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Cloud

Submission + - Could a Hurricane 5 take down East Coast data centers (slashdot.org)

Submitted by
TheNextCorner
TheNextCorner writes: "With more data moving into the Cloud, there is an increasing danger of data loss when one of these cloud computing data centers fails. Hurricanes pose a real thread for data centers located in North Virginia and Carolina, where Google, Apple & Facebook have opened large data centers. Could a Hurricane 5 become a problem for these cloud data centers and take down the Internet?"

Submission + - Chinese Olympics broadcaster slams London's mobile broadband capabilities (computerworlduk.com)

Submitted by
DerekduPreez
DerekduPreez writes: "Tencent, an internet giant that has some 950 people working on providing Olympics coverage online to hundreds of millions of viewers in China, has slammed the mobile broadband infrastructure in London, which it claims have hindered its ability to upload content on the fly.

At the end of last year Tencent had over 700 million users of its online platforms, some of which include QQ.com, QQ Games, Qzone, SoSo, PaiPai and Tenpay. These sites provide various tools to the Chinese public, including communication, social media, entertainment and e-commerce.

It is currently providing three major programmes from London for its sites, which include interviews with athletes and winners at the Games, and is sending 180 minutes of video coverage a day back to China. It has also published more than 500 articles.

However, Wang Yongzhi, vice chief editor of QQ.com, told Computerworld UK that Tencent hasn’t been impressed with the ability to upload content, either via 3G or Wi-Fi, during the Games.

“In terms of technological pain points, our major challenge in London is when we are trying to send some information from our mobile handsets to China. We have experienced some difficulties with the local internet environment,” said Yongzhi.

“China’s mobile internet environment is better than the UK, it’s a little bit delayed here. Also, you don’t have as good a Wi-Fi environment as we do in China, and that’s the major challenge for us in sending content back.”"
The Internet

Submission + - How to watch Internet TV across international borders (networkworld.com)

Submitted by colinneagle
colinneagle writes: Living in the U.S., one of my greatest regrets is that I can't watch BBC video with iPlayer. If I were living in the U.K., I'd feel the same away about not being able to watch shows on Hulu. But, with a Web proxy or a virtual private networks (VPN)s and an Internet Protocol (IP) address in a country where the content is available, you can watch these shows.

Technically, it's easy to set your browser up to use a Web proxy or VPN software. With a Web proxy and Windows XP, for example, you just go to Internet Options, click the Connections tab, and then click LAN Settings. Next, under Proxy server you click to select the “Use a proxy server for your LAN” check box. Finally, you enter the IP address of the proxy server and in the Port box, type the IP number that is used by the proxy server for client connections—that's usually 8080. It's usually pretty simple to do that in any browser and operating system. There are also programs, such as Proxy Switchy, for Chrome that makes it easy to switch from one proxy to another in a single session.

When you use a proxy, though, all your traffic is still open to network administrators. If you want to visit another country and watch their TV in privacy, you'll need a VPN.

There are many commercial proxy servers. Two that I've tried, and I can recommend, are AllAnonymity, with proxy servers in, among other countries, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and HideMyAss, with numerous supported countries.

If you want to use a VPN, you'll need to set yourself up with a private VPN service. These companies, such as Banana VPN, Black Logic, StrongVPN, and Unblock Us, will set you up with their VPN software and connections in other countries. Generally speaking, you'll end up paying a monthly service fee of $10 to $20 a month for either proxy or VPN services.
Android

Submission + - Zeus Trojan Hits Blackberry Devices (securityweek.com)

Submitted by wiredmikey
wiredmikey writes: Despite its significant user base within enterprises, BlackBerry devices have managed to stay off the radar for malware writers. That may be ending, as four new Zeus-in-the-mobile (Zitmo) samples targeting BlackBerry users in Germany, Spain, and Italy have been found.

Zitmo, which hit Android devices back in July 2011, refers to a version of the Zeus malware that specifically targets mobile devices.

Denis Maslennikov, a security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, also identified a new Zitmo variant for Android using the same command and control (C&C) numbers as the BlackBerry versions. While previous Android variants have been primitive, the latest.apk dropper, which shows up as an app "Zertifikat," looks "more similar to 'classic'" Zitmo, he said. When executed, it displays a message in German that the installation was successful, along with an activation code. The Android sample also included a self-issued certificate that indicates it was developed less than a month ago.
Security

Submission + - Ga. Tech Launches Security Data-Sharing Program For F500, Government (threatpost.com)

Submitted by Trailrunner7
Trailrunner7 writes: One of the more pernicious and as-yet incurable diseases in security is the resistance to sharing data. Organizations large and small collect all sorts of information on attacks, vulnerabilities and threats and, for the most part, it simply sits in databases and is never of any use to anyone outside of the organization. But there's an effort underway at the Georgia Tech Research Institute to change that through the use of a new information-gathering and analysis system called Titan.

Private data-sharing initiatives have been ongoing for a long time now, both formally and informally. Volunteer groups and industry coalitions such as the Shadowserver Foundation, Honeynet Project and many smaller informal working groups pool data on attackers and attacks. Some of that data is made public via reports on especially bad hosting providers or the most frequently exploited platforms or bugs. But data on how specific attacks went down, what the timeline, tactics, techniques and tools were and what was stolen is much harder to come by. It's shared over beers or in hallways at conferences, between former colleagues or through a friend of a friend. And that's the most valuable stuff, the dirt on who stole what from whom and how.

Without that kind of data, it's difficult for organizations to know what they're up against and what to look for at any given time. That's where GTRI's Titan project will attempt to fill the void. The system is built on a collection of data on malware that is growing by about 100,000 samples a day. Participants in the project will contribute their own data on malicious code and attacks and also will be able to see what others have contributed, to glean information about ongoing attacks. The data will be anonymized so no one will know which company was compromised by which malware. Right now, the system is being used by a handful of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, but that's going to grow.
GUI

Submission + - Samsung's comparison of Galaxy S to iPhone (scribd.com)

Submitted by
david.emery
david.emery writes: "In a document from the ongoing Samsung/Apple trial, provided in both English translation and Korean original, Samsung engineers provided a detailed comparison of user interface features in their phone against the iPhone. In almost all cases, the recommendation was to adopt the iPhone's approach.

Among other observations, this shows how much work goes into defining the Apple iPhone user experience."
Verizon

Submission + - Verizon has five secret data plans you can only get if you know about them (bgr.com)

Submitted by zacharye
zacharye writes: Verizon Wireless killed its previous data plan offerings in late June and replaced them with a series of “Share Everything” plans, which give smartphone users unlimited voice minutes and text messages alongside a single bucket of data that can be shared between as many as 10 different phones, tablets and laptop computers. The nation’s top carrier publicizes six data tiers for its new plans, ranging from a base price of $50 a month for 1GB to $100 a month for 10GB. In addition to those plans, however, Verizon on Tuesday confirmed that it has five additional unpublicized tiers available for Share Everything users...
Censorship

Submission + - Airtel: An Indian ISP Penalized For Blocking a Torrent Site

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: India's Department of Telecom has instructed ISPs to block popular torrent trackers like the Pirate Bay and IsoHunt. Recently, consumer forum penalises Airtel for blocking torrent sites and deficiency in providing Internet access when it blocked torrent sites earlier this year, following a Madras High Court Order received by Copyright Labs. The opponents are directed to pay Rs. 20,000/- to the complainant for committing deficiency in service and thereby causing mental agony to the complainant. Further the opponents are directed to pay Rs.2,000/- towards litigation charges to the complainant. A copy of the Court’s order is available here.

Submission + - Most Underaprreciated SF Writer

Submitted by
mvdwege
mvdwege writes: "In the thread on Most Depressing SF there were hundreds of posts and but four mentions of John Brunner, dystopian writer par excellence. Now, given the normally US Libertarian bent of the Slashdot audience, it is understandable that outright British Socialist writer Brunner would get short shrift, but it got me thinking: what SF writers do you know that are, in your opinion, vastly underappreciated?"

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Rugged e-book reader?

Submitted by
Augury
Augury writes: "I'm about to undertake a lengthy trip involving travel through dusty, damp and drop-inducing environments. When it comes to packing for such a trip, reading is a fundamental need, to help while away the inevitable hours spent in transit lounges, at bus stops and on beaches. The weight and bulk of the dead tree approach makes it impractical, so an e-book reader seems ideal — does anyone have any experience with ruggedising an e-book reader for such conditions?"
Security

Submission + - WikiLeaks Under DDoS Again (techweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by
twoheadedboy
twoheadedboy writes: "After being hit by a "72-hour" DDoS in May, WikiLeaks is claiming to be under attack yet again. All its sites appear to be down and fingers have already been pointed at government entities. WikiLeaks, posting on Twitter, said it had its suspicions of why it was being targeted. It was either because of its ongoing releases related to Stratfor and Syria, or because of an upcoming release, Julian Assange's organisation speculated. The fact that everyone is currently engrossed in the Olympics may have given attackers good reason to target the websites right now, WikiLeaks said."
The Military

Submission + - Kamikaze drones - the military robots set to self destruct (army-technology.com)

Submitted by RougeFive
RougeFive writes: A new wave of Kamikaze unmanned military aircraft, ground robots and water vessels are being built to deliberately destroy themselves as they hit their targets. Since it now makes more economic sense to have them crash into enemy targets rather than engage them, and since direct impact needs only manned or automated navigation rather than the highly-trained skills of multiple operators, these UAVs could well become the de-facto method of engagement of the future.

Submission + - Southwest Facebook promotion backfires heinously (technewsworld.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Southwest's Facebook airfare sale this past weekend went horribly wrong, with reports of customers being billed 60 or 70 times for a single booking as their website buckled under the load. Many tales of drained checking accounts and maxed out credit cards. Customers are now being told it will take 7 to 10 days for refunds to be processed. Much hate is ensuing on the Southwest Facebook page...
Facebook

Submission + - Facebook facial recognition under scrutiny in Norway (computerworlduk.com)

Submitted by Qedward
Qedward writes: Certainly not the first country to raise concerns, but Facebook's facial recognition feature will now be investigated by the Norwegian Data Protection Agency.

Last year, Facebook added the ability to use facial recognition technology to help to tag images as a default feature to users worldwide. Ove Skåra, communications manager at the Norwegian Data Protection Agency or Datatilsynet said: "Facial recognition, is a technology that it is important to have critical view of, and see how it is actually used."

Outside of Europe, US Senator Al Franken, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee's privacy subcommittee, called on Facebook to turn off the feature by default in July.

But Facebook doesn't think that is a very good idea. Facebook is an opt-in experience, and people choose to be on Facebook because they want to share with each other, according to Rob Sherman, manager of privacy and public policy....

Submission + - Virtual Nanoscopy allows Scientists to Capture Ultra-large High-res Cell Map (paritynews.com)

Submitted by hypnosec
hypnosec writes: Researchers have managed to generate ultra-large high resolution election microscopic maps of cells by developing new tools that can combine thousands of images taken from an electron microscope thus enabling them to view a cell in its entirety. Use of electron microscopes reveals intricate structures of cells but, with a limitation that only a tiny portion of the cell is captured which misses out the bigger picture. If low-res images are captured to view a greater part of the biological structure intricate details are missed out. Team of scientists over at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands have come up with a technique called "virtual nanoscopy" that enabled them to ultrastructurally map regions of cells and tissue as large as 1 mm2 at nanometer resolution.
Facebook

Submission + - Forbes Likens Instagram Purchase to Myspace Deal

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: It's not that Chunka Mui isn't impressed by the smarts of Instagram CEO and Forbes cover boy Kevin Systrom. Still, Mui can't help but ask, 'How Long Before Facebook Writes Off Its $1B Purchase of Instagram?' While pundits and analysts have almost universally praised Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, Mui is less-than-impressed by Instagram's 80 million unmonetized mobile users. 'My prediction,' writes Mui, 'is that we’ll look back on the acquisition as a bust—much in the same way we now view News Corp.’s purchase of Myspace, AOL’s purchase of Bebo, and Excite@Home’s purchase of Blue Mountain Arts.' Ouch. Mui notes that according to a recent SEC filing, Facebook could ditch the deal by paying a $200 million fee if regulators block the merger or if Facebook terminates the agreement after Dec. 10, 2012.
Education

Submission + - Will Online Learning Disrupt Programming Languages?

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Back in the day, getting traction for a new programming language was next to impossible. First, one needed a textbook publishing deal. Then, one needed a critical mass of CS profs across the country to convince their departments that your language was worth teaching at the university level. And after that, one still needed a critical mass of students to agree it was worth spending their time and tuition to learn your language. Which probably meant that one needed a critical mass of corporations to agree they wanted their employees to use your language. It was a tall order that took years if one was lucky, and only some languages — FORTRAN, PL/I, C, Java, and Python come to mind — managed to succeed on all of these fronts. But that was then, this is now. Whip up some online materials, and you can kiss your textbook publishing worries goodbye. Manage to convince just one of the new Super Profs at Udacity or Coursera to teach your programming language, and they can reach 160,000 students with just one free, not-for-credit course. And even if the elite Profs turn up their nose at your creation, upstarts like Khan Academy or Code Academy can also deliver staggering numbers of students in a short time. In theory, widespread adoption of a new programming language could be achieved in weeks instead of years or decades, piquing employers' interest. So, could we be on the verge of a programming language renaissance? Or will the status quo somehow manage to triumph?

Submission + - Indian Government Mulls Giving Away Mobile Phones to the Poor. (indiatimes.com)

Submitted by jalfreize
jalfreize writes: The Indian government is finalizing a $1.2 billion plan to hand out free mobile phones to the poorest Indian families (around six million households, according to some estimates). The Times of India reports:

"Top government managers involved in formulating the scheme want to sell it as a major empowerment initiative... While the move will ensure contact with the beneficiaries of welfare programmes (sic) ..., there is also a view the scheme will provide an opportunity for the (government) to open a direct line of communication with a sizable population that plays an active role in polls."

Submission + - The Internet Archive (archive.org) teams up with BitTorrent, starts seeding 1mil (archive.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Internet Archive is now offering over 1,000,000 torrents including our live music concerts, the Prelinger movie collection, the librivox audio book collection, feature films, old time radio, lots and lots of books, and all new uploads from our patrons into Community collections (with more to follow).

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