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Ubuntu

Submission + - Ubuntu Unity: the great divider (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by
Barence
Barence writes: "Canonical's decision to impose the new Unity interface on Ubuntu 11.04 users appears to have split the Linux distro's users, according to PC Pro. Features such as a moving Launcher bar and invisible scrollbars have angered many users, with one claiming that "Ubuntu is doing a great job throwing away years of UI experience". The rush to meet the six-monthly release schedule also appears to have harmed the release, with many users reporting graphical glitches with the new user interface."
IOS

Submission + - Microsoft tool helps devs port iOS apps to WP7 (cnet.com)

Submitted by
fysdt
fysdt writes: "A newly-announced service called the iOS to Windows Phone 7 API mapping tool, acts as an interchange for developers to take applications they've already written for Apple's platform, and figure out ways to get the code work with Microsoft's standards."
Network

Submission + - Sony Says Your PSN Game Data Is Safe (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by RedEaredSlider
RedEaredSlider writes: For those who wanted to know about the really important data security issue, yes, your experience and rankings on Call of Duty will be saved, so you won't have to start all over again.
Mozilla

Submission + - Mozilla patches Firefox 4, fixes coding bungle (computerworld.com)

Submitted by
CWmike
CWmike writes: "Mozilla patched Firefox 4 for the first time on Thursday, fixing eight flaws, including a major programming oversight that left the browser as vulnerable to attack on Windows 7 as on the 10-year-old Windows XP.The company also plugged 15 holes in the still-supported Firefox 3.6, and issued its last security update for Firefox 3, which debuted in mid-2008. The most important of the bugs: a programming lapse that left Firefox 4 open to less-sophisticated attacks. 'The WebGLES libraries in the Windows version of Firefox were compiled without ASLR protection,' stated the advisory labeled MSFA 2011-17. 'An attacker who found an exploitable memory corruption flaw could then use these libraries to bypass ASLR on Windows Vista and Windows 7, making the flaw as exploitable on those platforms as it would be on Windows XP or other platforms.'"

Submission + - Endeavour launch scrubbed for 48 hours

Submitted by shuz
shuz writes: At 10:15 am Eastern time the launch of Endeavour has been scrubbed for a minimum of 48 hours. The scrub is due to 2 failed Axillary Power Unit heaters.
Oracle

Submission + - Oracle hedging its vulnerability reports? (networkworld.com)

Submitted by alphadogg
alphadogg writes: Oracle may be subtly misleading customers about the severity of some of the vulnerabilities found in its database software, according to researchers from database security software provider Application Security (AppSec). "Oracle likes to downplay the risk of its vulnerabilities," said Alex Rothacker, director of security research for AppSec. As a result, organizations using Oracle's vulnerability ratings to prioritize system updates may unduly delay applying some critical patches, he said. Every three months, Oracle bundles and releases patches to fix recently discovered vulnerabilities in its software products, rating the severity using the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) industry standard. AppSec's concern centers around a unique rating that Oracle has added onto its CVSS scores, called Partial+.
Botnet

Submission + - Feds to remotely uninstall bot from some PCs (computerworld.com)

Submitted by
CWmike
CWmike writes: "Federal authorities will remotely uninstall the Coreflood botnet Trojan from some infected Windows PCs over the next four weeks. Coreflood will be removed from infected computers only when the owners have been identified by the DOJ and they have submitted an authorization form to the FBI. The DOJ's plan to uninstall Coreflood is the latest step in a coordinated campaign to cripple the botnet, which controls more than 2 million compromised computers. The remote wipe move will require consent, and the action does does come with warnings from the court that provided the injunction against the botnet, however. 'While the 'uninstall' command has been tested by the FBI and appears to work, it is nevertheless possible that the execution of the 'uninstall' command may produce unanticipated consequences, including damage to the infected computers,' the authorization form reads. FBI Special Agent Briana Neumiller said, 'The process does not affect any user files on an infected computer, nor does it ... access any data on the infected computer.' The DOJ and FBI did not say how many machines it has identified as candidates for its uninstall strategy, but told the judge that FBI field offices would be notifying affected people, companies and organizations."

Submission + - San Francisco Model Built From 100,000 Toothpicks (singularityhub.com)

Submitted by
kkleiner
kkleiner writes: "Using more than 100,000 toothpicks and after more than 37 years of labor, Scott Weaver has created an amazing replica of San Francisco and it's major landmarks. The model doubles as four separate roller coaster pathways for ping pong balls. The details in Weaver’s construction are jaw-dropping, but even more so when you consider the invisible choices he made to make his model more authentic. For example the models of Japanese trees are made from Japanese toothpicks!"
Microsoft

Submission + - Share of Windows computers falling (pcworld.com)

Submitted by marcosdumay
marcosdumay writes: PCWorld is reporting that april was a good month for Linux, between the niceties it is reporting that the share of Windows computers is falling, as evidenced by the fact that Windows sales are growing slower than PC sales and that the shares of Wikipedia browsers using Microsoft Windows (all versions) decreased from 85.63 in July 2010 to 81.78 in March of this year. In fact that share is decreasing for longer, from 89.50% at April 2009.
Books

Submission + - Book Review: IPv6 for Enterprise Networks

Submitted by
bstory
bstory writes: "IPv6 for Enterprise Networks by Shannon McFarland, Muninder Sambi, Nikhil Sharma, and Sanjay Hooda is a timely new book that helps network engineers plan for the upcoming switch from IPv4 to IPv6. The authors start with a quick review of CCDA/CCDP topics relating to networking models that they then use throughout the book to compare IPv4 deployments to IPv6 deployments. The one thing that I found lacking in the review was a quick overview of IPv6 itself. Especially since Cisco Self-Study: Implementing IPv6 is nearly 8 years old and a lot has changed in that time.

The next part of the book explores the process of migrating from IPv4 to IPv6 in an enterprise. It looks at justifications, education and planning the migration. There is a very useful section that discusses the challenges to expect from internal and external applications.

Finally the last part of the book is dedicated to examining the differences in implementation between IPv4 and IPv6. The authors do a wonderful job of using real world examples from various routing protocols to pinpoint the similarities and differences with lots of screen shots.

This book will definitely be a great resource for any network engineer that will be going through the IPv4 to IPv6 transition. That would be any network engineer not retiring in the next year. I hope that Cisco Press will be forthcoming soon of an updated version of Cisco Self-Study: Implementing Cisco IPv6 Networks (IPV6).

Do you have a favorite learning resource for IPv6? Please share it in the comments section. It's going to take a lot of effort for network engineers to stay up to date during the shift since we'll be basically relearning everything we know in a new way. Sort of like someone that knows English learning Old English."
Science

Submission + - The Universe's first Polluters: Spinstars? (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by Daniel_Lee
Daniel_Lee writes: An international team of astronomers led by Cristina Chiappini has used data from ESO to show that the first massive stars in the Universe were probably very fast rotators, which they have dubbed spinstars.
Networking

Submission + - Sony sued for PlayStation Network data breach (cnet.com)

Submitted by suraj.sun
suraj.sun writes: Like clockwork, the first lawsuit resulting from the security breach of the personal data of more than 75 million Sony PlayStation Network customers has been filed.

The suit was filed today on behalf of Kristopher Johns, 36, of Birmingham, Ala., in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Johns accuses Sony of not taking "reasonable care to protect, encrypt, and secure the private and sensitive data of its users."

He also believes Sony took too long to notify him and other customers that their personal information had been exposed. Because of that, the complaint alleges, Sony did not allow its customers "to make an informed decision as to whether to change credit card numbers, close the exposed accounts, check their credit reports, or take other mitigating actions."

CNET News: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20057921-260.html
Yahoo!

Submission + - YouTube Founders Acquire Delicious (delicious.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: From the official blog — Today, we’re pleased to announce that Delicious has been acquired by the founders of YouTube, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. As creators of the largest online video platform, they have firsthand experience enabling millions of users to share their experiences with the world. They are committed to running and improving Delicious going forward.
Government

Submission + - Does China's Cyber Offense Obscure Woeful Defense? (threatpost.com)

Submitted by Gunkerty Jeb
Gunkerty Jeb writes: The official line in Washington D.C. is that there's a new Cold War brewing, with an ascendant China in the place of the old Soviet Union, and cyberspace as the new theater of war. But work done by an independent security researcher suggests that the Chinese government is woefully unprepared to fend of cyber attacks on its own infrastructure.

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