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NASA

Submission + - Satellites pick up distortion of space-time (sciencedaily.com)

Submitted by
Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: "Two X-ray satellites have picked up a distortion of the space-time continuum around three super-dense neutron stars, lending additional credence to Einstein's prediction in his theory of relativity. A similar rippling effect on the fabric of space has been seen around black holes, but this is the first time the phenomenon has been seen around a neutron star. 'It shows that the way neutron stars accrete matter is not very different from that of black holes, and it gives us a new tool to probe Einstein's theory," says NASA Goddard Space Center scientist Tod Strohmayer."
Technology (Apple)

Submission + - New Jersey teen cracks iPhone network lock

Submitted by dispatch
dispatch writes: From MSNBC, "A teenager in New Jersey has broken the lock that ties Apple's iPhone to AT&T's wireless network, freeing the most hyped cell phone ever for use on the networks of other carriers, including overseas ones." He has posted directions on how to do it on his blog which while they are interesting to read are probably a bit above the average cell phone user's head. Also, it is important to note that unfortunately at the moment the only other carrier that can handle the iPhone is T-Mobile.

How AT&T or Apple will respond has yet to be seen but it should be interesting. Will either argue intellectual property? Do they even have a position? Would AT&T have any kind of recourse against people using T-Mobile or T-Mobile itself? Will other carries start supporting the iPhone? Will a new market pop up for iPhone modders/over seas sales?
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft DRG: "Evangelism is War" (edge-op.org)

Submitted by
Fan of Weird Rob
Fan of Weird Rob writes: "Groklaw readers have uncovered an interesting old file from Comes v. Microsoft concerning Microsoft's DRG (Developer Relations Group) and how they "evangelize" standards. This document harks back to when they were fighting OpenDoc, but the strategies are very familiar to anyone watching Microsoft fight ODF. There are too many choice bits to ever quote them all, but it strongly emphasizes that the DRG doesn't exist to help developers, it exists to help Microsoft. One of the best ways to crush your enemies (Sun, IBM, Novell, Apple, etc.) is to disrupt their alliances, but you should attack directly only when there are no other options. ISVs are called "pawns", and "Evangelism is War," whereas a Jihad is "a road trip." With standards, "Every line of code that is written to our standards is a small victory; every line of code that is written to any other standard, is a small defeat." Naturally, they also say such things as "we're the good guys!" and "Simple rule to live by: Never Lie." Just below that rule, they say: "Be selective in which truths you emphasize.""
Space

Submission + - Zero-G Germs Return to Earth (space.com)

Submitted by
Raver32
Raver32 writes: "Astronauts weren't the only living things aboard the space shuttle Endeavour that landed safely this week — a precious payload of germs, grown and frozen in zero-gravity, also returned to Earth. Researchers sent up sealed containers of Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, the germs responsible for many diseases in patients with weakened immune systems. David Niesel, a microbiologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, said the experiment will help scientists explore the risks of getting sick in space. "There's a decline in people's immune function the longer they're in the space environment, and it's been shown that other bacteria also alter their properties in microgravity," Niesel said. "They grow faster, they tend to be more virulent and resistant to microbial treatment." The S. pneumoniae bacteria are normally harmless, but Niesel said they never turn down opportunities to exploit weak immune systems and turn into full-blown disease. For astronauts on long spaceflights, he said, the germs could prove to be dangerous. "Strep pneumoniae is a very potent pathogen in people who are immunosuppressed," he said. "It's the No. 1 cause of community-acquired pneumonia and a leading mediator of bacteremia [bacterial blood infections] and meningitis.""
Data Storage

Submission + - Best USB thumb drive for keychain

Submitted by
Lumpy
Lumpy writes: "After having to replace my 8th USB thumbdrive I have had attached to my key chain in 2 years because of failures I was starting to wonder,What have other slashdotters found as their best choice in a USB thumb drive?

I love having one on my key chain, but 95% of these things have a port cover that gets lost in the first 10 minutes, have a really bad design for attaching to the key chain so you lose the drive completely, or are incredibly bad quality, my last designer leather on with leather cover strap comes to mind.

What do you use for your always with you most important usb thumb drive? What is the most durable that will take getting dropped in a puddle or survive living on a key chain?"
Supercomputing

Submission + - Scientists prove Schrödinger's cat with l (physorg.com)

Submitted by
0ddity
0ddity writes: "Australian and French scientists have made another breakthrough in the technology that will drive next generation computers and teleportation. The researchers have successfully superposed light beams, which produces a state that appears to be both on and off at once. Light beams that are simultaneously on and off are vital for the next-generation super computers which should be faster than current computers based on bits, that are either on or off. Previously, only smaller light particles had been superposed and the group has also proved a quantum physics theory known as Schrödinger's cat. http://www.physorg.com/news107177837.html"
PHP

Submission + - Develop multitasking applications with PHP V5

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Many PHP developers believe that because standard PHP lacks threading capabilities, it's impossible for a practical PHP application to multitask. Not true... PHP doesn't support threading in the way other languages like the Java programming language or C++ do, but the examples in this article show that PHP can exploit in-process multitasking and has more potential for speed-ups than many realize.
Data Storage

Backing Up Laptops In a Small Business? 293

Posted by kdawson from the against-disaster-the-gods-themselves dept.
Bithmus writes "I have been tasked with finding a way for our company to handle our laptop backups. We currently have nightly backups of our servers, but no backups of laptops. In our business we develop, implement, and sell another company's software; I guess that makes us a Valued Added Reseller. During development our consultants will create copies of a customer's database on MSDE on their laptops. If a hard drive crashes, all of the work done on that laptop is lost. There are other files that need to be saved, but the databases are really the important items. Ideally these databases would be stored on the SQL servers and the other files stored on the file server, but this is not happening. What do Slashdot readers do to protect data on laptops or computers outside of a local network?"
Programming

Submission + - Crowther's Original Adventure Source Code Found!

Submitted by drxenos
drxenos writes: I don't know how many of you are fans of old-school text adventures (interactive fiction), but Will Crowther's original Fortran source code has been located in a backup of Don Wood's old student account. For fans like me, this is like finding the Holy Grail. link: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.int-fictio n/browse_thread/thread/607acaf1a279d4dd/bd53b672a1 85d177#bd53b672a185d177
Republicans

Submission + - Ted Stevens' Home Raided

Submitted by el_munkie
el_munkie writes: It appears that the home of Senator Ted Stevens is in the process of being raided by the FBI and the IRS. According to the article, a remodeling project at Stevens' home and the involvement of Veco, an oil company, are the focus of the raid.
Movies

Submission + - Marvel Studios to produce its own movies

Submitted by
Dekortage
Dekortage writes: "According to the New York Times, Marvel Studios will be producing its own superhero movies instead of licensing the superheros to other Hollywood studios. It's all about the money: despite the enormous popularity of Sony Pictures' Spiderman 1 and 2, the licensing deal only netted Marvel $62 million. The article includes some tips about upcoming works: Edward Norton as Bruce Banner in a new Incredible Hulk, and Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark in Iron Man."
Businesses

Submission + - Best Places to Work in IT (computerworld.com)

Submitted by
jcatcw
jcatcw writes: "Computerworld's annual summary of the best places to work in IT lists companies that excel in five areas of employment: career development, retention, benefits, diversity, and training. According to the scorecard, the top 5 retention methods are: competitive benefits; competitive salaries; work/life balance; flexible work hours; and tuition reimbursement. Sixty-four percent of these companies expect the number of U.S.-based IT staffers to increase in 2007, on average by 7%. The whole list contains the top 100. The top three are: No. 1: Quicken Loans; No. 2: University of Miami; No. 3: Sharp HealthCare. "
IBM

Submission + - Pressure is on IBM to forgive millions in IT debt (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "Can a $93 billion company be publicly shamed into charity? My guess is not, but the Contra Costa school district in California is hoping IBM can see it in its Big Blue heart to erase some $5 million in long-overdue debt. This week four California state legislators threw their support behind West Contra Costa School by pleading with IBM to release the district from the debt. Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley; Assemblyman Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord; state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland; and Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, sent a letter to IBM CEO Samuel Palmisano requesting that the computer-industry giant write off the 15-year-old debt as a charitable contribution. http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1633 1"

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