Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Comment I grew up in NYC in the 1970s (Score 2) 784

by EmagGeek (#48828889) Attached to: Parents Investigated For Neglect For Letting Kids Walk Home Alone

I walked around NYC by myself all the goddamn time in the late 70s and early 80s. I walked from my parents' apartment at 102nd and Riverside all the way to my private school at 112th and Amsterdam every goddamn morning.

I was never kidnapped once during that time.

We need look no further than this incident to understand why we have an entire generation of completely helpless, incapable 20-something year old children.
Security

NSA Official: Supporting Backdoored Random Number Generator Was "Regrettable" 106

Posted by samzenpus from the if-we-had-to-do-it-over-again dept.
Trailrunner7 writes In a new article in an academic math journal, the NSA's director of research says that the agency's decision not to withdraw its support of the Dual EC_DRBG random number generator after security researchers found weaknesses in it and questioned its provenance was a "regrettable" choice. Michael Wertheimer, the director of researcher at the National Security Agency, wrote in a short piece in Notices, a publication of the American Mathematical Society, that even during the standards development process for Dual EC many years ago, members of the working group focused on the algorithm raised concerns that it could have a backdoor in it. The algorithm was developed in part by the NSA and cryptographers were suspect of it from the beginning. "With hindsight, NSA should have ceased supporting the dual EC_DRBG algorithm immediately after security researchers discovered the potential for a trapdoor. In truth, I can think of no better way to describe our failure to drop support for the Dual_EC_DRBG algorithm as anything other than regrettable," Wertheimer wrote in a piece in Notices' February issue.
Earth

Obama Planning New Rules For Oil and Gas Industry's Methane Emissions 202

Posted by Soulskill from the not-at-all-controversial-nope dept.
mdsolar sends this quote from the NY Times: In President Obama's latest move using executive authority to tackle climate change, administration officials will announce plans this week to impose new regulations on the oil and gas industry's emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, according to a person familiar with Mr. Obama's plans. The administration's goal is to cut methane emissions from oil and gas production by up to 45 percent by 2025 from the levels recorded in 2012.

The Environmental Protection Agency will issue the proposed regulations this summer, and final regulations by 2016, according to the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the administration had asked the person not to speak about the plan. The White House declined to comment on the effort. Methane, which leaks from oil and gas wells, accounts for just 9 percent of the nation's greenhouse gas pollution — but it is over 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, so even small amounts of it can have a big impact on global warming.
Medicine

Man Saves Wife's Sight By 3D Printing Her Tumor 164

Posted by Soulskill from the insurance-companies-to-soon-require-full-body-prints dept.
An anonymous reader writes: Michael Balzer, a former software engineer and Air Force technical instructor, found himself unsatisfied with a doctor's diagnosis of a small tumor behind his wife's left eye. Balzer had recently become proficient at creating 3D models, so he asked the doctor for the raw medical imaging data and took a look himself. In addition to correcting a later misdiagnosis, Balzer 3D printed models of his wife's cranium and helped neurosurgeons plan a procedure to remove the tumor, instead of waiting to see how it developed, like previous doctors had recommended. During the procedure, surgeons found the tumor was beginning to entangle her optic nerve, and even a six-month wait would have had dire consequences for her eyesight.

Medical researchers like Dr. Michael Patton believe this sort of prototyping will become "the new normal" in a very short time. He says, "What you can now do through 3D printing is like what you're able to do in the software world: Rapid iteration, fail fast, get something to market quickly. You can print the prototypes, and then you can print out model organs on which to test the products. You can potentially obviate the need for some animal studies, and you can do this proof of concept before extensive patient trials are conducted.

Comment This is the whole problem with research (Score 1) 224

by EmagGeek (#48744441) Attached to: Beware Headlines Saying Chocolate Is Good For You

This is the entire problem with modern research. The funding model has evolved such that if a researcher wants to remain employed, he or she had better damn well come up with the desired results. Research used to be "here's some money to go find out what is going on." Today it's, "here's some money to prove my conclusion."

The confirmation bias is built into the funding model.

Comment Re:am disappoint (Score 4, Informative) 78

More speed has not been what the market has wanted in a great number of years. Lowering power consumption has taken a front seat to CPUs being faster.

That having been said, CPUs ARE getting faster, if you want to pay for it. Outside of that, a core 2 quad from SEVEN YEARS AGO is still about EIGHT TIMES AS MUCH computer power as the average Internet user needs.

Comment "Legal Pot" is a total fiction (Score 0) 484

by EmagGeek (#48632495) Attached to: Colorado Sued By Neighboring States Over Legal Pot

There is no such thing as "legal" pot. States do not have the legal authority to declare federal contraband to be legal. Despite the fact that this administration has no desire to enforce any laws, the fact remains that pot is still illegal in all states, territories, and possessions of the United States.
News

In Breakthrough, US and Cuba To Resume Diplomatic Relations 435

Posted by Soulskill from the pretending-we-like-each-other dept.
HughPickens.com writes: Peter Baker reports at the NYT that in a deal negotiated during 18 months of secret talks hosted largely by Canada and encouraged by Pope Francis, the United States will restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba and open an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than a half-century. In addition, the United States will ease restrictions on remittances, travel and banking relations, and Cuba will release 53 Cuban prisoners identified as political prisoners by the United States government. Although the decades-old American embargo on Cuba will remain in place for now, the administration signaled that it would welcome a move by Congress to ease or lift it should lawmakers choose to. "We cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. It does not serve America's interests, or the Cuban people, to try to push Cuba toward collapse. We know from hard-learned experience that it is better to encourage and support reform than to impose policies that will render a country a failed state," said the White House in a written statement. "The United States is taking historic steps to chart a new course in our relations with Cuba and to further engage and empower the Cuban people."
Medicine

Judge Rules Drug Maker Cannot Halt Sales of Alzheimer's Medicine 266

Posted by timothy from the you-didn't-build-that dept.
HughPickens.com writes Andrew Pollack reports at the NYT that a federal judge has blocked an attempt by the drug company Actavis to halt sales of an older form of its Alzheimer's disease drug Namenda in favor of a newer version with a longer patent life after New York's attorney general filed an antitrust lawsuit accusing the drug company of forcing patients to switch to the newer version of the widely used medicine to hinder competition from generic manufacturers. "Today's decision prevents Actavis from pursuing its scheme to block competition and maintain its high drug prices," says Eric Schneiderman, the New York attorney general. "Our lawsuit against Actavis sends a clear message: Drug companies cannot illegally prioritize profits over patients."

The case involves a practice called product hopping where brand name manufacturers make a slight alteration to their prescription drug (PDF) and engage in marketing efforts to shift consumers from the old version to the new to insulate the drug company from generic competition for several years. For its part Actavis argued that an injunction would be "unprecedented and extraordinary" and would cause the company "great financial harm, including unnecessary manufacturing and marketing costs." Namenda has been a big seller. In the last fiscal year, the drug generated $1.5 billion in sales. The drug costs about $300 a month.
Transportation

California Sues Uber Over Practices 139

Posted by samzenpus from the thanks-but-no-thanks dept.
mpicpp writes with news that California is the latest government to file a lawsuit against Uber. "California prosecutors on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Uber over the ridesharing company's background checks and other allegations, adding to the popular startup's worldwide legal woes. San Francisco County District Attorney George Gascon, meanwhile, said Uber competitor Lyft agreed to pay $500,000 and change some of its business practices to settle its own lawsuit. Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey partnered with Gascon in a probe of the nascent ridesharing industry. A third company — Sidecar — is still under investigation and could face a lawsuit of its own if it can't reach an agreement with prosecutors. Uber faces similar legal issues elsewhere as it tries to expand in cities, states and countries around the world. The companies have popular smartphone apps that allow passengers to order rides in privately driven cars instead of taxis."

Slashdot Top Deals

E = MC ** 2 +- 3db

Close