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Submission + - Dennis Ritchie, creator of C programming language (google.com)

Submitted by WankerWeasel
WankerWeasel writes: The sad news of the dead of another tech great has come. Dennis Ritchie, the creator of the C programming language and a key developer of the Unix operating system, has passed away. For those of us running Mac OS X, iOS, Android and many other non-Windows OS' have him to thank. Many of those running Windows do too as many of the applications you're using were written in C.
Security

Submission + - Poor Security for Electronic Medical Records (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by cheezitmike
cheezitmike writes: A report released by the US Department of Health and Human Services inspector general found that the push to convert health care providers to electronic medical records overlooks computer and network security concerns. From the story: "To underscore the point, the second audit examined computer security at seven large hospitals in different states and found 151 security vulnerabilities, from ineffective wireless encryption to a taped-over door lock on a room used for data storage."

Comment Re:Only 1998? (Score 1) 404

by dw (#33439304) Attached to: Microsoft Patents OS Shutdown

I rather doubt that. I have all of my important equipment protected by surge protectors, including the phone line which enters my house and plugs into my DSL modem. I've gotten hit via lightening over the phone line before. But if you want to trust the "I'll unplug everything when I hear lightning" approach to test your theory, be my guest.

Submission + - BP may have triggered a 'world-killing' event (helium.com)

Submitted by SatireWolf
SatireWolf writes: BP may have triggered a 'world-killing' event on par with the last two mammoth undersea methan bubble explosions 55 and 251 million years ago.

According to Northwestern University's Gregory Ryskin, a bio-chemical engineer, BP may have set-off a chain of geological interactions that could result in a huge upwelling of methane through fissures currently forming in the Gulf of Mexico. It is further posited that BP is in the process of designing a EPFCG charge (a mini-fusion-pulse-nuke) as a worst case scenario option. — http://www.helium.com/knowledge/381620-why-bp-is-readying-a-super-weapon-to-avert-escalating-gulf-nightmare
Idle

Submission + - Nigerian Scammer Gets A Laptop From Me (notla.com)

Submitted by wiredmikey
wiredmikey writes: After switching to a Mac recently, I decided to put my old laptop up for sale to help recoup a little of the Mac cost. I received an email almost immediately from a girl named Rebecca and we had this email exchange

Submission + - Facebook virtual currency to roll out in September (marketingweek.co.uk)

Submitted by Dzonatas
Dzonatas writes: Facebook Credits, announced after the news of Facebook Gift Shop being shut down in August, is being made ready for the public this September. The credits will initially be good for online games, yet they also plan to allow purchase of physical products. Jonathon Lyon, social media strategist at marketing agency Wunderman, said brands would find the best opportunity if the currency is used in Facebook Connect. “The real opportunity is within Facebook Connect. If it can integrate with that, it will mean a much broader network of sites can implement the currency. With other virtual currencies that have real world physical good transactions, it seems there needs to be tradable assets across markets (i.e. Linden Dollars and LindeX). Will this allow people to buy a new fashion outfit from Perfect World to trade for bonus points in Mafia Wars? Seriously, what about taxes in the global market?
Networking

Submission + - IANA IPv4 Exhaustion Predicted in less than a Year (potaroo.net)

Submitted by dw
dw writes: IANA IPv4 exhaustion, which refers to the day in which ICANN distributes its last 5 large chucks of addresses to the regional registries, is now anticipated to occur within the next 12 months. Year to date, it has already distributed 10 of its 26 /8s, with 16 remaining, and there are signs depletion may be accelerating. Despite IANA exhaustion in about a year, most consumers should not notice immediate impacts, as each regional registry and each ISP will have their own dwindling pools of addresses to utilize. Appropriate or not, the press will likely find IANA exhaustion as a convenient Y2K-like date to doom and gloom about, which should have a much more direct impact on IPv6 (or alternative) implementations, as Executives decide that action is urgent.
Security

Submission + - Apple Software Has the Most Flaws (threatpost.com) 1

Submitted by Trailrunner7
Trailrunner7 writes: After years of dominance in the vulnerabilty-count metric, Microsoft has now given way to Apple as the software maker with the most reported vulnerabilities. Apple's products now have more vulnerabilities than those of any other major vendor. Perhaps more importantly, though, is the fact that third-party applications now account for the vast majority of flaws on most computers, according to a new report. The report covers the first half of 2010 and shows that while Apple has the highest number of vulnerabilities in its products, Microsoft, Adobe, Mozilla and Oracle are right in the mix, as well. Secunia doesn't break out the exact number of vulnerabilities reported in each of the vendors' products, but instead simply ranks them by volume of CVEs. A quick search of the CVE database shows about 189 CVEs involving Apple so far in 2010 and about 146 involving Microsoft.

Submission + - A portrait of the founder of WikiLeaks (guardian.co.uk)

Submitted by shikaisi
shikaisi writes: A rather more balanced and in-depth portrait of Julian Assange than you usually get in the media. "We have values. I am an information activist. You get the information out to the people. We believe a richer intellectual and historical record that is fuller and more accurate is in itself intrinsically good, and gives people the tools to make intelligent decisions."
Open Source

Submission + - Open source hardware definition hits 0.3 & sum

Submitted by
ptorrone
ptorrone writes: "A group of open source hardware makers have put together a draft of the open source hardware definition which is now a version 0.3 which hopes to further define the making, sharing and selling of hardware within an "Open Source Hardware license". This fall, the day before Maker Faire New York City, the group hopes to have the license finalized and hit v 1.0 and they are holding the first Open Source Hardware Summit. There are currently dozens of companies making open source hardware and millions of dollars."
Iphone

Submission + - Analyst: iPhone 4 recall would cost $1.5 billion (cnet.com)

Submitted by tugfoigel
tugfoigel writes: In the wake of Consumer Reports announcing that it would not be recommending the iPhone 4 due to the much-discussed antenna problems, there have been calls for Apple to recall the device.

While a recall could be damaging to Apple's reputation, it would also be a costly endeavor, according to some calculations made by Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi. In a research note on Tuesday, Sacconaghi estimated that while "a full product recall of the iPhone 4 (is) highly unlikely," it would cost Apple $1.5 billion, or 3.5 percent of its total cash on hand.

What would be more likely--and cheaper--is that Apple could issue a free rubber bumper case with each phone. That would prevent a person's hand from coming into contact with the phone's antenna, which is built into its exterior metal strip. Although Apple charges $29 at retail for the rubber cases, Bernstein estimates that giving them away to iPhone 4 customers would cost the company $1 per unit.

Submission + - deported Russian (spy?) worked at Microsoft (komonews.com)

Submitted by subtropolis
subtropolis writes: KOMO News in Seattle is reporting that a recently-deported 23-yr-old Russian man "appears to have ties to the recently-exposed Russian counterintelligence" (according to unnamed Feds). The article states that he admitted to unspecified immigration violations and was promptly shown the door on Tuesday. It also says that, "Microsoft confirms Karetnikov worked as an entry-level software tester for less than a year." So, I'm thinking that MS had better take a really good at their logs for that time. He may have got in at "entry-level" but his abilities may have been a fair bit beyond that. OTOH, we've read how l33t their IT situation was over on the East Coast, so maybe his mission was meant to be very long term and the Russians couldn't afford to send any of their really good talent.

Interestingly, his admission to mere "violations" and swift departure would be right in line with how this swap has gone down. The four Russians who were flown to Britain and the US had to first sign a confession before President Medvedev granted them pardons. But (IF he's at all related to the spy ring), was he uncovered only after the spy swap? Or did the FBI not have the proof they needed? Or, were the Feds deliberately holding him back just so as to rub it in?
Oracle

Submission + - OpenSolaris Governing Board Closing Shop? (echolinux.com)

Submitted by echolinux
echolinux writes: Frustrated by Oracle's refusal to interact with the OpenSolaris community or speak with the OpenSolaris Governing Board, the OGB has issued an ultimatum to Oracle: designate a liaison to the OGB by August 16th or the board will “take action at the August 23 meeting to trigger the clause in the OGB charter that will return control of the community to Oracle.”

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