (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "The rattling of cyber swords could be heard today as the Pentagon confirmed computer hackers had gained access to an unclassified e-mail system in the office of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, but then declined to say that the Chinese army was responsible for it. The Financial Times this week quoted current and former U.S. officials as saying that Chinese People's Liberation Army hackers broke into a Defense Department network in June and removed data. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said that an attack did occur in June but declined to identify the origin of the threat. It is often difficult to pinpoint the true origin of an intrusion into computer systems and even more difficult to tie the intrusion to a specific nation or government, he said. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/19041"
Announcements

Submission + - Google gPhone on Sale September 14,2007 and costs (php0h.com)

Submitted by
ebuystore
ebuystore writes: "Google gPhone goes on Sale September 14,2007 and costs $100.It has the same Features as the Apple iPhone,and more.You can use this phone with many different Carriers,and it will work in any Country in the World.Read more,about it,and see Pictures of it,by clicking on the link to the website,featuring the Article."
Spam

Submission + - Monster sends paper mail "we're sorry." (zairgit.com)

Submitted by zairgit
zairgit writes: Monster apparently sent out paper mail, informing their customers of the recent breech. The meat: "Recently, a malicious software, known as Infostealer.Monstres, was used to gain unauthorized access to the Monster resume database. Regrettably, some of the contact information that was captured included your name, address, telephone number and email address." Um... thanks?
Software

Submission + - the end of wikipedia as we know it? (blogspot.com)

Submitted by sdedeo
sdedeo writes: I used to be far more involved in wikipedia than I am these days, so it was a surprise for me to learn about flagged revisions. There's a lot of jargon and coining in the roll out: "surveyors", "sightings", "flagging", as well as a great deal of secrecy — "ordinary" users were notified only by accident and the notice was quickly taken down. In true wiki fashion, the proposal itself is highly obfuscated, but the executive summary is that "edit this page" will now become "suggest an edit to this page."
Biotech

Submission + - NoPoPo battery - just add urine (hexus.net)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Sighted at IFA in Berlin is the NoPoPo battery by Aqua Power System. These batteries, with a shelf life of 10 years, use a small amount of liquid (though the author seems taken by the idea of urine) combined with a mix of carbon and magnesium to generate power. They're regargeable too: 'extra power can be added by refilling the battery; just open the trouser zip and let fly'. Thee batteries are already on sale in Japan, of course.
Space

Submission + - Car exhaust and exploded star may explain life (itwire.com)

Submitted by
WaltonNews
WaltonNews writes: "Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic pollutants found in car exhaust and cigarette smoke. They are also found in supernova remnant N132D, the material left over after an old star explodes. Scientists theorize that PAHs play an essential role in the development of life."
Businesses

54% of CEOs Dissatisfied With Innovation 210

Posted by CowboyNeal from the bang-for-the-buck dept.
athloi writes "Invention is new and clever; innovation is a process that takes knowledge and uses it to get a payback. Invention without a financial return is just an expense. Ideas are really the sexy part of innovation and there's rarely a shortage of them. If you look at the biggest problems around innovation, rarely does a lack of ideas come up as one of the top obstacles; instead, it's things like a risk-averse culture, overly lengthy development times and lack of coordination within the company. Not enough ideas, on the other hand, is an obstacle for only 17 percent. At the end of the day all that creativity and all those ideas have to show on the bottom line. The goal of innovation is to make or save money, and IT should never lose sight of that central fact."
Google

Submission + - New Google Linux Apps Coming Soon !! (techrythm.com) 2

Submitted by
techoon
techoon writes: "The goal of the Google Linux Client Team is to develop Linux desktop applications, such as what we have seen from Google Earth and Google Picasa with official Linux versions. Google had also made an interesting splash at the first-ever Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit (which they had kindly hosted at their Mountain View campus) during a presentation by the Google Linux Client Team. What was it? Well, there are some "significant accomplishments" and other new Google desktop applications coming out this year for the Linux platform."

Slashdot Top Deals

The faster I go, the behinder I get. -- Lewis Carroll

Close