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Submission + - Mozilla, Foxconn confirm Firefox OS partnership (paritynews.com)

Submitted by hypnosec
hypnosec writes: Firefox OS maker Mozilla has confirmed reports that indicated a probable collaboration with Foxconn for development of Firefox OS based devices. Announcing the "wide ranging partnership" with Foxconn Mozilla’s SVP of Mobile Devices noted in a blog post that collaboration between the two companies “demonstrates the full potential of Firefox OS,” and it would not only enable the smartphone “but also a wide range of mobile devices".

Submission + - Will users get paid for their slice of the "big data" economy? (xconomy.com)

Submitted by curtwoodward
curtwoodward writes: Better healthcare, more efficient government, cheaper goods and services — it's all possible in the age of "big data." According to the big companies hoping to make a killing off all that information, anyway. But will the people generating that valuable data — Joe and Jane Consumer — ever get a piece of the action?
A few startups are trying to establish first-party marketplaces for personal data, compensating users directly for contributing high-quality information about themselves. The World Economic Forum is also involved, hoping that one day, "a person’s data would be equivalent to their money ... controlled, managed, exchanged and accounted for just like personal banking services operate today." But some entrepreneurs think it might be too late in the developed world, where a consumer's data fingerprint is already very well documented.

Submission + - Koobface Facebook Worm Returns From The Dead (techweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by judgecorp
judgecorp writes: Kobface, the Facebook worm which Facebook reported dead last year, has returned from the dead. Last year, Facebook published the names of those it believed were behind the worm, which at one stage had control of 800,000 PCs, and redirected traffic to affiliated advertising sites, making money for the gang behind it. McAfee reports that sightings of Koobface have tripled in the last three months.

Submission + - IBM Uses Roomba Robots To Plot Data Centre Heat (techweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by judgecorp
judgecorp writes: IBM is using robots based on iRobot Create, a customisable version of the Roomba vaccum cleaner, to measure temperature and humidity in data centers. The robot looks for cold zones (where cold air may be going to waste instead of being directed to the servers) and hotspots (where the air circulation may be breaking down. IBM is putting the robots to commercial use at partners — while EMC is at an early stage on a strikingly similar project.

Submission + - Study shows most controversial pages on Wikipedia, by country. (wordpress.com)

Submitted by Bearhouse
Bearhouse writes: Researchers have identified the most-edited pages in Wikipedia — the subject of so-called 'Wikiwars'.
It's interesting to see how these differ by country; in the USA, GWB tops the list.
For the Czech republic, it's homosexuality.
Regarding Germany, 9/11 conspiracy theories are in third place, after Croatia and Scientology.
Just as weird and interesting as Wikipedia itself.

Submission + - Cockroaches Evolving to Avoid Roach Motels (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: Only a few years after roach motels were introduced in the 1980s, they lost their allure for an increasing number of German cockroaches. Researchers soon realized that some roaches had developed an aversion to glucose—the sugary bait disguising the poison—and that the insects were passing that trait on to their young. Now, scientists have figured out how this behavior evolved.

Submission + - Scientists growing new crystals to make LED lights useful for office, home (networkworld.com)

Submitted by coondoggie
coondoggie writes: When to comes to offering warm yet visually efficient lighting, LEDs have a long way to go. But scientists with the University of Georgia and Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories are looking at new family of crystals they say glow different colors and hold the key for letting white LED light shine in homes and offices as well as natural sunlight.

Submission + - 5 pound UAV flies for 50 minutes and streams HD from over 3 miles! (skyranger.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Looks like those guys from Aeryon Labs are at it again. Today they announced the SkyRanger a bigger brother to their Scout drone (the one that the Libyan rebels used back in 2011). This one claims flight time of close to an hour, streaming 1080p30 HD video, a range of over 3 miles and a camera that can shoot 15 Megapixel stills and thermal video simultaneously. Not only that but it pops out of a backpack and is ready to fly instantly. It ain't cheap, but it can fly at 40 mph!

Submission + - Twitter's New Money-Making Plan: Lead Generation (itworld.com)

Submitted by jfruh
jfruh writes: Social networks like Twitter and Facebook have long hoped that the information they've gathered about you will help them create better targeted and more lucrative advertising, even though advertisers never see your personal data directly. But now Twitter is upping the ante, creating a new kind of card that encourages you to give your contact information directly to people who want to sell you things. For instance, Priceline has a new card with a "sign up and save" button that saves you 10% on a hotel — and, though it isn't made explicit, adds your Twitter handle and contact information to a Priceline mailing list. There's nothing to stop Twitter from handing this info — including your phone number, if you've registered it with the service — to salesmen.

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