Erwartungswert - Slashdot User

Germany To Roll Out ID Cards With Embedded RFID 235

Posted by Soulskill on Sunday August 22, 2010 @05:17AM from the meine-Brieftasche-ist-radioaktiv dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The production of RFID chips, an integral element of the new generation of German identity cards, has started after the government gave a 10-year contract to the chipmaker NXP in the Netherlands. Citizens will receive the mandatory new ID cards starting from the first of November. The new card allows German authorities to identify people with speed and accuracy, the government said. These authorities include the police, customs and tax authorities and of course the local registration and passport granting authorities. There are some concerns that the use of RFID chips will pose a security or privacy risk, however. Early versions of the electronic passports, using RFID chips with a protocol called 'basic access control' (BAC), were successfully hacked by university researchers and security experts."

Internet Explorer Turns 15 271

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday August 16, 2010 @09:00AM from the and-the-internet-has-never-been-the-same dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Software giant Microsoft's Internet Explorer turned 15 years old on Monday. The company recently said it would launch the Internet Explorer 9 public beta version on September 15, 2010. The software giant launched the first version of the browser, Internet Explorer 1, on August 16, 1995. It was a revised version of Spyglass Mosaic, which Microsoft had licensed from Spyglass Inc."

Submission + - Mandatory smart grid meters in Germany add cost (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by Erwartungswert on Sunday August 15, 2010 @04:31PM

Erwartungswert writes: New calculations show that the promised savings from smart meters are not there yet. It will take many years before there is any efficiency gain from Smart Grids in practice, shows the experience in Germany. Problem for households is: They dont have a choice. Since the beginning of 2010, all new buildings and fully renovated houses in Germany must be equipped with smart meters.

Could Crowdsourcing Help the SEC Detect Fraud? 148

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 11, 2010 @08:08AM from the sure-couldn't-hurt dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The SEC failed to catch Bernie Madoff largely because they are understaffed (a fact the SEC itself has admitted), under-funded, and simply lack the resources to adequately investigate his activities. Undoubtedly, there were other smaller incidents of fraud that have gone unpunished because of this deficiency. To solve this egregious issue, NERA Economic Consulting proposed crowdsourcing, the concept behind Wikipedia's existence. Proving financial fraud is essentially an exercise in finding numbers that do not match. Through crowdsourcing, regulators would make financial data publicly available to the masses, who would do the 'grunt work' of sifting through them to find discrepancies. But would it work?"

Submission + - Google buys spy drones

Submitted by on Saturday August 07, 2010 @02:13PM

An anonymous reader writes: The Internet giant Google is testing camera drones according to a published report. "The drones are very suited to deliver up to date image material for Google Maps," said Juerss. The drones are already used by the British police, among many other corporate and private users of the freely available drone, since 3 years. The police is using the "spy drone", fitted with CCTV cameras, mainly for tackling anti-social behavior and public disorder.

Submission + - ITER Fusion Reactor crisis over, funding secured (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by Erwartungswert on Wednesday July 28, 2010 @10:31PM

Erwartungswert writes: In a major breakthrough on the path towards infinite fusion energy, the seven member countries behind the ITER Experimental Fusion Reactor struck a deal to put additional billions in the immense project. The estimated costs doubled from previous plans. But with the EU alone throwing up to 6.6 billion euros in, the funding is secured and construction will start in the coming weeks. The first component, a superconducting coil for the magnetic confinement field, were recently completed in Japan as well.

Slashdot Top Deals