anderzole - Slashdot User

Submission + - These 19th Century Postcards Predicted Our Future (singularityhub.com)

Submitted by

kkleiner

on Monday October 15, 2012 @05:15PM

kkleiner writes: "Starting in 1899, a commercial artist named Jean-Marc Côté and other artists were hired to create a series of picture cards to depict how life in France would look in a century’s time. Sadly, they were never actually distributed. However, the only known set of cards to exist was discovered by Isaac Asimov, who wrote a book in 1986 called “Futuredays” in which he presented the illustrations with commentary. What’s amazing about this collection is how close their predictions were in a lot of cases, and how others are close at hand."

Submission + - Apple hires Amazon's Bill Statssior to head up Siri unit (edibleapple.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15, 2012 @04:56PM

An anonymous reader writes: Another interesting hire over at Apple these days. Kara Swisher is reporting that Apple recently hired William (Bill) Statsior to head up the company’s Siri division.

Statsior previously was in charge of A9 which is Amazon’s search and search advertising unit and has been at the nation’s largest online retailer since 2003. Before working at Amazon, Statsior had stints working at Oracle and AltaVista.

Submission + - FBI issues Android virus warning (ic3.gov)

Submitted by Dupple on Monday October 15, 2012 @01:58PM

Dupple writes: The IC3 has been made aware of various malware attacking Android operating systems for mobile devices. Some of the latest known versions of this type of malware are Loozfon and FinFisher. Loozfon is an information-stealing piece of malware. Criminals use different variants to lure the victims. One version is a work-at-home opportunity that promises a profitable payday just for sending out email. A link within these advertisements leads to a website that is designed to push Loozfon on the user's device. The malicious application steals contact details from the user’s address book and the infected device's phone number.

Submission + - Precision Espionage miniFlame Malware Tied to Flame, Gauss (threatpost.com)

Submitted by Gunkerty Jeb on Monday October 15, 2012 @10:38AM

Gunkerty Jeb writes: Initially thought to be merely a module of the now-infamous Flame malware, MiniFlame, or SPE is, in reality, a secondary surveillance tool deployed against specially identified targets following an initial Flame or Gauss compromise.

MiniFlame/SPE was one of three previously unseen pieces of malware discovered during a forensic analysis of Flame's command and control servers.'

Researchers at Kaspersky Lab and CERT-Bund/BSI determined that the program, which has compromised somewhere between 10 and 20 machines, can stand alone as an independent piece of malware or run as a plug-in for both Flame and Gauss.

Submission + - How Apple's Obsession with Google Is Hurting Apple (cultofmac.com)

Submitted by TrueSatan on Monday September 24, 2012 @08:48AM

TrueSatan writes: As it did in the past when Apple fixated on Microsoft to the detriment of its own products and amidst a flurry of spurious lawsuits Apple's current fixation on Google is damaging the company and their user experience (see Maps apps as an obvious example).

Submission + - Apple's iPhone: The Untold Story (networkworld.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 13, 2012 @10:22AM

An anonymous reader writes: As one of the most secretive companies on the planet, the Apple-Samsung trial was fascinating in that it lifted the veil of secrecy that typically shrouds Apple's operations. From marketing budgets to photos of never-before-seen iPhone prototypes, the evidence introduced at trial gave the world an unprecedented glimpse into the inner workings of Apple.

One of the more interesting stories to emerge from the trial centers on the development of the original iPhone. Piecing together statements made by Apple executives at trial and during depositions conducted in anticipation of trial, along with public statements made by Steve Jobs and other Apple employees in the past, we now have a clearer idea of how the iPhone came to be.

Submission + - WD Builds Light, High Capacity, Helium-filled HDDs (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123 on Thursday September 13, 2012 @10:12AM

Lucas123 writes: Western Digital subsidiary HGST today announced that after 10 years of development it is preparing to release 3.5-in data center-class HDDs that are hermetically sealed with helium inside. The helium reduces drag and wind turbulence created by the spinning platters, all but eliminating track misregistration that has become a major issue to increasing drive density in recent years. Because of that, HGST will be able to add two more platters along with increasing the tracks per inch, which results in a 40% capacity increase. The drives will also use 23% less power because of the reduction of friction on the spindle. HGST said the new seven-platter helium drives will weigh 29% less per terabyte of capacity that today's five-platter drives. In other words, a seven-platter helium disk will weigh 690 grams, the same as today's five-platter drives.

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