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Apple

Mac App Store - Good or Bad? Developers React->

Submitted by KindMind
KindMind writes "The Register writes about developer reactions to the Mac App Store. One says: "The hardest thing ... is not creating software. It's selling it," he said. "In order to sell things, you need exposure.", and that "the Mac App Store provides that exposure". But another says, "There are other costs to doing business in the App Store ...you lose control over the relationship with the customer. We don't know who our App Store customers are.""
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Security

Network card rootkit proof of concept developed->

Submitted by KindMind
KindMind writes "The Register has a story on a researcher that has developed a network card firmware based rootkit. From the story: Guillaume Delugré, a reverse engineer at French security firm Sogeti ESEC, was able to develop proof-of-concept code after studying the firmware from Broadcom Ethernet NetExtreme PCI Ethernet cards ... Using the knowledge gained from this process, Delugré was able to develop custom firmware code and flash the device so that his proof-of-concept code ran on the CPU of the network card. You can read more on his blog."
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Flash on iPhone via on-the-fly HTML5 conversion->

Submitted by KindMind
KindMind writes "CNN Money reports that flash is coming to the iPhone and iPad via Skyfire. Skyfire will dynamically translate Flash to HTML5 for viewing on the iPhone and iPad. Skyfire was previously noted on Slashdot as doing the same thing for Android.

But according to the article, there will be limitations: "But one major website that Skyfire won't have an effect on is Hulu, which blocked the app from downloading its videos. Hulu, which hosts TV shows and movies from the major networks and studios, is free for PC users in the United States. But mobile users have to pay $10 a month for a subscription to Hulu Plus. The app won't translate games or other non-video content that runs in Flash, however. Still, Glueck estimates that the number of websites and videos that Skyfire will open up to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users is in the 'millions.'"."
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Bug

SPAM: Serious Security Bugs Found In Android Kernel 1

Submitted by geek4
geek4 writes "An analysis of Google Android Froyo's open source kernel has uncovered 88 critical flaws that could expose users' personal information

An analysis of the kernel used in Google’s Android smartphone software has turned up 88 high-risk security flaws that could be used to expose users’ personal information, security firm Coverity said in a report published on Tuesday.

The results, published in the 2010 edition of the Coverity Scan Open Source Integrity Report, are based on an analysis of the Froyo kernel used in HTC’s Droid Incredible handset.

Enterprise fears
The results arrive as Android is increasing its market share and increasingly being used in the enterprise.

While Android implementations vary from device to device, Coverity said the same flaws were likely to exist in other handsets as well. Coverity uncovered a total of 359 bugs, about one-quarter of which were classified as high-risk."
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Comment: Re:Not all bloggers, just those that make money (Score 3, Insightful) 456

by KindMind (#33340806) Attached to: Philly Requiring Bloggers To Pay $300
Taxes are one thing - I agree with you there. But the business license is based on where the business is. If the hosted content is outside the Philadelphia area, I don't see how they could enforce a business license. Like if I live in Philadelphia, but I own an auto parts business in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia can't charge me for a business license. I don't see how this is any different. On a side note, how does Philadelphia even know what she paid in taxes? That should be confidential information between her and the state and the IRS.
Hardware

Small Plug-in solar panels coming out in 2011

Submitted by KindMind
KindMind writes "Clarian Power, a Seattle startup, is promising "plug-in" solar panels at $600 to $800 installed per panel for homeowners and small businesses. A typical installation is three panels, at around $2400 installed. These generate about 200 watts a panel, so a three panel systems would be 800 watts A single panel would save 30 to 40 kilowatt hours per month, translating to around $50 a year in energy cost savings. The estimated payback for a setup like this is estimated at four years, with tax credits and rebates taken into account. This is a supplemental power system, for replacing outside utility power, not for selling back to the utility company. The target date to have these for sale is sometime in 2011."

Better Way to Grow Stem Cells Developed

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Human pluripotent stem cells, which can become any other kind of body cell, hold great potential to treat a wide range of ailments, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries. However, scientists who work with such cells have had trouble growing large enough quantities to perform experiments — in particular, to be used in human studies.Furthermore, most materials now used to grow human stem cells include cells or proteins that come from mice embryos, which help stimulate stem-cell growth but would likely cause an immune reaction if injected into a human patient. To overcome those issues, MIT chemical engineers, materials scientists and biologists have devised a synthetic surface that includes no foreign animal material and allows stem cells to stay alive and continue reproducing themselves for at least three months."

More: Electronic Voting Researcher Arrested

Submitted by Philom
Philom writes "This is an important update to the story on your front page about Hari Prasad being arrested in India.
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/08/22/1953246/Electronic-Voting-Researcher-Arrested-In-India

Alex Halderman writes: I'm a professor at the University of Michigan, and I coauthored the Indian voting machine security study with Hari Prasad. I've posted audio from a phone call I had with Hari while he was riding in the police car, along with further details about his politically motivated arrest."
Medicine

Look-Alike Tubes Are Killing Hospital Patients-> 1

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that in hospitals around the country nurses connect and disconnect interchangeable clear plastic tubing sticking out of patients' bodies to deliver or extract medicine, nutrition, fluids, gases or blood — sometimes with deadly consequences. Tubes intended to inflate blood-pressure cuffs have been connected to intravenous lines leading to deadly air embolisms., intravenous fluids have been connected to tubes intended to deliver oxygen leading to suffocation, and in 2006 a nurse at in Wisconsin mistakenly put a spinal anesthetic into a vein, killing 16-year-old who was giving birth. "Nurses should not have to work in an environment where it is even possible to make that kind of mistake," says Nancy Pratt, a vocal advocate for changing the system. Critics say the tubing problem, which has gone on for decades, is an example of how the FDA fails to protect the public. "FDA could fix this tubing problem tomorrow, but because the agency is so worried about making industry happy, people continue to die," says Dr. Robert Smith."
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Science

Steve Irwin helped track crocs across open ocean->

Submitted by KindMind
KindMind writes "Crocodiles originally tagged with help from Steve Irwin have been tracked crossing the open ocean. From the article (quote from Dr Hamish Campbell of Queensland university): "The late Steve Irwin, the original Crocodile Hunter, developed innovative capture techniques of crocodiles to ensure the team were 100 percent safe. Steve was instrumental in the strategies developed to minimize stress on crocodiles throughout the research and he was integral to the success of the research project." The article goes on to say: "He (Dr Campbell) has logged crocodiles making open-sea journeys across hundreds of kilometers. His analysis indicates that the crafty crocodiles don't swim much during such trips, but rather travel with the tides and ocean currents. If the sea isn't flowing the way the croc wants, it will normally beach itself somewhere handy and wait for conditions to change.""
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Cellphones

Nexus One as another Google Lab test?

Submitted by KindMind
KindMind writes "CNN has an analysis of the Nexus One's sluggish start and lessons learned that looks at the Nexus One as a Google "real word" way of testing the Android OS and getting feedback. From the article: "Indeed,Nexus One sales are barely a blip on the market-share charts. Google sold only 135,000 units in its first 74 days, compared to 1 million iPhones and 1.05 million Droids in those phones' first 74 days. But that doesn't mean the Nexus One is a failure: Far from it. In fact, it's a sort of inspired experiment, a laboratory for Google to get a taste of the mobile-handset business, up close and personal.""

Comment: Re:Mixed emotions ... (Score 1) 607

by KindMind (#29495177) Attached to: Children's Watch Allows Parents To Track Their Kid
True enough. But speaking from experience, kids can be sneaky, especially if they want to do something you told them they can't. BTW, I looked at your link, and from a "find the child" perspective, the GPS based one is better, because with the linked device, all you know is direction, not how far.

Comment: Re:Mixed emotions ... (Score 1) 607

by KindMind (#29490851) Attached to: Children's Watch Allows Parents To Track Their Kid
I meant it semi-humorously. My point was, once the tracking is there, anyone can possibly do this, for whatever reason. The pedophile example is far fetched, to be sure, but I could see one tracking a child to know when the best opportunity is. For a better example, what about disputed child custody cases, where the other parent is looking for an opportunity to take the child and run? Or what about a stalker? Know where the child is, know where the parent is. All of these examples may never happen, but to blindly use a technology like this without thinking about the possible implications is not a good idea.

Heavier than air flying machines are impossible. -- Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, c. 1895