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United States

Submission + - U.S. Census Bureau not Vista compatible

Submitted by SleptThroughClass
SleptThroughClass writes: I noticed in the Census catalog that a Census 2000 disc was labeled "Proprietary With Software, Windows 95". Such a data format seemed to be edging toward becoming inaccessible (it's already not accessible on my Linux machines), so I asked about Vista. The answer from Census: "We are currently not running Vista on any Census facilities, and will not do so for some time. So my inclination is that none of our current disc products will be Vista compatible."
Space

Submission + - Ten-year climate model unveiled (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by
gollum123
gollum123 writes: "Scientists say they have developed a model to predict how ocean currents, as well as human activities, will affect temperatures over the next decade ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6939347. stm ) . By including short-term natural events, such as El Nino, a UK team says it is able to offer 10-year projections. Writing in Science, Met Office researchers project that at least half of the years between 2009 and 2014 are likely to exceed existing records. But over the decade as a whole, they project the global average temperature in 2014 to be 0.3C warmer than 2004."
Security

Submission + - Buffer Overflow in RFID Passport Readers (wired.com)

Submitted by
epee1221
epee1221 writes: "Wired ran a story describing Lukas Grunwald's Defcon talk on an attack on airport passport readers. After extracting data from the (read-only) chip in a legitimate passport, he placed a version of the data with an altered passport photo (JPEG2000 is used in these chips) into a writable chip. The altered photo created a buffer overflow in two RFID readers he tested, causing both to crash. Grunwald suggests that vendors are typically using off-the-shelf JPEG2000 libraries, which would make the vulnerability common."
Space

China Sets Sights on Comprehensive Lunar Survey 122

Posted by Zonk from the space-race-version-two dept.
eldavojohn writes "Perhaps unsatisfied with the closeups that Google Moon has to offer, China has decided to survey the moon down to the 'inch'. In the second half of 2007, they plan to launch an unmanned lunar satellite to first orbit the moon, land on the moon & then return samples to earth for them to analyze. '"The moon probe project is the third milestone in China's space technology after satellite and manned spacecraft projects, and a first step for us in exploring deep space," the China National Space Administration head said. The orbiter represented the first phase, with a moon rover to be used in the second phase scheduled for around 2012, reports said. The plan for the third phase, scheduled for around 2017, was for another rover to land on the lunar surface and collect samples before returning to Earth.'"
United States

Submission + - Forensics Expert says Al-Qaeda Images Altered

Submitted by WerewolfOfVulcan
WerewolfOfVulcan writes: Wired reports that researcher Neal Krawetz revealed some veeeeeery interesting things about the Al-Qaeda images that our government loves to show off.

From the article: "Krawetz was also able to determine that the writing on the banner behind al-Zawahiri's head was added to the image afterward. In the second picture above showing the results of the error level analysis, the light clusters on the image indicate areas of the image that were added or changed. The subtitles and logos in the upper right and lower left corners (IntelCenter is an organization that monitors terrorist activity and As-Sahab is the video production branch of al Qaeda) were all added at the same time, while the banner writing was added at a different time, likely around the same time that al-Zawahiri was added, Krawetz says." Why would Al-Qaeda add an IntelCenter logo to their video? Why would IntelCenter add an Al-Qaeda logo? Methinks we have bigger fish to fry than Gonzo and his fired attorneys... }:-) The article contains links to Krawetz's presentation and the source code he used to analyze the photos.
Slashdot.org

Submission + - Slashdot goes over the top for April Fools day

Submitted by
driverman
driverman writes: "Slashdot probably has the highest pranks per pixel (ppp) ratio of any news-related website out there. Many users have counted at least five unique april fools pranks on the main index of the site, and not all of them are limited to stories. One of the pranks is masquerading as a feature, and two (1, 2) of the pranks can be attributed to Google. No Microsoft pranks have been sighted as of yet (Vista doesn't count as an early one, either)."
Music

Submission + - RIAA to be disbanded

Submitted by
newtley
newtley writes: "The members of the Big 4 Organized Music cartel have announced the cessation of the sue 'em all marketing campaign under which they've been trying to persuade consumers to buy corporate download product. "We have issued instructions to the RIAA and our other enforcement organizations around the world to immediately withdraw all lawsuits and to refund court costs and other expenses incurred by people sued," says Phil McBoot, chairman of the Big 4 Working Group, in a statement. "We were acting on the advice of Mitch Bainwol, Carry Sherman, Jonathan Lamy and Jenny Engebretsen, which we now realise was wrong. We humbly and sincerely apologise to anyone who may have inadvertently been harmed by the actions of the RIAA, BPI, IFPI and similar bodies actions.""
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Blu-Ray & HD DVD End Format War With New HD-Bl

Submitted by Jim
Jim writes: Hell freezes over... "Speaking on behalf of the two groups, Reverend Jesse Jackson of the newly-formed Electronic Rainbow Coalition said, 'The time for healing is now. This was a war of choice that left consumers on the sidelines with no real choice at all. Both sides have become so focused on winning this unwinnable war that they have lost touch with what they desire most — the ability to charge consumers for content they already own.'" Read the whole thing here.
Real Time Strategy (Games)

Submission + - World of Warcraft Prequel Announced!

Submitted by Rebelgecko
Rebelgecko writes: Today, Blizzard has announced a new game in the Warcraft universe, Warcraft: Heroes of Azeroth Warcraft: Heroes of Azeroth (or just WHOA for short). Like the first three Warcraft games, it will be a real-time strategy game. There will be not one, not two, but FOUR different available box covers. The events of the game occur 15 years after the end of the Second War.
Power

Submission + - New 10,500 watt Power Supply is Hot!

Submitted by
PowerfulPete
PowerfulPete writes: "Literally! And it catches the test bench on fire! PC Perspective has tested a Miller Electric XMT 300 unit that produces 10,500 watts of electrical power. Sure, it weighs it an nearly 80 pounds, requires a 240 VAC line and costs over $3,000, BUT it also can produces up to 375A on the 12V line! That's more than enough to power a dozen or so PCs! To connect to the computer, a "power distribution module" mounts inside the PC where the normal ATX power supply would go."

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