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Submission + - Prove your IT knowledge without expensive certificates?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I'm starting my phd in psychology this year and plan to finance this period with IT freelance work, mostly building websites with drupal and setting up linux networks, servers etc.. Now I have a little problem: Since I never studied ICT nor followed a course that resulted in a certificate I can only prove my knowledge by actually doing stuff or showing what I've done so far. Unfortunately that isn't always sufficient to convince potential customers. So I was wondering what other slashdotters do, are there any free or cheap alternatives to get certificates or other more convincing ways to prove your IT knowledge?

Thanks for any help in advance!
Facebook

Submission + - Eolas Sues Again - This Time, Facebook, Disney And Wal-Mart (techweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by
judgecorp
judgecorp writes: "Eolas, which claims to have patented key aspects to web browsers, is suing again, this time targetting Facebook, Disney and Wal-Mart for infringing hypertext patents. Eolas settled with Microsoft and has sold licences to other players — but two of the four patents in this case have previously been delcared invalid."
Data Storage

Submission + - WD Builds Light, High Capacity, Helium-filled HDDs (computerworld.com)

Submitted by Lucas123
Lucas123 writes: Western Digital subsidiary HGST today announced that after 10 years of development it is preparing to release 3.5-in data center-class HDDs that are hermetically sealed with helium inside. The helium reduces drag and wind turbulence created by the spinning platters, all but eliminating track misregistration that has become a major issue to increasing drive density in recent years. Because of that, HGST will be able to add two more platters along with increasing the tracks per inch, which results in a 40% capacity increase. The drives will also use 23% less power because of the reduction of friction on the spindle. HGST said the new seven-platter helium drives will weigh 29% less per terabyte of capacity that today's five-platter drives. In other words, a seven-platter helium disk will weigh 690 grams, the same as today's five-platter drives.
Botnet

Submission + - Microsoft Disrupts Nitol Botnet (paritynews.com)

Submitted by hypnosec
hypnosec writes: Having procured permission from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit managed to disrupt more than 500 different strains of malware in a bid to slow down the threats posed by the Nitol botnet. Microsoft, through an operation codenamed b70 [PDF], discovered that Chinese retailers were involved in selling of computers with pirated version of Windows loaded with malware. Microsoft believes that the malware could have entered the supply chain at any point for the simple reason that a computer travels among companies that transport and resell the computer. The Windows 8 maker carried out a study [PDF] which was focused on the Nitol botnet through which it found that nearly 20 per cent of the all the PCs that were purchased through unsecure Chinese supply chain were infected with malware.
Crime

Submission + - BMW Cars Vulnerable to Blank Key Attack (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by
Techmeology
Techmeology writes: "Thieves have discovered how to steal BMW cars produced since 2006 by using the onboard computer that is able to program blank keys. The device used — originally intended for use by garages — is able to reprogram the key to start the engine in around three minutes. The blank keys, and reprogramming devices, have made their way onto the black market and are available for purchase over the Internet."
Science

Submission + - Ancient Egyptian Faience May be Key to Printing 3D Ceramics (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: We like to think of technology as always being forward looking. It’s supposed to be about nanoparticles and the Cloud, not steam engines and the telephone exchange. But every now and again the past reaches out, taps the 21st century on the shoulder and says, “Have a look at this.” That’s what happened to Professor Stephen Hoskins, Director of the University of West England, Bristol's Centre for Fine Print Research. He is currently working on a way of printing 3D ceramics that are self-glazing, thanks to a 7,000-year old technology from ancient Egypt.
Intel

Submission + - Intel predicts ubiquitous, almost-zero-energy computing by 2020 (extremetech.com)

Submitted by
MrSeb
MrSeb writes: "Intel often uses the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) as a platform to discuss its long-term vision for computing as well as more practical business initiatives. This year, the company has discussed the shrinking energy cost of computation as well as a point when it believes the energy required for “meaningful compute” will approach zero and become ubiquitous by the year 2020. The idea that we could push the energy cost of computing down to nearly immeasurable levels is exciting. It’s the type of innovation that’s needed to drive products like Google Glass or VR headsets like the Oculus Rift. Unfortunately, Intel’s slide neatly sidesteps the greatest problems facing such innovations — the cost of computing already accounts for less than half the total energy expenditure of a smartphone or other handheld device. Yes, meaningful compute might approach zero energy — but touchscreens, displays, radios, speakers, cameras, audio processors, and other parts of the equation are all a long way away from being as advanced as Intel's semiconductor processes."
Transportation

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: What tech for a sailing ship? 2

Submitted by Razgorov Prikazka
Razgorov Prikazka writes: There is a lot of technology involved in sailing these day's. EPIRB, FHV-DSC, GPS, NAVTEX, Inmarsat, fishfinders/depth sounders, different kinds of radar (with MARPA or ATA) you name it and there are dozens of manufacturers out there willing to provide, all of them with a range of different products. Right now I am planning a round-the-world-trip and my ship (an 18 meter skerry-cruiser sailing yacht) is in its early construction phase, so I need to shop for some hi-tech gear and basically I got lost in all the possibilities.
What kind of hardware would you recommend as necessary for a trip of this kind? What would you have installed in your ship in order to have a safe trip?
Nintendo

Submission + - Nintendo WiiU Price and Release Date Announced

Submitted by YokimaSun
YokimaSun writes: Nintendo have revealed the release date of the WiiU, in Japan it will launch on the 8th December. The console will ship in 2 versions a Basic version with 8GB of internal memory and a Premium version that has 32GB of internal memory and comes with a stand and docks. Both versions have 1GB of Main and the same for Game Memory. Nintendo claim the console is 20 times more powerful than the Wii and supports 1080p visuals out the box and comes with an hdmi cable. All existing Wii accessories will work with the WiiU but the new Tablet Gamepad will set you back around £100/$173 when you convert yen over. The price of the Premium SKU converts to £250/ $405 but expect that to change when each region announces their release date and price.

Submission + - There's enough wind energy to power Earth 200x over (nature.com)

Submitted by
notscientific
notscientific writes: "Renewable sources of energy are obviously a hit but they have as yet failed to live up to the hype. A new study in Nature Climate Change shows however that there is more than enough power to be harnessed from the wind to sustain Earth's entire population... x200! To generate energy from the wind, we may however need to set up wind farms at altitudes of 200-20,000 metres. To be fair, the study is purely theoretical and does not look at the feasibility of such potential wind farms. Regardless, the paper does provide a major boost to backers of wind-generated energy. Because science has confirmed that the sky's the limit."

Submission + - When is it a good idea to incorporate?

Submitted by stairmaster
stairmaster writes: A couple of months ago I came across an opportunity to supplement my income by doing some consulting work (read mobile app development) on the side. It appears that I will be doing this work for some time and my question for you, the /. community, is this: is it worth it to incorporate as a business? I know that the answer to this question is extremely dependent on circumstance but I'm interested in your experiences. Have you been in a similar situation and if you have how did it work out for you?

Submission + - Scotch Tape Turns Semiconductors Into Superconductors (geekosystem.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Move over, duct tape; you’re not the only brand of store bought tape with near-magical powers anymore. Scotch tape, that humblest denizen of the office supply store, has surprised researchers at the University of Toronto with the ability to transform semiconductors into high-energy superconductors. The discovery could have repercussions for the computing industry — especially the young field of quantum computing — and could even improve energy efficiency in electronics in general.
The Media

Submission + - Scientists Themselves Play Large Role in Bad Reporting

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "A lot of science reporting is sensationalized nonsense but are are journalists, as a whole, really that bad at their jobs? Christie Wilcox reports that a team of French scientists have examined the language used in press releases for medical studies and found it was the scientists and their press offices that were largely to blame. As expected, they found that the media’s portrayal of results was often sensationalistic. More than half of the news items they examined contained spin. But, while the researchers found a lot of over-reporting, they concluded that most of it was “probably related to the presence of ‘‘spin’’ in conclusions of the scientific article’s abstract.” It turns out that 47% of the press releases contained spin. Even more importantly, of the studies they examined, 40% of the study abstracts or conclusions did, too. When the study itself didn’t contain spin to begin with, only 17% of the news items were sensationalistic, and of those, 3/4 got their hype from the press release. "In the journal articles themselves, they found that authors spun their own results a variety of ways," writes Wilcox. "Most didn’t acknowledge that their results were not significant or chose to focus on smaller, significant findings instead of overall non-significant ones in their abstracts and conclusions, though some contained outright inappropriate interpretations of their data.""
Censorship

Submission + - Apple bans words from iTunes which would make a 4th grader giggle (the-digital-reader.com)

Submitted by Nate the greatest
Nate the greatest writes: Remember when (a href="http://apple.slashdot.org/story/12/05/20/1632234/apple-lifts-ban-on-the-word-jailbreak">Apple banned the word Jailbreak from iTunes? It looks like Apple might be up to their old tricks. A friend tipped me today to the fact that Apple is now censoring a couple words in iTunes. If you search for the words, any book or song title which uses them will show the first letter of the word and asterisks instead of the complete word. The 2 banned words are body parts, and you almost certainly have one or the other (penis, vagina). I knew that Apple has a youth oriented culture but this is getting ridiculous.

Submission + - Moo, Tracking School Children With RFID (wired.com)

Submitted by niftymitch
niftymitch writes: Just as the U.S. Department of Agriculture mandates Radio Frequency Identification Device chips to monitor livestock, a Texas school district just begun implanting the devices on student identification cards to monitor pupils’ movements on campus, and to track them as they come and go from school.

Tagging school children with RFID chips is uncommon, but not new.

The risk is in the abuse. Merchants and many many more locations can deploy readers and track these passive ID tags. The result is that it is not only the school that can track the students.
Science

Submission + - Unusual discovery of new African monkey species (mongabay.com) 1

Submitted by rhettb
rhettb writes: In a remote and largely unexplored rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), researchers have made an astounding discovery: a new monkey species. The new primate, which is name the lesula and described in a paper in the journal PLoS ONE, was first noticed by scientist and explorer, John Hart, in 2007. The discovery of a new primate species is rare nowadays. In fact, the lesula is only the second newly discovered monkey in Africa in the past 28 years.
Android

Submission + - How do I convince a school not to standardize on iPads?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: My daughter's school is currently considering mandating tablets for all students. They are leaning towards iPads, but I would like to convince them to allow other tablets (Android?) as well. I don't like Apple very much and would loath to be forced to spend money on their products. It doesn't appear they have chosen iPad specific educational apps yet, so there should be some flexibility. But obviously, they might want to avoid perceived complications caused by having different devices in the classroom.

Can you suggest some good arguments against iPads, which I could present to the school? Price? Not wanting to support an 'unethical' company? Closed, un-free system? Teaching the children that there is choice in the market place? Have you had these discussions before? How successful were they for you?
Privacy

Submission + - House Approves Extending the Warrantless Wiretapping Act (wired.com)

Submitted by wiedzmin
wiedzmin writes: US House of Representatives voted 301-118 today, in favor of extending the FISA Amendments Act until December 31st, 2017, effectively reauthorizing the broad electronic eavesdropping powers that largely legalized the George W. Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.

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