imjustmatthew - Slashdot User

Submission + - Device to generate energy from small vibrations (mit.edu)

Submitted by RogerRoast on Wednesday September 14, 2011 @09:55PM

RogerRoast writes: Researchers at MIT have designed a device the size of a U.S. quarter that harvests energy from low-frequency vibrations, such as those that might be felt along a pipeline or bridge. The tiny energy harvester — known technically as a microelectromechanical system, or MEMS — picks up a wider range of vibrations than current designs, and is able to generate 100 times the power of devices of similar size. The team published its results in the Aug. 23 online edition of Applied Physics Letters.

Submission + - Google Enlarges Warchest With 1023 IBM Patents (bloomberg.com) 1

Submitted by ElBeano on Wednesday September 14, 2011 @07:43PM

ElBeano writes: Google has continued to beef up its patent portfolio in the face of the onslaught from Apple and Microsoft. The best defense is a good offense. "Google is building an arsenal of patents that the company has said is largely designed to counter a “hostile, organized campaign” by companies including Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp. against the Android operating system for mobile devices. Google had already acquired 1,030 patents from IBM in a transaction recorded in July, and will obtain more than 17,000 with its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc."

Submission + - Facebook Puts Off IPO Until Late 2012 (itworld.com)

Submitted by

jfruhlinger

on Wednesday September 14, 2011 @06:03PM

jfruhlinger writes: "Facebook's whispered about IPO is one of the most anticipated in the industry — but it looks like we'll have to anticipate it for a bit longer. The Financial Times, quoting anonymous sources, says that it won't happen until late next year. Those source say that the purpose is to keep Facebook employees focused on product development, but it seems more likely that Facebook's bankers aren't happy with the company's numbers (or the economy's prospects)."

Comment Signed Code? (Score 1) 205

by imjustmatthew on Wednesday September 14, 2011 @05:14PM (#37403580) Attached to: New BIOS Exploiting Rootkit Discovered

It seems like the trivial fix here is to sign the code and only allow flashing of signed images after boot. It would be nice to be able to flash anything during boot for hacking/testing/whatever, but anyone using the windows-based flash software is likely to be okay with just signed code from the manufacturer.

Isn't this what those TPM chips were designed for in the first place before they hijacked into being tools for draconian DRM?

Submission + - NASA Administration announces Saturn V Rebirth (foxnews.com)

Submitted by

TheHawke

on Wednesday September 14, 2011 @10:56AM

TheHawke writes: "The Obama administration on Wednesday will unveil its much-delayed general plans for its rocket design, called the Space Launch System, which will cost about $35 billion, according to senior administration sources and information obtained by The Associated Press. It will carry astronauts in a capsule on top and start test launching in six years.

The design for NASA's newest behemoth of a rocket harkens back to the giant workhorse liquid rockets that propelled men to the moon. But this time the destinations will be much farther and the rocket even more powerful.

I can hear the old Saturn contractors cheering now..."

Comment Re:Shredder Fun (Score 1) 52

by imjustmatthew on Wednesday September 14, 2011 @01:50AM (#37395128) Attached to: GE Unveils Fridge-Recycling Behemoth

Good catch, I didn't notice that.

That seems weird though, since they talk about recovering copper and copper is mostly going to be in the compressor and coils. I guess they mean in whatever earlier step removes them.

Submission + - Windows Store will not take a cut from sales (neowin.net)

Submitted by North Korea on Wednesday September 14, 2011 @01:18AM

North Korea writes: Windows has always lacked a central place to buy and download software and games, which has been criticized as insecure design by Linux users. The upcoming Windows 8 will feature Windows Store for the first time, and Microsoft has revealed it will take a 0% cut from the sales. Apple notoriously takes a 30% cut from App Store sales for iPhone, iPad and Mac OSX. In addition to not taking a cut from sales, Microsoft will also ensure that the applications in the Windows Store are malware free and good quality. This should provide a repository-like application download system for computers with Windows and a good marketplace for application and games developers.

Submission + - Slashdot accepts stories from you (slashdot.org)

Submitted by MyJobSux on Wednesday September 14, 2011 @12:54AM

MyJobSux writes: In a move completely more radical than reality TV is reality reporting where individuals unschooled in reporting try their hand at writing articles for others to read. Fortunately for them there is no failing letter grade for plagiarism. Even you can plagiarism an article and tag your name to it, just make sure you post the URL where you got it from (cause that makes plagiarism all right!). Slashdot will graciously accept credit for your mediocre writings but claim full deny-ability for your plagiarism, what a great deal. Actually, I'm just bored at work and have read through all the posts since last night. Ok, back to work.

Comment Re:Shredder Fun (Score 1) 52

by imjustmatthew on Wednesday September 14, 2011 @12:12AM (#37394652) Attached to: GE Unveils Fridge-Recycling Behemoth

Shredding the materials and degassing/compressing the foam. It doesn't sound like they're doing anything about refrigerant recovery, but they talk about the foam processing reducing greenhouse emissions.

Submission + - New E-Verify immigration tech mandate stirs debate (dailycaller.com)

Submitted by

BeatTheChip

on Tuesday September 13, 2011 @11:19PM

BeatTheChip writes: "The House Judiciary Committee will be hearing the Legal Workforce Act Thursday morning — a bill to mandate E-Verify and to integrate federal employment data systems with State drivers license records. At least 2 national groups have organised campaigns expressing concerns about the Legal Workforce Act crossing lines of immigration, employment and civil liberty."

Submission + - US launches eBay-Craigslist dispute criminal probe (techworld.com.au)

Submitted by

angry tapir

on Tuesday September 13, 2011 @11:11PM

angry tapir writes: "The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into whether eBay executives broke the law and stole trade secrets while sitting on the board of Craigslist.org. The investigation is centered on the activities of eBay executives who managed the Craigslist relationship between 2004 and 2007, a period when eBay morphed from a US$30 million Craigslist investor, with a seat on its board of directors, into a direct competitor in the lucrative online classified advertising market."

Submission + - Algorithm Predicts New Superhard Materials (scienceblog.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 13, 2011 @10:08PM

An anonymous reader writes: Researchers in New York have developed an algorithm that can predict new superhard materials — a relatively small class of compounds of which diamond is the most famous. Beyond the pluses this represents for, say, the drilling industry, the physicists claim say their computational approach can be used to think up new materials of all sorts. “New materials with desired properties will be routinely discovered using supercomputers," they say, "instead of the expensive trial-and-error method that is used today.”

Submission + - An $80 Open Source Chemical Analyzer (plosone.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 13, 2011 @10:00PM

An anonymous reader writes: A group of electrical engineering students at UCSB teamed up with some chemists and built an $80 gadget that can check water for arsenic, measure the level of vitamin C in orange juice, and also do simple DNA biosensor tests. The electronics in a blood sugar meter could do all of those things, but their firmware isn't easily hackable. All of the circuit schematics, gerber files, and software for this project is available on their project website. Another team, at Denver Metro College, is working to improve upon their design. Eventually, it could be used as a teaching tool in chemistry classrooms, or possibly to do blood and water tests in developing countries.

Submission + - Intel, Google team to optimize Android for smartph (techworld.com.au)

Submitted by

angry tapir

on Tuesday September 13, 2011 @09:29PM

angry tapir writes: "Intel and Google announced on Tuesday that they would partner to optimize future versions of the Android OS for smartphones and other mobile devices using Intel chips. Intel CEO Paul Otellini demonstrated a smartphone with the upcoming Medfield chip running on Android during a keynote at the Intel Developer Conference being held in San Francisco. However, Otellini didn't mention the version of Android running on the smartphone. Intel wants to make x86 the architecture of choice for smartphones, and porting Android will provide a larger opportunity to the chip maker in the smartphone market, Otellini said."

Submission + - 'Wi-fi refugees' shelter in West Virginia mountain

Submitted by chrb on Tuesday September 13, 2011 @08:25PM

chrb writes: BBC News has an article about the increasing number of "wifi refugees" relocating to the U.S. National Radio Quiet Zone to escape wireless technology. An estimated 5% of Americans believe they suffer from Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS); a controversial diagnosis that is not medically recognized in the U.S.

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