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Android

Submission + - How does a self published android app writer get t (android.com)

An anonymous reader writes: For a senior project I wrote a puzzle game for the Android. I published the app thinking that I would gradually get downloads, but I find that the only ones who have installed it are friends and family that I have shown the app to.

I've briefly looked into advertising, but nothing seems worthwhile, so I've just published two versions a paid and free version without any difference between the two. Even after doing this nobody seems to be trying out the free version. So my question is: how can a person who has just created an Android app get noticed?

Security

Submission + - Are Sensible Password Policies Starving The Hail M (blogspot.com)

badger.foo writes: "Remember the Hail Mary Cloud of distributed ssh password guessing bots? They're back (or may have been active all along), but the latest news is that they seem to be numbering hundreds, not thousands like they did some years ago. Peter Hansteen speculates that maybe we are seeing the effect of sensible passwords polidies or a move to key only ssh logins. And they're still not even attempting to attack OpenBSD systems."

Submission + - Hybrid technology could bring 'quantum information (scienceblog.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Researchers at Purdue say the merging of plasmonics and nanophotonics is promising the emergence of new 'quantum information systems' far more powerful than today's computers. "Plasmons are quasiparticles that combine electrons and photons. And by using them in place of the simple electrons of today's computers, they could overcome limitations in the operational speed of conventional integrated circuits.The technology hinges on using single photons for switching and routing in computers that would harness the exotic principles of quantum mechanics.
Crime

Submission + - Weaponizable Police UAV Now Operational in Texas (click2houston.com) 2

crackspackle writes: The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office in suburban Houston, Texas is preparing to launch operations with a newly received Vanguard Defense Industries Shadowhawk MK-III unmanned aerial vehicle, paid for by grant money received by the Department of Homeland Security. The MK-III is a product marketed for both military and law enforcement applications. Michael Buscher, chief executive officer of manufacturer Vanguard Defense Industries, said this is the first local law enforcement agency to buy one of his units. "The aircraft has the capability to have a number of different systems on board. Mostly, for law enforcement, we focus on what we call less lethal systems," he said, including Tazers that can send a jolt to a criminal on the ground or a gun that fires bean bags known as a "stun baton.You have a stun baton where you can actually engage somebody at altitude with the aircraft. A stun baton would essentially disable a suspect," he said. "To be in on the ground floor of this is pretty exciting for us here in Montgomery County," Sheriff Tommy Gage said. The MK-III also has more lethal options available, capable of carrying either a 40mm or 37mm grenade launcher or 12 gauge shotgun with laser designator. Sheriff Gage has stated he has no immediate plans to outfit his drone with weapons.
Firefox

Submission + - Meet Firefox's built-in PDF reader (geek.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Not long ago, Mozilla coders announced that they were starting to build PDF.js, a way to display Acrobat documents in the browser using pure web code. No longer will you have to fight with an external PDF plug-in in Firefox. Development on PDF.js has progressed to the point now where you can take an early peek at it. Huzzah!
NASA

Submission + - Take out asteroid soon, UN urged

stevedmc writes: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21247126-2,00 .html

THE United Nations has been urged to launch a space mission designed to take out an asteroid threatening to smash into the Earth in 2036.

In scenes straight out of Hollywood action movie Armageddon, a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists say they are monitoring an asteroid named Apophis, which has a one in 45,000 chance of striking Earth on April 13, 2036.

A recent congressional mandate for NASA to upgrade its tracking of near-Earth asteroids is expected to uncover a host of threatening space rocks in the near future, former astronaut Rusty Schweickart said.

"It's not just Apophis we're looking at. Every country is at risk. We need a set of general principles to deal with this issue," Mr Schweickart, a member of the Apollo 9 crew that orbited the moon in March 1969, told an American Association for the Advancement of Science conference.

Mr Schweickart plans to present an update this week to the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on plans to develop a blueprint for a global response to an asteroid threat.

The Association of Space Explorers, a group of former astronauts and cosmonauts, intends to host a series of high-level workshops this year to flesh out the plan and will make a formal proposal to the UN in 2009, he said.

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