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Submission + - Millions of Dogecoin stolen over Christmas

Submitted by Kenseilon
Kenseilon writes: The Verge reports(http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/26/5244604/millions-of-dogecoin-stolen-in-christmas-hack) that millions of Dogecoins — an alternative cryptocurrency — was stolen after the service DogeWallet was hacked. DogeWallet worked like a bank account for the currency, and the attackers modified it to make sure all transactions ended up in a wallet of their choice. This latest incident is just one in the long (and growing) list of problems that cryptocurrencies are currently facing. It brings to mind the incident where bitcoin exchange service GBL vanished and took a modest amount of Bitcoins with them (http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/11/12/1553216/chinese-bitcoin-exchange-vanishes-taking-25m-of-coins-with-it). While not a similar case, it highlights the difficulties with trusting service provides in this market.

Submission + - What can the NSA learn from your phone metadata? There's an app for that.

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Last month researchers at Stanford kicked off MetaPhone, a crowdsourced study of phone metadata. They've since reported that phone activity reveals private relationships, is densely interconnected at just two or three "hops", and can trivially be identified. But now you can see for yourself: an updated version of the Android app will show you how many users you're connected to, as well as the businesses you've been in touch with. It's downright spooky.

Submission + - Alan Turing May Not Have Committed Suicied (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by Frosty Piss
Frosty Piss writes: Alan Turing may not have committed suicide, as is widely believed. Turing expert Prof Jack Copeland has questioned the evidence that was presented at the 1954 inquest, believing that the evidence would not today be accepted as sufficient to establish a suicide verdict. In 1952, after he had reported a petty burglary, Turing found himself being investigated for "acts of gross indecency" after he revealed he had had a male lover in his house. Prof Copeland argues that on the contrary, Turing's career was at an intellectual high, and that he had borne his treatment "with good humour". Prof Copeland suggests that Turing's death was an accident.

Submission + - Google's Duplicitous Stance on Loopholes, Spirit of Law 2

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: When it comes to tax loopholes, Google has certainly embraced the letter and not the spirit of the tax law. "Google plays by the rules set by politicians," quipped Google's UK head, defending the company's payment of a mere £6m in tax on sales of £2.6bn. "I view that you should pay the taxes that are legally required," added Google Chairman Eric Schmidt. "If the British system changes the tax laws then we will comply." So, one might ask whether Rap Genius was also playing by the letter of the rules, if not the spirit, when Google penalized Rap Genius for its link schemes. After all, don't they have the same fiduciary responsibility to investors that Google says motivates its tax strategy? Well, you could ask, but it wouldn't matter. In a case of what's-good-for-the-goose-is-not-good-for-the-gander, Google makes it clear that it won't countenance BS letter-of-the-law defenses from those who seek to exploit loopholes. From the Google Webmaster Guidelines, "These quality guidelines cover the most common forms of deceptive or manipulative behavior, but Google may respond negatively to other misleading practices not listed here. It's not safe to assume that just because a specific deceptive technique isn't included on this page, Google approves of it. Webmasters who spend their energies upholding the spirit of the basic principles will provide a much better user experience and subsequently enjoy better ranking than those who spend their time looking for loopholes they can exploit." So, in Lord Google's eyes, is exploiting loopholes good AND evil?

Submission + - Houston Expands Downtown Surveilance, Unsure If It Helps (khou.com)

Submitted by SpaceGhost
SpaceGhost writes: Associated Press reports that the Houston (Texas) Police will be adding 180 surveillance cameras in the downtown area, bring the total to close to 1000. While most cover public areas (stadiums, theater district) the police suggest that Houston also has more "critical infrastructure" (energy companies) than other cities. Interestingly AP points out that "Officials say data is not kept to determine if the cameras are driving down crime." Didn't London face the same issue?

Submission + - What would it cost to build a Windows version of the pricey new Mac Pro? (bgr.com)

Submitted by zacharye
zacharye writes: The new Mac Pro is the most powerful and flexible computer Apple has ever created, and it’s also extremely expensive — or is it? With a price tag that can climb up around $10,000, Apple’s latest enterprise workhorse clearly isn’t cheap. For businesses with a need for all that muscle, however, is that steep price justifiable or is there a premium “Apple tax” that companies will have to pay? Shortly after the new Mac Pro was finally made available for purchase last week, one PC enthusiast set out to answer that question and in order to do so, he asked another one: How much would it cost to build a comparable Windows 8 machine?...

Submission + - Antarctic Climate Research Expedition Trapped in Sea Ice

Submitted by Stinky Cheese Man
Stinky Cheese Man writes: An antarctic climate research expedition, led by climate researcher Chris Turney of the University of New South Wales, has become trapped in heavy ice near the coast of Antarctica. The captain has issued a distress call and three nearby icebreaker ships are on their way to the rescue. According to Turney's web site (http://www.christurney.com/), the purpose of the expedition is "to discover and communicate the environmental changes taking place in the south". Read the fine article at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/25/antarctic-expedition-scientists-trapped-ice

Submission + - Video Game Industry & Game Making Process (yourpcuniverse.com)

Submitted by class400
class400 writes: For most people, the video game experience starts at the store and ends on the couch. Few realize that creating a game can be as complex as making a Hollywood blockbuster. Months of planning and preparation, script writing, casting, character development and massive computing power go into the making of video games. In this article, we go through the various phases of the development of world-class video game.

Submission + - Ford Rolls the Dice with Breakthrough F-150 Aluminum Pickup Truck

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: USA Today reports that Ford's next F-150 pickup truck will be made mostly of aluminum instead of steel in a bid to save weight, and will likely either be hailed as a breakthrough product to buyers who’ve made F-150 the bedrock of its business or one that draws comparisons to a "rolling beer can". The automaker has asked Alcoa which makes aluminum blast shields for battlefield-bound vehicles, to lend some of its military-grade metal for the automaker’s display, according to people familiar with Ford’s plans who asked not to be identified because the plans are secret. Ford’s sales job will be considerable: The company is eager to demonstrate the toughness of aluminum, which is lighter than steel, to pickup buyers at next month's Detroit auto show. “This is already the most significant debut at the auto show,” says Joe Langley. “Everybody’s going to be dissecting that thing for a long time, especially since Ford will be taking such a big gamble.” As a transformative product with a potentially troublesome introduction, the new F-150 has drawn comparisons with Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner -- an aircraft developed under the company’s commercial airplane chief at the time, Alan Mulally, who in 2006 became Ford’s chief executive officer. Because of the complicated switch to aluminum from steel in the F-150's body, IHS Automotive estimates Ford will need to take about six weeks of downtime at each of its two US truck plants to retool and swap out robots and machinery. Ford is apparently trying to squeeze more than 700 pounds out of its next generation of pickup trucks. Using aluminum to cut weight would help meet rising fuel- economy standards in the United States, which is requiring a fleetwide average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

Submission + - Intel Releases Updated Android Features for XDK, its Cross-Platform HTML5 IDE

Submitted by rjmarvin
rjmarvin writes: Christmas came early for Android developers with Android 4 and up-specific updates http://sdt.bz/67519 to its XDK IDE for cross-platform HTML5 development. New remote debugging, JavaScript profiling and Web runtime based in the open-source Crosswalk project are available to analyze source code and improve JavaScript, WebGL and Web Audio performance. The XDK and all its other features http://software.intel.com/en-us/html5/blogs/intel-xdk-dec-release-announcement run on Android, Chrome, iOS, OS X, and Windows 7 and 8.

Submission + - Tesla updates Model S software as a precaution against unsafe charging (autoblog.com)

Submitted by zlives
zlives writes: Tesla Motors has maintained that the most recent fire involving one of its Model S electric vehicles isn't the result of a vehicle or battery malfunction, but the company is still addressing the situation with a software fix, according to Green Car Reports. The California-based automaker has added a software function that automatically reduces the charge current by about 25 percent when power from the charging source fluctuates outside of a certain range, Green Car Reports says, citing the Twitter feed from an Apple employee, @ddenboer, who owns a Model S. You can read the text of the update below.

Submission + - How Ya Gonna Get 'Em Down on the UNIX Farm? 2

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: In 1919, Nora Bayes sang, "How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paree?" In 2013, discussing User Culture Versus Programmer Culture, CS Prof Philip Guo poses a similar question, "How ya gonna get 'em down on UNIX after they've seen Spotify?" Convincing students from user culture to toss aside decades of advances in graphical user interfaces for a UNIX command line is a tough sell, Guo notes, and one that's made even more difficult when the instructors feel the advantages are self-evident. "Just waving their arms and shouting 'because, because UNIX!!!' isn't going to cut it," he advises. Guo's tips for success? "You need to gently introduce students to why these tools will eventually make them more productive in the long run," Guo suggests, "even though there is a steep learning curve at the outset. Start slow, be supportive along the way, and don't disparage the GUI-based tools that they are accustomed to using, no matter how limited you think those tools are. Bridge the two cultures."

Submission + - 'Glow-In-The-Dark' Piglets Born In China (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by minty3
minty3 writes: Using a technique developed by reproductive scientists from the University of Hawaii, ten transgenic piglets have been born in China. Under a black light, the pigs have a greenish tint.

Submission + - The Archaeology of Beer (theatlantic.com)

Submitted by cold fjord
cold fjord writes: The Atlantic reports, "Dr. Pat McGovern, a biomolecular archeologist at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology ... explains his process to me. “We always start with infrared spectrometry,” he says. “That gives us an idea of what organic materials are preserved.” From there, it’s on to tandem liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, sometimes coupled with ion cyclotron resonance, and solid-phase micro-extraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The end result? A beer recipe. Starting with a few porous clay shards or tiny bits of resin-like residue from a bronze cup, McGovern is able to determine what some ancient Norseman or Etruscan or Shang dynast was drinking ... Details will appear in a forthcoming issue of the Danish Journal of Archaeology. But if your curiosity is more immediate ... head to a nearby wine-and-beer store and request a bottle of the most recent Ancient Ale from Dogfish Head. The Delaware-based brewery ... collaborated with McGovern to make ... a brew that was inspired by the residue found on pottery fragments in a 2,700-year-old tomb in Turkey. Dogfish Head has since re-created six other defunct potables ... based on archeological finds in China, Honduras, Peru, Egypt, Italy, and now Scandinavia. Its re-creation of Nordic grog, Kvasir ..."

Submission + - Online Banking Users Be Warned (seculert.com)

Submitted by Shevook6
Shevook6 writes: New variant of Sazoora, a malware that injects fraudulent HTML code into web pages stealing credit card information and sensitive financial data, has emerged. Sazoora.B is harder for traditional security solutions to detect as it made to avoid on-premises sandboxes. Sazoora.B has already struck, between September 26 and October 20, it infected over 23,000 machines.

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