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Submission + - Scientists Determine New Way To Untangle Proteins By Unboiling An Egg

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Univ. of California, Irvine (UC Irvine) and Australian chemists have figured out how to unboil egg whites—an innovation that could dramatically reduce costs for cancer treatments, food production and other segments of the $160 billion global biotechnology industry, according to findings published in ChemBioChem. 'Yes, we have invented a way to unboil a hen egg,' said Gregory Weiss, UCI professor of chemistry and molecular biology & biochemistry. 'In our paper, we describe a device for pulling apart tangled proteins and allowing them to refold. We start with egg whites boiled for 20 min at 90 C and return a key protein in the egg to working order.'

Comment But that's the whole point !! (Score 1) 823

by ripvlan (#48878709) Attached to: Fake Engine Noise Is the Auto Industry's Dirty Little Secret

My VW GTI (aka Audi A3) has a "sound box" which makes a delightful little growl when you step on the gas. Coupled with a muffler that puts out a "pummp pummp" sound - it is all cool. VW didn't hide it - it is advertised albeit small print feature. Making my little 0-60 runs and hearing the deep tone change with each tap of the paddle-shifter, it just gives a little twinge of excitement in the lower region of the anatomy.

What is driving a car? I say the experience and exhilaration. Sure some of these features are like spinning wheel-caps - but they add to the fun. Its the feeling.

The performance geeks remove this box ( Y-delete) because it affects throttle response. But for us old people who bomb through the mountain pass with the windows open and Red Barchetta playing from the stereo - I'm after the surreal.

Just as long as it doesn't sound fake :-P

Submission + - Microsoft Announces Office 2016 And Office For Windows 10 Coming Later This Year

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: At its Windows 10 event yesterday, Microsoft unveiled the touch-optimized version of Office. Today, the company offered more details about that version, and then snuck in another announcement: the next desktop version is under development, it is called Office 2016, and it will be generally available “in the second half of 2015.” Office for Windows 10 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook), meanwhile, is also slated to arrive later this year, though Microsoft has shared more about it and plans to offer a preview in the coming weeks. These new Office apps will be pre-installed (they will be free) on smartphones and small tablets running Windows 10. They will also be available to download from the Windows Store for other devices.

Comment But that's the whole point! (Score 1) 1

by ripvlan (#48876837) Attached to: Fake Engine Noise is the Auto Industry's Dirty Little Secret

My VW GTI (aka Audi A3) has a "sound box" which makes a delightful little growl when you step on the gas. Coupled with a muffler that puts out a "pummp pummp" sound - it is all cool. VW didn't hide it - it is advertised albeit small print feature. Making my little 0-60 runs and hearing the deep tone change with each tap of the paddle-shifter, it just gives a little twinge of excitement in the lower region of the anatomy.

What is driving a car? I say the experience and exhilaration. Sure some of these features are like spinning wheel-caps - but they do add to the fun.

The performance geeks remove this box ( Y-delete) because it affects throttle response. But for us old people who bomb through the mountain pass with the windows open and Red Barchetta playing from the stereo - I'm after the surreal.

Just as long as it doesn't sound fake :-P

Submission + - Adobe Patches One Flash Zero Day, Another Still Unfixed

Submitted by Trailrunner7
Trailrunner7 writes: Adobe has released an emergency update for Flash to address a zero-day vulnerability that is being actively exploited. The company also is looking into reports of exploits for a separate Flash bug not fixed in the new release, which is being used in attacks by the Angler exploit kit.

The vulnerability that Adobe patched Thursday is under active attack, but Adobe officials said that this flaw is not the one that security researcher Kafeine said Wednesday was being used in the Angler attacks.

The patch for Flash comes just a day after Kafeine disclosed that some instances of the Angler exploit kit contained an exploit for a previously unknown vulnerability in the software. Adobe officials said Wednesday that they were investigating the reports. Kafeine initially saw Angler attacking the latest version of Flash in IE on Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8, but said the exploit wasn’t being used against Chrome or Firefox.

On Thursday he said on Twitter that the group behind Angler had changed the code to exploit Firefox as well as fully patched IE 11 on Windows 8.1.

Submission + - Indiegogo Slips on Soap: 2 bankruptcies, 3 campaigns, 0 product

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Indiegogo has allowed two brothers to launch a new campaign after the duo already raised $300,000 on two previous campaigns and declared bankruptcy. All the while, they have never been able to show hardware or software for their would-be Android-based touchscreen-enabled super-duper home automation router from their company called Soap Inc., with "Inc" being a misnomer.

The company admits to launching the third campaign to satisfy backers from the last campaign in something that CE Pro describes as a Ponzi-like scheme.

CE Pro wonders if Indiegogo should share some of the blame in the Soap opera.

Submission + - Researchers Create a Teleportation Method via Destructive 3D Printing (3dprintboard.com) 2

Submitted by ErnieKey
ErnieKey writes: Researchers from German-based Hasso Plattner Institute have come up with a process that may make teleportation a reality — at least in some respects. Their 'Scotty' device utilizes destructive scanning, encryption, and 3D printing to destroy the original object so that only the received, new object exists in that form, pretty much "teleporting" the object from point A to point B. Scotty is based on an off-the-shelf 3D printer modified with a 3-axis milling machine, camera, and microcontroller for encryption, using Raspberry Pi and Arduino technologies

Submission + - Fujitsu Psychology Tool Profiles Users At Risk Of Cyberattacks (itworld.com)

Submitted by itwbennett
itwbennett writes: Fujitsu Laboratories is developing an enterprise tool that can identify and advise people who are more vulnerable to cyberattacks, based on certain traits. For example, the researchers found that users who are more comfortable taking risks are also more susceptible to virus infections, while those who are confident of their computer knowledge were at greater risk for data leaks. Rather than being like an antivirus program, the software is more like 'an action log analysis than looks into the potential risks of a user,' said a spokesman for the lab. 'It judges risk based on human behavior and then assigns a security countermeasure for a given user.'

Submission + - Fake Engine Noise is the Auto Industry's Dirty Little Secret 1

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: Stomp on the gas in a new Ford Mustang or F-150 and you’ll hear a meaty, throaty rumble — the same style of roar that Americans have associated with auto power and performance for decades. Now Drew Harwell reports at the Washington Post that the auto industry’s dirty little secret is that the engine growl in some of America’s best-selling cars and trucks is actually a finely tuned bit of lip-syncing, boosted through special pipes or digitally faked altogether. "Fake engine noise has become one of the auto industry’s dirty little secrets, with automakers from BMW to Volkswagen turning to a sound-boosting bag of tricks," writes Harwell. "Without them, today’s more fuel-efficient engines would sound far quieter and, automakers worry, seemingly less powerful, potentially pushing buyers away." For example Ford sound engineers and developers worked on an “Active Noise Control” system on the 2015 Mustang EcoBoost that amplifies the engine’s purr through the car speakers. Afterward, the automaker surveyed members of Mustang fan clubs on which processed “sound concepts” they most enjoyed.

Among purists, the trickery has inspired an identity crisis and cut to the heart of American auto legend. The “aural experience” of a car, they argue, is an intangible that’s just as priceless as what’s revving under the hood. “For a car guy, it’s literally music to hear that thing rumble,” says Mike Rhynard, “It’s a mind-trick. It’s something it’s not. And no one wants to be deceived.” Other drivers ask if it really matters if the sound is fake? A driver who didn’t know the difference might enjoy the thrum and thunder of it nonetheless. Is taking the best part of an eight-cylinder rev and cloaking a better engine with it really, for carmakers, so wrong? "It may be a necessary evil in the eyes of Ford," says Andrew Hard, "but it’s sad to think that an iconic muscle car like the Mustang, a car famous for its bellowing, guttural soundtrack, has to fake its engine noise in 2015. Welcome to the future."

Submission + - Nasty Oracle Vulnerability Leaves Researcher 'Gobsmacked'

Submitted by Trailrunner7
Trailrunner7 writes: Oracle on Tuesday will release a huge number of security fixes as part of its quarterly critical patch update, and one of them is a patch for a vulnerability that a well-known security researcher said looks a lot like a back door but was likely just a terrible mistake.

The flaw is found in Oracle’s eBusiness Suite, a set of apps that includes financial management, CRM and other functions. David Litchfield, an accomplished security researcher who has been poking holes in Oracle products for more than a decade, discovered the vulnerability and reported it to the vendor last year.

A remote attacker could have the ability gain control of an affected database, which is game over for the target system. Litchfield said that when he discovered the vulnerability on a client’s network, his first thought was that the client had been owned and the attacker had left the back door there for later use.

Despite how bad the vulnerability looks, Litchfield said he doesn’t think that it is actually an intentional back door inserted for law enforcement or an intelligence agency.

“I don’t think Oracle as a company would do that. Could it be a disgruntled employee? Maybe, though, giving them the benefit [of the] doubt, it could be that some dev was testing something and they forgot to turn it off. Who knows. What is concerning however is that Oracle seem not to know who and why this privilege was granted, either,” he said.

Comment Am I missing something? (Score 1) 199

by ripvlan (#48850889) Attached to: Insurance Company Dongles Don't Offer Much Assurance Against Hacking

It is nice to know that these security hole exist. Others have pointed out how these might be ... put to use.

I found the article lacking. Here's what I'm missing - nowhere in the article did I gain an understanding of the feasibility of attacking this system. We've elsewhere seen people unlocking cars from the outside (either breaking a window and using the port or wirelessly). Breaking the glass is just that - Break Glass and people would notice.

Having to unplug this device and write new firmware isn't really a hack. Yes - it would be nice if these things had security codes stamped into them for access to the mothership. Still - from outside the car how do I attack this thing? How do I take over this thing and make use of it?

I'm sure there's a way, I'm just not getting a feeling of the priority here. I won't signup for these devices because of the big brother aspect. Shaming the companies for low security is fun. And there are hypothetical attacks on the cell system. But how serious is this? What is my attack surface right now?

Submission + - Be My Eyes app for iOS crowdsources help for the blind (thestack.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A new not-for-profit app, Be My Eyes, aims to help the visually-impaired by connecting them with volunteer users who can support them in their daily lives via live video calls. Once downloaded Be My Eyes asks the user to identify as blind or sighted, to see if you require help or are offering it. When a blind person requests assistance the app scans the system for an available volunteer. The blind user connects with the volunteer over a video call and points to the item they would like described. Be My Eyes was created by Hans Jørgen Wiberg, a visually-impaired entrepreneur, at a startup event. Wiberg teamed up with Robocat, the Danish software studio behind Haze and Thermo, to make his vision a reality.

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