Forgot your password?

Close
typodupeerror
Android

+ - Google Denies Android Botnet Claim

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "After a Microsoft engineer claimed he discovered an Android botnet sending out spam on an international scale, Google has denied the allegations. "The evidence does not support the Android botnet claim," a Google spokesperson said in a statement. "Our analysis suggests that spammers are using infected computers and a fake mobile signature to try to bypass anti-spam mechanisms in the email platform they're using.""

+ - Ask slashdot: If and when do bonus's actually improve your coding-> 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "A new blog post argues that compensation for programmers that relies heavily on individual incentive payments (typical bonuses, for example) are a fools errand because economic and psychological theory suggest that they're tough to implement correctly, and because most hackers earn enough that they won't kill themselves for a little more. Do you get bonuses at your job? Do you do better work because of it? Can your manager really tell the difference? Have you ever taken short cuts with quality to earn a bonus?"
Link to Original Source
Android

+ - Android Upgrade Report Card: Who Failed in Q2?->

Submitted by
CWmike
CWmike writes "Google's Android 4.1 Jelly Bean release may be making all the headlines these days, but for many users, Android 4.0 — Ice Cream Sandwich — is still the object of desire. Android 4.0 started rolling out to devices last December. As of early July, though, it's on just 11 percent of devices, according to Google's own measurements. And that means the vast majority of people are still waiting for a taste. It's inevitable that upgrade availability and timing will vary to some extent from one device to the next; Nexus devices aside, after all, it's up to manufacturers to prepare and provide Android OS upgrades. For better and sometimes for worse, that's the nature of Android's open source model. There may not be a centralized system for upgrade standards, but there is a level of accountability. Many manufacturers make promises for when their devices will be upgraded — and with the second quarter now behind us, it's time to check up on those promises once again to see who followed through and who let us down."
Link to Original Source
Medicine

+ - MIT Researchers Develop Needle-Less, Painless Way To Inject Drugs->

Submitted by
redletterdave
redletterdave writes "MIT researchers unveiled a prototype device on Thursday that uses a new way to administer drugs, replacing the common needle with a tiny, highly-controllable jet injector, which sends a high-pressured stream directly into the skin. The jet can both inject into and aspirate from tissue, and the device is controlled via a computer interface, which can control the volume of the drug delivery, and the velocity at which it moves. But besides giving doctors better control over injections, the best part of this technology is that it is virtually painless — in fact, patients won't feel much of anything at all. The fine jet that comes out of the device is about the same diameter as a mosquito proboscis, which makes it perfect for those with needle phobias or those who inject frequently. The device's technology can also deliver drugs through the eye and into the retina, through the tympanic membrane and into the middle and inner ear, and it can even vibrate powder so it behaves like a liquid to be injected."
Link to Original Source
Movies

Digital Face-Swapping Getting Cheaper 62

Posted by Soulskill
from the video-evidence-soon-to-be-inadmissible dept.
Zothecula writes "If you've seen the film The Social Network, then you might have wondered about the identical Winklevoss twins — were a real-life pair of twins cast for the roles, or was it a bit of Hollywood magic? Well, it was magic. Although two different actors' bodies were used, their faces both belonged to actor Armie Hammer. After the movie was shot, the body double's face was digitally replaced with Armie's. While such computer-enabled face-swapping trickery has so far been available only to feature film-makers with deep pockets, that could be about to change, thanks to research being conducted at Harvard University (PDF)."
Chrome

+ - Chrome Set To Take No. 2 Spot From Firefox->

Submitted by
CWmike
CWmike writes "Google's Chrome is on the brink of replacing Firefox as the second-most-popular browser, says the Web statistics firm StatCounter, which shows that Chrome will pass Firefox to take the No. 2 spot behind Microsoft's IE no later than December. As of Wednesday, Chrome's global average user share for September was 23.6%, while Firefox's stood at 26.8%. IE, meanwhile, was at 41.7%. The climb of Chrome during 2011 has been astonishing: It has gained eight percentage point since January 2011, representing a 50% increase. During that same period, Firefox has dropped almost four percentage points, a decline of about 13%, while IE has also fallen four points, a 9% dip. That means Chrome is essentially reaping all the defections from Firefox and IE."
Link to Original Source

Comment: Re:Publicity whore for a "scientist" (Score 1) 286

by SgtPepperKSU (#37197350) Attached to: Could Assortative Mating Explain Autism?

Certainly, intriguing, but not "dead ringer proof". It could also be that fraternal twins are more likely to be tested for autism if their twin is diagnosed than a non-twin sibling. You have to keep in mind that those statistics aren't giving chances of _having_ autism. Instead, they're giving changes for being _diagnosed_ with autism.

Comment: Re:Pure Arrogance (Score 1) 495

by SgtPepperKSU (#36697280) Attached to: Are You Too Good For Code Reviews?

Yes, you were opposing certain code review comments, not opposing having code reviews. Which is what the conversation is about.

Of course you don't have to blindly make every change that comes up in a code review. That's almost as bad as having no code review. You have a conversation with the person who made the comments and provide a compelling argument on why they should complete the code review without those changes being made.

Power

Could the US Phase Out Nuclear Power? 657

Posted by samzenpus
from the won't-somebody-please-think-of-the-mutants dept.
mdsolar writes "In the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, [German Chancellor] Merkel announced that her country would close all of its 17 existing reactors by 2022. Other nations, including Japan, Italy, and Switzerland, have announced plans to pare back nuclear power, but none have gone as far as Germany, the world's fourth-largest economy. Merkel vows to replace nuclear power with alternatives that do not increase greenhouse gases or shackle the economic growth. Could the US do the same? An increasing number of reports suggest it is not beyond the realm of possibility, and Germany could provide a road map."
Microsoft

Will Microsoft Release Its Own Windows 8 Tablet? 207

Posted by samzenpus
from the If-you-like-theirs-try-ours dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft isn't exactly known for its hardware prowess. Sure, it's churned out plenty of nice mice, keyboards, and game controllers over the years, but success with actual devices has been mixed. The Xbox 360 has exceeded all expectations, while the Zune and Kin hardware have been monumental failures. According to industry sources in Taiwan, however, Microsoft is working on a Windows 8 tablet that will be powered by Texas Instrument's next-generation 1.8GHz dual core processor."
Iphone

+ - HDR Video on a mobile device->

Submitted by akaru
akaru writes "From the same guys that brought the first true HDR video comes a surprising twist...HDR video on the iPhone. There's not even any such software available for the desktop, and here it is on a mobile device."
Link to Original Source
Android

+ - HTC to unlock smartphones' bootloader->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "From information taken from a facebook post from HTC's page, it looks like future Android devices will have an unlocked bootloader. An email sent by HTC's co-founder also confirms that the Evo 3D will be unlocked. This is great news for the Android modding community."
Link to Original Source

Distress, n.: A disease incurred by exposure to the prosperity of a friend. -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"

Close