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Submission + - Android 2.3 released (blogspot.com)

Submitted by gbll
gbll writes: Today we're announcing a new version of the Android platform — Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). It includes many new platform technologies and APIs to help developers create great apps.
Networking

Submission + - Most Companies Vulnerable to Cache Poisoning (net-security.org)

Submitted by Orome1
Orome1 writes: While DNSSEC adoption percentages appear to have increased dramatically by 340 percent this year, the actual number of zones that have been signed is very small: .02 percent, according to a new study. This indicates that the vast majority of organizations with an Internet presence are vulnerable to attacks. Of the .02 percent of zones that are DNSSEC-signed, 23 percent of them failed validation due to expired signatures. This underscores that DNSSEC (including re-signing) needs to be as automated as possible to avoid accidental denial of service.
Google

Submission + - Google Makes Adobe Vanish with Chrome 8

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Using Google Chrome and can't figure out what-the-heck is wrong with your Adobe PDF documents? You're probably not alone. With the release of Chrome 8 on Thursday, reports the Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro, Adobe Reader and Preview users may be confused by the absence of familiar PDF toolbars and the absence of save, print and rotate buttons, now that Google's built-in PDF reader takes the place of their usual PDF plug-in. Google touts that its PDF viewer is secured in Chrome's sandbox, although the recently-shipped Adobe Reader X also offers sandboxing protection. Some are finding the now-enabled-by-default PDF Viewer to be more of a bug than a feature. 'To disable the Chrome PDF Viewer,' a helpful Googler tells some frustrated users, '1. Type 'about:plugins' into the address bar and hit Enter. 2. Find the entry called 'Chrome PDF Viewer' 3. Click on 'Disable'. Intuitive, no?
Science

Submission + - Oriental hornets powered by 'solar energy' (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by beschra
beschra writes: From BBC News:The Oriental hornet has a unique ability to harvest solar energy, scientists have discovered. The large wasp species has a special structure in its abdomen that traps the sun's rays, and a special pigment that harvests the energy they contain.

Still a lot to understand, but how long until humans with brown and yellow hornet stripes?
Books

Submission + - Google eBookstore launched (nytimes.com)

Submitted by angrytuna
angrytuna writes: The New York Times is featuring an article this morning about the launch of the Google ebook store. Independent bookstores such as Powell's based in Portland, OR have partnered with them in this, selling the format directly in addition to their other ebook offerings. The ebooks appear to rely on Adobe Digital Editions for DRM control; instructions are provideded to transfer from the 'cloud' to a handheld device. Smartphones like the iPhone and Android have a dedicated app for accessing the store, and will download for offline immediately; other clients like the Nook and Sony eReader seem to be relying on the ADE platform to manage the transfer for offline reading.
Oracle

Submission + - Ellison vows to prove new HP CEO in on scheme (networkworld.com)

Submitted by alphadogg
alphadogg writes: Oracle CEO Larry Ellison on Tuesday vowed to prove that new Hewlett-Packard CEO Leo Apotheker was in on a scheme to steal large amounts of Oracle software, when Apotheker was CEO of software maker SAP.

"A major portion of this theft occurred while Mr. Apotheker was CEO of SAP," Ellison alleged in a statement issued by Oracle.

He said Oracle will offer evidence that Apotheker was involved when the trial starts next Monday in a federal court in Oakland, California.

HP did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Oracle is seeking billions of dollars in damages in the case. It has accused SAP and its TomorrowNow subsidiary of stealing thousands of bits of software, including big fixes and patches, as well as other support material from Oracle in order to provide reduced-price maintenance service for Oracle customers.
The Internet

Submission + - Is AT&T lagging on IPv6? (networkworld.com)

Submitted by netbuzz
netbuzz writes: The answer is yes, according to industry observers and some of those at the forefront of pushing the next-generation Internet communications protocol, and the carrier’s relative lack of urgency could prove to be a drag on the IPv6 effort as a whole. "I'm surprised AT&T is not talking about IPv6 more," says a senior manager at the University of New Hampshire's InterOperability Lab, a leading IPv6 product testing facility. AT&T acknowledges that it is not “stirring demand for IPv6,” but pledges to be “prepared for the demand" when it intensifies.
Music

Looks Like the End of the Line For LimeWire 277

Posted by timothy from the all-squeezed-out dept.
tekgoblin writes with news that a federal judge has issued a permanent injunction against LimeWire for copyright infringement and unfair competition. A notice on the LimeWire home page says "THIS IS AN OFFICIAL NOTICE THAT LIMEWIRE IS UNDER A COURT-ORDERED INJUNCTION TO STOP DISTRIBUTING AND SUPPORTING ITS FILE-SHARING SOFTWARE. DOWNLOADING OR SHARING COPYRIGHTED CONTENT WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION IS ILLEGAL." An anonymous reader points to coverage at CNET, too.
NASA

The Best Near-Term Future of Space Exploration? 444

Posted by Soulskill from the resources-beyond-imagining dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Much fanfare has been made about manned missions to moons and planets, but little has been done about travel to the asteroids — until now. NASA is working on plans for a trip to the asteroids by 2025. This type of mission has great potential for positive economic return based on the fact that no effort has to be spent on getting in and out of a distant planet's gravity well. Yes, we should go to the planets, but we should master mining the asteroid belt for resources first because it is easiest. What do you think?"
Science

Submission + - OSU Pres Cans Anthrax Vaccine Research on Primates (newsok.com)

Submitted by Wrath0fb0b
Wrath0fb0b writes: OSU President Burns Hargis has abruptly canceled an NIH-funded study on an anthrax vaccine on primates, who would then have to be euthanized. Suspicion that the decision was meant to appease large donor Madeleine Pickens, the wife of noted huntsman T. Boone Pickens, who had previously pressured the school over animal-rights issues. Scientists counter that the study was approved by the NIH peer-review process, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and subject to the Federal Animal Welfare Act (by virtue of using NIH money) and that the decision by the President is short-circuited months of planning and deliberation on the matter.

Hargis has denied being influenced by Pickens and cited "confidential factors" that he couldn't discuss, telling the faculty council that "to go through every lurid detail is simply not prudent". A post on Pickens' blog, on the other hand, obliquely takes credit for the "great decision", noting the a faculty hunch that ""generous benefactor to OSU and her ties to the Humane Society of the United States may have played a role in the termination of the project". Meanwhile, the NIH expressed displeasure at the decision, releasing a statement that stated "NIH fully expects institutions to honor these assurances and commitment to complete NIH supported projects as requested, approved and funded". Some OSU scientists speculated that the fiasco would make it harder for them to receive NIH funding in the future.

Read more: http://www.newsok.com/anthrax-study-rejected-by-osu/article/3421451#ixzz0aIt7Qy5y
Angry reaction: http://speakingofresearch.com/2009/12/16/standing-together-widespread-support-for-osu-and-its-research/
More angry reaction: http://scienceblogs.com/drugmonkey/2009/12/oklahoma_legislator_displeased.php
School responds: http://newsok.com/osu-chief-discusses-research-decision/article/3423662?custom_click=headlines_widget
Pickens' blog post: http://www.madeleinepickens.com/news/osu-president-cancels-antrax-study-proposal-requiring-primate-euthanasia/

Comment Re:Can someone explain... (Score 1) 82

by freak132 (#30202830) Attached to: Australia's CSIRO To Launch CPU-GPU Supercomputer
Many GPUs do in fact support double precision, its not IEEE standard double precision floating point yet, but that's going to be a feature of the next generation or two. My source is ATi, anything marked with a superscript of '1' does not support double precision maths, everything else does. ATi StreamSDK requirements

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