padraic_93 - Slashdot User

Submission + - Why aren't there more women in Information Tech? (itlf.org)

Submitted by

MikeDataLink

on Saturday December 26, 2009 @03:16AM

MikeDataLink writes: "The Information Technology Leader's Forum is running an interesting article entitled "Why are there not more women in IT?". I also find this to be a fascinating question. As TFA points out the career is decently stable, the work environment is generally nice (as in office work) and the rewards are usually good. Anyone women in the slashdot community have answers for us?"

Submission + - First Functional Molecular Transistor Comes Alive (wired.com)

Submitted by Dananajaya Ramanayake on Saturday December 26, 2009 @12:32AM

Dananajaya Ramanayake writes: Nearly 62 years after researchers at Bell Labs demonstrated the first functional transistor, scientists say they have made another major breakthrough.
Researchers showed the first functional transistor made from a single molecule. The transistor, which has a benzene molecule attached to gold contacts, could behave just like a silicon transistor.
The molecule’s different energy states can be manipulated by varying the voltage applied to it through the contacts. And by manipulating the energy states, researchers were able to control the current passing through it.

Submission + - How to do an ad hoc install of an iPhone app (easeintotheswitch.com)

Submitted by Refrag on Wednesday December 23, 2009 @05:55PM

Refrag writes: Figuring our how to run iPhone applications that weren't downloaded from the iTunes App Store isn’t exactly easy. Here is a guide on how to do ad hoc installation which is usually something you would do at the request of an iPhone developer for testing purposes of the application.

Submission + - Apple Tablet in January (businessinsider.com)

Submitted by ral on Wednesday December 23, 2009 @05:47PM

ral writes: Mobile blog "Boy Genius Report" says that Apple has told developers to get their iPhone and iPod Touch apps ready for a higher resolution device to be demoed in January. As long as iPhone apps support the larger resolution, they should run just fine. Given the success of the iPhone platform, a tablet based on it sure make sense.

Submission + - Information surfaces on iPhone 4

Submitted by padraic_93 on Wednesday December 23, 2009 @05:35PM

padraic_93 writes: The Register today reported that information has become available which reveals development is underway for the new iPhone 4, as well as suggestions of features and Apple's plans for the phone.

A report on PinchMedia, which made repeated use of the term 'iPhone 4', was cited on the website MacRumours, though the website admitted that such reports can often be forged. The report also made allusions to a 'Corporate Event' panned for June 28th — July 2nd 2010, which have been taken as refering to the next WWDC. The moniker 'Corporate Event' was used to disguise information on last year's WWDC, and that coupled with the length and timing of the event have made many wonder if this will be the platform used to launch the latest of the ever growing family of iPhones. (June is typically the month for what has almost become an annual tradition of iPhone launches.)

In addition, a report from the manufacturer of the 3.5 megapixel cameras fitted to the iPhone 3GS claims that Apple have placed an order for 40-45 million 5megapixel cameras. As well as suggesting the kind of hardware Apple want to benefit their latest model with, it also tells us something of what they expect from this latest model; sales roughly double of those recorded this year.

Submission + - Next-Gen Glitter-Sized Photovoltaic Cells Unveiled (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by MikeChino on Wednesday December 23, 2009 @03:56PM

MikeChino writes: Sandia National Laboratories recently announced a new breed of glitter-sized solar cells made from crystalline silicon that use 100 times less material to generate the same amount of electricity as standard solar cells made from 6-inch square solar wafers. Perfect for soaking up the sun’s rays on unusual shapes and surfaces, the tiny solar cells are expected to be less expensive, more efficient, and have promising new applications in textiles, clothing, and building facade installations.

An Open Source Compiler From CUDA To X86-Multicore 71

Posted by timothy on Wednesday December 23, 2009 @03:06PM from the abstraction-gains-a-layer dept.

Gregory Diamos writes "An open source project, Ocelot, has recently released a just-in-time compiler for CUDA, allowing the same programs to be run on NVIDIA GPUs or x86 CPUs and providing an alternative to OpenCL. A description of the compiler was recently posted on the NVIDIA forums. The compiler works by translating GPU instructions to LLVM and then generating native code for any LLVM target. It has been validated against over 100 CUDA applications. All of the code is available under the New BSD license."

Submission + - SPAM: Inmate gets 18 months for hacking prison computer

Submitted by alphadogg on Wednesday December 23, 2009 @02:55PM

alphadogg writes: A former Massachusetts prison inmate has been given an 18-month prison sentence for hacking prison computers while he was incarcerated. Francis "Frank" Janosko, 44, was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Boston for abusing a computer provided by the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. The computer had been set up to help inmates with their legal research. In 2006, Janosko managed to circumvent computer controls and use the machine to send e-mail and cull data on more than 1,100 Plymouth County prison employees. He gained access to sensitive information such as their dates of birth, Social Security Numbers, telephone numbers, home addresses and employment records.
Link to Original Source

Typing With Your Brain 262

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday December 23, 2009 @01:40PM from the what-a-waste-of-the-force dept.

destinyland writes "This article asks, 'Why bother to type a document using a keyboard when you can write it by simply thinking about the letters?' A brain wave study presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society shows that people with electrodes in their brains can 'type' using just their minds. The study involved electrocorticography — a sheet of electrodes laid directly on the surface of the brain after a surgical incision into the skull. ('We were able to consistently predict the desired letters for our patients at or near 100 percent accuracy,' explains one Mayo clinic neurologist.) And besides typing, there's new brain wave applications that can now turn brain waves into music and even Twitter status updates — by thought alone."

Is Code Auditing of Open Source Apps Necessary? 108

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday December 23, 2009 @12:45PM from the but-I-thought-there-were-no-bugs dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Following Sun Microsystems' decision to release a raft of open source applications to support its secure cloud computing strategy, companies may be wondering if they should conduct security tests of their customized open source software before deployment. While the use of encryption and VPNs to extend a secure bridge between a company IT resource and a private cloud facility is very positive — especially now that Amazon is beta testing its pay-as-you-go private cloud facility — it's important that the underlying application code is also secure. What do you think?"

Submission + - SPAM: New Features in Wolfram|Alpha: Year End Update

Submitted by viralMeme on Wednesday December 23, 2009 @11:36AM

viralMeme writes: When we launched Wolfram|Alpha in May 2009, it already contained trillions of pieces of information--the result of nearly five years of sustained data-gathering, on top of more than two decades of formula and algorithm development in Mathematica. Since then, weâ've successfully released a new build of Wolfram|Alpha's codebase each week, incorporating not only hundreds of minor behind-the-scenes enhancements and bug fixes, but also a steady stream of major new features and datasets.
Link to Original Source

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