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Security

Windows 7 Users Warned Over Filename Security Risk 613

Posted by timothy from the death's-too-good-for-some-people dept.
nandemoari writes "Would-be Windows 7 users have been warned to change a default setting which could leave them vulnerable to attack via bogus files. As a result, Microsoft is taking flak for failing to correct a problem found in previous editions of Windows. The issue involves the way Windows Explorer displays filenames. In all editions of Windows after Windows 98, the default setting hides the filename extension (which identifies what type of file it is). This means that a Word file titled 'partyinvite.doc' will show up in Windows Explorer as simply 'partyinvite'. The only exception to this rule is if Windows does not recognize the file type. The reason for this setting is that it makes for a less cluttered look and avoids filling the screen with redundant detail. However, a flaw in the way it works leaves it liable to exploitation by hackers. They can take an executable file (which can do much more damage to a computer when opened) and disguise it by calling it 'partyinvite.doc.exe.'"
Biotech

Hadrosaur Proteins Sequenced 81

Posted by Soulskill from the don't-tell-hammond dept.
jd writes "In a follow-up study to the one on proteins found in a T. Rex bone, the team responsible for the T. Rex study sequenced proteins found in an 80-million year old Hadrosaur fossil. According to the article, the proteins found confirm the results of the T. Rex study, proving that what was found in T. Rex was not a result of modern contamination, as had been claimed by skeptics, but was indeed the genuine thing: real dinosaur protein. Furthermore, despite the new fossil being 12 million years older, they claim they got more out — eight collagen peptides and 149 amino acids from four different samples. This, they say, places the Hadrosaur in the same family as T. Rex and Ostriches, but that not enough was recovered to say just how close or distant the relationship was."
Printer

Soy-Based Toner Cartridges? 389

Posted by kdawson from the it's-green-they-say-on-the-far-side-of-the-hill dept.
Jon.Laslow writes "I'm getting a lot of pressure from managers to switch to soy-based toner cartridges for our laser printers because they are 'greener.' The problem is, the only information I can find on them is from sales pitches; and the reviews all seem to be user testimonials. Do you have any experience soy-based printing products? Did you have any issues with them, and how was the print quality?"
Windows

Microsoft Not Ditching Vista Until At Least 2011 297

Posted by kdawson from the contrary-to-rumors dept.
CWmike writes "Microsoft will not dump Vista when Windows 7 launches, and plans to keep selling it to computer makers, system builders, volume licensees and consumers at retail until at least January 2011, a Microsoft spokesman said, citing long-running policy. Earlier today, a Microsoft general manager hinted that the company might ditch Vista as soon as Windows 7 ships. He also said that support for all versions of Vista will end in April 2012. Neither is true, according to the company. Michael Cherry, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, said, 'to try to stop Vista or make it unavailable, that would just draw attention... The truth is, few people will be likely to order it once Windows 7 is available.'"
Science

Nuclear Testing Helps Identify Fake Vintage Whiskey 366

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the nuclear-booze-coozie dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "Industry experts claim the market for vintage whiskey has been flooded with fakes that purport to be several hundred years old but instead contain worthless spirit made just a few years ago. Now researchers at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit have developed a method that can pinpoint the date a whiskey was made by detecting traces of radioactive particles created by nuclear bomb tests in the 1950s. '"It is easy to tell if whiskey is fake as if it has been produced since the middle of the twentieth century, it has a very distinctive signature," says Dr. Tom Higham, deputy director of the facility. Nuclear bomb testing in the 1950s saw levels of carbon-14 in the atmosphere rise around the world so the amount of isotope absorbed by living organisms since this time has been artificially elevated. Whiskey extracted from antique bottles is sent to the laboratory where scientists burn the liquid and bombard the resulting gas with electrically charged particles so they can measure the carbon-14 in the sample. In one recent case, a bottle of 1856 Macallan Rare Reserve was withdrawn from auction at Christies, where it was expected to sell for up to £20,000, after the scientists found it had actually been produced in 1950. "So far there have probably been more fakes among the samples we've tested than real examples of old whiskey," says Higham.'"

SpringSource Acquires Hyperic, Possibly Set to Target Microsoft and IBM 130

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the new-era-of-open-source dept.
Many sources are reporting that SpringSource has acquired Hyperic, creating a company that could go after IBM and Microsoft. SpringSource has long dreamed of being able to offer a complete open source solution that accelerates the entire build, run, manage Java application lifecycle, and Hyperic offers the last piece of the puzzle. "Regardless, the SpringSource/Hyperic combination creates a clear and present danger to IBM and Microsoft, two companies that have largely stood alone in the ability to build, run, and manage applications. It's also a significant boon to companies looking to open source to save money and improve productivity. Is it a sign of good things to come from not only SpringSource, but also open source, generally? Time will tell, but I suspect we're on the cusp of an aggressive and ambitious new phase in open-source competition."
Science

Super-Sensors To Sense Big Bang Output 50

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the really-just-building-a-time-machine-with-a-camcorder dept.
New super-sensitive microwave detectors from the National Institute of Standards and Technology may soon tackle the question of what happened immediately following the big bang. "The new experiment will begin approximately a year from now on the Chilean desert and will consist of placing a large array of powerful NIST sensors on a telescope mounted in a converted shipping container. The detectors will look for subtle fingerprints in the CMB [cosmic microwave background] from primordial gravitational waves — ripples in the fabric of space-time from the violent birth of the universe more than 13 billion years ago. Such waves are believed to have left a faint but unique imprint on the direction of the CMB's electric field, called the 'B-mode polarization.' These waves — never before confirmed through measurements — are potentially detectable today, if sensitive enough equipment is used."
Image

Google Mows With Goats 466

Posted by samzenpus from the google-goats-gruff dept.
Kelson writes "Google's Mountain View headquarters has fields that need to be kept clear of fire hazards. This year instead of mowing them, they took a low-carbon approach: they hired a herd of goats to eat the grass for a week. 'It costs us about the same as mowing, and goats are a lot cuter to watch than lawn mowers,' wrote Dan Hoffman."

Comment European Model... (Score 4, Informative) 265

by MLopat (#27359357) Attached to: iPhone 3G Finally Available In US Contract-Free
I love how marketers in North America continue to push the idea of "European". We've all seen the infomercials where they state "This is a best selling product in Europe..." or "In Europe this retails for $60 but..."

The way that it really works in Europe is that you pay for your phone over the course of your contract. For example, if you want a phone that is $600 and you are on a 3 year agreement, you pay $16.67 as a line item on your monthly bill to pay for the cost of the phone. That's much better than the hidden subsidy cost that most (if not all) North American carriers provide.

Comment Re:Overclocking BS (Score 1) 159

by MLopat (#25865833) Attached to: AMD Shows Upcoming Phenom II CPU At 6.0 GHz+
Did you read the article? I did. See I have that nifty little * beside my name which means that I pay a couple extra dollars so that I can read the articles before everyone else and leave informed comments.

So to quote from the FULL article "I do not believe that AMD wants to get back the performance crown at this time, namely because they do not have a design that is head and shoulders above what Intel currently has. So they are content to be 2nd best, and keep Intel in sight in terms of performance and features." -- even the person writing the article contends that AMD is not on par but wants to keep intel in sight. Further, if you read the article again, there is no mention of benchmarking or any real world comparison of the AMD chip and the intel chip as you have asserted.

So looks like you're the "fanboy retard" that could learn something from following your own advice. ;)
User Journal

Journal Journal: Google Quietly Adds HTTPS Support to GMail 4

Journal by jdray

This may be old news, but I just noticed myself and thought I'd report it. I've been using the "New Version" of GMail for a couple of weeks (I hardly notice the difference from the "Old Version"), and happened to notice today that the inbox URL still used "http://", even after all the complaints that they didn't maintain "https://" after login. I decided a quick test was in order, and added the all-important "s" to the protocol indicator. It worked fine. After clicking around some, openin
Cellphones

Submission + - QR Codes: Internet to Cell Phone via Camera

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: From ITWorldCanada comes an article about a technology that will change the way people use their cell phones: "A Toronto-based software developer wants to bring Quick Response (QR) codes to Canada, and an industry analyst says this may appeal to companies offering products and services to youth." McDonald's restaurants in Japan having been using the codes for over a year to present nutritional information on the cell phones of their customers.

QR codes were originally developed by Tokyo-based Denso Wave Inc. and are common in Japan. When published in print form — on billboards, transit ads, vehicles or other media — consumers can then take pictures of the images and have them converted to links, phone numbers or other advertising messages. Luna Development, a Canadian mobility company, is introducing the technology to North America with a series of solutions to read the codes on current phones and a web-based application to generate the codes for manufacturers, advertisers and consumers.
Biotech

Submission + - Tree Frogs Inspire Reusable Superglue [pics] (scienceblogs.com)

Submitted by
grrlscientist
grrlscientist writes: "Do you like to sneakily unwrap your gifts before Christmas to learn what they are? Well, scientists are helping you do this by developing a new reusable adhesive superglue!

From the story: The reason that conventional tape cannot be reused is because the adhesive forms permanent cracks when peeled from a surface. While these tiny cracks allow tape to be removed, they also render it useless. But a team of scientists, led by Abhijit Majumder at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India, discovered that the adhesive on the toe pads of tree frogs and crickets contain microscopic channels that prevent cracking when they are peeled from a surface."
Cellphones

Submission + - Japanese phone technology coming to North America

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper brings us an article on a hot Japanese technology poised to break into the US and Canadian cell phone market.

QR codes look like a cross between a Magic Eye picture and a poorly-played game of Tetris, but they are actually scannable bits of information that function much like traditional bar codes. QR codes can appear in printed matter, such as newspaper or magazine ads, or on business cards or letterhead, or on actual objects. For example, McDonald's restaurants in Japan have been using QR codes for more than a year on their food wrappers, providing a link that sends customers to a website displaying nutritional information.

When a cellphone user snaps a picture of a QR code, it automatically triggers a response in the phone that can open a link to a website, dial a phone number or download an application. A Canadian company, Luna Development, is finally bringing this technology to the US and Canada.
Cellphones

Submission + - 2D barcodes bring Internet to your cell phone

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: QR codes look like a cross between a Magic Eye picture and a poorly-played game of Tetris, but they are actually scannable bits of information that function much like traditional bar codes. QR codes can appear in printed matter, such as newspaper or magazine ads, or on business cards or letterhead, or on actual objects. For example, McDonald's restaurants in Japan have been using QR codes for more than a year on their food wrappers, providing a link that sends customers to a website displaying nutritional information.

When a cellphone user snaps a picture of a QR code, it automatically triggers a response in the phone that can open a link to a website, dial a phone number or download an application. A Canadian company, Luna Development, is finally bringing this technology to the US and Canada.

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This restaurant was advertising breakfast any time. So I ordered french toast in the renaissance. - Steven Wright, comedian

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