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Firefox

Submission + - Where Is Firefox OS? 1

Submitted by adeelarshad82
adeelarshad82 writes: Microsoft's very simple, yet grace concept raises a very big question. The way Microsoft is planning out Windows 8, developers will be able to write one HTML 5 app which will run across every Windows 8 form factor, from desktops to laptops, to ARM netbooks and tablets. Given the concept, if you remove the operating system — or at least make it transparent enough that the browser becomes the platform — then suddenly every piece of software works across every piece of hardware which raises the question that why Mozilla hasn't considered a Firefox OS?
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Oracle Ignored Facts While Claiming Damages (muktware.com)

Submitted by sfcrazy
sfcrazy writes: Cockburn ignored prior negotiations between Sun and Google in which Google was offered the opportunity to license these and other patents for a fraction of Cockburn's present estimate;

Cockburn ignored other licensing transactions in which Sun licensed these patents for a fraction of Cockburn's present estimate (and these other licensing transactions will almost certainly become a limiting factor on any royalties Oracle may be awarded); and

Cockburn bases his estimate on worldwide sales of Android devices and Google revenue, despite the fact that the devices are made and used (and thus the infringement occurs) outside the U.S. and is not subject to a U.S. patent claim.

All of this serves to indicate that the Cockburn report, while sensational, has little or no bearing on a likely outcome of this case."
United States

Submission + - State Dept. Voice Scorns Manning Torture, Resigns (independent.co.uk) 4

Submitted by traindirector
traindirector writes: U.S. State Department chief spokesman P.J. Crowley resigned today under pressure from the Obama White House after expressing concern about the Department of Defense's excessively harsh treatment of Bradley Manning, the alleged leaker of a significant cache of State Department cables. In response to a question at MIT on Friday regarding the U.S. Government's apparent torture of the soldier, Crowley responded that the harsh handling of Manning was "ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid". He stood by his remarks in his statement of resignation today: 'My recent comments [...] were intended to highlight the broader, even strategic impact of discreet actions undertaken by national security agencies every day and their impact on our global standing and leadership. The exercise of power in today's challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values. Given the impact of my remarks, for which I take full responsibility, I have submitted my resignation.'
Facebook

Submission + - Survey: 41% of Facebook Users Total IDiots (allthingsd.com)

Submitted by plastick
plastick writes: In an experiment, 41% of Facebook users were willing to divulge highly personal information to a complete stranger. This according to IT security firm Sophos, which invited 200 randomly selected Facebookers to befriend a bogus Facebook user named "Freddi Staur" (an anagram of "ID Fraudster"). Of those queried, 87 responded to the invitation, among them 82 people whose profiles included personal information such as their email address, date of birth, address or phone number. In total:
  • 72% of respondents divulged one or more email address
  • 84% listed their full date of birth
  • 87% provided details about their education or workplace
  • 78% listed their current address or location
  • 23% listed their current phone number
  • 26% provided their instant-messaging screen name

Comment An experiment in Social Engineering. (Score 5, Interesting) 1141

by KenDiPietro (#33646854) Attached to: Hunters Shot Down Google Fiber
When I used to work in the wireless Internet world, I had an associate who had much the same problem with idiots shooting at his antennas. After he had been forced to change antennas on several occasions, I told to him that the simple way to fix the problem was to mount a bullseye somewhere else on his towers and give these lunatics something different to aim at. The last time I talked to him his antennas were bullet hole free but he did have to replace a few of the targets due to them taking some serious damage. Come on, Google, put some creative thought into solving these problems..
Government

Ted Stevens and Sean O'Keefe In Plane Crash 512

Posted by CmdrTaco from the end-of-the-tubes dept.
necro81 writes "The NY Times is reporting that former Senator Ted Stevens was aboard a small plane with eight others that crashed in remote southwest Alaska Monday night. Some news outlets are reporting that he died, along with at least four others. Meanwhile, the North American CEO of aerospace firm EADS and former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe was was also reported in the crash. Rescue crews from the Alaska Air National Guard reached the site about ten hours after the initial crash."
Cellphones

BBC Builds Smartphone Malware For Testing Purposes 60

Posted by Soulskill from the mainstream-security-research dept.
siliconbits writes "BBC News has shown how straightforward it is to create a malicious application for a smartphone. Over a few weeks, the BBC put together a crude game for a smartphone that also spied on the owner of the handset. The application was built using standard parts from the software toolkits that developers use to create programs for handsets. This makes malicious applications hard to spot, say experts, because useful programs will use the same functions."
Education

Monkeys Exhibit the Same Economic Irrationality As Us 254

Posted by samzenpus from the I-wanna-spend-like-you-oo-oo dept.
grrlscientist writes "Laurie Santos is trying to find the roots of human irrationality by watching the way our primates make decisions. This video documents a clever series of experiments in 'monkeynomics' and shows that some of the stupid decisions we make are made by our primate relatives too."

Comment Looking outside the box (Score 1) 161

by KenDiPietro (#30450658) Attached to: Ads To Offset Cost of Unlocked Google Phone?
Instead of thinking advertising, how about this? Revenue is generated by capturing call termination fees (on both ends with Google voice) - but that's nothing compared to the big payoff, mobile payments through Google Checkout. So, Google gets to pillage and plunder both the telephone companies and the credit card companies, making them the hero of this generation and the next. And then there is the possibility of selling the mobile media data (a la Nielsen/Arbitron) for extra cash, if they feel they need it.

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