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Blackberry

Submission + - RIM Gets Defensive At BlackBerry World (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by
gabbo529
gabbo529 writes: "Research In Motion came out guns blazing at its annual Blackberry World event in Orlando, Fla., this week in order to prove its still got game in the consumer electronics industry. Along with new Blackberry Bold phones, updates to the Playbook and the announcement involving Microsoft, the company directly addressed some of its doubters, namely financial analysts."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft, Juniper won't fix dangerous IPv6 hole (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
Julie188
Julie188 writes: "Security experts are urging Microsoft and Juniper to patch a year-old IPv6 vulnerability so dangerous it can freeze any Windows machine on a LAN in a matter of minutes. The hole is in a technology known as router advertisements, where routers broadcast their IPv6 addresses to help clients find and connect to an IPv6 subnet. Microsoft has downplayed the risk, and refuses to even post a Security Advisory about it, because it says the hole requires a physical connection to the wired LAN. (Experts point out that Microsoft routinely patches less dangerous holes that also require a connection to the LAN.) Juniper says it has delayed a patch because the hole only affects a small number of its products and it wants the IETF to fix the protocol instead. BTW, Linux and Cisco have long ago issued patches. In the past couple of weeks, public disclosure and video demonstrations of how to exploit the vulnerability on Windows have become more available by security professionals trying to get Microsoft to take action."

Submission + - Furniture rental co. spies on PC users (ajc.com)

Submitted by Joe The Dragon
Joe The Dragon writes: By JOE MANDAK

The Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — A major furniture rental chain provides its customers with computers that allow the company to track keystrokes, take screenshots and even snap webcam pictures of renters using the devices at home, a Wyoming couple said in a lawsuit Tuesday.
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Computer privacy experts said the firm has the right to equip its computers with software it can use to shut off the devices remotely if customers stop paying their bills, but they must be told if they're being monitored.

"If I'm renting a computer ... then I have a right to know what the limitations are and I have a right to know if they're going to be collecting data from my computer," said Annie Anton, a professor and computer privacy expert with North Carolina State University.

But the couple who sued Atlanta-based Aaron's Inc. said they had no clue the computer they rented last year was equipped with a device that could spy on them.

Brian Byrd, 26, and his 24-year-old wife, Crystal, said they didn't even realize that was possible until a store manager in Casper came to their home on Dec. 22.

The manager tried to repossess the computer because he mistakenly believed the Byrds hadn't paid off their rent-to-own agreement. When Brian Byrd showed the manager a signed receipt, the manager showed Byrd a picture of Byrd using the computer — taken by the computer's webcam.

Brian Byrd demanded to know where the picture came from, and the manager "responded that he was not supposed to disclose that Aaron's had the photograph," the lawsuit said.

Byrd told The Associated Press in an exclusive telephone interview, the day before the suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Erie, that he believes the store manager showed him the picture because he "was just trying to throw his weight around and get an easy repossession."

That's when the Byrds contacted police who, their attorney said, have determined the image was shot with the help of spying software, which the lawsuit contends is made by North East, Pa.-based Designerware LLC and is installed on all Aaron's rental computers. Designerware is also being sued.

"It feels like we were pretty much invaded, like somebody else was in our house," Byrd told the AP. "It's a weird feeling, I can't really describe it. I had to sit down for a minute after he showed me that picture."

David Katz, an attorney at Atlanta-based Aaron's, said he was not familiar with the lawsuit, but was hoping to issue a response after reviewing a copy. The company's website says it has more than 1,500 stores in the United States and Canada.

Tim Kelly, who said he is one of the owners of Designerware, also wasn't aware of the lawsuit and declined to comment.

Two attorneys who are experts on the relevant computer privacy laws, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, said it's difficult to tell if either was broken, though both agree the company went too far.

Peter Swire, an Ohio State professor, said using a software "kill switch" is legal because companies can protect themselves from fraud and other crimes.

"But this action sounds like it's stretching the self-defense exception pretty far," Swire said, because the software "was gathering lots of data that isn't needed for self-protection."

Further, Swire said the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act "prohibits unauthorized access to my computer over the Internet. The renter here didn't authorize this kind of access."

Fred Cate, an information law professor at Indiana University agrees that consent is required but said the real question might be: "Whose consent?"

Courts have allowed employers to record employee phone calls because the employers own the phones. Similar questions arise as digital technology becomes more omnipresent, Cate said.

"Should Google let you know they store your search terms? Should Apple let you know they store your location? Should your employer let you know 'We store your e-mail?'" Cate said.

If the Byrds' claims are true, Cate said Aaron's made an error in not notifying customers.

"We always talk about deterrence value. Well it doesn't make sense to put (the software) on there" without telling people what it can do," Cate said. "That's why we all put alarm signs in front of our houses, even if we don't have alarms."

According to the lawsuit, the PC Rental Agent product includes components soldered into the computer's motherboard or otherwise physically attached to the PC's electronics. It therefore cannot be uninstalled and can only be deactivated using a wand, the suit said.

The couple's attorney, John Robinson, of Casper, said the computer is currently in police evidence. Prosecutors in Natrona County, Wyo., did not immediately return a call about the progress of any criminal investigation.

The Byrds want the court to declare their case a class-action, and are seeking unspecified damages and attorneys' fees. The privacy act allows for a penalty of $10,000 or $100 per day per violation, plus punitive damages and other costs, the lawsuit said.

"Crystal gets online before she gets a shower and checks her grades," Brian Byrd said. "Who knows? They could print that stuff off there and take it home with them."

He added: "I've got a 5-year-old boy who runs around all day and sometimes he gets out of the tub running around for 20, 30 seconds while we're on the computer. What if they took a picture of that? I wouldn't want that kind of garbage floating around out there."

Submission + - Man Gouges Eyes After 1 Hour Reading Slashdot v3 (slashdot.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: After merely one hour of reading articles and comments from the new SLASHDOT v3 interface a man from Unkerville, MD has gouged out his eyes. He is quoted as saying "I would have liked to have kept them, but the pain was unbearable. Additionally, by removing my eyes I have prevented myself from any further viewing of the site which I'm certain would have resulted in either insanity or a shooting spree." Thank god for rusty spoons.
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Fox News: IPv6 = six digit IP addresses! (foxnews.com) 3

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Fox News on IPv6: "Web developers have tried to compensate for this problem by creating IPv6 — a system that recognizes six-digit IP addresses rather than four-digit ones". Be sure to get the full story from the trusted science and technology folks at Fox!

Comment Like unfinished books... (Score 1) 2

by zvrk (#34362000) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Source code marketplace?
The way I see it is that little scripts, a snippets of code and other misc libraries are really like writers unfinished manuscripts. They, unless wrapped in the covers and marketed will have very little value to the end buyer (they are not indendent for). So, your best bet would be to wrap at least some of them in finished, well documented product - targeted to someone - fresh developers, small business owner, student or large business it is unlikely that you will make money from it. Good luck.
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Source code marketplace? 2

Submitted by doesntbyte
doesntbyte writes: I spend a lot of my free time writing little programs and libraries that help me accomplish a task or are just a pet project. I'm sure nearly everyone here does this, too. I also contribute to opensource projects a fair amount, too, but sometimes what I'm working on in my free time doesn't match any of their needs very well. After suffering a series of injuries and racking up some medical bills I got to thinking: I have all these great little libraries and algorithms I've created and I'm sure they would be useful to someone.

I guess what I'm wondering is, does anyone know any way I could put these things up for sale? Some of my friends suggested joining RentACoder or ScriptLance, but that's more for selling my time in the future which isn't what I'm really looking for. A friend pointed me to SourceSale, but that looks like it's not getting much action right now. My brother suggested just putting some code up on my personal blog with a PayPal link, but that seems less than optimal as well. Anyone have any ideas?
Power

Submission + - First Electric Cars Have Power Industry Worried 1

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Jonathan Fahey writes for AP that as the first mass-market electric cars go on sale next month, the power industry faces a huge growth opportunity, with SoCal Edison expecting to be charging 100,000 cars by 2015 and California setting a goal of 1 million electric vehicles by 2020. But utility executives are worried that the difficulty of keeping the lights on for the first crop of buyers — and their neighbors — could slow the growth of this new growth industry because it's inevitable that electric utilities will suffer some difficulties early on. "We are all going to be a lot smarter two years from now," says Mark Perry, director of product planning for Nissan North America. When plugged into a home charging station the first Leafs and Volts will draw 3,300 watts and take about 8 hours to deliver a full charge, but both carmakers may soon boost that to 6,600 watts while the Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car with a huge battery, can draw 16,800 watts. That means that adding an electric vehicle or two to a neighborhood can be like adding another house, and it can stress the equipment that services those houses. The problem is that transformers that distribute power from the electrical grid to homes are often designed to handle less than about 12,000 watts so the extra stress on a transformer from one or two electric vehicles could cause it to overheat and fail, knocking out power to the block. "We're talking about doubling the load of a conventional home," says Karl Rabago, who leads Austin Energy's electric vehicle-readiness program. "It's big.""
Power

Submission + - Al Gore Recants Support for Corn-Based Ethanol (politicsdaily.com)

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Federal ethanol subsidies reached $7.7 billion last year and the bio-fuel industry faced criticism in 2008 as food prices rose with ethanol consuming ever more of the corn crop and drawing down feedstocks. Now Al Gore says his support for corn-based ethanol subsidies while serving as vice president was a mistake that had more to do with his desire to cultivate farm votes in the 2000 presidential election than with what was good for the environment. "It is not a good policy to have these massive subsidies for first-generation ethanol," Gore said at a green energy conference in Athens, Greece adding that the energy conversion ratios — how much energy is produced in the process — "are at best very small." Gore now favors second-generation ethanol, using farm waste and switchgrass. Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis, representing ethanol producers, responded that "the contributions of first generation ethanol to our nation's economy, environment and energy production are not a mistake, but a success story.""

Submission + - What 2D GUI Foundation do you use? 2

Submitted by Zmee
Zmee writes: I am looking to build a 2D application for personal use and I will need to use a canvas to paint custom objects. I am trying to determine what foundation to use and have not located a good side-by-side comparison of the various flavors. For reference, I need the final application to work in Windows; Linux is preferred, but not required. I have looked at WPF, Qt, OpenGL, Tcl/Tk, Java's AWT, and others. I have little preference as to the language itself, but each of the tutorials appear to require significant time investment. As such, I am looking to see what the community uses and what seems to work for people prior to making that investment.

Comment But honestly? (Score 1) 1

by zvrk (#33873546) Attached to: Survey Shows How Stupid People are With Passwords
When there is an trusted password generator based on 'master password' and a domain of site that users logs in, and when this is prevalent in web browsers, I think we will have a chance... This will of course expose possibility that one can reverse engineer master password from domain and encrypted password but it will be a bit less likely than now. And really - how much do you trust web browser vaults?

Submission + - Where Can I Find a Web Developer? 1

Submitted by omnibit
omnibit writes: I've been wanting to start a new online business for a while. My dilemma is in sourcing a web designer/developer that offers a history of great design, functionality and back end server structure. My budget for design and development is somewhat flexible, but I don't want to spend more than $75,000. The site would be of an e-commerce nature with subscribing members receiving additional offers and discounts. The search function would have to anticipate plurals when customers search for products. I'd also want faceted search. My suppliers would have access on how well their products are selling so some automated report generation would be needed.

Ultimately, where does one go to source a web developer with some acclaim? Are there sites, developer groups or organizations that specialize in these kind of medium budget solutions? Does anyone have any recommended design houses of note?
Google

Submission + - Oracle's newest move to undermine Android (infoworld.com)

Submitted by GMGruman
GMGruman writes: Oracle's decision to shift focus from the Harmony Java open source project to OpenJDK seems innocuous enough — but InfoWorld's Josh Fruhlinger explains it's part of an effort to derail Google's mobile Android OS by gutting the open source project that Android has been driven by. IBM has signed on, apparently in return for getting the Java Community Process reactivated, leaving Google in a bind.

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