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Submission + - EverQuest II embeds Mozilla browser

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 17, 2007 @09:58PM

An anonymous reader writes: EverQuest II's next release will include an embedding of the Mozilla browser. It's currently live on the test server and has a few issues that will hopefully be resolved before release.

http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?st art=15&topic_id=347230

Some interesting uses of the browser such as automatically searching for quest hints are being discussed on the interface board:

http://www.eq2interface.com/forums/showthread.php? t=7846

Creating Power From Wasted Heat 186

Posted by Zonk on Saturday February 17, 2007 @08:31PM from the that's-borg-technology dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "Today, about 90 percent of the world's electricity is created through an indirect and inefficient conversion of heat. It is estimated that two thirds of the heat used by thermoelectric converters are wasted and released. But now, researchers from the University of California at Berkeley have found a new way to convert this wasted heat into electricity by trapping organic molecules between metal nanoparticles. So far, this method of creating electricity creation is in its very early stage, but if it can scale up to mass production it may lead to a new and inexpensive source of energy."

Asteroid Highlighted as Impact Threat 297

Posted by Zonk on Saturday February 17, 2007 @07:49PM from the please-bring-your-seatbacks-and-traytables dept.

Maggie McKee writes "The asteroid Apophis has been traversing the void of space for untold years; in just a few decades time it will make a very close pass to Earth, and could make an unwelcome stop on our planet's surface. Even still, it's nothing to get too worked up about. The 20-million-tonne object has a 1 in 45,000 chance of hitting the Pacific Ocean in early April of 2036. If it did hit, it could trigger a tsunami that would do an untold amount of damage to the California coastline and many other places on Earth. Despite the low level of the threat, it's still a real enough danger to prompt the United Nations to develop a protocol about the scenario. We'll get a closeup look at the object in 2029, and at that point we should have a better idea of what 2036 will bring us."

Submission + - Non-Proft Web Site Uses Pyramid Scheme for Good

Submitted by

jsburke

on Saturday February 17, 2007 @07:43PM

jsburke writes: "The Darfur Wall is a web site that raises money for Darfur, Sudan, where 400,000 people have been killed and over 2 million displaced since 2003. The site recently introduced a referral program called 'Advocates,' which it describes as a 'pyramid scheme for good.' From their blog: 'The program works by providing a participant — an Advocate — with a personalized web-link. An Advocate shares this link with friends and asks them to click on it, visit darfurwall.org, and donate. The Darfur Wall recognizes the link and awards points to the Advocate ... Like a multi-level marketing scheme, the program creates a network effect. But Advocates is no Amway. One hundred percent of the money it generates supports peace in Darfur.'"

Submission + - MPAA Steals Code, Violates Linkware License

Submitted by stedo on Saturday February 17, 2007 @07:43PM

stedo writes: A blogger who wrote his own blogging engine called Forest Blog recently noticed that none other than the MPAA was using his work, and had completely violated his linkware license by removing all links back to the Forest Blog site, and had not credited him in any way.

5 Things the Boss Should Know About Spam Fighting 168

Posted by Zonk on Saturday February 17, 2007 @05:36PM from the never-give-up-never-surrender dept.

Esther Schindler writes "Sysadmins and email administrators were asked to identify the one thing they wish the CIO understood about their efforts to fight spam. The CIO website is now running their five most important tips, in an effort to educate the corporate brass. Recommendations are mostly along the lines of informing corporate management; letting bosses know that there is no 'silver bullet', and that the battle will never really end. There's also a suggestion to educate on technical matters, bringing executives into the loop on terms like SMTP and POP. Their first recommendation, though, is to make sure no mail is lost. 'This is a risk management practice, and you need to decide where you want to put your risk. Would you rather risk getting spam with lower risk of losing/delaying messages you actually wanted to get, or would you rather risk losing/delaying legitimate messages with lower risk of spam? You can't have both, no matter how loudly you scream.'"

Chinese Hack Attacks on DoD Networks Coordinated 295

Posted by Zonk on Saturday February 17, 2007 @04:39PM from the man-your-battlestations dept.

An anonymous reader writes " The Naval Network Warfare Command says that Chinese hackers are relentlessly targeting Defense Department networks with cyber attacks. The 'volume, proficiency and sophistication' of the attacks supports the theory that the attacks are government supported. The motives of the attacks emanating from China include technology theft, intelligence gathering, exfiltration, research on DOD operations and the creation of dormant presences in DOD network for future action. Onlookers warn that current US defenses against these attacks are 'dysfunctional', and that more aggressive measures should be taken to ensure government network safety."

Nanotech Battery Claims to Solve Electric Car Woes 320

Posted by Zonk on Saturday February 17, 2007 @03:50PM from the down-with-woes dept.

rbgrn writes "A123 Systems claims to have invented a Lithium Ion battery that not only can discharge at very high rates of current but can be recharged very quickly without damage to the cells or overheating. From their website: 'A unique feature of A123Systems' M1 cells is their ability to charge to high capacity in 5 minutes or less. That's a significant improvement over traditional Li Ion, which typically requires more than 90 minutes to reach a similar level of charge.' Using this technology, General Motors has announced a plug-in hybrid SUV and Venture Vehicles is developing a fully electric 3 wheel vehicle. Politics aside, the main technological hurdle to mass adoption of electric cars has been a fuel station replacement when driving distances beyond a single charge worth of range. Will we finally be seeing high current recharge stations in the next decade?"

Comparison of Working at the 3 Big Search Giants 179

Posted by Zonk on Saturday February 17, 2007 @02:46PM from the searching-for-some-free-sushi dept.

castironwok writes "Finally, everything you've ever wanted to know about being an employee at Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. Tastyresearch describes his (or her) past few years interning and working at the three companies. Things I didn't know from before: Bill Gates wears old shoes, Google's internal security watches you like a hawk, the office styles of each company, and how to fill your suitcase with Google T-shirts. He calls the few select companies the 'prestigious internship circle', noting 'once you have worked at one, it's a lot easier to get into another'."

Scientists Expose Weak DNA in HIV 196

Posted by CowboyNeal on Saturday February 17, 2007 @11:43AM from the go-for-the-throat dept.

Ace905 writes "The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced Thursday that they had discovered a very promising 'weak spot' in the HIV virus. The HIV virus, a progenitor to full blown AIDS has eluded all attempts at a vaccine since it was discovered sometime in the 1970's. The major problem with developing a vaccine initially was isolating the virus. Conventional viruses are often defeated with existing drugs, or after being tested against new compounds. HIV has been unique, and staggering in it's ability to resist all attempts at treatment by mutating its own genetic code. HIV is able to resist, with great effectiveness, any drug or combination drug-therapy that is used against it."

A Tour of Googleplex East 109

Posted by CowboyNeal on Saturday February 17, 2007 @09:53AM from the and-on-your-left dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In Googleplex East: Search And The City, IWeek has posted a visual tour of the search giant's NYC HQ, complete with the requisite massage room, candy machine, and funky cafeteria. (There are even — surprise — work areas.) A companion story argues that New York City has reemerged as a tech center, citing the access to the Big Apple's media as a powerful pull for Web 2.0 companies. It also argues that NY's business community is more important these days to startups than Silicon Valley's deep pool of talent. Do you buy this thesis? Isn't it really unimportant these days where you work, geographically?"

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