Follow Slashdot blog updates by subscribing to our blog RSS feed

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Censorship

Submission + - Is the Global Warming Debate Buggy?

Submitted by
DanielMarkham
DanielMarkham writes: "Is there something basically wrong with the way we're discussing Global Warming? I've been a reader and sometime contributor on Slashdot for many years, and I'm really amazed at the level of discussion that's going on regarding androcentric climate change.

Aside from the question of the status of the issue, what's the status of the discourse? Are we talking about the role that skepticism plays in science? The basic premise of falsifiability? The relationships between theory and observation? The triad of induction, abduction, and deduction that Pierce wrote about? Has slashdot taken a look at the mathematical and computer models involved with various predictions? Or are we throwing rhetorical rocks at one another and angling for the cheap shot?

To address this, and to stir the pot some, I've written a blog article critiquing the current level of debate. I believe the level of debate sucks — it's more like a drunken european crowd at a soccer game than a bunch of science-minded analytical geeks. We can do better than that."
Google

Google Apps to Become Paid Service 273

Posted by samzenpus from the google-is-coming dept.
FredDC writes "Business Week reports Google Apps is becoming a paid service soon for companies who wish to use it for their domain. Disney and Pixar are reportedly thinking about switching to Google Apps instead of using Microsoft Office. Could this be the end of a monopoly? Or the start of a new one?"
Security

Submission + - Wi-Fi hacking, with a handheld PDA

Submitted by
JimMcc
JimMcc writes: "The Zero Day Blog over at ZD Net has an article describing a PDA sized hand-held device made by Immunity, Inc. which provides automated penetration testing of Wi-Fi networks. It will also, it instructed to do so, automatically launch known exploits. It is designed for use by a novice.

The idea is to give pen testers a tool to launch exploits wirelessly in the most covert fashion. At startup, Silica offers the user the option to scan for available open Wi-Fi networks. Once a network is found, the device connects (much like a laptop at Starbucks) and asks the user if it should simply scan for vulnerable/open ports or launch actual exploits from CANVAS.
They say that they try to thoroughly vet purchasers to determine if they are legitimate, but admit that the device will certainly fall into the wrongs hands."
Security

One Laptop Per Child Security Spec Released 253

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the no-school-like-the-old-school dept.
juwiley writes "The One Laptop Per Child project has released information about its advanced security platform called Bitfrost. Could children with a $100 laptop end up with a better security infrastructure than executives using $5000 laptops powered by Vista? 'What's deeply troubling — almost unbelievable — about [Unix style permissions] is that they've remained virtually the only real control mechanism that a user has over her personal documents today...In 1971, this might have been acceptable...We have set out to create a system that is both drastically more secure and provides drastically more usable security than any mainstream system currently on the market.'"
Announcements

Submission + - Blizzard: No Console Plans for World of Warcraft

Submitted by
njkid1
njkid1 writes: "Discussing the ever-so-successful World of Warcraft with GamesIndustry.biz, Itzik Ben Bassat, Blizzard Entertainment's vice president of business development and international, once again confirmed the company has no plans to bring said title to any current console. "We are not going to develop WoW for consoles. WoW was designed for PC and I think it will stay that way," he explicitly stated. http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=1518 6&ncid=AOLGAM000500000000007"
Handhelds

New York To Ban iPods While Crossing Street? 487

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the he-wants-us-to-think-for-ourselves dept.
An anonymous reader writes to mention Reuters is reporting that New York State Senator Carl Kruger is looking to institute a $100 fine for using electronic gadgets while crossing the street. Citing three pedestrian deaths in his Brooklyn district as the main driving reason he believe Government has an obligation to protect its citizens. "Tech-consuming New Yorkers trudge to work on sidewalks and subways like an army of drones, appearing to talk to themselves on wireless devices or swaying to seemingly silent tunes. 'I'm not trying to intrude on that,' Kruger said. 'But what's happening is when they're tuning into their iPod or Blackberry or cell phone or video game, they're walking into speeding buses and moving automobiles. It's becoming a nationwide problem.'"
Media

Submission + - Refuting the misinformation about Matt Bandy

Submitted by
Rachel Alexander
Rachel Alexander writes: "Defense In Child Porn Case Distorts the Truth

There was a long discussion here a couple of weeks ago about child pornography and the prosecution of Matthew Bandy by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. In response to the misinformation that has been spread by the media, the Bandy family and their crisis management firm, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office has released a lengthy report, including numerous exhibits regarding the technical aspects of the case. This case was not about adult pornography, nor was it about a computer virus surreptitiously downloading child pornography to your computer — as the media, family and defense counsel have portrayed it. The prosecution of then 16-year old Matt Bandy was about an investigation that yielded overwhelming evidence of the defendant viewing, downloading, uploading and sharing pornographic images of children being sexually abused, and burning them to a CD. Fox News posted a rebuttal from our office here, and the full report can be found here."
The Internet

Netscape Dumps Critical File, Breaks RSS 0.9 Feeds 137

Posted by CmdrTaco from the hate-when-that-happens dept.
An anonymous reader writes "In the standard definition of RSS 0.91, there are a couple of lines referring to 'DOCTYPE' and referencing a 'dtd' spec hosted on Netscape's website. According to an article on DeviceForge.com quite a few RSS feeds around the web probably stopped working properly over the past few weeks because Netscape recently stopped hosting the critical rss-0.91.dtd file. Probably someone over at netscape.com simply thought he was cleaning up some insignificant cruft." Some explanation has been offered by a Netscape employee.
Math

Formula For Procrastination Found 191

Posted by kdawson from the putting-it-off dept.
kandela writes "Science Daily reports that a University of Calgary academic has published a paper titled The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure in the Psychological Bulletin. The research reveals that most people's New Year's resolutions are doomed to failure, most self-help books have it completely wrong when they say perfectionism is at the root of procrastination, and procrastination can be explained by a single mathematical equation. The research is apparently the culmination of 10 years work. However, no indication was given of how much time was spent putting it off before it was begun." From the article: "Essentially, procrastinators have less confidence in themselves, less expectancy that they can actually complete a task... Perfectionism is not the culprit. In fact, perfectionists actually procrastinate less, but they worry about it more."

How Do You Know Your Code is Secure? 349

Posted by Zonk from the batten-down-the-hatches-mates dept.
bvc writes "Marucs Ranum notes that 'It's really hard to tell the difference between a program that works and one that just appears to work.' He explains that he just recently found a buffer overflow in Firewall Toolkit (FWTK), code that he wrote back in 1994. How do you go about making sure your code is secure? Especially if you have to write in a language like C or C++?"
Biotech

'Plentiful' Non-Embryonic Stem Cells Found 489

Posted by Zonk from the bumper-crop dept.
An anonymous reader writes "CNN reports that scientists at Harvard and Wake Forest have discovered a 'plentiful' non-embryonic source for stem cells, as well brain, liver, and bone cell types as well. The cells, found in amniotic fluid, can be harvested without harm to the donor or the donor's unborn child. While there's no proof that amniotic stem cells are as potent as embryonic stem cells, scientists are hopeful that this will be a huge step forward for the field of stem-cell research."

Windows Live and Privacy 372

Posted by kdawson from the filming-now-in-a-city-near-you dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Today as we were biking around our neighborhood in a small city we saw a strange vehicle slowly driving around. It appeared to be an SUV, bristling with cameras mounted on the roof, and pointing just about every possible direction. The first time we saw it, all we could see was that it had a sign on the side, something about Windows. The second time we saw it, we stared at it so hard that the driver stopped and we had a chance to ask him what it was all about. He said he was driving around, filming streets, and that there were people doing this all over the world, and getting data from the air too. It was going to be available on the Web. I asked him if this was Microsoft's answer to Google Earth, and he indicated that it was. There seems to be very little about this on the Web, and I found no mention of Microsoft's collection of this sort of detailed street level data. The Windows site appears to be http://preview.local.live.com/, although since I use a Mac it didn't work properly. I'm not sure I want my neighborhood viewable on the Web from ground level. And are they going to edit all the people out? I don't see how they could."

Senate Passes Patriot Act Renewal 705

Posted by CowboyNeal from the not-dead-yet dept.
IAmTheDave writes "The Senate has passed a renewal of the Patriot act, 89-10, after two extensions caused by months of negotiations. The only thing standing in the way of a full renewal is a House vote, expected to pass next week. The renewal comes with some privacy protections attached, however, some worry they are only cosmetic. Some lawmakers who voted for the package acknowledged deep reservations about the power it would grant to any president. "Our support for the Patriot Act does not mean a blank check for the president," said Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who voted to pass the bill package. Certain lawmakers supported passing the bill even though they were still wary about it - Arlen Specter urged his colleagues to pass it even as he promised to introduce a new measure and hold hearings on how to fix it. Terrorism aside, the bill also includes new legislation that has almost nothing to do with terrorism, like one measure, which would make it harder for illicit labs to obtain ingredients for methamphetamine by requiring pharmacies to sell nonprescription cold medicines only from behind the counter. I know that people like Arlen Specter promise further hearings - but why pass what you know is flawed?"

Slashdot Top Deals

Any circuit design must contain at least one part which is obsolete, two parts which are unobtainable, and three parts which are still under development.

Close