Slashdot is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Space

Super-Earths Discovered Orbiting Nearby, Sun-Like Star 242

likuidkewl writes "Two super-earths, 5 and 7.5 times the size of our home, were found to be orbiting 61 Virginis a mere 28 light years away. 'These detections indicate that low-mass planets are quite common around nearby stars. The discovery of potentially habitable nearby worlds may be just a few years away,' said Steven Vogt, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC. Among hundreds of our nearest stellar neighbors, 61 Vir stands out as being the most nearly similar to the Sun in terms of age, mass, and other essential properties."

Comment Re:Karma. (Score 1) 219

just as I've thought: 1) It was intentional. 2) It is his "public" profile.

"zuck"'s wall (supposedly his non public profile page) is open stating the same thing (at least it was last night when I posted).

Yet it wasn't open after el Reg posted an article about this.

Regardless of facebook's shiny new "privacy tools", platform problems that cause privacy settings not to apply to some "friends" will breach a persons privacy anyway. Be it friend lists not applying correctly or wall updates tagged with the wrong fbuid, facebook seems like a platform just waiting to leak.

Comment Re:Karma. (Score 4, Informative) 219

Which is apparently what he did.

http://www.facebook.com/markzuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg For those wondering, I set most of my content on my personal Facebook page to be open so people could see it. I set some of my content to be more private, but I didn't see a need to limit visibility of pics with my friends, family or my teddy bear :)

Social Networks

Submission + - Facebook Retroactively taking back User Names

Matt Wilson writes: "It appears Facebook is retroactively taking back user names for celebrities, even if you have a legitimate reason for having the user name. My wife previously had www.facebook.com/Brigitte (her name *is* Brigitte Wilson) until she just received this e-mail: From: The Facebook Team Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:37:36 -0700 Subject: Removed Username To: brigittew21@gmail.com Hi, Your chosen username was on a list of terms that were meant to be blocked from registration, and it was only made available as the result of an error. We have no choice but to remove it from your account. We understand the inconvenience this creates, so we've added 500 credits to your account to express our gratitude for your understanding. These credits can be used in our Gift Shop (http://www.facebook.com/giftshop.php) to purchase virtual gifts. Thanks,"

Comment Re:Read TFA (Score 1) 330

I think that rig has a SO259 ;)

I dunno, but I wish I had the funds to setup a rotor. Manually aiming an Arrow II is pretty mundane.

There's a fair bit of flack over the article and I hope it doesn't dissuade any of the project team from hacking on more projects or getting involved with the hobbyist scene. As much as I find it odd they're being paid tribute for doing something many folks, over a wide range of ages, have done before - I'm sure most of us can appreciate how it felt for them to have accomplished this and don't want to put their ISS virginity back in the box.

It's pretty awesome to work your first space box!

Comment Re:Read TFA (Score 4, Informative) 330

Sounds more like they built a station, not the radio.

http://www.operationfirstcontact.com/blog/episode16.htm

Today, Mr. Rector, Paul, and I went out to Radioworld and purchased a transceiver. After much research, we decided to go with the ICOM Ic-V8000. For the cost, it has exactly what we need. On Friday, we're going to be integrating it into our setup, and doing all the necessary testing.

The story is pretty hyped up but good on them anyway.

Graphics

Elcomsoft Claims WPA/WPA2 Cracking Breakthrough 349

secmartin writes "Russian security firm Elcomsoft has released software that uses Nvidia GPUs to speed up the cracking of WPA and WPA2 keys by a factor of 100. Since the software allows them to network thousands of PCs, this anouncement effectively signals the death of wireless networking in business networks; any network handling sensitive data should start using VPN encryption on machines connecting over Wi-Fi networks, or stop using these networks altogether."
Security

World Bank Under Cybersiege In "Unprecedented Crisis" 377

JagsLive sends in a Fox News report on large-scale and possibly ongoing security breaches at the World Bank. "The World Bank Group's computer network — one of the largest repositories of sensitive data about the economies of every nation — has been raided repeatedly by outsiders for more than a year, FOX News has learned. It is still not known how much information was stolen. But sources inside the bank confirm that servers in the institution's highly-restricted treasury unit were deeply penetrated with spy software last April. Invaders also had full access to the rest of the bank's network for nearly a month in June and July. In total, at least six major intrusions — two of them using the same group of IP addresses originating from China — have been detected at the World Bank since the summer of 2007, with the most recent breach occurring just last month. In a frantic midnight e-mail to colleagues, the bank's senior technology manager referred to the situation as an 'unprecedented crisis.' In fact, it may be the worst security breach ever at a global financial institution. And it has left bank officials scrambling to try to understand the nature of the year-long cyber-assault, while also trying to keep the news from leaking to the public." Update: 10/11 01:15 GMT by T : Massive spyware infestations might be good cause to reevaluate the TCO of non-Windows systems on the desktop.
Privacy

US Consumers Clueless About Online Tracking 228

Arashtamere writes "A study on consumer perceptions about online privacy, undertaken by the Samuelson Clinic at the University of California and the Annenberg Public Policy Center, found that the average American consumer is largely unaware that every move they make online can be, and often is, tracked by online marketers and advertising networks. Those surveyed showed little knowledge on the extent to which online tracking is happening or how the information obtained can be used. More than half of those surveyed — about 55 percent — falsely assumed that a company's privacy polices prohibited it from sharing their addresses and purchases with affiliated companies. Nearly four out of 10 online shoppers falsely believed that a company's privacy policy prohibits it from using information to analyze an individuals' activities online. And a similar number assumed that an online privacy policy meant that a company they're doing business with wouldn't collect data on their online activities and combine it with other information to create a behavioral profile."
Media (Apple)

Submission + - Steve Jobs subpoenaed over backdating scandal

Stony Stevenson writes: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly subpoenaed Apple chief executive Steve Jobs in its suit over alleged back-dating of stock options.

Newsagency Bloomberg cited sources "familiar with the matter" as saying that the executive had been called to give a deposition in the commission's suit against Nancy Heinen, Apple's former general council. The report notes that Jobs is not the target of an investigation, and that the subpoena is only related to the case against Heinen.

Slashdot Top Deals

"Protozoa are small, and bacteria are small, but viruses are smaller than the both put together."

Working...