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Security

Submission + - MS Confirms 5th Office Zero-day Attack

Submitted by
El Tiante
El Tiante writes: "Microsoft has confirmed a fifth zero-day attack against Microsoft Office users, warning against opening Excel files that arrive unexpectedly, even if it comes from trusted sources. Although .xls files are currently being used to launch the attacks, users of other Office applications (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, etc.) are potentially at risk. Confirmed vulnerable: Microsoft Office 2000, Microsoft Office XP, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac, and Microsoft Office 2004 v. X for Mac."
Media

Submission + - The semantics of climate change

Submitted by
gollum123
gollum123 writes: "A nice article on the BBC talks about the difficulty in curbing the growth of greenhouse gases because scientists and politicians are speaking a different language ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own _correspondent/6324357.stm ). Quoting the author " I have wondered long into many nights why it always ends up like this; why it is so difficult to curb the global growth in greenhouse gas emissions which now runs above 2% per year. I have been concentrating on semantics. And it has brought me to a conclusion which is so simple I cannot believe I missed it years ago. The crux of the matter, it seems to me, lies in the different ways that scientists and politicians use language. Science is nothing without precision... political language, on the other hand, is a triumph of misrepresentation. When a scientist talks about 'reducing greenhouse gas emissions' he or she means just that; actually reducing them. But what it is coming to mean in the political lexicon is something very different. The emissions will still rise, but a bit less quickly than they would have done otherwise. Having them grow less fast becomes equivalent to reducing them.""
Software

Vista - iPod Killer? 557

Posted by Zonk from the stranger-and-stranger dept.
JMB wrote us with a dire warning, as reported by the San Jose Mercury News. Apple is cautioning its Windows-using iTunes customers to steer clear of Vista until the next iTunes update. The reason for this is a bit puzzling. Apparently, if you try to 'safely remove' your iPod from a Vista-installed PC, there's a chance you may corrupt the little music player. They also claim that songs may not play, and contacts may not sync with the device. Apple went so far as to release a detailed support document on the subject, which assures users that a new Vista-compatible version of the software will be available in a few weeks. Is this just some very creative FUD? If it is not who do you think is 'at fault' here, Microsoft or Apple?
Security

Submission + - VA Loses another HDD with data on 48,000 veterans

Submitted by
Saqib Ali
Saqib Ali writes: "Seems like VA has managed to lose another hard drive containing data on 48,000 veterans. The hard drive was stolen from a employees home. The good news is that hard drive was partially encrypted. So it is expected that no more then 20,000 records were impacted. Which is still a high number. My question, why the partial encryption? If you are going to encrypt, just encrypt the whole drive."
Operating Systems

Submission + - Interview with Linux kernel developer Jens Axboe

Submitted by
AlanS2002
AlanS2002 writes: "Jens Axboe has been involved with Linux since 1993. 30 years old, he lives in Copenhagen, Denmark, and works as a Linux Kernel developer for Oracle. His block layer rewrite launched the 2.5 kernel development branch, a layer he continues to maintain and improve. Interested in most anything dealing with IO, he has introduced several new IO schedulers to the kernel, including the default CFQ, or Complete Fair Queuing scheduler. In this interview, Jens talks about how he got interested in Linux, how he became the maintainer of the block layer and other block devices, and what's involved in being a maintainer. He describes his work on IO schedulers, offering an indepth look at the design and current status of the CFQ scheduler, including a peek at what's in store for the future. He conveys his excitement about the new splice IO model, explaining how it came about and how it works. And he discusses the current 2.6 kernel development process, the impact of git, and why the GPL is important to him."
Software

Is Computer Programming a Good Job for Retirees? 147

Posted by Cliff from the never-too-old dept.
braindrainbahrain asks: "Ask Slashdot has been rife with career advice lately, so maybe I can get some too. I hit a milestone recently, the big five oh, and the realization of retirement is starting to settle in. The trouble is, I don't want to sit around, play golf, or even travel that much. I work in a technical field, but I have always enjoyed programming. Indeed, I do it as a hobby. I wonder what you readers would think about programming as a post retirement job. It seems well suited for a retiree, one could do contract work for a few months of the year, in some cases work from home even. By way of background, I have worked in hardware engineering for a very long time, and have pursued graduate study almost regularly (two Masters degrees so far). Should I begin preparing for a post-retirement career in computer science?"
The Media

Submission + - High Tech Search for Jim Gray

Submitted by necro81
necro81 writes: The NY Times has an article describing the high-tech involvement of Silicon Valley in the search for computer scientist Jim Gray, who went missing while sailing last week. High-resolution satellite images of the 132,000 sq. mi. search area were requisitioned from DigitalGlobe, and volunteers are pouring over them through Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Affluent dot-com'ers with small aircraft have searched the coastline. "'It wouldn't have surprised me to get a brush off [from the Coast Guard],' Professor [James] Frew said. 'They're professionals, and they know what they're doing, and here comes this army of nerds, bashing down the doors. But they've dealt with us very nicely.'"
Announcements

Submission + - The distributed search for Jim Grey

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: The search continues for Jim Grey, with a collaboration between Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and NASA. A combination of sattelite, radar, and aerial footage has been collected over the past several days, and volunteers have been asked to sift through this data SETI@Home style using first Google Earth, then Amazon's Mechanical Turk — looking for anything that looks like Grey's boat. It pays to have good connections, but more importantly I believe this could lay the groundwork for making such innovative search efforts generally available. This is an application of distributed computing/thinking that could really save some lives.
Biotech

Submission + - How silicon-based drugs could treat cancer

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "The lives of almost living organisms on Earth, including ourselves, are carbon-based. And when we're sick, we're exclusively treated with carbon-based medicines. But now, a team of chemists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison had a bright idea. Why not replace carbon atoms by silicon atoms? And by modifying a drug named indomethacin, used to treat arthritis and some cancers, they found that silicon medicines may have extraordinary therapeutic value for treating human disease. The modified drug both slowed the growth of cancer cells and killed cancer cells directly. Right now, the researchers only have worked with a specific drug — and in their labs. So I guess a vast amount of work needs to be done before silicon-based drugs could be used on humans. But read more for additional details and references about this discovery."
Programming

Submission + - Why is software so hard?

Submitted by
Andrew Leonard
Andrew Leonard writes: "Salon's Scott Rosenberg has written a book exploring the software development process. As a hook for exploring questions such as "Why is writing software so hard" he spent four years tracking the team led by Mitch Kapor in their quest to create a new personal information management application, Chandler. My interview with Scott is up today. An excerpt is here."
Microsoft

Confidential Microsoft Emails Posted Online 479

Posted by CowboyNeal from the behind-the-curtain dept.
dos4who writes "From the class action 'Comes et al. v. Microsoft' suit, some very enlightening internal Microsoft emails are now made public. Emails to and from Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, Jim Allchin, etc all make for some mind blowing reading. One of my favorites is from Jim Allchin to Bill Gates, entitled 'losing our way,' in which Allchin states 'I would buy a Mac today if I was not working at Microsoft.'"
Linux Business

Submission + - Novell won't be banned from distributing Linux

Submitted by Aim Here
Aim Here writes: In an earlier article, Slashdot quoted Reuters as claiming that the FSF might try to ban Novell from using Linux. Eben Moglen of the FSF has responded in an eweek interview, claiming he was quoted out of context, and that his quote in the article merely refers to the upcoming version 3 of the GNU General Public License. Was this all just an honest mistake, an eager journalist overhyping a weak story, or part of a wider campaign of sinister anti-FSF FUD?
Power

Submission + - Net Zero Fuel Infrastructure Solution

Submitted by
Sterling D. Allan
Sterling D. Allan writes: "By injecting a water-ethanol mixture called Aquahol that can be used on most any vehicle, and by producing ethanol from the prolific and multi-use sweet sorghum plant, Tectane's net result is no added emissions to the environment, at a cost savings. This past Wednesday they had a press conference in which they showed a 30-minute short version of a documentary film about their company, being produced by Nicholas Klein, best known for such Hollywood hits as The Million Dollar Hotel starring Mel Gibson and The Venice Project starring Dennis Hopper and Lauren Bacall. A vehicle running on this technology requires only a slight addition to the engine compartment to house the injection apparatus, which is said to increases mileage by between 20 and 40 percent, cutting emissions by 20 to 60 percent, while increasing horse power by 10 to 15 percent, and increasing the lifetime of the engine by 50 percent. It also removes the need for the catalytic converter, as well as environmentally destructive chemical additives to the fuel like MBTE. The modification enables almost all cars to run on any fuel, including low (75) octane gasoline, which is cheaper, requiring less refinement. The second part of the equation is in the ethanol production method that they promote, using sweet sorghum. The plant can grow without pesticides or expensive fertilizers, grows prolifically, with little water, producing two crops per season; and the entire plant can be used, not just a portion. The stalk fibers can be used as a substitute for wood composites, eliminating the need for deforestation for buildings. The grainy top can be used for animal feed. The pulp can be used for paper production, and has been by the paper company, Cascade, since 2003. The leftover biomass can be used in energy generation plants, being an ideal fuel since it is neither too dry nor too wet."

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