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Science

Scientists Discover Meaning of Life Through Massive Computing Project 123

Posted by samzenpus from the bring-a-towel dept.
First time accepted submitter Rabbit327 writes In a stunning announcement today scientists have announced that after millions of cycles of computing time on some of the largest super computers that they have discovered the meaning of life. On April 1st 2015 at approximately 03:42 GMT scientists discovered that a long running program had finished. The results stunned scientists who were having tea in the other room when the alarm went off. According to the scientific team the answer was stunning yet confusing. Quoting one scientist "It's amazing. It worked! But what does it mean?!? For heaven's sake we spent all this time calculating the answer to the ultimate question about life, the universe, and everything. This is the answer we get?!? This is the bloody answer we get?!?!??!?" after which the scientist promptly threw a keyboard across the room. According to inside sources the answer given by the computer was "42". What this means will be announced later according to a research representative.

Submission + - Pentagon Personnel Now Talking on 'NSA-Proof' Smartphones (nationaljournal.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The Defense Department has rolled out supersecret smartphones for work and maybe play, made by anti-government-surveillance firm Silent Circle, according to company officials.

Silent Circle, founded by a former Navy Seal and the inventor of privacy-minded PGP encryption, is known for decrying federal efforts to bug smartphones. And for its spy-resistant "blackphone."

Apparently, troops don't like busybodies either. As part of limited trials, U.S. military personnel are using the device, encrypted with secret code down to its hardware, to communicate "for both unclassified and classified" work, Silent Circle Chairman Mike Janke told Nextgov.

Submission + - Like it or not, Facebook tracks your surfing behavior everywhere (www.hln.be)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Translated from Dutch: Facebook continues to track your surfing habits, even if you indicate that it should not, or if you have an account (anymore). That can be read in a study by the University of Leuven and the university commissioned by the Belgian Privacy Commission. The scientists claim that Facebook thus violates Belgian and European regulations. Study here (English): http://www.law.kuleuven.be/icr...

Submission + - Facebook Tracks All Site Vistors, Violating EU Law, Report Says (itworld.com)

Submitted by itwbennett
itwbennett writes: In a technical analysis of Facebook’s tracking practices, researchers at the University of Leuven in cooperation with researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel found that Facebook tracks everyone who visits its site, including people who don’t have an account, and even continues to track users and non-users who have opted out of targeted ads. The problem with these practices is that the cookies are placed without consent, which under EU law is only allowed if there is a strict necessity to do so.

Submission + - Lebanese Cyberspies Hit Defense, Telecom, Media Firms Worldwide (itworld.com)

Submitted by itwbennett
itwbennett writes: For the past two years, a cyberespionage group that likely operates from Lebanon has hacked into hundreds of defense contractors, telecommunications operators, media groups and educational organizations from at least 10 countries, according to security researchers from Check Point Software Technologies. The researchers found evidence that the attackers started their operation in late 2012, but have managed to fly under the radar until now by carefully adapting their tools to avoid being detected by antivirus programs.

Submission + - NSA Worried About Recruitment, Post-Snowden (npr.org) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The NSA employs tens of thousands of people, and they're constantly recruiting more. They're looking for 1,600 new workers this year alone. Now that their reputation has taken a major hit with the revelations of whistleblower Edward Snowden, they aren't sure they'll be able to meet that goal. Not only that, but the NSA has to compete with other companies, and they Snowden leaks made many of them more competitive: "Ever since the Snowden leaks, cybersecurity has been hot in Silicon Valley. In part that's because the industry no longer trusts the government as much as it once did. Companies want to develop their own security, and they're willing to pay top dollar to get the same people the NSA is trying to recruit." If academia's relationship with the NSA continues to cool, the agency could find itself struggling within a few years.
Australia

Australia Passes Mandatory Data Retention Law 124

Posted by timothy from the what's-in-the-box dept.
Bismillah writes Opposition from the Green Party and independent members of parliament wasn't enough to stop the ruling conservative Liberal-National coalition from passing Australia's new law that will force telcos and ISPs to store customer metadata for at least two years. Journalists' metadata is not exempted from the retention law, but requires a warrant to access. The metadata of everyone else can be accessed by unspecified government agencies without a warrant however.
Facebook

Facebook Makes Messenger a Platform 48

Posted by samzenpus from the stand-on-your-own-two-feet dept.
Steven Levy writes At Facebook's F8 developer conference, the ascension of the Messenger app was the major announcement. Messenger is no longer just a part of Facebook, but a standalone platform to conduct a wide variety of instant communications, not only with friends, but with businesses you may deal with as well. It will compete with other messaging services such as Snapchat, Line and even Facebook's own WhatsApp by offering a dizzying array of features, many of them fueled by the imagination and self-interest of thousands of outside software developers.

Submission + - Dutch 'data center radiator' trial promises low-cost heat and cheaper hosting (thestack.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Dutch utility company Enelco is collaborating with cloud-based tech startup Nerdalize to trial a nine-month scheme wherein five households will use domestically-styled data centers [http://www.nerdalize.com/] to provide indoor heating and hot water. Nerdalize CEO Boaz Leupe claims [http://www.networkworld.com/article/2901194/server-heating-startup-teams-with-energy-company-to-heat-dutch-homes.html] that if the trials are succeeded by roll-out, clients can save 55% on cloud-based hosting whilst Enelco customers could save about 400 euros ($436) annually under the scheme. In use the Nerdalize servers can output up to 8,000kWh annually. The servers perform calculations for research institutes and other clients, donate compute cycles to NFP causes when idle, and will perform 'dumb calculations' to maintain heat on demand in the event of a network outage.

Submission + - France decrees new rooftops must be covered in plants or solar panels (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A law approved in France Thursday now requires all new rooftops in commercial zones to be covered in plants or solar panels. "Green roofs have an isolating effect, helping reduce the amount of energy needed to heat a building in winter and cool it in summer. They also retain rainwater, thus helping reduce problems with runoff, while favoring biodiversity and giving birds a place to nest in the urban jungle, ecologists say." The law was actually watered down from its original version — businesses only have to cover part of their roof.

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