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Submission + - Prototype Volvo Flywheel Tech Uses Car's Wasted Brake Energy

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: Sometimes we get carried away with sexy moonshot car tech--whereas most everyday gains are about reducing inefficiencies, piece by piece. Volvo's flywheel energy-recovery prototype is a great example of the latter--not to mention similar to one used in Formula 1 racing. The system recaptures energy that would be wasted in braking, like a hybrid does, to reduce fuel consumption by up to 25 percent. When you hit the brakes, kinetic energy that's usually wasted as heat is transferred to a "Kinetic Energy Recovery System" mounted to the undriven axle. It spools up a carbon flywheel that turns at 60,000 rpm to store the energy. When the driver hits the gas, some of the stored energy is transferred back to power the wheels through a specially designed transmission, either boosting total power to the wheels or substituting for engine torque to cut fuel consumption.

Submission + - Are the backdoors to flash memory reserve pools? 1

Submitted by hormiga
hormiga writes: Because flash memory has a relatively limited number of program/erase cycles before failure, wear leveling mechanisms are often employed. These mechanisms sometimes use a pool of reserve blocks, managed by the controller, invisible to the user. There seem to be two consequences of this: (1) erasure is problematic, because the supposedly erased data might be hidden in the reserve pool, and (2) it might be possible to develop a "flash unerase" to recover some portions of accidentally deleted files. The implications for forensics, security, and simple convenience appear obvious.

This line of thinking was prompted by the unintended erasure of a Verbatim USB memory stick, occasioned by a laptop hardware accident. The drive was simply zeroed by the accident, but I suspect from the quickness of the incident that there was not time for the laptop to write zeroes to the memory stick: there may have been activation of a special command channel to the controller. I would like to recover the contents of that device.

I would like to develop a library and utility for the recovery of hidden data from the reserve pool, and for the secure erasure of files and interstitial gaps in the file systems of flash drives, especially for devices such as USB memory sticks. However, I'm not having much success discovering the interfaces available to software. Are there special backdoors or handshakes to access the reserve pools or other features in the flash controllers? Where is this information available?

Naturally, the results and code will be published as FLOSS.

Submission + - Homemade Sci-fi Movie Space Trucker Bruce = Lots of Cardboard Goodness 2

Submitted by antoine64
antoine64 writes: "It took Juneau, Alaska filmmaker Anton Doiron 6 years and around $10,000 to complete his sci-fi movie Space Trucker Bruce. All the sets for the film were built in rooms of his house using cardboard including a 35ft long hallway in his back yard. The movie took 6 years to make because all the filmmaking tasks were done by Anton. He built the sets, operated the camera, acted, edited, and completed the 105 computer animated space shots and 450 composite shots. Space Trucker Bruce is available on Vimeo and on the Space Trucker Bruce website."

Submission + - Re-Learning How To Interview for a Development Position

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Earlier in my career, when I switched jobs every year or so, I was pretty good at interviewing. I got offers about 75% of the time if I got to a in person. But times have changed... my last 2 jobs have been, longer term gigs.. 5 and 3 years respectively, and I am way out of practice. My resume often gets me the phone interview and I am actually really good at the phone screen.. I am 12 for 12 in the last 6 months phone screen to in person interview. It is the in person interview where I am really having issues. I think I come off wrong or something.. I usually get most of the technical questions, but I am not doing something right because I don't come off very likeable or something.. It is hard to get very much feedback to know exactly what I am doing wrong. I have always gotten very good performance reviews and I am well liked at work, but if there is one area for improvement on my reviews it has always been communication. So I ask, can anyone give out some advice, I have tried toastmasters a few times, but does anyone have other tips or ideas? Has anyone else had a similar experiences?

Submission + - Malware Attack Infected 25,000 Linux/UNIX Servers (securityweek.com)

Submitted by wiredmikey
wiredmikey writes: Security researchers from ESET have uncovered a widespread attack campaign that has infected more than 25,000 Linux and UNIX servers around the world.

The servers are being hijacked by a backdoor Trojan as part of a campaign the researchers are calling 'Operation Windigo.' Once infected, victimized systems are leveraged to steal credentials, redirected web traffic to malicious sites and send as much as 35 million spam messages a day. "Windigo has been gathering strength, largely unnoticed by the security community, for more than two and a half years and currently has 10,000 servers under its control," said Pierre-Marc Bureau, security intelligence program manager at ESET, in a statement.

There are many misconceptions around Linux security, and attacks are not something only Windows users need to worry about. The main threats facing Linux systems aren't zero-day vulnerabilities or malware, but things such as Trojanized applications, PHP backdoors, and malicious login attempts over SSH.

ESET recommends webmasters and system administrators check their systems to see if they are compromised, and has published a detailed report presenting the findings and instructions on how to remove the malicious code if it is present.

Submission + - Microsoft Launches Free OneNote For Mac And Windows

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft today revealed three major announcements regarding its OneNote offering: a free version of OneNote for Mac, a freemium version of OneNote for Windows, and a new cloud API for first- and third-party apps to communicate directly with OneNote. With the launch of OneNote for Mac, Microsoft says OneNote is now available “on all the platforms you care about” and “they’re always in sync.” That includes the PC, Mac, Windows tablets, Windows Phone, iPad, iPhone, Android, and the Web. As for the free version for Windows, it has no ads nor any limit for how long you can use it for: this is not just a trial. Everything you create in the free PC and Mac clients is synced to OneDrive, so you can access them from your phone and tablet as well.

Submission + - The Poor Neglected Gifted Child

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: "Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore," explains The Boston Globe's Amy Crawford in The Poor Neglected Gifted Child, "have national laws requiring that children be screened for giftedness, with top scorers funneled into special programs. China is midway through a 10-year 'National Talent Development Plan' to steer bright young people into science, technology, and other in-demand fields." It seems to be working — America's tech leaders are literally going to Washington with demands for "comprehensive immigration reform that allows for the hiring of the best and brightest". But in the U.S., Crawford laments, "we focus on steering all extra money and attention toward kids who are struggling academically, or even just to the average student" and "risk shortchanging the country in a different way." The problem advocates for the gifted must address, Crawford explains, is to "find ways for us to develop our own native talent without exacerbating inequality." And address it we must. "How many people can become an astrophysicist or a PhD in chemistry?" asks David Lubinski, a psychologist at Vanderbilt University. We really have to look for the best — that's what we do in the Olympics, that's what we do in music, and that's what we need to with intellectual capital."

Submission + - NYPD Denies Freedom of Information Request for Freedom of Information Handbook (freebeacon.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: Journalist Shawn Musgrave filed a records request under New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) for the police department’s FOIL handbook, the guide officers use to apply public record law.

However, the NYPD told Musgrave its Freedom of Information handbook is not covered by FOIL, arguing it is protected under attorney-client privilege.

Submission + - Power Cables' UV Flashes Apparently Frighten Animals

Submitted by Rambo Tribble
Rambo Tribble writes: Ultraviolet light flashes, or "corona", may be scaring animals and altering behavior. An international scientific team, first studying behavioral anomalies in reindeer near power lines, have found that sporadic flashes of UV from the lines are probably responsible. As most mammals can see into the UV spectrum, this has broad implications for the disruption of animal behavior. From the BBC article: "Since, as the researchers added, coronas 'happen on all power lines everywhere', the avoidance of the flashes could be having a global impact on wildlife."

Submission + - Conservation Communities Takes Root Across US

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Kate Murphy reports at the NYT about a growing number of so-called agrihoods, residential developments where a working farm is the central feature, in the same way that other communities may cluster around a golf course, pool or fitness center. At least a dozen projects across the country are thriving, enlisting thousands of home buyers who crave access to open space, verdant fields and fresh food. “I hear from developers all the time about this,” says Ed McMahon. “They’ve figured out that unlike a golf course, which costs millions to build and millions to maintain, they can provide green space that actually earns a profit.” Agritopia, outside Phoenix, has sixteen acres of certified organic farmland, with row crops (artichokes to zucchini), fruit trees (citrus, nectarine, peach, apple, olive and date) and livestock (chickens and sheep). Fences gripped by grapevines and blackberry bushes separate the farm from the community’s 452 single-family homes, each with a wide front porch and sidewalks close enough to encourage conversation. The hub of neighborhood life is a small square overlooking the farm, with a coffeehouse, farm-to-table restaurant and honor-system farm stand. The square is also where residents line up on Wednesday evenings to claim their bulging boxes of just-harvested produce, eggs and honey, which come with a $100-a-month membership in the community-supported agriculture, or CSA, program. “Wednesday is the highlight of my week,” says Ben Wyffels. “To be able to walk down the street with my kids and get fresh, healthy food is amazing." Because the Agritopia farm is self-sustaining, no fees are charged to support it, other than the cost of buying produce at the farm stand or joining the CSA. Agritopia was among the first agrihoods — like Serenbe in Chattahoochee Hills, Ga.; Prairie Crossing in Grayslake, Ill.; South Village in South Burlington, Vt.; and Hidden Springs in Boise, Idaho. “The interest is so great, we’re kind of terrified trying to catch up with all the calls,” says Quint Redmond adding that in addition to developers, he hears from homeowners’ associations and golf course operators who want to transform their costly-to-maintain green spaces into revenue-generating farms. Driving the demand, Redmond says, are the local-food movement and the aspirations of many Americans to be gentlemen (or gentlewomen) farmers. “Everybody wants to be Thomas Jefferson these days."

Submission + - How Do You Backup 20TB of Data? 2

Submitted by Sean0michael
Sean0michael writes: Recently I had a friend lose their entire electronic collection of music and movies by erasing a RAID array on their home server. He had 20TB of data on his rack at home that had survived a dozen hard drive failures over the years. But he didn't have a good way to backup that much data, so he never took one. Now he wishes he had.

Asking around among our tech-savvy friends though, no one has a good answer to the question, "how would you backup 20TB of data?". It's not like you could just plug in an external drive, and using any cloud service would be terribly expensive. Blu-Ray discs can hold a lot of data, but that's a lot of time (and money) spent burning discs that you likely will never need. Tape drives are another possibility, but are they right for this kind of problem? I don' t know. There might be something else out there, but I still have no feasible solution.

So I ask fellow slashdotters: for a home user, how do you backup 20TB of Data?

Submission + - Homeland Security Used Intercepted Emails to Quiz Woman About Her Sex Life (infowars.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The ACLU is filing a lawsuit on behalf of Christine Von Der Haar after she was detained by Customs and Border Patrol at at Indianapolis International Airport during an incident in 2012.

"CBP officers grossly exceeded their jurisdiction. Dr. Von Der Haar’s US citizenship was never questioned; she wasn’t trying to enter, leave, or ship and goods in or out of the country; and she was never accused of any crime. In general, immigration (as distinct from customs) offenses are handled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol, not CBP. We’re curious what basis CBP will claim for its officers’ authority to detain and interrogate Dr. Von Der Haar or obtain her email," asks Papers Please.

Either the DHS is obtaining Americans' emails via their own undeclared (and illegal) snoop program, or they are being aided by the National Security Agency or some other government entity.

Submission + - AllCast adds DLNA support (muktware.com)

Submitted by sfcrazy
sfcrazy writes: Koushik Dutta, the famed developer of CyanogenMOD has added DLNA support to his AllCast Android app. Ever since Google opened Chromcast to 3rd party developers Koush is on roll. He has, in fact, been toying with Chromecast the day it was released and created some stir in the free software community when Google changed the preview APIs for Chromecast which broke his app.

Submission + - Physics Forum at Fermilab Bans Powerpoint

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Amanda Solliday reports at Symmetry that six months ago, organizers of a biweekly forum on Large Hadron Collider physics at Fermilab banned PowerPoint presentations in favor of old-fashioned, chalkboard-style talks. “Without slides, the participants go further off-script, with more interaction and curiosity,” says Andrew Askew. “We wanted to draw out the importance of the audience.” In one recent meeting, physics professor John Paul Chou of Rutgers University presented to a full room holding a single page of handwritten notes and a marker. The talk became more dialogue than monologue as members of the audience, freed from their usual need to follow a series of information-stuffed slides flying by at top speed, managed to interrupt with questions and comments. Elliot Hughes, a Rutgers University doctoral student and a participant in the forum, says the ban on slides has encouraged the physicists to connect with their audience. “Frequently, in physics, presenters design slides for people who didn’t even listen to the talk in the first place,” says Hughes. “In my experience, the best talks could not possibly be fully understood without the speaker.”

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