s0l0m0n - Slashdot User

DARPA Turning Moths into CyberSpies->

Submitted by

saccade.com

on Thursday June 07 2007, @05:31PM

saccade.com writes "The Times reports on a project where the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is growing insects around computer chips to turn them into surveillance cyber-bugs:

DARPA is implanting computer chips in moths while still in the pupa stage. The moth grows around the the chip and its nervous system can be controlled by a remote control.

The project is called the Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (HI-MEMS) and it also includes outfitting other insects with miniscule sensors and a wireless transmitter which could send data from places inaccessible to humans.

Ultimately, the moth will be able to land in enemy camps in remote location unobserved, beaming video and other information back via what its developers refer to as a reliable tissue-machine interface."

This gives new meaning to the term 'computer bug'."
Link to Original Source

World of Warcraft Universe Breaks

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 22 2007, @07:48PM

An anonymous reader writes "It looks like the hotfix may have broken the universe! No word yet on the actual cause, but from what I am hearing from a player who managed to login is that everything broke except trade and chat. Anyone know what really happened?"

A Linux Computer in Every Garage?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2007, @11:24PM

An anonymous reader writes "A U.S. government- and industry-led coalition aiming to equip every car and roadside in America with wirelessly connected computers has tapped Linux for the design of a system that aims to lower driver death rates, reduce traffic jams, and media-enable cars. The project, which is under the auspices of the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Consortium (VII-C) and funded by the Department of Transportation (DOT), ten state departments of transportation, and seven vehicle manufacturers, has adopted an Linux and open source strategy, at least at the prototype level."

Checkers has been Solved

Submitted by

r55man

on Monday May 21 2007, @11:23PM

r55man writes "The Chinook project recently announced that checkers has been solved. Perfect play from both sides results in a draw. From their website:

On May 8, 2007, we were pleased to announce that checkers is now solved. From the standard starting position, Black (who moves first) is guaranteed a draw with perfect play. White (moving second) is also guaranteed a draw, regardless of what Black plays as the opening move. Checkers is the largest game that has been solved to date.
"

First OpenOffice virus emerges

Submitted by

Slinkysausage

on Monday May 21 2007, @09:36PM

Slinkysausage writes "Pop the champagne corks, Microsoft. Yes, it's another round of FUD from an anti-malware vendor that has gotten hold of a proof-of-concept virus that has never been spotted in the wild. STILL, it is kinda interesting: the worm exploits a vulnerability in the "StarBasic" scripting language included in OpenOffice to drop scripts in platform-appropriate languages onto the host computer. For example, on Windows it drops Javascript files as well as using MiRC to propagate, on OS X, Rubyscript, and on Linux, Python and Pearl. APC Magazine has the lowdown including part of the indecent picture the virus shows ... of a man in a bunny suit doing a gal in the woods."

European Launch Site For Virgin Galactic 94

Posted by kdawson on Saturday January 27 2007, @11:25PM
from the ooh-shiny dept.

syguy writes "Sir Richard Branson's sub-orbital space tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, is considering a second launch site in Europe. Already committed to Spaceport America near Upham, New Mexico, USA, Virgin Galactic has signed a deal with the Swedish company Spaceport to investigate providing sub-orbital flights from Kiruna airport, Sweden. This is one of the northernmost commercial airports in the world. Branson is attracted by the possibility of offering flights through the Aurora Borealis. Flights could begin in 2011 or 2012." From the article: "The company said last year they would be conducting research into the safety of such a flight. Scientists have little information on how the storms that produce the northern lights affect spacecraft. [The] joint NASA-Canadian Space Agency THEMIS project will launch five satellites into space in February to monitor the northern lights..."

Bacteria Harnessed As Micro-Robot Motors 68

Posted by kdawson on Saturday January 27 2007, @08:31PM
from the 15-microns-a-second dept.

ElectricBrian writes "Researchers have found a way to propel micro-capsules by attaching bacteria (S. marcescens, the type that makes your shower curtain moldy). Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University fixed the bacteria to the micro-capsules and then used chemicals to turn on and off their motion-producing flagella. Quoting: 'In the future, such hybrid swimming micro-robots could even be used to deliver drugs inside the liquid environments of the human body, such as the urinary tract, eyeball cavity, ear, and cerebrospinal fluid...'"