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Submission + - How Hadoop is being used at Orbitz (cloudera.com)

Submitted by rgeorge28
rgeorge28 writes: This post, authored by Orbitz, describes how Hadoop was selected to solve their problem of long-term storage and processing large quantities of un-structured and semi-structured data.
Iphone

Submission + - Apple Patent Targets iPhone Thieves & Jailbrea

Submitted by adeelarshad82
adeelarshad82 writes: An iPhone jailbreak might be considered fair use for owners of the device, but that doesn't mean that Apple is about to quietly go along with the concept of a third-party unlock of its iOS 4 mobile operating system. A recently revealed patent application from Apple—filed in February 2009, but posted two days ago—casts a wide, technological net against would-be device thieves and jailbreakers. The patent's called, "Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device" and, indeed, that's the aim of the various countermeasures detailed in the filing.
Hardware

Submission + - Quantum Zeno Effect Allows Interaction-free Switch (technologyreview.com)

Submitted by KentuckyFC
KentuckyFC writes: The quantum zeno effect is one of the more fascinating consequences of quantum mechanics. It applies to quantum systems that are evolving from one state to another, say from a state representing 0 to one representing a 1. If the quantum system starts in the 0 state, it evolves into a superposition of 0 and 1 states. A measurement can then cause it to collapse into one state or the other. But a measurement very soon after this evolution begins is much more likely to produce a 0 than a 1 and repeating this measurement rapidly enough ensures the chances of a 1 occurring approach zero. In effect, the process of repeated measurement prevents the 0 state evolving into a 1. Now a group of physicists have shown how this can be used to make a switch. The basic idea is to take a signal wave in state 0 which will evolve into a 1 when it passes it through a nonlinear waveguide. But measuring this wave will prevent this evolution. This can be done by making the signal wave interact with another "control" wave. The presence of the control wave maintains the signal wave in a 0 state while the absence of the control waves causes the signal wave to switch to a 1. The result is an all-optical switch that is interaction-free because it is the absence of the control wave that causes the switch. Such a device offers a number of important advantages over conventional all-optical switches. First, this type of switch should operate at extremely low power since there is no signal loss associated with the switching process. Second, the quantum state of the signal wave is preserved. That's a biggie. It means this kind of switch could become the heart of quantum routers that will make a kind of quantum internet possible.

Comment Re:Missing option: Autopilot! (Score 1) 789

by fljmayer (#33239604) Attached to: I Wish My Car Had A...
That's what I wanted for while, too. Finally I could do something else on those long drives! I really can't wait for this, but unfortunately I am not sure I will live to see it in action, not least because of the legal ramifications. Which car maker wants to be sued first for an (alleged) autopilot malfunction?
Science

The Proton Just Got Smaller 289

Posted by samzenpus from the size-does-matter dept.
inflame writes "A new paper published in Nature has said that the proton may be smaller than we previously thought. The article states 'The difference is so infinitesimal that it might defy belief that anyone, even physicists, would care. But the new measurements could mean that there is a gap in existing theories of quantum mechanics. "It's a very serious discrepancy," says Ingo Sick, a physicist at the University of Basel in Switzerland, who has tried to reconcile the finding with four decades of previous measurements. "There is really something seriously wrong someplace."' Would this indicate new physics if proven?"

Submission + - Development Environment for Scala?

Submitted by RedMage
RedMage writes: Scala is an up-and-coming functional-relational hybrid language the runs on the JVM. As the language matures and grows in popularity, the usual questions about development environments come up — to IDE or not to IDE, if you IDE then which IDE is the best? What is the strategy for handling a mixed-language environment where you have Java, Scala, and various scripting languages all in the same projects? And finally, what tools are people using for automated builds in this kind of environment?
Ubuntu

Submission + - Can Ubuntu Save Online Banking? (computerworld.com)

Submitted by CWmike
CWmike writes: Rob Mitchell writes, I do my online banking from the same home computer the rest of the family uses for Web surfing and online games. I have the McAfee security suite loaded and do regular scans so accessing online banking should be protected. Right? Not really, says Jay McLaughlin, CIO of CNL Bank. Accessing online banking from your everyday PC is just asking for trouble, he says. Recognizing that most consumers don't want to buy a separate computer for online banking, CNL is seriously considering making available free Ubuntu bootable 'live CD' discs in its branches and by mail. The discs would boot up Linux, run Firefox and be configured to go directly to CNL's Web site. 'Everything you need to do will be sandboxed within that CD,' he says. That should protect customers from increasingly common drive-by downloads and other vectors for malicious code that may infect and lurk on PCs, waiting to steal the user account names, passwords and challenge questions normally required to access online banking. Who knows? I might decide that I like running Linux for more than just online banking, Mitchell writes.

Submission + - Actual Citizens to Decide if Pot Should be Legal (sfgate.com) 5

Submitted by Un pobre guey
Un pobre guey writes: California's voters will have a chance in November to end the drug trafficking business once and for all, or at least the illegal trade in marijuana. The San Francisco Chronicle, among others, reports 'If passed, California would have the most comprehensive laws on legal marijuana in the entire world, advocates say. Opponents are confident they will easily defeat the measure.' Good idea or bad?

Submission + - Oracle adds SQL API to BerkeleyDB (oracle.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Oracle announced (http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/063695) a new SQL API for next version of Berkeley DB (11g Release 2). The SQL API is based on the ubiquitous SQLite v3 API, familiar to a large developer community. In addition, it introduces support for the Android platform. SQL support was a major productivity advantage of SQLite over Berkeley DB — what does this mean for SQLite future? Interestingly, third party tools like Metatranz StepSqlite (https://www.metatranz.com) already provide PL/SQL support on SQLite and so with new API not just SQL but PL/SQL can be used with BDB. Will the new release help BDB users get their weekends back?
Graphics

Submission + - The Cafu Engine is now open source (www.cafu.de)

Submitted by CarstenF
CarstenF writes: We're happy and proud to announce that the Cafu Engine (formerly Ca3D-Engine) is now available to everyone as free software under the GNU General Public License!
The source code as well as precompiled binaries are available at the Downloads page, and the new Developers page explains how to get started with the source code quickly. In addition to the compressed archives, the source code is also available directly from our Subversion repository.
As an alternative to the GPL, we dually offer custom licenses for developers who want to create commercial products that are free from the obligations of the GPL.

Submission + - NYC SeedStart summer program for entrepreneurs (nycseed.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: SeedStart--New York City based Summer 2010 Startup Program

SeedStart will offer promising teams the chance to build a technology product and launch a company with the assistance of seed investment capital, mentorship and other resources. Companies will be selected through a competitive application process and each company will receive a $20,000 investment. Throughout the summer, companies will also receive mentorship from experienced New York City based venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, legal and business guidance, administrative help and technical assistance. At the end of the summer venture capitalists and angel investors will be invited to an Investor Day where each team will present their product and launch their company. SeedStart will run for 8 weeks beginning in June of 2010.

SeedStart is a joint effort among Contour Venture Partners, IA Ventures, NYC Seed, RRE Ventures and Polaris Venture Partners, and also includes Fish & Richardson, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Silicon Valley Bank. The program has begun accepting applications and teams of at least two founders can apply at http://www.nycseed.com/seedstart.html by February 28, 2010 to be considered. For information, contact Owen Davis at owen@nycseed.com. http://bit.ly/5FU4Mb

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