Comment Whelp (Score 1) 234
I don't know why Slashdot is still tagging this 'wikileaks' when it's clearly no longer about wikileaks at all.
Submission + - Blizzard Bans Single-Player Cheaters (bit-tech.net)
An anonymous reader writes: Blizzard has taken the unprecedented step of banning players who use trainers and cheats in the single-player version of StarCraft 2. They have rendered the $60+ purchase worthless for users who wanted to speed up or avoid parts of the single-player campaign mode which may have been tedious or too difficult. Even as a player who abhors cheating in games, I can't help but feel that Blizzard has made a major misstep — player backlash incoming!
Submission + - Google announces winners of Project 10^100 (project10tothe100.com)
atisss writes: Google's Project 10^100 where they decided to give out $10M has published winning organizations. It took them nearly a year to sort all the ideas and prepare for voting, and then one more year to sort all votes. The final five ideas will receive $2M each.
Idea: Make educational content available online for free
Project funded: The Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization that provides high-quality, free education to anyone, anywhere via an online library of more than 1,600 teaching videos. We are providing $2 million to support the creation of more courses and to enable the Khan Academy to translate their core library into the world’s most widely spoken languages.
Enhance science and engineering education
Idea: Enhance science and engineering education
Project funded: FIRST is a non-profit organization that promotes science and math education around the world through team competition. Its mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders by giving them real world experience working with professional engineers and scientists. We are providing $3 million to develop and jump start new student-driven robotics team fundraising programs that will empower more student teams to participate in FIRST.
Make government more transparent
Idea: Make government more transparent
Project funded: Public.Resource.Org is a non-profit organization focused on enabling online access to public government documents in the United States. We are providing $2 million to Public.Resource.Org to support the Law.Gov initiative, which aims to make all primary legal materials in the United States available to all.
Drive innovation in public transport
Idea: Drive innovation in public transport
Project funded: Shweeb is a concept for short to medium distance, urban personal transport, using human-powered vehicles on a monorail. We are providing $1 million to fund research and development to test Shweeb’s technology for an urban setting.
Provide quality education to African students
Idea: Provide quality education to African students
Project funded: The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is a center for math and science education and research in Cape Town, South Africa. AIMS’ primary focus is a one-year bridge program for recent university graduates that helps build skills and knowledge prior to Masters and PhD study. We are providing $2 million to fund the opening of additional AIMS centers to promote graduate level math and science study in Africa.
Idea: Make educational content available online for free
Project funded: The Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization that provides high-quality, free education to anyone, anywhere via an online library of more than 1,600 teaching videos. We are providing $2 million to support the creation of more courses and to enable the Khan Academy to translate their core library into the world’s most widely spoken languages.
Enhance science and engineering education
Idea: Enhance science and engineering education
Project funded: FIRST is a non-profit organization that promotes science and math education around the world through team competition. Its mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders by giving them real world experience working with professional engineers and scientists. We are providing $3 million to develop and jump start new student-driven robotics team fundraising programs that will empower more student teams to participate in FIRST.
Make government more transparent
Idea: Make government more transparent
Project funded: Public.Resource.Org is a non-profit organization focused on enabling online access to public government documents in the United States. We are providing $2 million to Public.Resource.Org to support the Law.Gov initiative, which aims to make all primary legal materials in the United States available to all.
Drive innovation in public transport
Idea: Drive innovation in public transport
Project funded: Shweeb is a concept for short to medium distance, urban personal transport, using human-powered vehicles on a monorail. We are providing $1 million to fund research and development to test Shweeb’s technology for an urban setting.
Provide quality education to African students
Idea: Provide quality education to African students
Project funded: The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) is a center for math and science education and research in Cape Town, South Africa. AIMS’ primary focus is a one-year bridge program for recent university graduates that helps build skills and knowledge prior to Masters and PhD study. We are providing $2 million to fund the opening of additional AIMS centers to promote graduate level math and science study in Africa.
Submission + - Ars Banned in Iran (arstechnica.com)
Earthquake Retrofit writes: Ars has a chart showing when traffic from Iran cun off on September 27-28. They guess it has something to do with their article about the Stuxnet worm.
Submission + - Snooping Google engineer is in legal hot water (techeye.net)
bossanovalithium writes: Remember that 27 year old ex Google engineer, David Barksdale, who's allegedly been hassling minors, not miners, with cyber-stalking and snooping? The great and mighty 'Ogle fired him, but here's exactly how he's in trouble according to federal law in the US.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”) or Title 18 2511 of the United States Criminal Code would likely apply in this case. The law has a number of safe-harbor provisions but it is unlikely any of them apply here because the employee was obviously not acting in the “normal course of business,” he didn’t have any sort of “legitimate business purpose” for obtaining or disseminating the information he obtained, and he was not authorized either by the owner of the information, his employer or a law enforcement agency.
And that's just for starters.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“ECPA”) or Title 18 2511 of the United States Criminal Code would likely apply in this case. The law has a number of safe-harbor provisions but it is unlikely any of them apply here because the employee was obviously not acting in the “normal course of business,” he didn’t have any sort of “legitimate business purpose” for obtaining or disseminating the information he obtained, and he was not authorized either by the owner of the information, his employer or a law enforcement agency.
And that's just for starters.
Submission + - AMD to update drivers over Steam (thinq.co.uk)
Stoobalou writes: AMD has joined forces with Valve to distribute driver updates over Steam.
Nvidia might have grabbed the headlines recently for its release of the performance-enhancing ForceWare 260-series drivers, but AMD is looking to go one better — and has joined forces with Valve to distribute driver updates via Steam.
Valve's Steam platform is proving to be an incredibly popular software distribution system, offering users an easy way to buy software and keep it up to date — and providing developers with a robust platform that has anti-piracy features built in.
The company's deal with AMD, however, marks the first time Steam has been used to keep critical sections of the operating system updated.
Nvidia might have grabbed the headlines recently for its release of the performance-enhancing ForceWare 260-series drivers, but AMD is looking to go one better — and has joined forces with Valve to distribute driver updates via Steam.
Valve's Steam platform is proving to be an incredibly popular software distribution system, offering users an easy way to buy software and keep it up to date — and providing developers with a robust platform that has anti-piracy features built in.
The company's deal with AMD, however, marks the first time Steam has been used to keep critical sections of the operating system updated.
Submission + - New Chip Captures Specialized Immune Cells (technologyreview.com)
Tootech writes: A novel microfluidics chip developed by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) will let doctors examine how white blood cells called neutrophils help the body cope with burns and other traumatic injuries. It may also shed light on why the immune system sometimes spirals out of control, resulting in dangerous inflammation.
The chip lets scientists do something they've never before been able to do: quickly and easily capture neutrophils from a small volume of blood. In the long term, scientists hope to use this technology to predict which patients are most likely to develop serious infections after an injury and therefore need the most aggressive treatment. "People have been looking for biomarkers for injury and sepsis [blood poisoning] for a long time," says Steven Calvano, a researcher at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Calvano, who was not directly involved in the project, says, "This could be an extremely valuable clinical tool."
Damage to the skin's protective barrier, like the kind that occurs with traumatic injuries and severe burns, makes patients dangerously susceptible to infection. Neutrophils, the most abundant white blood cell in the body, are one of the immune system's first responders. They rush to the site of damage, where they devour bacteria and other invaders.
Recent research suggests that these cells also play a subtle role in the immune system, helping to regulate the immune response. An overreaction of the immune system after injury can cause systemic inflammation, which can be just as dangerous as the initial infection or damage. So if researchers can get a better picture of how these cells behave, that could lead to new drug targets to prevent or treat sepsis and inflammation. "Regulation of these cells is really the key to be able to target and change the overall response," says Carol Miller-Graziano, director of the Immunobiology and Stress Response Laboratories at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Miller-Graziano took part in the MGH project.
Until now, isolating these cells from blood has been lengthy and technically challenging. But a novel microfluidics chip developed by Ken Kotz and collaborators at the Center for Engineering in Medicine at MGH is changing that.
The chip lets scientists do something they've never before been able to do: quickly and easily capture neutrophils from a small volume of blood. In the long term, scientists hope to use this technology to predict which patients are most likely to develop serious infections after an injury and therefore need the most aggressive treatment. "People have been looking for biomarkers for injury and sepsis [blood poisoning] for a long time," says Steven Calvano, a researcher at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Calvano, who was not directly involved in the project, says, "This could be an extremely valuable clinical tool."
Damage to the skin's protective barrier, like the kind that occurs with traumatic injuries and severe burns, makes patients dangerously susceptible to infection. Neutrophils, the most abundant white blood cell in the body, are one of the immune system's first responders. They rush to the site of damage, where they devour bacteria and other invaders.
Recent research suggests that these cells also play a subtle role in the immune system, helping to regulate the immune response. An overreaction of the immune system after injury can cause systemic inflammation, which can be just as dangerous as the initial infection or damage. So if researchers can get a better picture of how these cells behave, that could lead to new drug targets to prevent or treat sepsis and inflammation. "Regulation of these cells is really the key to be able to target and change the overall response," says Carol Miller-Graziano, director of the Immunobiology and Stress Response Laboratories at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Miller-Graziano took part in the MGH project.
Until now, isolating these cells from blood has been lengthy and technically challenging. But a novel microfluidics chip developed by Ken Kotz and collaborators at the Center for Engineering in Medicine at MGH is changing that.
Submission + - Geotagging + Spoofing = GeoSpoof
AcerbusNoir writes: Have you ever wanted to add your own geotag to a photo but didn't know how? Do you want to protect your privacy by removing your location from a photo? Now you can with a free (free as in beer) service from http://www.geospoof.me/
The service is in beta so any comments or critiques are welcome.
The service is in beta so any comments or critiques are welcome.
Submission + - U.S. Universities' Bloated Costs (economist.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The Economist points out that while American universities are getting more expensive, the bang for your buck may not be getting any better. Schumpeter writes, "The most plausible explanation is that professors are not particularly interested in students’ welfare. Promotion and tenure depend on published research, not good teaching. Professors strike an implicit bargain with their students: we will give you light workloads and inflated grades so long as you leave us alone to do our research."
Submission + - DOD Workers not investigated for Child Porn (yahoo.com)
FriendlyLurker writes: A recent Freedom of Information request identified 264 Department Of Defense employees or contractors who had purchased child pornography online. Surprisingly, the Pentagon's Defense Criminal Investigative Service did not investigate 212 of the individuals identified, including some with the highest available security clearance.
Submission + - Netbooks vs. iPads -- can they coexist? - Computer (computerworld.com)
bsk_cw writes: According to Computerworld's Serdar Yegulalp, there has been a lot of talk about whether the iPad will take the place of the netbook — or, in fact, whether it will eat into the market share for more mainstream desktop and laptop computers. But, he continues, the iPad has a long way to go before it becomes a netbook killer — if only because it has created a space all its own.
Submission + - Craigslist urged to pull out of sex worldwide (skunkpost.com)
crimeandpunishment writes: Craiglist may have cleaned up its act in the United States....but what about the rest of the world? Connecticut's Attorney General and four anti-child trafficking organizations want the site to get rid of its adult services section around the world. The nonprofit groups issued a statement saying "there are still more than 250 other Craigslist 'erotic' pages around the world where children and young women are still being sold for sex through Craigslist".
Submission + - Assange asks for new lawyer, Denies blaming CIA (theregister.co.uk)
Tootech writes: Julian Assange has requested a new lawyer to represent him during a rape investigation in Sweden because his previous brief, Leif Silbersky, was not engaged enough with the case.
Assange wants Bjorn Hurtig to represent him as authorities continue to investigate the allegations, according to AP.
Various alleged Wikileaks insiders are busy giving anonymous briefings to the press in support of, or opposition to, Assange's continued role as spokesman for the organisation.
Assange told Sweden's TV4 that he had never blamed the CIA for the "smears".
He said: "I don't describe other people's private lives. I don't describe my own private life, because it's private. That is the correct discretion for all people to have and is certainly the correct discretion for a man to have. However I've never done anything unconsensual in my private life...in Sweden or anywhere else."
Assange wants Bjorn Hurtig to represent him as authorities continue to investigate the allegations, according to AP.
Various alleged Wikileaks insiders are busy giving anonymous briefings to the press in support of, or opposition to, Assange's continued role as spokesman for the organisation.
Assange told Sweden's TV4 that he had never blamed the CIA for the "smears".
He said: "I don't describe other people's private lives. I don't describe my own private life, because it's private. That is the correct discretion for all people to have and is certainly the correct discretion for a man to have. However I've never done anything unconsensual in my private life...in Sweden or anywhere else."
Submission + - BP's Gulf Spill Report Shows String of Failures (bp.com) 1
eldavojohn writes: News is out of BP's report on the gulf spill that shifts some of the blame on to other companies like Transocean that worked with BP in erecting the Deepwater Horizon rig. If you were affected by the spill, you might find the video, executive summary and 193 page report an interesting read. The summary outlines six or seven major failures in safety and engineering that all built up to the deaths of eleven workers and widespread contamination of the gulf. From incorrectly using seawater instead of drilling fluid to misinterpreting pressure test results, this report is just BP's side of the story as the blowout preventer has been pulled up and is still on its way to NASA where it will be analyzed by government investigators who will be able to compile their own report.
Submission + - Europarliament signs declaration against ACTA (europa.eu)
Alioth writes: "All is not well with ACTA amongst the members of the European Parliament. Now, 369 members of parliament have signed a declaration against the provisions in ACTA, most significantly against the proposed measures to make ISPs responsible for data that travels over their network, privacy issues, the fact that the ACTA negotiations are being held in secret, and that the ACTA may result in a loss of due process. The declaration is here. There is also a news article in El País about the parliament's declaration (original article in Spanish, and a Google Translation."
