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Submission + - Hubble's Stunning New View of the 'Pillars of Creation' (discovery.com)

Submitted by astroengine
astroengine writes: 20 years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope showed the world what has become one of the most famous images of our time. Staring deep into the Eagle Nebula, Hubble demonstrated its sheer imaging power, picking out the vast pillars of gas and dust in a star-making factory. Deep within their dusty cocoons, baby stars are being born, a factor that spawned the apt moniker “Pillars of Creation.” Now, to celebrate 25 years in space, Hubble has released a new version of the same nebula, only this time it's in high-definition. And it's spectacular.

Submission + - Young people are 'lost generation' who can no longer fix gadgets... (telegraph.co.uk)

Submitted by antdude
antdude writes: "Young people in Britain have become a lost generation who can no longer mend gadgets and appliances because they have grown up in a disposable world, the professor giving this year’s Royal Institution Christmas lectures has warned.

Danielle George, Professor of Radio Frequency Engineering, at the University of Manchester, claims that the under 40s expect everything to ‘just work’ and have no idea what to do when things go wrong..."
User Journal

Journal Journal: Good Bye, Google. 6

Journal by mcgrew

For the last several years I've noticed Google's search results getting worse and worse as time went by. Ten years ago, typing the title of a work returned that work usually in the first spot. They now seem to completely ignore the "title" meta tags.

Submission + - Laws for thee but not for me.... (watchdog.org) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In a ruling handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court, the nation’s top court found that a police officer who mistakenly interprets a law and pulls someone over hasn’t violated their Fourth Amendment rights.

If a police officer reasonably believes something is against the law, they are justified in initiating a traffic stop, says the U.S. Supreme Court. The problem? According to North Carolina traffic law, only one tail light needs to be functional. That means the initial stop, justified on these grounds, would have been illegal — and so would the seizure of the cocaine found in Heien’s car

“The result is a system in which “ignorance of the law is no excuse” for citizens facing conviction, but police can use their own ignorance about the law to their advantage,” notes the legal brief on the case by a coalition of civil rights organizations, including American Civil Liberties Union and Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

Although this was a traffic stop, imagine this applied to computer search & seizure. Suddenly, you could be facing "reasonable belief" that you committed a crime.

I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that this will enable a Police State.

Submission + - Federal Judge: Facebook Must Face Suit for Scanning Messages

Submitted by Rambo Tribble
Rambo Tribble writes: U.S. District Court Judge Phyllis Hamilton, on Tuesday, denied Facebook's bid to dismiss a class-action lawsuit against the social media giant, for violating users' privacy through the scanning of message content. In her rejection of Facebook's argument, the judge said the firm had, "...not offered a sufficient explanation of how the challenged practice falls within the ordinary course of its business."

Submission + - Reopen investigation into Westminster pedophile whistleblower deaths' – MP (rt.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A Labour MP has demanded the government reopen an investigation into the suspicious deaths of two whistleblowers he believes were in possession of significant evidence relating to historic child sex abuse, which infiltrated the heart of Westminster.

John Mann, a Labour MP for Bassetlaw, has urged Home Secretary Theresa May to address state secrecy shrouding these allegations.

Mann believes the Official Secrets Act is obstructing ex-Special Branch police officials from stepping forward with vital information relating to sordid allegations regarding a child sex abuse ring affiliated with powerful Westminster elite figures throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

“There are former police officers, especially Special Branch officers, some of whom have contacted me, who do have significant information, and, if the Official Secrets Act restrictions are lifted on them, [they] will be far more willing to come forward and divulge that information,” he said.

Submission + - 'Citizenfour' Producers Sued Over Edward Snowden Leaks (hollywoodreporter.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Hollywood Reporter reports, "Horace Edwards, who identifies himself as a retired naval officer and the former secretary of the Kansas Department of Transportation, has filed a lawsuit in Kansas federal court that seeks a constructive trust over monies derived from the distribution of Citizenfour. Edwards ... seeks to hold Snowden, director Laura Poitras, The Weinstein Co., Participant Media and others responsible for "obligations owed to the American people" and "misuse purloined information disclosed to foreign enemies." It's an unusual lawsuit, one that the plaintiff likens to "a derivative action on behalf of the American Public," and is primarily based upon Snowden's agreement with the United States to keep confidentiality. ... Edwards appears to be making the argument that Snowden's security clearance creates a fiduciary duty of loyalty — one that was allegedly breached by Snowden's participation in the production of Citizenfour without allowing prepublication clearance review. As for the producers and distributors, they are said to be "aiding and abetting the theft and misuse of stolen government documents." The lawsuit seeks a constructive trust to redress the alleged unjust enrichment by the film. A 1980 case that involved a former CIA officer's book went up to the Supreme Court and might have opened the path to such a remedy ... "

Comment Re: Why are critical systems connected to the int (Score 1) 212

by Bomarc (#48655869) Attached to: Cyberattack On German Steel Factory Causes 'Massive Damage'

Yeah, I agree. My management asked me after one incident how we could truly lock down one of our systems. I sent them a picture of a power strip with all the cords unplugged. They weren't amused. .

Ah... should have sent them a picture of a generator!

The truth is any system with users is never 100% secure, but that's not a popular answer.

Yes, agreed. BUT they can be a lot more secure than what is going on right now.

Comment Re:Why are critical systems connected to the inter (Score 1) 212

by Bomarc (#48655587) Attached to: Cyberattack On German Steel Factory Causes 'Massive Damage'

Because IT workers lack trade unions.

We don't have the authority to say "This is dangerous and violates acceptable practice" without getting fired.

Irony: I was fired for refusing to use using live customer data (and reported the practice to upper management). I advised that customer data (test) might be mixed with customer data (live) .. and was over-ruled -- the development team said that it could never happen. Just before I was fired, customers were calling and complaining - their (on-line) bills were not right - development had mixed the data connections - and the customers were looking at the "test" database. About six months later - the company was being investigated by the state AG.

Comment Re: Why are critical systems connected to the inte (Score 1) 212

by Bomarc (#48655495) Attached to: Cyberattack On German Steel Factory Causes 'Massive Damage'
Actually... I believe there is a right answer: Currently (as noted) management prefers to cut costs - without considering or being held responsible for the consequences. When "my" (personal) information is leaked over the internet, who pays? ME. Solution: crack down on such incidents - the person responsible for holding the information. In short: Improve security. WHEN it happens, pay the person who's information is leaked for potential damages from the company that holds the information -- and allow the door to be further open for (more) actual damages. In short: Put management’s feet to the fire. Wake up to the reality of the so-called savings. If you can't "secure" your data or equipment, you disconnect it from the internet. Pull the (internet) plug - a hacker can't gain access to and download terabytes of data from a physically isolated system.

Submission + - CatGenie Sells an Automated Cat Litter Box with DRM 1

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: Jorge Lopez writes that as a cat lover he's always wanted an automatic cat litter box and finally found one called the CatGenie, a fully automated self-washing litter box connected to water, electricity and the sewer that cleans itself with water and soap. "It’s the Rolls Royce of cat litter boxes, a hefty device that scoops, cleans, and disposes of the waste all on it’s own. It’s completely automated, even senses when a cat poops and cleans up afterwards." But there's trouble in paradise. "Life with the CatGenie was great, but not quite perfect," writes Lopez after discovering that CatGenie uses a smart cartridge that is only available from the manufacturer. "I found that the “Smart” in SmartCartridge is that it has an RFID chip inside of it to keep track of how much solution it has, and once it runs out, well, you can't refill. I honestly did not believe this and tore one of the cartridges apart, and there it was, looking back at me, a tiny chip holding up it’s little metal finger." Fortunately there are some amazing people helping the CatGenie community who have released products like the custom firmware CatGenious and CartridgeGenius which allows you to use whatever solution you want. "The cost savings is great, but isn't the biggest driver for me, it’s mainly the principle that I don't own the device I paid for, and I'm really tired of having cat litter everything in my home."

Submission + - Hot Springs at Yellowstone changed their color due to tourist activity

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Researchers say that the different colors of the hot springs in Yellowstone National Park are caused by human contamination. From the article: "Researchers at Montana State University and Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany have created a simple mathematical model based on optical measurements that explains the stunning colors of Yellowstone National Park's hot springs and can visually recreate how they appeared years ago, before decades of tourists contaminated the pools with make-a-wish coins and other detritus. f Yellowstone National Park is a geothermal wonderland, Grand Prismatic Spring and its neighbors are the ebullient envoys, steaming in front of the camera and gracing the Internet with their ethereal beauty. While the basic physical phenomena that render these colorful delights have long been scientifically understood—they arise because of a complicated interplay of underwater vents and lawns of bacteria—no mathematical model existed that showed empirically how the physical and chemical variables of a pool relate to their optical factors and coalesce in the unique, stunning fashion that they do."

Comment Spam or genuine article? (Score 1) 1

by Bomarc (#48651071) Attached to: A Web Application Testing Plan in 10 Easy Steps
A quick search returns:
What do you think about the brand name "Toolyo" for a simple & social tool finder?

With no context reference and posted by AC, and little on the website presented -- I'm leading to spam (or a "buy my product") rather than a genuine 'news' article. But now /. has a "deals" section. hummmmmm..... makes me wonder.

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