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Security

Linux Kernel Exploit Busily Rooting 64-Bit Machines 488

Posted by timothy from the get-your-patch-on dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Running 64-bit Linux? Haven't updated yet? You're probably being rooted as I type this. CVE-2010-3081, this week's second high-profile local root exploit in the Linux kernel, is compromising machines left and right. Almost all 64-bit machines are affected, and 'Ac1db1tch3z' (classy) published code to let any local user get a root shell. Ac1db1tch3z's exploit is more malicious than usual because it leaves a backdoor behind for itself to exploit later even if the hole is patched. Luckily, there's a tool you can run to see if you've already been exploited, courtesy of security company Ksplice, which beat most of the Linux vendors with a 'rebootless' version of the patch."
Graphics

Wolfenstein Gets Ray Traced 184

Posted by Soulskill from the ach-mein-framen dept.
An anonymous reader writes "After showcasing Quake Wars: Ray Traced a few years ago, Intel is now showing their latest graphics research project using Wolfenstein game content. The new and cool special effects are actually displayed on a laptop using a cloud-based gaming approach with servers that have an Intel Knights Ferry card (many-core) inside. Their blog post has a video and screenshots."
Power

Submission + - Caltech makes flexible, 86% efficent solar arrays (caltech.edu) 1

Submitted by strredwolf
strredwolf writes: Caltech has released a flexible solar array that converts 95% of single-wavelength incandescent light and 86% of all sunlight into electricity. Instead of being flat-panel, they stand thin silicon wires in a plastic substrate that scatters the light onto them. The total composition is 98% plastic, 2% wire — the amount of silicon used is 1/50th that of ordinary panels. So as soon as they can get these into market, solar will be very viable and cheap to produce.
Communications

LG Launches Watch Phone In India 109

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the can-you-hear-me-now-kit? dept.
roh2cool writes "If you are a watch freak and also happen to be a fan of ultra rare (and expensive) gadgets, this might just interest you. The LG GD910 watch phone looks like a normal watch – except for the fact that it can double up as your mobile phone when needed. 'It is quite thin at just 13.9mm and packs in 3G and Video Calling capabilities as well. The phone is quite stylish and the front fascia is covered by scratch-proof tempered glass. It comes with a Bluetooth headset so you don’t have to keep talking like David Hasselhoff talked to his super-car KITT in the “Knight Rider” series.'"
Microsoft

Microsoft Takes Responsibility For GPL Violation 364

Posted by Soulskill from the owning-up dept.
An anonymous reader writes with an update to the news we discussed last weekend that a Windows 7 utility seemed to contain GPL code: "Microsoft has confirmed that the Windows 7 USB/DVD tool did, in fact, use GPL code, and they have agreed to release the tool's source code under the terms of GPLv2. In a statement, Microsoft said creation of the tool had been contracted out to a third party and apologized for not noticing the GPL code during a code review."
Transportation

What Happened To the Bay Bridge? 407

Posted by kdawson from the span-in-the-works dept.
farnsworth writes "Tony Alfrey has put together a fascinating page with some history, analysis, and possible explanations for what ultimately went wrong with the recent emergency repair of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The bridge has been closed for days and is not scheduled to open for days to come, hugely inconveniencing more than 250,000 people a day. His analysis touches on possibly poor welding, a possibly flawed temporary fix, and the absence of a long-term fix or adequate follow-up by Caltrans, the agency responsible for the bridge. Slashdot is a great engineering community; what other insights do you have on the bridge situation?"

Comment Penny Arcade and Hothead Games (Score 1) 460

by strredwolf (#29714965) Attached to: Linux Games For Non-Gamers?

Depending on how capable your card is (decent 7-series NVidia or a good ATI), you may want to hit up HotHead Games and Penny Arcade Adventures' On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness (both episodes). This is a good 3D "It's your turn when you act first before anyone else" game, well worth $15 for each episode, and plays very well in Linux. Just turn off Compiz/Beryl; it interferes with anything 3D.

Comment Forget FAT/VFAT, make your own. (Score 2, Informative) 569

by strredwolf (#29383913) Attached to: Which Filesystem Do You Use On Portable Media For Linux Systems?

First of all, FAT is patent encumbered and Microsoft's willing to go to court to protect it; so that's out. That includes the old UMSDOS file system Linux had at one time.

Someone needs to make a good file system that matches FAT, but is more extensible. A good choice is ext2 now... if we dropped a few things that wouldn't work nicely. Like device nodes, pipes, and Unix sockets. Like ownership, since it's assumed that the person mounting the system would own the files on it, along with groups. Simply access restrictions; they wouldn't apply.

This will simplify the structure a bit, which is a nice bonus and could let it be put on floppies. In other words, it's a light, anonymous, extended file system. LAEFS.

I got an .h file. Anyone want to help develop it as a FUSE driver?

Comment DEPLOY A SENTRY HERE! (Score 1) 270

by strredwolf (#29128071) Attached to: Marine Corps Wants a Throwable Robot

All of this makes me think of what could be an Acme Instant Sentry. You throw a toolbox over, it rights itself, builds up a bit, and in seconds you got a limited capacity automated sentry. If there's room, just add a speaker and program it to say "Hell-looooooooo-hoooooooo? Can-you-come-over-here? There-you-are." *ratatatatatatatatatatat!*

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