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Submission + - Help the FBI solve an open murder case (fbi.gov)

Submitted by JustDisGuy
JustDisGuy writes: The FBI has hit a dead end. On June 30, 1999, sheriff’s officers in St. Louis, Missouri discovered the body of 41-year-old Ricky McCormick. He had been murdered and dumped in a field. The only clues regarding the homicide were two encrypted notes found in the victim’s pants pockets.

Despite extensive work by our Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit (CRRU), as well as help from the American Cryptogram Association, the meanings of those two coded notes remain a mystery to this day, and Ricky McCormick’s murderer has yet to face justice.

“We are really good at what we do,” said CRRU chief Dan Olson, “but we could use some help with this one.”

Submission + - Samsung plants keyloggers on laptops it makes (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
Saint Aardvark
Saint Aardvark writes: "Mohammed Hassan writes in Network World that he found a keylogger program installed on his brand-new laptop — not once, but twice. After initial denials, Samsung has admitted they did this, saying it was to "monitor the performance of the machine and to find out how it is being used." As Hassan says, "In other words, Samsung wanted to gather usage data without obtaining consent from laptop owners." Three PR officers from Samsung have so far refused comment."
Microsoft

Submission + - Paul Allen Rips Bill Gates in Autobiography (itworld.com)

Submitted by
itwbennett
itwbennett writes: "Bill Gates was guilty of 'mercenary opportunism' when he schemed with Steve Ballmer to dilute Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's equity in the company while Allen was recovering from Hodgkin's disease. In his upcoming autobiography, 'Idea Man,' which is excerpted in Vanity Fair, Allen paints a portrait of Gates as brilliant, focused, driven ... and ruthless. According to Allen, Gates in the early days twice sought larger equity in the company on the grounds that he 'did more.' Allen says he acquiesced each time, both because he understood his partner's reasoning and to avoid major conflict."

Comment Am I the only one? (Score 1) 771

by JustDisGuy (#35238558) Attached to: How <em>Watchmen</em> Killed 'R'-rated Fantasy Movies

You know - I read the graphic novel in preparation for watching the highly anticipated movie, but I only watched the movie once. Personally, I didn't really find the movie all that awesome. But I have to say - I never even *noticed* that Dr. Manhattan was actually entirely nude and that his tallywhacker was out there for all to see. It was only after one of my friends reviewed the movie from his perspective - a review which consisted almost entirely of the repeated phrase "blue penis" - that I even became aware of it. This isn't a slam on the actor's assets - just found it strange that it seems that the movie was all about blue dick for so many people...

Comment Re:No More Deregulation (Score 1) 551

by JustDisGuy (#34666756) Attached to: How the Free Market Rocked the Grid

The lock in ends up being higher than the regulated rate (This was kept for those who didn't sign up).

Basically, the same way that mortgages work at the bank. The bank will offer to "lock in low rates" implying that they're doing you a favour and then when the five years is up you realize that the cost of borrowing was significantly more than if you had chosen a floating rate.

Any time you wish to absolve yourself of risk, you'll find there are people who are more than happy to profit by taking that risk over for you. Just be glad if they don't disappear in the night when real trouble *does* come along...

Comment Good-bye, cell phone (Score 1) 394

by JustDisGuy (#34659796) Attached to: TSA Investigates Pilot Who Exposed Security Flaws

FTFA: "Late last month a 50-year-old pilot, who asked that his name and the airline he works for not be made public, took a series of videos with his cell phone to show major flaws he says still exist in airport security systems."

Who wants to take bets that cell phones will now be required to be stowed in checked baggage, due to the "security threat" the camera phones pose?

Comment Nope (Score 1) 347

by JustDisGuy (#34346506) Attached to: Anxiety and IT?

Couldn't really give a fuck if the whole shebang crashes like the Hindenburg. I've done my bit to see that it doesn't as best as I am able and as well as I've been resourced, and if it crashes I'll go fix it. I'll be fucked if I'm going to spend even a minute *worrying* about it crashing. After all, it's not a matter of *if* so much as *when*, and that's what I like to refer to as job security.

Comment Re:Don't lose out on experiencing her life with he (Score 5, Insightful) 527

by JustDisGuy (#33253204) Attached to: Preserving Memories of a Loved One?

No mod points, but this ^^^^^.

I lost my wife when we were 37. She went out visiting one night, and never came home.

Spend the time you have left with your wife, and the children with their mother *creating memories*, and not memorabilia.

I'm sorry for your family, that you have to go through this when the kids are so young. Be strong, man.
PlayStation (Games)

BioShock 2's First DLC Already On Disc 466

Posted by Soulskill from the read-the-rest-of-this-post-in-a-month-for-five-bucks dept.
An anonymous reader writes with this quote from 1Up: "Trouble is brewing in Rapture. The recently released Sinclair Solutions multiplayer pack for BioShock 2 is facing upset players over the revelation that the content is already on the disc, and the $5 premium is an unlock code. It started when users on the 2K Forums noticed that the content is incredibly small: 24KB on the PC, 103KB on the PlayStation 3, and 108KB on the Xbox 360. 2K Games responded with a post explaining that the decision was made in order to keep the player base intact, without splitting it between the haves and have-nots."
Security

Can You Trust Anti-Virus Rankings? 258

Posted by CmdrTaco from the of-course-not dept.
Slatterz writes "It seems nobody can agree on a universal set of tests for rating anti-virus software, with Eugene Kaspersky the latest to weigh in on the topic, criticizing the well-known Virus Bulletin 100. Kaspersky is one of several big anti-virus brands to fall foul of the VB100 tests, reportedly failing to pass a recent test of security software on Windows Server 2008, along with F-Secure and Computer Associates. At Kaspersky, bloggers have pointed out that they don't focus on detecting PoCs, calling it a 'dead end,' and saying their anti-virus database focuses on 'real threats and exploits.' 'I don't want to say it's rubbish,' Kaspersky told PC Authority. 'But the security experts don't pay attention to these tests. It doesn't reflect the real level of protection.'"
Education

Submission + - 500 Scientists Challenge Climate Dogma (earthtimes.org)

Submitted by
E++99
E++99 writes: "A new analysis of peer-reviewed literature reveals that more than 500 scientists have published evidence refuting at least one element of current man-made global warming scares. More than 300 of the scientists found evidence that 1) a natural moderate 1,500-year climate cycle has produced more than a dozen global warmings similar to ours since the last Ice Age and/or that 2) our Modern Warming is linked strongly to variations in the sun's irradiance. ...3) sea levels are failing to rise importantly; 4) that our storms and droughts are becoming fewer and milder with this warming as they did during previous global warmings; 5) that human deaths will be reduced with warming because cold kills twice as many people as heat; and 6) that corals, trees, birds, mammals, and butterflies are adapting well to the routine reality of changing climate."
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Has a US Nuke Just Been Stolen For Use in the USA? (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "n-sphere is linking not just to the posting on The Geronimo Manifesto, in which Chuck Simpson reckons that the recent USAF B-52 blunder ("accidentally" flying across the USA with 5, no wait.... 6, no wait.... 5, nuclear-armed missiles) was in fact a (non-too slick, if you actually stop to PAY ATTENTION) bit of sleight-of-hand, resulting in the theft of a nuke, likely to be used for a "black flag" operation. Expect a city on the US mainland, with a population on the order of 100,000, with a Democrat mayor and in a Democrat-led state, to disappear in a blinding flash of light and a huge EM pulse. Oh and expect to hear that Iran was responsible and thus, Iran should also disappear a bit later, and also in a blinding flash of light and a huge EM pulse, no wait.... 10 blinding flashes....."

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