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Submission + - Conflict minerals and cell phones 1

Submitted by Presto Vivace
Presto Vivace writes: Is your cellphone made with conflict minerals mined in the Congo? The industry doesn’t want you to know.

If you are reading this on a smartphone, then you are probably holding in your palm the conflict minerals that have sent the biggest manufacturing trade group in the U.S. into a court battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission. At stake in this battle between the National Association of Manufacturers and the government is whether consumers will know the potentially blood-soaked origins of the products they use every day and who gets to craft rules for multinational corporations—Congress or the business itself.

Submission + - US killer robot policy: Full speed ahead (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: Princeton's Mark Gubrud has an excellent piece on the United States killer robot policy. In 2012, without much fanfare, the US announced the world's first openly declared national policy for killer robots. That policy has been widely misperceived as one of caution, according to Gubrud: 'A careful reading of the directive finds that it lists some broad and imprecise criteria and requires senior officials to certify that these criteria have been met if systems are intended to target and kill people by machine decision alone. But it fully supports developing, testing, and using the technology, without delay. Far from applying the brakes, the policy in effect overrides longstanding resistance within the military, establishes a framework for managing legal, ethical, and technical concerns, and signals to developers and vendors that the Pentagon is serious about autonomous weapons.' Excellent read.

Submission + - USAF almost nuked North Carolina in 1961 – declassified document (theguardian.com) 1

Submitted by Freshly Exhumed
Freshly Exhumed writes: A secret document, published in declassified form for the first time by the Guardian today, reveals that the US Air Force came dramatically close to detonating an atom bomb over North Carolina that would have been 260 times more powerful than the device that devastated Hiroshima.

The document, obtained by the investigative journalist Eric Schlosser under the Freedom of Information Act, gives the first conclusive evidence that the US was narrowly spared a disaster of monumental proportions when two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs were accidentally dropped over Goldsboro, North Carolina on 23 January 1961. The bombs fell to earth after a B-52 bomber broke up in mid-air, and one of the devices behaved precisely as a nuclear weapon was designed to behave in warfare: its parachute opened, its trigger mechanisms engaged, and only one low-voltage switch prevented untold carnage.

Submission + - LucasFilm combines video games and movies to eliminate post-production (theinquirer.net)

Submitted by llebeel
llebeel writes: Lucasfilm is currently prototyping the combining of video game engines in film-making to eliminate the post-production process in movies.

That rather ambitious claim comes from Lucasfilm, the California production company responsible for the Star Wars franchise. Speaking at the Technology Strategy Board event at BAFTA in London this week, the company's chief technology strategy officer Kim Libreri announced that the developments in computer graphics have meant Lucasfilm has been able to transfer its techniques to film-making, shifting video game assets into movie production.

Submission + - Turning A Smart Phone Into A Microscope (acs.org)

Submitted by MTorrice
MTorrice writes: By attaching a lightweight, inexpensive device to the back of a smart phone, scientists can convert the phone into a sensitive fluorescence microscope. The attachment allows the phone’s camera to take pictures of single nanoparticles and viruses, possibly providing a portable diagnostic tool for health care workers in developing countries. For example, doctors in remote regions could use the technique to measure HIV viral loads in patients’ blood samples, allowing the doctors to easily monitor disease progression and determine the best course of treatment.

Submission + - PCBs cause birds to sing a different tune (theguardian.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Songbirds living along the Hudson River in New York state are exposed to levels of PCBs that don't kill them but do disrupt the songs they sing, reports a team of researchers from Cornell University. Their study reveals that birds residing in regions with higher environmental PCB contamination levels have higher total blood PCBs, which affects their singing behaviour: the team found these species' songs varied predictably based on their PCB load, and also based upon the type of PCBs. Thus, the scientists suggest that another of the many toxic effects of sublethal environmental PCB pollution are neurological effects that translate into observable behaviour changes that disrupt song quality used by birds to communicate.

Submission + - Work Halted on Neal Stephenson's Kickstarted Swordfighting Video Game (rockpapershotgun.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Last year, sci-fi author Neal Stephenson and a team of game developers set out to make video game swordfighting awesome. They set up a Kickstarter campaign to fund the creation of hardware and software tech that would make replace console controllers with something more realistic. Now, production on that tech and the game in which they showcase it has been halted. In an update on the Kickstarter page, Stephenson explains how they've sought other investments without success. The project is 'on pause,' and the team asks for patience. He says, 'The overall climate in the industry has become risk-averse to a degree that is difficult to appreciate until you've seen it. It is especially bemusing to CLANG team members who, by cheerfully foregoing other opportunities so that they could associate themselves with a startup in the swordfighting space, have already shown an attitude to career, financial, and reputational risk normally associated with the cast members of Jackass. To a game publisher crouched in a fetal position under a blanket, CLANG seems extra worrisome because it is coupled to a new hardware controller.'

Submission + - Intel bids for a piece of Pi (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Rambo Tribble
Rambo Tribble writes: As detailed by Ars Technica, Intel has introduced the Minnowboard, an SBC touted as more powerful and more open than the Raspberry Pi. At $199, it is also more expensive. Using an Atom processor, the new SBC boasts more capacity and x86-compatibility.

Submission + - Ballmer Admits Microsoft Whiffed Big-Time on Smartphones (slashdot.org)

Submitted by Nerval's Lobster
Nerval's Lobster writes: During an executive Q&A at Microsoft’s Financial Analyst Meeting on Sept. 19, outgoing CEO Steve Ballmer admitted that Windows Phone had a minuscule share of the smartphone market, and expressed regret over his company’s inability to capitalize on burgeoning interest in mobile devices. “I regret that there was a period in the early 2000s when we were so focused on what we had to do around Windows that we weren’t able to redeploy talent to the new device called the phone,” Ballmer told the audience of Wall Street analysts and investors. “That is the thing I regret the most.” Back in 2007, Ballmer famously denigrated the first-generation iPhone as an expensive toy that would fail to gain significant market share. He was forced to eat his words after the iPhone became a bestseller and ignited a huge market for touch-screen smartphones. Google subsequently plunged into that smartphone arena with Android, which was soon adopted by a variety of hardware manufacturers. While the iPhone (running iOS) and Android carved up the new market between them, Microsoft tried to come up with its own mobile strategy. The result was Windows Phone, which (despite considerable investment on Microsoft’s part) continues to lag well behind Android and iOS in the smartphone wars. Even as he focused on discussing Microsoft’s financials, Ballmer also couldn’t resist taking some swipes at Google, suggesting that the search-engine giant’s practices are “worthy of discussion with competition authority.” Given Microsoft’s own rocky history with federal regulators, that’s sort of like the pot calling the kettle black; but Ballmer’s statement also hints at how, in this new tech environment, Microsoft is very much the underdog when it comes to some of the most popular and lucrative product segments.

Submission + - Homeless, Unemployed, and Surviving on Bitcoins (wired.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Wired profiles a homeless man who's supporting himself primarily through Bitcoin. Jesse Angle, a former network engineer, earns small amounts throughout the day by visiting various websites that pay him to look at ads. He then converts it to gift certificates and uses the certificates to buy food. '"It’s a lot less embarrassing," he says. "You don’t have to put yourself out there." And unlike panhandling in Pensacola, using an app like Bitcoin Tapper won’t put him on the wrong side of the law. This past May, Pensacola — where Angle has lived since April — passed an ordinance that bans not only panhandling but camping on city property.' Angle learned about Bitcoin from a charity organization called Sean's Outpost that wanted something better than PayPal for accepting donations over the internet. The organization has even opened an outreach center paid for solely with Bitcoins. Founder Jason King said, 'Bitcoin beats the shit out of regular money, We've resonated so well with people because it’s direct action. There’s no chaff between donation and helping people.'

Submission + - Could 3D Printing Kill IP? (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: With scanners able turn objects into printable files and peer-to-peer file sharing sites able to distribute product schematics, 3D printing could make intellectual property laws impossible or impractical to enforce. At the "Inside 3D Printing Conference in San Jose this week, industry experts compared the rise of 3D printing to digital music and Napster. Private equity consultant Peer Munck noted that once users start sharing CAD files with product designs, manufacturers may be forced to find legal and legislative avenues to prevent infringement. But, he also pointed out that it's nearly impossible to keep consumers from printing whatever they want in the privacy of their homes. IP attorney John Hornick said, "Everything will change when you can make anything. Future sales may be of designs and not products."

Submission + - Snowden docs: Brits hacked accounts of Belgian IT admins for GRX network access (spiegel.de)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Seems like the British secret service GCHQ is willing to penetrate the networks of telecoms firms to subsequently use them for spying: German magazine DER SPIEGEL reports GCHQ hacked the machines of Belcacom staff to later use their GRX routers for targeted man-in-the-middle-attacks on people's phones. DER SPIEGEL publishes three originals slides from a GCHQ presentation. They specifically mention targeting "engineers/systems administrators".

Submission + - "Aliens" story of dubious provenance goes viral

Submitted by Sockatume
Sockatume writes: By now you have likely read about the alien life forms discovered in the upper atmosphere of Yorkshire, via of mass media reprinting a press release from the University of Sheffield. Unfortunately, the paper comes from researchers with an infamous tendency to identify inanimate objects as aliens, and is published in a journal that seems to principally exist to print unlikely astrobiological claims.

Submission + - RSA devs - Do NOT USE RSA as it may have been backdoored by the NSA (bbc.co.uk) 2

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: RSA, the internet security firm, has warned customers not to use one of its own encryption algorithms after fears it can be unlocked by the US National Security Agency (NSA).
In an advisory note to its developer customers, RSA said that a default algorithm in one of its toolkits could contain a "back door" that would allow the NSA to decrypt encrypted data.
It "strongly recommends" switching to other random number generators.
RSA is reviewing all its products.

- Source (bbc.co.uk)

Submission + - iOS 7 Lock Screen Bug Leaves Certain Apps Vulnerable For Access (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: News of a proven security vulnerability squarely involving Apple iOS 7 has started making the rounds. The exploit specifically involves the lockscreen, the most common piece of security that stops some unauthorized individual from gaining access to anything important on your phone. The "hack", if you want to call it that, is simple: Swipe up on the lock screen to enter the control center, and then open the alarm clock. From there, hold the phone's sleep button to bring up a prompt that will ask you if you wish to shut down, but instead of doing that, hit the cancel option, and then tap the home button to access the phone's multi-tasking screen. With access to this multi-tasking screen, anyone could try opening up what you've already had open on your phone. If you had Twitter open, for example, this person might be able to pick up where you left off and post on your behalf. Or, they could access the camera — and of course, every single photo stored on the phone.

Submission + - Open Well-Tempered Clavier: a Kickstarter campaign for open source Bach (kickstarter.com) 1

Submitted by rDouglass
rDouglass writes: The Open Goldberg Variations team has launched a new project to make an open source, public domain version of J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier. The work is significant because of it's enormous influence on musicians and composers throughout history. A new studio recording, a new digital MuseScore score (with support for MusicXML and MIDI), as well as all source materials (multitrack WAV, lossless FLAC) will be provided as libre and gratis downloads. New to the project are publisher GRIN Verlag, as well as record label PARMA Recordings. GRIN and PARMA will produce and distribute the physical score and double CD, even though the digital versions are to be widely available and in the public domain. Their enthusiasm for the project runs counter to the general publishing and music industry's fear of digital file sharing, and shows growing momentum for finding new models to make free music commercially sustainable.

Submission + - Working more than 8 hours a day, makes my unproductive 1

Submitted by debingjos
debingjos writes: Our management seems to thing that our devs can get extra work done if they work extra long days. However, as one of the devs in question I don't agree. When I've been coding for 8 hours my pool of concentration is exhausted and working overtime does not get a lot of work done or the quality is very bad.

What is this communities oppinion on this?

Submission + - 3D Printable Food Moves To Chocolate, Someday Whole Meals (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: Avi Reichentall, CEO of 3D Systems, one of the largest consumer 3D printer companies, has already been able to configure his machines to create a variety of confections. Now he says it won't be long before a chocolate printer can rest beside your coffee maker on the kitchen counter. "I want it to be as cool as a Keurig coffee maker," Reichentall told a crowd at the Inside 3D Printing Conference this week in San Jose. "We're going to bring to pastry chefs and confectionaries and bakers a whole range of new sugar printing capabilities. Meanwhile, Pablos Holman, an inventor at Intellectual Ventures Laboratory, said he and other researchers are working to create printers with toner-type cartridges that hold pulverized freeze dried foods. When dispensed, water and heat is added to cook the food and meals are printed one micro-layer at a time. Not only would the printers be able to prepare foods on the spot, but they could add minuscule amounts of various nutrients to foods to make them healthier without effecting taste. Beyond convenience, 3D printable foods would also avoid enormous waste both at grocery stores where tons of spoiled food is tossed regularly, but in households were up to 60% of food is wasted.

Submission + - Extreme Microbe Brewing: The Curse Of Auto-Brewery Syndrome (cnn.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: CNN reports, "Most beer guts are the result of consuming fermented brew, but a new case study describes a rare syndrome that had one man's gut fermenting brew, not consuming it. It's called gut fermentation syndrome or auto-brewery syndrome, and it's "a relatively unknown phenomenon in Western medicine" according to a study published in July's International Journal of Clinical Medicine. "Only a few cases have been reported in the last three decades" according to Dr. Barbara Cordell, the dean of nursing at Panola College in Carthage, Texas, and Dr. Justin McCarthy, a Lubbock gastroenterologist, the study's authors." More at NPR and Medical Daily.

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