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Comment article summary is wrong (Score 5, Informative) 51

The article summary is completely wrong -- it mentions "while you're in coverage", to mean that you can leave the device connected to the network.

But from TFA: "Plane passengers will be allowed to use electronic devices weighing less than a kilogram in offline mode from gate to gate without needing to turn them off. The devices will need to remain in flight mode and cannot be used for calls, text or data, however."

So, all this really does is confirm the findings that the FAA had -- small devices are reasonable to use in airplane mode in all phases of flight.

Submission + - Linode hacked, CCs and passwords leaked 6

An anonymous reader writes: On Friday Linode announced a precautionary password reset due to an attack despite claiming that they were not compromised. The attacker has claimed otherwise, claiming to have obtained card numbers and password hashes. Password hashes, source code fragments and directory listings have been released as proof. Linode has yet to comment on or deny these claims.
Security

Iranian State Goes Offline To Avoid Cyber-Attacks 165

DavidGilbert99 writes "The Iranian minister for telecommunication has said that the government will be taking key ministries and state agencies offline in the next month to protect sensitive information from cyber-attacks. However this move is just the initial step in an 18 month plan to take the country off the world wide web, and replace it with a state-controlled intranet. From the article: 'The US began offensive cyber-attacks against Iran during the presidency of George W. Bush when the Olympics Games project was founded. Out of this was [born] the Stuxnet cyber-weapon, which was designed to specifically target the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility in Iran.'"

Comment Mirrored by Carnegie Mellon professor (Score 5, Informative) 508

George Hotz's work has been mirrored by Carnegie Mellon professor David Touretzky, known for his excellent work towards freedom of speech on the Internet through his publication of The Secrets of Scientology. Dave Touretzky has repeatedly shown himself willing to accept whatever the MAFIAA et al will throw at him.

Submission + - HTC Dragging Feet On GPL Source Yet Again (ppcgeeks.com)

An anonymous reader writes: HTC is once again at its song and dance with source code. Last time it was the HTC Hero, but this time it's the HTC Desire. HTC went public with Android OS 2.2 (Froyo) for the HTC Desire, however any attempts to get the source for the kernel has fallen on HTC's deaf ears. Their copy-and-paste garbage brush-off response to requests say that they are "waiting for the developers to provide the source." Some interesting correspondence between a rising of users on www.xda-developers.com and HTC tech support can be found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=781850. The users have also pointed out that HTC is ignoring its own EULA/Legal agreement for their Android devices which specifically states that "you
may obtain a copy of the source code corresponding to the binaries for GPL-licensed file by sending a request to HTC customer service at www.htc.com, and HTC will send you a link to such source code."

From the information in the XDA-Developers thread, HTC's e-mail support is oblivious to the fact that they are the contact point for acquiring said source code. For any one who has read the GPL v2 can see that this failure to provide requested information is a violation of the license itself. This situation is very similar to previous issues with HTC — the company ignores users unless otherwise compelled to address them. This should not be a reoccurring issue — someone with power needs to light a fire under under the situation. Interestingly enough, HTC promptly released the source code for the Evo and Incredible within mere hours after the public compiled binary was released.

HTC's EULA/Legal Agreement can be found here: http://member.america.htc.com/download/Web_materials/Manual/Warranty/Android/0525_G_WarrantyEULA_76x126_US-BP.pdf

Comment Apple ___ to revolutionise consumer electronics (Score 4, Funny) 303

Apple is reportedly close to launching its long-rumored ____. It could be Apple's latest billion-dollar jackpot.

Analyst speculation says the ___ will be launched in September and be in the shops by Christmas. A new mention of the ___ crops up on Twitter around every eight minutes.

The ___ is rumoured to be any size and scale between the iPod Shuffle and the Macintosh IIfx. Some have described the ___ as a "___-killer." Analyst speculation suggests the ___ will use a fantastic new interface. "It will be a whole new paradigm," said Apple blogger Leander Kahney.

Expectations flared when technology research analysts noted that Taiwanese suppliers had received orders from an unknown buyer for a particular obscure component to be filled by the end of the year. "The only possible conclusion is that Apple will launch a ___ by early next year," said Kahney. "They've been working on the ___ for the past six years. People expect it to be the ultimate Apple surprise. This thing will knock people's socks off."

Apple has refused to comment on the ___ speculation. But Tim Cook, its chief operating officer, recently hinted that the company was working on something "very innovative." Steve Jobs is thought to have been personally involved in the development of the ___ over the past two years.

Daniel Eran Dilger noted on roughlydrafted.com that the ___ would need to be fueled on pain, angst, the destruction of the ecology, the torture of kittens and the tears of widows and orphans, but put together a devastatingly convincing and very lengthy explanation as to why Apple's actions were the only humanly acceptable option for the consumer, the technology industry and the future of humanity, and that Jobs' Nobel Peace Prize was ridiculously overdue. And that all problems were clearly Microsoft's fault.

Security

Submission + - Exploit for Linux Kernel 2.6.30+ Published (theregister.co.uk)

Lorien_the_first_one writes: "The Register reports that "A recently published attack exploiting newer versions of the Linux kernel is getting plenty of notice because it works even when security enhancements are running and the bug is virtually impossible to detect in source code reviews."

The article points out that several areas of the kernel, in particular, the function "setuid", are involved in this new exploit. "The exploit code was released Friday by Brad Spengler of grsecurity, a developer of applications that enhance the security of the open-source OS. While it targets Linux versions that have yet to be adopted by most vendors, the bug has captured the attention of security researchers, who say it exposes overlooked weaknesses."

What I find interesting about the article is that although it focuses on newer versions of the kernel, near the end of the article, they offer the following food for thought: "Setuid is well-known as a chronic security hole," Rob Graham, CEO of Errata Security wrote in an email. "Torvalds is right, it's not a kernel issue, but it is a design 'flaw' that is inherited from Unix. There is no easy solution to the problem, though, so it's going to be with us for many years to come."

A chronic security hole? In Linux?"

AMD

Submission + - AMD Phenom II X2 and Athlon II Processors Debut (hothardware.com)

MojoKid writes: "AMD has launched four new low power quad and triple-core processors today, as well as a pair of new dual-cores. The 3.1GHz AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition is positioned as AMD's fastest dual-core processor ever, while the Phenom II X3 705e is a low-power triple-core CPU. The Phenom II X4 905e is a low-power 65w quad-core, and the brand new Athlon II X2 250 is AMD's latest budget-class dual-core processor. This performance evaluation at HotHardware shows what the budget dual-core Phenom II architecture can do."
Privacy

Submission + - School taking action against Network freedom 1

Tristan Stillwell writes: "I am a teenage high school student in the municipality of Bunn, North Carolina.
Today I found out I was suspended from school for ten days for possessing programs that were "capable of doing damage to the private school network". The programs were Firefox Portable and VNC viewer, and BlueJ Java Development Environment. I, an 18 year old high school student, was informed through my aunt, who was called about this disciplinary problem ( Isn't this private information?). I have no chance to appeal this suspension and are being forcefully and permanently removed from my Java(c) Computer Science and US government and Politics courses which I was taking through the state. I will most likely receive grades of ZERO (0) for both classes, thus destroying any chance I ever have of getting into a decent college. I am initially receiving a 10 day suspension, and then possibly a longer suspension pending investigation. Note- the school has found nothing I might have done to potentially cause damage to the network, I was suspended for having the programs- nothing else. I plan to contact the Electronic Frontier Foundation for help with this clearly unfair oppression. The only (thought) crime I have committed is one arousing suspicion, not arriving from action. I will provide further information after I officially receive the suspension."
Security

Submission + - Stolen laptop contains NU alumni SSNs

omeomi writes: "For the third time since 2005, students and alumni of Northwestern University have been exposed to identity theft. In a letter dated May 11, 2007, Associate Provost Michael E. Mills contacted an undisclosed number of potential victims, informing them of the theft of a laptop computer from the Office of Financial Aid, containing student and alumni records. A petition website has been set up in an attempt to convince NU officials to better protect student and alumni privacy."

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