×
Space

Submission + - Small Telescopes Make Big Discoveries

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Hakeem Oluseyi, an astronomer at the Florida Institute of Technology and president of the African Astronomical Society, says his goal is to put one research telescope in every country, starting with African and Southern Hemisphere nations because there is now an amazing opportunity for small telescopes to discover and characterize new planetary systems, as well as measure the structure of the Milky Way. "Astronomers are no longer looking at high-definition pictures but at HD movies, scanning for objects that change and for transient ones," says Oluseyi. "A 4-inch telescope was used to discover the first exoplanet by the transit method, where you watch the brightness vary." Small telescopes capable to doing real science are a lot cheaper than people think. A 1-meter telescope costs $300,000 but reduce the size by 60 percent, and it falls to just $30,000. For example the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT) uses hardware costing less than $75,000 to look at millions of very bright stars at once, over broad sections of sky, and at low resolution to see if the starlight dims just a little — an indication that a planet has crossed in front of the star. The KELT team has already discovered the existence of a very unusual faraway planet — KELT-1b, a super hot, super dense ball of metallic hydrogen so massive that it may better be described as a 'failed star' and located so close to its star that it whips through an entire "yearly" orbit in a little over a day."
NASA

Submission + - New NASA robot could help paraplegics walk (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "NASA said today it has helped develop a 57-lb robotic exoskeleton that a person could wear over his or her body either to assist or inhibit movement in leg joints. The X1 was derived from NASA and General Motors Robonaut 2 project and the could find applications as an in-space exercise machine to supply resistance against leg movement more importantly as a way to help some individuals walk for the first time."
Programming

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Dedicating Code?

Submitted by The_Buse
The_Buse writes: This week I lost my grandmother and after returning to work (as a web developer) I find myself looking for some way to dedicate something to her memory. Unfortunately, I'm no author so I can't dedicate a book to her, and I can't carry a tune so penning a song in her honor is out of the question. What I can do is write one hell of a web app, and after nearly a year of development my (small) team and I are nearing the release date of our next product. My question is, have you ever dedicated a project/app/code in honor of someone? What's the best way to do it: comment blocks in the header, tongue-in-cheek file names, easter eggs? Or is this a horrible idea all together?
Microsoft

Submission + - Office for iPad may be exactly what Microsoft wants (networkworld.com)

Submitted by colinneagle
colinneagle writes: It's endemic of 21st century journalism how this news story broke: a Microsoft product in the Czech Republic spilled the beans on a native iOS and Android port of Office 2013 for March of 2013, which was picked up by the Czech site IHNED.

Microsoft was quick to issue a denial to the press. "The information shared by our Czech subsidiary is not accurate. We do not have anything further to share at this time." Translation? They are doing it. Maybe a few facts are off, but they are doing a port. It's not a flat-out denial; it's a claim of inaccuracy. That's all the wiggle room a company needs to avoid being called a liar.

It's an acknowledgement of two facts: the iPad is the tablet of choice at the moment, and the enterprise really likes its tablets. At the Tablet Strategy conference last April, Chris Hazelton from 451 Research said its own research showed 78.4% of companies surveyed allowed employees to bring in their own devices. That contrasts with just 18% of employers actually providing their employees with tablets. Supporting iOS and Android means no matter what tablet you use, Office will be there. And isn't that what Microsoft wants in the end?

Submission + - Coming Next: TSA Taser Bracelets? (thenewsmakersoftoday.com)

Submitted by CaVp
CaVp writes: From the article: "The TSA’s security policies are getting more and more bizarre, from testing people’s drinks for explosives to ordering all travelers to freeze on command, but could a frightening policy that was seriously explored by the DHS be resurrected – forcing people to wear taser bracelets that would deliver an electric shock if they got out of line?" Fox coverage here.

Imagine a nutjob with a radio transmitter tuned to the bracelet radio frequency... instant bacon!...
Books

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: What book(s) you read that has significant impact on your life? 5

Submitted by gspec
gspec writes: A little background about me: 36-yr old computer engineer working in the Bay Area. While I bring in about 100k annually after tax (actually, in the Bay Area this is not as much as it sounds), I consider my self as an underachiever and my career is stagnant (I have only been promoted 4 times in 12-yr career). I have led a couple projects, but I am not in any leadership/management position.
I realize I need to do something to enhance my career, and unfortunately at this point going back to school is not an option. I believe I need to read more quality books.
My question: Which books, any type/genre, that you have read and has significant impact on your life? Thank you all.
IOS

Submission + - Best approach to reenergize an old programmer 2

Submitted by StonyCreekBare
StonyCreekBare writes: I stared out programming in Z80 assembler in the 1970's. Then I programmed in Pascal. Then x86 Assembler in the early 90's. Over time I did a smattering of C, Basic, Visual C++, Visual Basic, and even played at Smalltalk. Most recently I settled on Perl, and Perl/Tk as the favorite "Swiss army Chainsaw" tool set, and modestly consider myself reasonably competent with that. But suddenly, in this tight financial environment I need to find a way to get paid for programming, and perl seems so "yesterday". The two hot areas I see are IOS programming and Python, perhaps to a lesser extent, Java. I need to modernize my skill-set and make myself attractive to employers. I recently started the CS193P Stanford course on iTunesU to learn iPad programming, but am finding it tough going. I think I can crack it, but it will take some time, and I need a paycheck sooner rather than later. What does the Slashdot crowd see as the best path to fame, wealth and full employment for gray-haired old coots who love to program?
United States

Submission + - Why Isn't Election Day a National Holiday? (vice.com) 4

Submitted by
pigrabbitbear
pigrabbitbear writes: "Voting is a pain in the ass. First of all, there are lines, unpredictable lines that leave some out in the November cold while they’re waiting to do their civic duty. Then, with all of these new voter ID laws popping up, there’s all kinds of red tape. “Do I need to bring my Social Security card?” you might ask yourself. “How about my passport, a copy of my most recent utility bill, an expired library card? What’s it take to prove you’re American these days?” And inevitably, you’re going to miss some work since Election Day is always a Tuesday. For salaried employees, this is probably just annoying — or a relief depending on how much you like your job. But for hourly employees, this means lost wages. So in a way, you have to pay to vote. No wonder voter turnout is so low."
Cloud

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: How often do you push to production?

Submitted by Stiletto
Stiletto writes: I work for a traditional "old school" software company that is trying to move into web services, now competing with smaller, nimbler "Web 2.0" companies. Unfortunately our release process is still stuck in the '90s. Paperwork and forms, sign-off meetings, and documentation approvals make it impossible to do even minor deployments to production faster than once a month. Major releases go out a couple of times a year. I've heard from colleagues in Bay Area companies who release weekly or daily (or even multiple times a day), allowing them to adapt quickly. Slashdotters, how often do you push software changes into production, and what best practices allow you to maintain that deployment rate without chaos?
Businesses

Submission + - Dotcom's new site Megabox almost ready (neurope.eu)

Submitted by
concealment
concealment writes: "Dotcom confirmed Associated Press in a telephone interview that he has completed the 90% of his work on "new Mega" and "Megabox", a music site that he announced in June. Megabox will allow users to download music for free in exchange for accepting some advertisements and, 90% of the revenue will go to the artists. Besides, fans and artist will be able to do business without middlemen."
The Military

Submission + - Air Force lab test out "aircraft surfing" technique to save fuel (networkworld.com) 1

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "It's not a totally new concept, but the Air Force is testing the idea of flying gas-guzzling cargo aircraft inline allowing the trailing aircraft to utilize the cyclonic energy coming off the lead plane- a concept known as vortex surfing — over long distances to save large amounts of fuel. According to an Air force release, a series of recent test flights involving two aircraft at a time, let the trailing aircraft surf the vortex of the lead aircraft, positioning itself in the updraft to get additional lift without burning extra fuel."
Social Networks

Submission + - With a Media War Brewing, Reddit Faces Its Biggest Decision Yet (vice.com)

Submitted by derekmead
derekmead writes: Violentacrez, a Reddit user who made a name for himself by moderating r/creepshots dedicated to taking creepy and explicit pictures of women in public, recently deleted his account. Now the reason has dropped: Adrian Chen of Gawker, who’s vocally not a fan of Reddit, was apparently near posting an article revealing the identity of Violentacrez, who also had heavy involvement in r/jailbait before it was shut down.

It’s now brewing into a real shitstorm. Chen (and Gawker) have long battled with Reddit; Chen once tried to convince the community that he was the user LucidEnding, whose AMA about taking his life before succumbing to terminal cancer blew up on the site. But while that was cause for animosity, Chen’s apparent doxing of a famously (and disgustingly) sleazy member of some of Reddit’s foulest areas has infuriated other moderators. Now the mods of r/politics have banned all Gawker posts, with other major subreddits following.

If the begrudgingly-accepting web environment turns hostile towards Reddit, it’s going to see a lot of the growth opportunities it's quietly looking at disappear. So it must make a decision: Does Reddit want to risk its brand equity on defending the quasi-legal and extremely distasteful posting of some of its members (if Condé Nast, its owner, will even let it), or will it start cleaning house?

Submission + - Antarctic Ice hits an all-time record high level

Submitted by dtjohnson
dtjohnson writes: "Two weeks after a new record was set in the Arctic Ocean for the least amount of sea ice coverage in the satellite record, the ice surrounding Antarctica reached its highest ever level. Sea ice extended over 19.44 million square kilometers (7.51 million square miles) in 2012, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). The previous record of 19.39 million kilometers (7.49 million square miles) was set in 2006." Ice extent is reaching an all-time record high on the bottom of the planet just after ice reached an all-time record low on the top of the planet. What can it mean? Either there will soon be more ice at the top or less ice at the bottom or the planet will become seriously 'bottom heavy.' Now there is something to worry about...

Submission + - Correction No Data Breach of Facebook (slashdot.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: This story is incorrect and there is no Facebook data breach. The ability to search for a person by phone number is intentional
behavior and not a bug in Facebook. By default, your privacy settings allow everyone to find you with search and friend finder using the contact info you have provided, such as your email address and phone number. You can modify these settings at any time from the Privacy Settings page.

Facebook has developed an extensive system for preventing the malicious usage of our search functionality and the scenario described by the researcher was indeed rate-limited and eventually blocked. We are constantly updating these systems to improve their effectiveness and address new kinds of attacks.
Facebook

Submission + - Why Do So Many Liberals 'Like' Mitt Romney on Facebook? (vice.com)

Submitted by
pigrabbitbear
pigrabbitbear writes: "Mother Jones reports that "In recent weeks, a host of liberal types have complained that their Facebook accounts have erroneously “liked” Romney’s page, and some are floating the theory that the Romney campaign has deployed a virus or used other nefarious means to inflate the candidate’s online stature. This conspiratorial notion has spawned a Facebook community forum, and its own page: “Hacked By Mitt Romney” (cute url: facebook.com/MittYouDidntBuildThat)"

So what’s going on? Is the Romney campaign engaging in some tech wizardry to hijack Americans’ Facebook pages? Seems unlikely, tech wizardry of any kind coming from the not-so-online-savvy campaign, but Romney did somehow manage to acquire millions of fake Twitter followers. And sure, Romney probably feels a bit envious of Obama’s 30 million ‘likers’, seeing as how he only has 8 million. But it looks like the Romney campaign isn’t behind this one — Facebook and its crappy mobile app is."
Android

Submission + - Microsoft Sues Motorola Over Mapping Patents (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruh
jfruh writes: "The mobile patent wars continue, with two of the world's biggest tech companies about to blunder into direct conflict. Microsoft holds a number of patents that it claims give it rights over mobile map applications that overlay data from multiple databases (map info from one database and store location info from another, for instance). Many Android vendors already pay Redmond licensing fees for their mapping apps; now Redmond is going to court in Germany to sue one of the holdouts: Motorola Mobility, which is of course owned by Google."
Canada

Submission + - The quite death of the Internet Survellance Bill (theglobeandmail.com)

Submitted by
mykepredko
mykepredko writes: "C-30, Canada's version of SOPA, would grant the federal government and law enforcement agencies the power to obtain information about individuals who are online without having to apply for a warrant is dead in committee. “I don’t know whether it was because the Minister so screwed up the messaging, or whether they’ve had some other input saying they went too far or it just can’t be salvaged,” Nathan Cullen, House Leader for the NDP, speculates. Read more here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/john-ibbitson-the-quiet-death-of-the-internet-surveillance-bill/article4602164/"
Space

Submission + - Scientists discover nearby 'diamond planet' (extremetech.com) 1

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Scientists at Yale University have discovered a nearby super-Earth that is a “diamond planet” — a planet that has a mantle made of graphite and diamond. The planet, called 55 Cancri e, is just 40 light years from Earth and orbits the binary star 55 Cancri, which is located in the constellation of Cancer. When the planet was first observed last year, it was originally thought to be a water planet, similar to Earth, but new information has allowed the scientists to infer that the planet is much more likely to be a diamond planet. The Yale scientists estimate that as much as one third of 55 Cancri e’s mass is made up of diamond — the same as three Earth masses, or roughly 18×1024kg. This is a few trillion times more diamond than has ever been mined on Earth. The identification of just a single diamond-rich planet is massive news. In recent years we have identified hundreds of rocky, Earth-like planets — and until now, we had assumed they had similar make-ups. It is now fairly safe to assume that there are millions of diamond planets in the universe."
Books

Submission + - Court finds in favor of libraries in Google Books affair

Submitted by cpt kangarooski
cpt kangarooski writes: While it's not a final victory in the long-running Google Books matter, the related case by the Authors' Guild against the universities working with Google in the digitization project has produced a ruling that their book scanning is a fair use. You can read the opinion here. This bodes well for Google's case, although note that this wasn't directly about them.
Government

Submission + - 19,000 emails against and 0 in favour of Draft Communications Bill (computerworlduk.com)

Submitted by Qedward
Qedward writes: Open source writer Glyn Moody discusses the Draft Communications Bill (aka Snooper's Charter) in the UK and how the Joint Parliamentary Committee that had been considering the bill received almost 19,000 emails during its consultation period.

He notes: "Out of 19,000 emails received by the Committee on the subject of the proposed Draft Communications Bill, not a single one was in favour of it, or even agreed with its premise. Has there ever been a bill so universally rejected by the public in a consultation? Clearly, it must be thrown out completely."...

Unfortunately the link to the consultation document itself is also now broken.

Slashdot Top Deals