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Mars

Submission + - Homemade 'Mars in a Bottle' Tortures Bacteria (discovery.com)

Submitted by
astroengine
astroengine writes: "The only time we've ever directly looked for life on Mars was during the 1970's when NASA's Viking landers attempted to make direct measurements of Martian microbes metabolizing. Even today, the results of these groundbreaking experiments are hotly debated. Although the Viking experiments were often considered premature, a team of scientists hope to refine the next life-searching experiment to be sent to the Red Planet by building a Mars habitat on Earth. Imagine a Mars environment "goldfish bowl" complete with UV radiation, dust, chilly temperatures, and an extremely low atmospheric pressure. So what have they done with this micro-Mars environment? They've been torturing various terrestrial microbes to see how they enjoy stints on the Martian surface. Their results have shown that even Earth microorganisms have a trick or two up their sleeves to survive in this alien environment."
Patents

Submission + - A Generation of Software Patents (ssrn.com)

Submitted by
pieterh
pieterh writes: "Boston University's James Bessen has published a landmark study on a generation of software patents. Looking at almost 20 years of software patents, he finds "that most software firms still do not patent, most software patents are obtained by a few large firms in the software industry or in other industries, and the risk of litigation from software patents continues to increase dramatically. Given these findings, it is hard to conclude that software patents have provided a net social benefit in the software industry." Not that this surprises anyone actually innovating in software."
Hardware

Submission + - Who Killed the Netbook? (itworld.com)

Submitted by
itwbennett
itwbennett writes: "Netbooks died the death of a thousand cuts and there were conspirators aplenty with motive, weapons and opportunity. Was the unpopularity of Linux to blame? What about Microsoft and its efforts to kill XP? Ever smarter smartphones certainly played a role, as did the rise of the App Store, and lighter full-featured notebooks. Or maybe it was just that the American consumer wasn't going to be satisfied with technology designed for third-world use. 'In late 2005, the only computer found for $100 was stolen, was dead, or was ancient enough to require Windows 95. A real and functional computer for a $100 was a dream, but also made people wonder what sacrifices might need to be made to offer such a comparatively inexpensive machine,' writes Tom Henderson in an in-depth look at what contributed to the netbook's demise."
Education

Submission + - Why Johnny Can't Code -- And How That Can Change (infoworld.com)

Submitted by
snydeq
snydeq writes: "Fatal Exception's Neil McAllister discusses why schools are having a hard time engaging young minds in computer science — and what the Scalable Game Design program in Colorado is doing to try to change that. 'Repenning's program avoids this disheartening cycle in three important ways. First, it deemphasizes programming while still encouraging students to develop the logical thinking skills they'll need for more advanced studies. Second, it engages students by encouraging them to be creative and solve their own problems, rather than just repeating exercises dictated by their instructor. Third, and perhaps most important, students are rewarded for their efforts with an actual, concrete result they can relate to: a game.'"
Book Reviews

Submission + - Book review: Freax - The history of demoscene (hirudov.com)

Submitted by
drHirudo
drHirudo writes: "The book Freax — or how the crackers became artists, thanks to the computer demoscene underground of the late 1980-ies and early 1990-ies. Deep insight into the history of the two main demomachines — the Commodore C64 and the Amiga. How it started, why it got so popular and where it is now."
Patents

Submission + - Which Drive Technologies Are Automakers Patenting? (evtechpatents.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A recent analysis looks at drive technologies automakers are patenting. The results? Honda and Tesla have the lead for “pure” EV patents, Toyota and Ford are ahead for hybrid patents, Honda dominates fuel cell patents, and Toyota has a sizable lead in battery patents.

Comment Full Disclosure: how many bitcoins do you own? (Score 2) 768

by wired_parrot (#36442992) Attached to: Ask Amir Taaki About Bitcoin
Full and open disclosure: how many bitcoins do you currently own?
Also, as this is a fiat currency, trust is fundamental. Therefore, what kind of ethical standards do you have in place to prevent conflicts of interest in having the developers / promoters of this currency being potentially some of the largest holders of the currency and potentially the most likely to profit in it?

Comment Content, not format (Score 1) 148

by wired_parrot (#36428988) Attached to: EG8 Publishes Report In Noninteractive, Nonquotable Format
Wait, so the top executives from technology companies around the world gather to discuss important policy items they'd like to see discussed by the G8 regarding the internet - a noteworthy story by itself - and instead of discussing the content of the story we're complaining about the format they released it in???

Submission + - The Portable Linux Boot Manager You Never Heard Of (linuxplanet.com)

Submitted by inkscapee
inkscapee writes: I like live USB Linux distros better than live CDs because they are faster and easier to carry. Carrying a full bootable Debian distro with all the bells and whistles on a USB key is more fun and more useful than a barrel of monkeys. But booting to a USB stick is sometimes a problem even on modern PCs, and impossible on old machines. The Plop Boot Manager solves this problem; carry it on a 3.5" diskette or CD and you can run your bootable USB Linux even on old PCs.
NASA

Submission + - NASA to host Open Source Summit (nasa.gov)

Submitted by
PyroMosh
PyroMosh writes: "'On March 29 & 30, NASA will host its first Open Source Summit at Ames Research Center in Mountain View California. This event will bring together engineers and policy makers across NASA and respected members of the open source community to discuss the challenges with the existing open source policy framework, and propose modifications that would make it easier for NASA to develop, release, and use open source software.'
It's nice to see NASA keeping up the spirit of give and take that OSS is built around."

Submission + - DIY Cyborg Cockroach kit (popsci.com)

Submitted by Simon321
Simon321 writes: In a prime example of trickle-down cyborg robotics, the remote-controlled rhinoceros beetle created (modified, really) by DARPA may soon be available in a DIY kit, using cockroaches instead of giant beetles. It could help you realize your dream of turning your cockroach friends into remote-controlled errand-roaches.

Submission + - What data mining firms know about you (time.com) 1

Submitted by
storagedude
storagedude writes: "Time writer Joel Stein spent three months learning what data mining companies know about him. After learning everything the companies had profiled about him (some of it inaccurate) — social security number, age, marital status, religion, income, debt, interests, browsing and spending habits — he had a surprising reaction: complacency.

"... oddly, the more I learned about data mining, the less concerned I was. Sure, I was surprised that all these companies are actually keeping permanent files on me. But I don't think they will do anything with them that does me any harm. There should be protections for vulnerable groups, and a government-enforced opt-out mechanism would be great for accountability. But I'm pretty sure that, like me, most people won't use that option. Of the people who actually find the Ads Preferences page — and these must be people pretty into privacy — only 1 in 8 asks to opt out of being tracked. The rest, apparently, just like to read privacy rules."
Google

Submission + - Ensuring Product Quality at Google (infoq.com)

Submitted by aabelro
aabelro writes: James Whittaker, a former Microsoft architect, author of several books in the “How to Break Software” series, and currently Director of Test Engineering at Google, has written a series of posts on how Google does testing. Google blends development with testing, having relatively few testers, and each product goes through successive channels before is ready for prime time.
Communications

Submission + - FTC examines debt collectors’ high-tech tool (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "With the advent of a host of new or advanced technologies ranging from mobile communications to online data management, available to debt collection companies, the Federal Trade Commission is out to make sure those companies aren't abusing their place in the business world.

On April 28 in Washington, DC the agency will hold a public workshop that looks at how it can better protect consumers from the high-tech onslaught some debt collection firms are using."
Science

Submission + - Combo-Cracking Robot Makes (popsci.com)

Submitted by
TheRavenKing
TheRavenKing writes: "Cracking combination locks has never been so easy. A group of engineering students at Olin College of Engineering have built a robot that will solve any MasterLock combination in a under two hours by running through all the possible combinations. Just set it and forget it."

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