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Mozilla

Submission + - Mozilla gives details on Firefox 3 changes (vnunet.com)

Submitted by
99luftballon
99luftballon writes: "Vnunet has an interview with the development team of Firefox 3 which shows the main features of the new browser. Top of the list is a new graphics engine with improved rendering and zoom capability but it's the plans for changing the bookmarking system into a SQL database that looks most interesting. Also telling is the refusal to give a launch date, with the head of Mozilla Europe frankly stating "We do not want to ship crap on time." Wonder who he could be referring to."
The Courts

Submission + - ESA initiates police raid against console modder (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Donkey Konga
Donkey Konga writes: A San Diego man was arrested after a raid turned up over a thousand counterfeit games, modded consoles and mod chips. Frederick Brown 'had allegedly built up a thriving business selling counterfeit games and installing mod chips, having advertised his services on Craigslist and other web sites. He allegedly sold pirated games from his Vista, CA residence as well, including both discs and hard drives preloaded with games that he would install into customers' Xboxes and Xbox 360s.' After the ESA learned of his activities, they contacted San Diego law enforcement and the San Diego Computer and Technology Crime High-Tech Response Unit led the raid on his home. '"CATCH was very receptive to the evidence we brought them and were able to put the investigation together in very short order," ESA VP Ric Hirsch told Ars.' Brown now faces 10 felony counts reltated to selling pirated games and modding consoles.
Robotics

Submission + - A robot that travels through the body

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "The reference to the 1966 movie "Fantastic Voyage" is maybe too obvious. But Israeli scientists have developed a 1-millimeter-diameter medical robot that will be able to crawl within our veins and arteries. It's too early to know when this medical robot is allowed to explore a real human being. But the researchers think it could be used to fight some cancers. They even envision groups of robots working simultaneously to fight metastases. Read more for some details and a picture of what the tiny submarine robot would look like."
Software

Submission + - Comparing web development platforms empirically (plat-forms.org)

Submitted by
whrde
whrde writes: "How do you compare Java to Python to Ruby to .NET? Very little empirical research has been done into web development platforms, mostly because it's a particularly difficult thing to do.

A research group at the Free University of Berlin is conducting a survey as part of the Plat_Forms effort. Results will be compiled and can be emailed to anyone who completes the survey.

If you have experience with two or more web development languages, you can contribute to this research by completing the survey."
Software

Submission + - OOXML evaluation (fsfeurope.org)

Submitted by
H4x0r Jim Duggan
H4x0r Jim Duggan writes: "With the holiday season about to make consensus work impractical, most national standards groups will decide in the next week or two whether to recommend MS's OOXML format for ISO standardisation. There's been a lot of private lobbying, and none has made MS's 6,000 page standard easy to review. With that in mind, FSFE have published Six questions to national standardisation bodies. If they think MS's standard answers "yes" to each question, they should approve. If not, they should reject. There's also a petition."
The Internet

Submission + - US lags Industrialized nations in bandwidth (usatoday.com)

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "USA Today relates that US consumer bandwidth lags behind other nations. Data from the Communications Workers of America says we lag far behind. From the article: "Speed matters on the Internet. A 10-megabyte file takes about 15 seconds to download with a 5-megabit connection — fast for the USA. Download time with a 545-kilobit connection, about the entry-level speed in many areas: almost 2½ hours." This data was allegedly taken from 'broadband' users. I could pull 10 megs in 20 minutes with dialup! Are they considering NetZero 'broadband?' My regular cable modem hits 5 megabits, and when I had DSL it wasn't that bad. I'm not sure of the angle here. Perhaps they are looking for more work for the cable-laying contingent of their union."
Databases

Submission + - Q&A with MySQL's Marten Mickos (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In a longish interview http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?com mand=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyId=9&articleId=29442 2&intsrc=hm_topic with Computerworld, MySQL's CEO says that the company has internally debated "many times" whether to make its popular open-source database partially closed-source. He also says he promised to welcome Oracle if they built an 'Unbreakable MySQL' clone, like it did with Red Hat Linux. "I would get an endorsement free of charge, and I would get a competitive situation that I easily could win," he said. Mickos also says he believes there is nothing leftist about open-source, reveals that it took him 12 years to finish college (though he ran a tech firm during that time), and that his prior CEO job before MySQL was a failed sports betting dot-com.
Security

Submission + - FBI: Wacky nicknames nab bank robbers (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "So can a nutty, wacky or amusing moniker really help the FBI and other police officials more quickly catch bank robbers? There seems to be some anecdotal evidence from the FBI that says it is so. At least the FBI never seems to be at a loss for calling a bank robber by another name. For example here is a very short list of FBI-named bank bandits the agency has caught or is currently looking for: Ponytail Bandit, Goofy Hat Bandit, Irreconcilable Differences Bandit...The FBI says that these monikers plus the liberal use of still photos and video surveillance and the Web helps that catch bank robbers who last year swiped some $72 million. http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1679 2"
Spam

Submission + - Mr. and Mrs. Spam (hungarytourism.hu)

Submitted by
Tamas Feher from Hungary
Tamas Feher from Hungary writes: "CNN reports that some 200 american people recently became subjects of a targeted e-mail spam attack, which alleged a relative contracted them to a hitman. The message warned that they will be assasinated very soon unless they cough up some 30 to 80 thousand dollars in ransom. Those who disobeyed were harassed with a fake follow-up letter from an "FBI representative in London", warning the recipient that he/she is high up on a kill bill found with a recently arrested mafia messenger. The most resistant victims were even sent an ultimatum, full of personal and family details, ordering the recipient to pay immeditely or they will be retired. The real FBI is investigating this unusual strain of the infamous "nigerian 419" scam.

Here is the full article:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/18/lothian.cybercrim e/index.html"
Space

Submission + - Tunguska Impact Crater "Found" (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by
BigBadBus
BigBadBus writes: "An Italian Team is claiming to have found the impact crater resulting from the 1908 Tunguska impact. From the BBC website:
A University of Bologna team says a lake near the epicentre of the blast may be occupying a crater hollowed out by a chunk of rock that hit the ground. Lake Cheko — though shallow — fits the proportions of a small, bowl-shaped impact crater, say the Italy-based scientists. Their investigation of the lake bottom's geology reveals a funnel-like shape not seen in neighbouring lakes. In addition, a geophysics survey of the lake bed has turned up an unusual feature about 10m down which could either be compacted lake sediments or a buried fragment of space rock."
Of course, this is highly controversial, but its a hell of a lot better than the gas eruption theory mentioned in one of Arthur C.Clarke's "Mysterious World" books."
Windows

Submission + - Vista Media Center + CableCard = No TV

Submitted by notthatwillsmith
notthatwillsmith writes: ATI's internal CableCard readers are finally available, and Maximum PC got hands on time with a couple of Vista-powered systems built using the FCC-mandated technology. The short version? It doesn't work.
Education

Submission + - T. rex was relatively slow, lumbering animal (msn.com)

Submitted by
Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: "A new study found that the typical T. rex was a relatively slow animal running at no more than 25mph, 20 miles an hour slower than the 45mph we often seen depicted in movies such as Jurassic Park, and its inertia would have kept it from turning quickly — even slower than a human being. "We now know that a T. rex would have been front heavy, turned slowly and could manage no more than a leisurely jog," said team leader John Hutchinson of the Royal Veterinary College."
XBox (Games)

Submission + - Microsoft to open Xbox Live to Windows users

Submitted by
TMarvelous
TMarvelous writes: "Microsoft announced yesterday that it was extending the online gaming service for its Xbox consoles to the millions of people who use Windows PCs to play games over the Internet, a move that could bolster the popularity — and profits — of video gaming.

Xbox Live, Microsoft's online gaming network that serves some six million Xbox users, is scheduled on May 8 to open its basic and premium features to online PC gamers under the rubric of Games for Windows — Live, Microsoft executives said.

The service coincides with the much-anticipated release of a Windows Vista version of Microsoft's best-selling combat game, Halo 2.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/technology/14gam e.html"

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