65452993
submission
Meshach writes:
Interesting article about whether open source sofware is able to be secured against threats as well as closed-source software. Open-source advocates say they are more secure than proprietary software because developers are constantly fixing flaws found by users. The recent Heartbleed and Shellshock outbreaks vindicate this theory. Critics say the open nature of the software leaves it vulnerable to hackers because the programing flaws are out in the open for all to see.
63343813
submission
Meshach writes:
Google is being heavily critisized for releasing a game called "Bomb Gaza". Users play the part of Isreal and they drop bombs on terrorists and avoid civillians. The desctiption on the play store is as follows: “Terrorist cells are launching rockets into your country, do you have what it takes to protect your citizens?” A few users have complained but Google has been unavailable for comment.
61894801
submission
Meshach writes:
As an experiment a new cafe in Vancouver has no cell phone or WiFi service. All seating is in a cage made of wire mesh. The coffee is by donation and the structure will close in a few weeks. Could this be a new trend in coffee shops to provide a place for patrons to "unplug"?
54454119
submission
Meshach writes:
The FBI has caught the student who called in a bomb threat on December 16. The student used a temporary anonymous email account routed through Tor but the FBI were able to trace it because it originated in the Harvard wireless network. He could face as long as five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
49540577
submission
Meshach writes:
A study in journal Computers & Education found that students who took notes on a laptop got lower marks then student who took notes the traditional way with pen and paper. The study's author hypothesized that using a laptop leads to multitasking (i.e. surfing the net or checking email) which reduces concentration.
48454585
submission
Meshach writes:
Those of us who used the Internet in the mid 90s probably remember AltaVista as a popular early search engine. Yahoo has now shut down the site and is redirecting users to Bing. Yet another piece of history lost or good riddance?
48377575
submission
Meshach writes:
Some fans of The Simpsons have built a real life version of Homer Simpsons dream car. In the Simpson's world Homer finds out that he has a long lost cousin named Herb Powell, (voiced by Danny DeVito) who owns a car company in Detroit. Herb is so delighted to meet Homer that he lets Homer design a car that eventually ruins the company. This real vehicle is a working replica of the infamous car from the series.
45775851
submission
Meshach writes:
Recent study in the Washington Post verifies that using hands free or voice activated texting is no safer then texting with your hands while you are driving a car. Using a hand-held device to tap out a text message while driving has been banned in many states and provinces with the expectation that using hands free is safer.
45703635
submission
Meshach writes:
Interesting article in the Digital Journal saying that the current complexity of life on Earth and Moore's Law imply that life had to begin before the Earth was formed. Based on the premise that genetic complexity of living systems double every 376 million years the initiation of life is pushed back to almost 10 billion years ago. Geologists believe the age of the Earth is about 4.5 billion years. This means that life is older than the Earth by 5.5 billion years.
40754969
submission
Meshach writes:
Story out of Canada about some telephone customers in Canada are receiving bills of up to $100000 due to a coding errors in the billing system. The company is trying to contact all customers impacted by the error.
40439889
submission
Meshach writes:
Google has been found guilty for refusing to take down a libelous search result in an Australian court. Music promoter Milorad Trkulja sued Google for refusing to take down links to website articles promoting libelous claims Trkulja was connected to organized crime in Melbourne. Google has told Trkulja to contact the sites on which the offensive materials were posted, as those webmasters controlled the content but the supreme court found Google was responsible for removing the damaging links the moment Trkulja asked it to remove the content. As a result of the jury's decision in the case, Google will have to pay $200,000 in damages to Trkulja.
39856801
submission
Meshach writes:
Report out of New York claiming that as people use electronic devices more and more persons with nickel allergies are reacting to their phones. Apparently about one-third of BlackBerry devices and 90 percent of flip phones contained nickel, and more than half of flip phones containing cobalt (the most common irritants). Conversely none of the iPhones or Androids studied tested positive for either metal. For those allergic to metals, symptoms range from dry-itchy patches on the face or ears to redness, blistering, lesions, and sometimes oozing.
39720387
submission
Meshach writes:
Interesting article from Toronto about how although they have been virtually abandoned for music cassette tapes are being actively used an an inexpensive storage medium. Companies looking to archive large amounts of data are always looking for a cheaper solution and cassette tapes are the newest fad. Apparently when access time is not a priority they are perfect and they require zero energy use when not in use.
39077887
submission
Meshach writes:
Article in the Wall Street Journal about how Microsoft is entering the retail market for computers. With Windows 8 being released Microsoft is dictating more and more to big-box retailers how their systems should be marketed to consumers. Also The number of Microsoft stores selling directly to consumers is doubling.
39074673
submission
Meshach writes:
Research has suggested that human activity triggered an earthquake in Span that killed nine and injured over three hundred. Drilling deeper and deeper wells to water crops over the past 50 years were identified as the culprit by scientist who examined satellite images of the area. It was noted that even without the strain caused by water extraction, a quake would likely have occurred at some point in the area but the extra stress of pumping vast amounts of water from a nearby aquifer may have been enough to trigger a quake at that particular time and place.
