SmellsLike - Slashdot User

Submission + - MacGyver Physics

Submitted by counterfriction on Sunday May 27, 2007 @09:45PM

counterfriction writes: This month's issue of Symmetry, a magazine jointly published by SLAC and Fermilab, is featuring an article that points out the sometimes extemporaneous and unconventional solutions physicists have come up with in (and out of) the laboratory.
From TFA, 'Leon Lederman ... used a pocket knife, tape, and items on anyone's grocery list to confirm that interactions involving the weak force do now show perfect mirror symmetry, or parity, as scientists had long assumed.'

Submission + - iPod-based guide for Apple's upcoming WWDC

Submitted by

Rod Cambridge

on Sunday May 27, 2007 @07:35PM

Rod Cambridge writes: "Expodition have announced an iPod-based guide for Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) taking place at Moscone West in downtown San Francisco between June 11-15. Visitors to the website can download the free-of-charge Pod SnapShot which can then be viewed on their iPods — enabling them to effectively plan their time at WWDC. The WWDC Pod SnapShot is designed for anyone attending the conference and contains useful information such as full Session and Lab descriptions, Schedule information, Frequently Asked Questions and Travel information. The SnapShot also contains details about the Moscone Center that all visitors will find handy. The WWDC Pod SnapShot can be downloaded from the Directory on expodition.com: http://www.expodition.com/directory/20126.php Thanks, Rod."

Submission + - Attacking feminism: why should a geek care?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @06:21AM

An anonymous reader writes: In a recent article, Author Michael Reed challenges some of the accepted arguments on the subject of Women In IT.

The article begins with an outline of the some of the basic issues and then moves onto a criticism of two recent tech articles on this subject. In the article, he provides some arguments against the use of affirmative action.

The two articles under discussion are:
SCALE 5x: Women in Open Source

The hidden engineering gender gap

Submission + - Free MySQL monitoring tool

Submitted by

Anonymous Coward

on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @04:57AM

Anonymous Coward writes: "http://www.openwin.org/mike/mysql/leave-it-to-the- webyogs/ mentions that a free alternative to the official MySQL Monitoring Tool is available. It runs on Linux and Windows.

Since the official tools are not available independently, it would be an indispensable tool for all MySQL DBAs."

Submission + - UK taps 439,000 phones and emails; wants 645 more

Submitted by JPMH on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @04:50AM

JPMH writes: With the largest density of CCTV cameras in the world, and an increasing network of automatic number-plate recognition cameras on main roads, Britain has long been a pioneer for the surveillance society. Now new official figures reveal that UK agencies monitored 439,000 telephones and email addresses in a 15 month period between 2005 and 2006. The Interception of Communications Commissioner is seeking the right for agencies to be allowed to monitor the communications of Members of Parliament as well, something which has been forbidden since the 1960s. It must be that it is bringing their numbers down: on the law of averages they should be monitoring at least 5 of the MPs.

Submission + - Create a google search with your favorite image

Submitted by

dtmuk

on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @03:57AM

dtmuk writes: "The website mugle which operates as a music search engine for concert tickets, has just launched a service called 'yougle' that lets users create their own google search engine with a given image, the image they choose being displayed on both the front page and the search results."

Submission + - "Drive-By Pharming" and 'borrowed' researc

Submitted by apesaga on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @03:54AM

apesaga writes: On the 8th February 2007, an independent security consultant published an article describing how a type of attack known as "Drive-By Pharming" can be used to make significant changes to a user's broadband router, simply by running some javascript when they visit a webpage. http://getahead.ltd.uk/blog/joe/2007/02/08/csrf_ph arming.html.

However, on February 15th 2007, exactly one week later, Symantec published an article on their website http://www.symantec.com/enterprise/security_respon se/weblog/2007/02/driveby_pharming_how_clicking_1. html describing exactly the same thing.

Are Symantec now resorting to stealing ideas from other researchers, or is this just a harmless coincidence? Obviously the more people that publicise this, the better chance of users finding out and making the necessary changes to their router. But wouldn't it be nice if the original author http://getahead.ltd.uk/joe was credited?

Submission + - Australia banning light bulbs by 2010?

Submitted by Pascal7z on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @03:49AM

Pascal7z writes: Thomas Edison's 125 years invention will be banned in Australia. (here is the : http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2007/0 2/20/1537_news.html)
In order to reduce power consumption, the australian environment minister recommend to switch from the classical light bulb to power saving fluorescent bulb.
In the epoch of power hungry appliance, this is a first step to reduce our energy consumption, and indirectly the global warming.
When will other nations follow? What will other governments do?

Submission + - Ubuntu losing server credibility?

Submitted by

kripkenstein

on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @02:46AM

kripkenstein writes: "A seemingly minor change in Ubuntu Edgy — making /bin/sh point to dash instead of bash — has caused a lot of breakage. Ubuntu stand by their decision to use the faster dash, which complies with standards but not with existing practice. However, as can be seen by the numerous comments on the bug report, many opportunities for Ubuntu to be deployed in server settings appear to have been lost. For example, one comment states

I have already moved away from [Ubuntu], stopped deploying it on server systems. I am glad this [happened] before i started using it on production servers here at work.
Ubuntu is a popular desktop OS among Linux users, but is the decision to use dash costing it its credibility in the server arena?"

Submission + - Gaming skills directly linked to surgical skills

Submitted by

Orinthe

on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @02:22AM

Orinthe writes: "According to Reuters, a new study involving 33 surgeons at a New York hospital shows "a strong correlation between video game skills and a surgeon's capabilities". A statement by the senior author of the study even suggests the use of video games as a training tool for surgeons. Another of the study's authors cautions parents to curb excessive gaming, however: "spending that much time playing video games is not going to help their child's chances of getting into medical school"."

Submission + - Google building Artificial Intelligence

Submitted by kegger64 on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @12:51AM

kegger64 writes: Larry Page announced that Google is looking into building an AI system. "We have some people at Google [who] are really trying to build artificial intelligence and to do it on a large scale," the Google co-founder declared. "It's not as far off as people think." http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/02/19/larry -page-google-look-into-ai

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