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Comment Re:Facinating... (Score 1) 136

by mitcheli (#44582575) Attached to: Forrester: NSA Spying Could Cost Cloud $180B, But Probably Won't
I'm not questioning the rightness or wrongness of the program. That's still very much up for debate, both through official channels and the general public, and no doubt and in no small part on Slashdot. That was the whole intent of why Snowden did what he did. But what I am mentioning is that the reason the program was classified as Top Secret is because releasing the information (which Snowden did) would cause exceptional harm to the US. ... $160B in damage in my book is definitely exceptional.

Comment There's a big difference between (Score 1) 385

by mitcheli (#44581559) Attached to: Transport Expert Insists 'Don't Dismiss Wacky Hyperloop'
Science Fiction and reality. I like the idea of Hyperloop, but what happens with a 600mph crash? How do you elevate tubes across thousands of miles and through Cities without A) creating curve that have g-forces too high to survive a 600mph turn or B) becoming so incredibly expensive for right of access rights that it becomes impossible? With cars holding a limited number of people, how do you address the mass populations? Jets carry hundreds and they're routinely overbooked. How does economies of scale fit in? Oh, I'm sure the realities could be vast on this idea. .. Hats off to Elon though, because there are those that do and there are those that do not. If he didn't do, we wouldn't have Tesla showing how electric cars can work.

Comment Facinating... (Score 1) 136

by mitcheli (#44581239) Attached to: Forrester: NSA Spying Could Cost Cloud $180B, But Probably Won't
If you read the regulations on what various classifications mean (top secret meaning, exceptional harm to the US) you can get a grasp of why some content is classified the way it is. Given the Snowden leaks, the administration is quick to point out how those disclosures cause exceptional harm because our adversaries will change their communication techniques to mask our ability to find them. .... True enough this indicates exceptional harm to our Government... But harm to our businesses and our citizens is also harm. Seems reasonable to assume that $180 Billion dollars would be a pretty significant amount of harm ... Hero or not, and wrong or not, there was a reason those programs were classified, and it wasn't just to protect the Government. Food for thought.

Submission + - Top app developers favor iPAD over Androids (allthingsd.com)

Submitted by Taco Cowboy
Taco Cowboy writes: Of the Top 100 iPad apps, 30 are currently unavailable for Android tablets

A further 18% were available, but not optimized for Android tablet users, offering no more than a smartphone app blown up to the size of a tablet screen, according to the findings of a new App Interrogator report published by Canalys

While it is true that 11 of the apps which are unavailable to Android tablet users are applications designed by Apple, that they weren’t intended for the rival Android platform, the 19 other apps which are missing include mega-sellers such as Clash of Clans, GoodReader, Notability, Eden World Builder and Bejeweled HD

Canalys Senior Analyst Tim Shepherd stated that "quite simply, building high-quality app experiences for Android tablets has not been among many developers' top priorities to date. That there are over 375,000 apps in the Apple App Store that are designed with iPad users in mind, versus just a fraction of this – in the low tens of thousands – available through Google Play, underscores this point"

http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2013/08/top-developers-favor-the-ipad-with-ios-over-android-tablets.html

http://bgr.com/2013/08/14/ipad-android-tablet-apps/

http://www.zdnet.com/canalys-half-of-top-ipad-apps-unavailable-or-not-optimized-for-android-7000019396/

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20130815PR201.html

Comment So, let me get this straight... (Score 1) 629

by mitcheli (#44580973) Attached to: Google Blocks YouTube App On Windows Phone (Again)
Google asked Microsoft to move away from Flash as the delivery mechanism for video on it's Youtube app and to embrace HTML 5, a technology that has been under development by a whole lot of folks for a long time as an alternate method to employ flash like technologies in an open standards manner, and Microsoft refused because Android and Apple aren't doing it yet (even though they probably are). ... And Google decided to block Microsoft for not following industry standards? And we see a problem here because why exactly?

Submission + - Cringe And Reflect: The Internet In 1997

Submitted by devisoria
devisoria writes: This morning, like most mornings I sat drinking my coffee browsing my freshly updated list of news feeds and articles. All of a sudden I was floored by a video, my breath lost in a mix of laughter and horror. In it’s wake I was left with a new appreciation for how much technology has changed. Allow me to share this experience with you.

Consider how simple technology has become — how many times you have seen a child of only a few years old using an iPad with no effort at all? In only a few years technology changes in astonishing ways, but I for one find I often quickly forget the time before new invention X.

So how much progress have we made? Clearly technology has developed in amazing ways and as a society we have become much more comfortable with technology in every aspect of our lives. That said, we have some interesting issues this video reminds me of. The digital divide is one such issue. Across different age groups we have varying levels of expertise and security awareness on the Internet and many are left very exposed due to a lack of basic understanding.

What makes a secure password? How do you spot a phishing scam? How do you know if your web connection is encrypted? I have heard people say that security awareness is a temporal issue and that as the young generation grows up the problem will naturally be fixed – but I disagree. I’ve spoken to many young people who are extremely capable users of technology but who have less of a concept of privacy and security than older colleagues. Granted, I know many people who are my senior who struggle with these concepts too.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jameslyne/2013/08/14/cringe-and-reflect-the-internet-in-1997/

Submission + - Ubuntu Edge Now Most-Backed Crowdfunding Campaign Ever

Submitted by Volanin
Volanin writes: After nearly a month of its assumed happening, Ubuntu Edge has now passed the $10.2 million mark, thus making it the most pledged-to crowd-funder in history. While the Ubuntu Edge campaign is to be commended for reaching such a mammoth milestone as this, it can’t quite claim ultimate victory yet, since it's just short of making one-third of its $32 million goal with a little less than a week left. Can they do it?

Submission + - New treatment for all cancers from Australia. (news.com.au)

Submitted by FirephoxRising
FirephoxRising writes: New protein based treatment from the University of NSW breaks down cancers by destroying their internal protein structures. The approach has been tried before but always resulted in too much damage to muscles and the heart. The new approach allows the new class of drug can attack tumours without damaging normal cells.

Submission + - Area 51 No Longer (Officially) a Secret 2

Submitted by schnell
schnell writes: The first-ever declassified story of Area 51's origin is now available, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act filed years ago by George Washington University's National Security Archive. The (only lightly redacted) document is actually primarily a history of the U-2 and A-12 ("Oxcart") spy plane programs from the Cold War, but is remarkable for being the first-ever official unclassified acknowledgement of the Area 51's purpose and its role in the program. Interesting tidbits include that the U-2 program was kicked off with a CIA check mailed personally to Lockheed Skunk Works chief Kelly Johnson for $1.25M; a U-2 was launched off an aircraft carrier to spy on French nuclear tests; and the U-2 delivery program itself was actually done under budget, a rarity for secret government programs then or now.

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