mr crypto - Slashdot User

Submission + - Science-and-engineering workforce has stalled in U.S. (computerworld.com)

Submitted by dcblogs on Friday March 02, 2012 @10:42AM

dcblogs writes: The science and engineering workforce in the U.S. has flatlined, according to the Population Reference Bureau. As a percentage of the total labor force, S&E workers accounted for 4.9% of the workforce in 2010, a slight decline from the three previous years when these workers accounted for 5% of the workforce.That percentage has been essentially flat for the past decade. In 2000, it stood at 5.3%. The reasons for this trend aren't clear but one factor may be retirements.S&E workers who are 55 and older accounted for 13% of this workforce in 2005; they accounted for 18% in 2010. "This might imply that there aren't enough young people entering the S&E labor force — and I really thought this might be a key issue," said I-Ling Shen, a senior research analyst and economist at the Milken Institute, regarding PRB's research.

Submission + - Vortex radio waves could boost wireless capacity "infinitely" (extremetech.com) 1

Submitted by

MrSeb

on Friday March 02, 2012 @08:27AM

MrSeb writes: "After years of bold theorizing, Bo Thide of the Swedish Institute of Space Physics and a team in Italy have finally proven that it’s possible to simultaneously transmit multiple radio channels over exactly the same wireless frequency. In theory, according to Thide, we could potentially transmit an “infinite number” of TV, radio, WiFi, and cellular channels at the same time over the same frequency, blasting apart our highly congested wireless spectrum. Thide’s approach is rather simple. Basically, electromagnetic waves can have both spin angular and orbital angular momentum (OAM). If you picture the Earth-Sun system, spin momentum is the Earth rotating on its axis (producing the day-night cycle), and orbital momentum is the Earth rotating around the sun (producing the seasons). In standard wireless communications — radio, TV, WiFi — we only modulate the spin angular momentum of waves. For years, Thide had theorized that orbital angular momentum could also be added to wireless signals, effectively creating a spiral signal that looks like fusilli pasta; or, in the words of Thide, a “radio vortex." Now, in an experiment in Venice, Thide has transmitted a radio vortex over 400 meters. Infinite wireless spectrum, here we come!"

Submission + - Twitter sells two years of user data, tweets (theglobeandmail.com)

Submitted by

fyngyrz

on Friday March 02, 2012 @07:09AM

fyngyrz writes: "Thought those tweets had settled back into anonymity, or that they weren't being kept for long? Ooops. Turns out that Twitter has sold a huge database of several years tweets to a marketing company, which in turn has quite a list of customers ready to data-mine the trove of remarks about, well, everything."

Submission + - Employees Are Deliberately Disabling Security Controls (net-security.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 29, 2012 @05:46PM

An anonymous reader writes: Corporate mobile devices and the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) phenomenon are rapidly circumventing enterprise security and policies. Research shows that organizations often don't know how and what data is leaving their networks through non-secure mobile devices, and that traditional static security solutions are not effective at stopping advanced malware and data theft threats from malicious or negligent insiders. 59 percent of respondents report that employees circumvent or disengage security features, such as passwords and key locks, on corporate and personal mobile devices.

Submission + - Khan Academy Chooses JavaScript As Intro Language (itworld.com)

Submitted by

jfruh

on Wednesday February 29, 2012 @05:14PM

jfruh writes: "Slashdotters (many of whom cut their teeth on much-maligned BASIC) have long debated what language kids should learn programming in. Khan Academy, the wildly popular producer of educational videos, has come up with an unorthodox choice: JavaScript, not least because of its ability to keep kids' attention with something fun and graphical."

Submission + - Why Did Google Buy Motorola, Then Firewall It? (itworld.com) 1

Submitted by

jfruh

on Monday February 27, 2012 @02:08PM

jfruh writes: "Google spent $12.5 billion dollars to buy Motorola Mobility — a lot of money, even for Google. But as the deal has slowly moved towards closing, Google has spent lots of energy insisting that their purchase of one of the most prominent manufacturers of Android phones and tablets won't result in any of the cooperation that you'd think would make the purchase worthwhile; Android head Andy Rubin says that there's a firewall between him and Motorola, and he has no idea what the company's plans are. So the persistent question arises: Why did Google bother?"

Submission + - The Demise of Kodak: Five Reasons (wsj.com)

Submitted by

pbahra

on Monday February 27, 2012 @12:23PM

pbahra writes: "Kodak’s declaration of bankruptcy earlier this month closed a glorious chapter in the history of photography. With the introduction of the first automatic snapshot camera more than 110 years ago, Kodak transformed photography from an alchemy-like activity dominated by professionals into a hugely popular one that became an integral part of people’s lives. Photography had been mostly confined to professionals who took formal portraits in studios. Kodak got photography out of studios and into family life. Understanding how it did this is vital to grasping the reasons for its failure. Thus, when digital technology arrived in the photographic industry, Kodak inhabited a world that was largely its own creation. There was no one more steeped in it than Kodak. This became obvious to me when I spent a day with Kodak’s top management in their Rochester headquarters in the U.S. about 11 years ago. But by the end of the day, I was convinced that this company was not going to be around much longer. Here are the top five reasons for Kodak’s demise:"

Submission + - Source of Leaked Heartland Documents Revealed (guardian.co.uk)

Submitted by Layzej on Tuesday February 21, 2012 @01:33PM

Layzej writes: Scientist and journalist Peter Gleik has has admitted to leaking documents that reveal the internal strategies of the Heartland Institute.. In his statement he writes "At the beginning of 2012, I received an anonymous document in the mail describing what appeared to be details of the Heartland Institute's climate program strategy. It contained information about their funders and the Institute's apparent efforts to muddy public understanding about climate science and policy. I do not know the source of that original document but assumed it was sent to me because of my past exchanges with Heartland and because I was named in it.

Given the potential impact however, I attempted to confirm the accuracy of the information in this document. In an effort to do so, and in a serious lapse of my own and professional judgment and ethics, I solicited and received additional materials directly from the Heartland Institute under someone else's name. The materials the Heartland Institute sent to me confirmed many of the facts in the original document, including especially their 2012 fundraising strategy and budget. I forwarded, anonymously, the documents I had received to a set of journalists and experts working on climate issues."

The Guardian writes "while acts of deception cannot be condoned, it is also important to note that the documents obtained by Gleick provide an insight into how some of those groups that are fundamentally opposed to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases attempt to convey the impression that their arguments are founded on science rather than on ideology."

Submission + - Facebook's troubling trend Down Under (itworld.com)

Submitted by bdking on Monday February 20, 2012 @05:51PM

bdking writes: New data from Experian Hitwise show that Facebook users in Australia are spending considerably less time on the social networking site than they were a year ago. Investors considering Facebook's initial public offering would be best advised to ignore meaningless stats such as monthly active users and focus instead on indicators of genuine engagement.

Submission + - NASA simulates fly-through of crack in Pine Island Glacier (engadget.com)

Submitted by __aaqpaq9254 on Monday February 20, 2012 @01:55PM

__aaqpaq9254 writes: Watch: This is great: "Using data gathered by NASA's Operation IceBridge science flight team, the agency generated an animated fly through that, well, mostly flew over the crack"

Submission + - Flaw Found in an Online Encryption Method (nytimes.com)

Submitted by

frnic

on Tuesday February 14, 2012 @05:46PM

frnic writes: "A team of European and American mathematicians and cryptographers have discovered an unexpected weakness in the encryption system widely used worldwide for online shopping, banking, e-mail and other Internet services intended to remain private and secure."

Submission + - MIT level online mechanics course starts March 1st - now enrolling (mit.edu)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 14, 2012 @05:23PM

An anonymous reader writes: MIT professor David Pritchard and his education research group, RELATE are offering an online MIT-level course in Introductory Newtonian Mechanics (http://RELATE.MIT.edu/physicscourse). The course is free and does not require a textbook. Enrollment has just opened, and the course starts March 1 2012. Individuals who complete the course will receive a letter of completion; those who only want to browse are also welcome.

Submission + - Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization pressed into act (networkworld.com)

Submitted by alphadogg on Wednesday January 18, 2012 @06:24PM

alphadogg writes: Red Hat has released the third version of its Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization software package, which includes improvements that would make it suitable for larger deployments, and a new console for self-provisioning. RHEV 3.0 represents a significant step forward for the readiness of KVM within the enterprise, and should be considered as a viable virtualization alternative to more widely used products from companies such as VMware and Microsoft, according to IDC cloud and virtualization analyst Gary Chen.

Submission + - Is insourcing the new outsourcing? (networkworld.com)

Submitted by

coondoggie

on Thursday January 12, 2012 @01:59PM

coondoggie writes: "It would be a stretch to insinuate that outsourcing of all manner of work outside the US is subsiding substantially. In this warming political season the topic of American jobs and what is happening to them is getting the expected spin and this week the White House took its turn on the wheel saying that the growing trend is US companies are indeed keeping more jobs here rather than sending them abroad. In addition, at the White House's "Insourcing American Jobs Forum" hosted by President Barack Obama, the president said in the next few weeks his administration would announce proposals to encourage further job creation at home with a number of tax incentives to invest in US employment as well as to eliminate tax breaks for those companies who move jobs overseas — a long touted but never passed proposal."

Submission + - Can a company Charge Twice for Software? (smartlaunch.net)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 12, 2012 @01:51PM

An anonymous reader writes: Even in this age of advanced wireless technology, Cybercafes are still as popular as ever, especially with the gamers amongst us. Most LAN Gaming centers use a software package called Smartlaunch that previously used a License model (for each client computer, you had to have a one-time paid license) and most cafes were happy; save for maybe lack of timely support. However, it seems now that the developers of Smartlaunch have shut up shop and morphed into another company which is trying to charge existing customers with a subscription plan for the licenses they already own. Cafes around the world are furious. Dear Slashdot — where do they stand? Can this company charge these businesses twice for software that was bought years before?

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