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Submission + - Angry Red Dwarfs May Scorch Alien Life

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "BBC reports that a study of 210,000 red dwarfs — the most common type of star in our galaxy comprising roughly 75 percent of all the stars in the Milky Way — has found that solar flares are surprisingly frequent unleashing streams of particles that could play havoc with planets' atmospheres — destroying the protective ozone layer, so while the number of exoplanets is rising rapidly, with an implicit hope of finding planets with conditions suitable for life, many questions remain about the very long-term habitability that the Earth has enjoyed. Solar flares unleash bright flashes of light along with streams of charged particles like high-energy protons that can react with atmospheres to destroy ozone, making a planet that had an atmosphere susceptible to strong ultraviolet rays that are known to damage DNA. "Such powerful flares bode ill for any possible biology, life, on any planet that happens to be close to that flaring star," says exoplanet expert Geoff Marcy. "It's extraordinary to think that the most numerous stars, the smallest ones in our galaxy, pose this threat to life.""
United States

Submission + - Why Isn't the Internet Helping the Unemployed?

Submitted by
Ponca City, We Love You
Ponca City, We Love You writes: "Daniel Indiviglio writes in the Atlantic that the last time unemployment was this bad back in the early 1980s, people had to rely on newspaper want ads, employment agencies, or word-of-mouth to find jobs, so now, when the unemployed can utilize the power of the Internet to look for job openings across the country, or even the world, why doesn't it appear to be helping much? "Of course, there's one really obvious reason: there just aren't enough job openings as there are unemployed Americans," writes Indiviglio. "In November, there were at least 15 million unemployed Americans looking for jobs, but only 3.25 million openings." But even for those jobs that are out there, the wide search radii provided by Internet job site searches doesn't seem to be helping much. "Even if someone living in Ohio wants to move 66 miles from Mansfield, where the unemployment rate is 10.7%, to Columbus, where it's just 8.0%, some obstacles exist that could be preventing the move." One big problem is the housing bubble. If you own a home, even if you are current on your bills, you might not be able to move because you're underwater on your mortgage and can't afford to sell your house. Another problem is two income families. If one family member still has a job, then unless you can both simultaneously find new jobs in another location, moving may not be an option. Finally some of the lowest unemployment rates happen to be in very undesirable areas to live, like the upper-Midwest where even if moving across country wasn't physically difficult and expensive, some people just don't want to deal with the climate-shock in somewhere like North Dakota which now has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation. "It will be interesting, however, to see if labor mobility improves as Americans begin to run out of their unemployment benefits. If the urgency to find a job is greater, then some of the obstacles to labor mobility mentioned above might not be as significant.""
Businesses

Submission + - Could Apple Hit $1,000 Per Share?

Submitted by
Ponca City, We Love You
Ponca City, We Love You writes: "Brett Arends writes in the WSJ that Apple stock, currently selling at about $344 per share, has gained an average of 56% a year over the past five years putting the stock on track to hit $500 by October and $1,000 by February 2013 if it were somehow able to continue booming at the same astonishing rate as the past 18 months. "Ridiculous? Absurd? Impossible?" writes Arends adding that the options market is already taking bets that Apple will top $500 in the next couple of years with $500 call options, good till January 2013, curently selling for $20 per share. But at a certain point, the market becomes saturated so where will future growth come from? According to Arends' analysis, Apple would have to maintain its current 40% gross profit margins and double revenues in the US, Europe, and Japan for total revenues of $130 billion annually, a not impossible task. But Apple would also need another $110 billion in revenues from emerging markets like China, India and Brazil to reach the $1,000 mark. "Are these countries likely, in total, to spend four times as much on Apple products as the U.S. does currently?" writes Arends. "You make the call. Me? I'm too busy enjoying my Apple pie.""

Submission + - RapidShare Threatens Suit Over Piracy Allegations

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "PC Magazine reports that RapidShare, named as a contributor to digital piracy by a MarkMonitor report, has threatened to sue for defamation. "This defamation of RapidShare as a digital piracy site is absurd and we reserve the right to take legal action against MarkMonitor," says RapidShare in a statement. "RapidShare is a legitimate company that offers its customers fast, simple and secure storage and management of large amounts of data via our servers." MarkMonitor, a Web site that specializes in "enterprise brand protection," says in their study that the most-trafficked domains engaged in digital piracy included three sites — rapidshare.com, megavideo.com, and megaupload.com — that combined yielded 21 billion pageviews per year. RapidShare acknowledged that copyrighted files do get uploaded to its site, however "these users are in the absolute minority compared with those who use our services to pursue perfectly legitimate interests." RapidShare says that it does not open and view the files of its users, and contains no search function so that other users may look for content."
Government

Submission + - Jerry Brown Confiscates 48,000 Cell Phones

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "The Sacramento Bee reports that California Governor Jerry Brown, in his first executive order since taking office, has ordered the collection and return of 48,000 state government-paid cell phones — half of those now in use - by June 1. "It is difficult for me to believe that 40 percent of all state employees must be equipped with taxpayer-funded cell phones," says Brown in a written statement. "Some state employees, including department and agency executives who are required to be in touch 24 hours a day and seven days a week, may need cell phones, but the current number of phones out there is astounding." Brown's cell phone order directs state agency and department heads to retrieve the cell phones and the governor says he plans to continue reducing cell phone usage in months ahead. "In the face of a multi-billion dollar budget deficit, a cell phone may not seem like a big expense," adds Brown. "But spending $20 million, and perhaps far more than that, on cell phones can't be justified.""
Movies

Submission + - Do We Really Need Ghostbusters 3?

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Chris Nashawaty writes that 21 years after the last film in the franchise, Bill Murray may very well be sitting at home at this very moment in front of a fireplace with a cup of Swiss Miss reading the script for Ghostbusters 3. But the inevitable questions arises: "Do we really want to check back in with Dr. Venkman, Dr. Stantz, and Egon after all these years? What if they’re...well, what if they’re not funny anymore?" writes Nashawaty. "Wouldn’t it be better if we let certain cherished memories stay pure and untarnished?" Movie lovers of a certain age have had to grapple with these thorny questions a lot lately. "Recently we’ve seen Indiana Jones dusted off and yanked out of a mothballed crate just so he could battle Boris and Natasha-style Russkies, piggyback on a motorcycle with Shia LaBeouf, and try to hunt down some preposterous crystal knickknack left behind by space aliens. Space aliens!! Come on!" And we've recently seen splashy new incarnations of classic movies from the 80's like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Piranha, Karate Kid, Tron and Clash of the Titans while remakes of The Thing, Footloose, Red Dawn, and RoboCop are reportedly on the way. "Einstein famously said that the definition of stupidity (or was it insanity?) was making the same mistake over and over again and expecting different results," writes Nashawaty. "The fact is, most ’80s remakes aren’t great or are entirely unnecessary.""
United States

Submission + - Is Bradley Manning's Imprisonment Inhumane?

Submitted by
Pickens
Pickens writes: "The La Times reports that for five months, Pfc. Bradley Manning has been confined to his cell for 23 hours a day, with no sheets and without exercise, while he awaits trial on charges of providing documents to WikiLeaks and has yet to receive the military equivalent of a preliminary hearing leading some to speculate that by treating Manning harshly, officials hope to induce him to implicate WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange or that Manning is being punished for conduct of which he has not been convicted. Lt. Brian Villiard, the Quantico spokesman, denies that Manning is in "solitary confinement" and says Manning's conditions are no different than the brig's other maximum custody detainees. "It’s a brig. I’m not a qualified person to talk about what is torture and what is not," says Villard. "It’s a military brig and it’s not being run any differently than any other military brig." Some see Manning as a whistle-blower who deserves leniency for exposing official duplicity; others believe that, like anyone who engages in civil disobedience, Manning, if guilty, should accept punishment for his actions writes the LA Times on its editorial page. "But regardless of one's view of his alleged conduct, the conditions under which he is being held are indefensible.""
Iphone

Submission + - ATT Faces its Moment of Truth

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "The WSJ reports that with Verizon expected to announce that it is getting the iPhone later this month ending AT&T's three-and-a-half-year exclusive run with the iconic device, the company is about to face its moment of truth. "We are ready for it," says Ralph de la Vega, chief executive of AT&T's wireless business, adding that ATT has been preparing to lose its exclusive hold on the iPhone for a number of years and welcomes the competition. "The short- and long-term viability of AT&T will be good whether we have exclusivity or not. We are much bigger than this." To avoid defections AT&T has encouraged customers to upgrade to the iPhone 4 locking them into a new two year contract and raised exit costs for its iPhone customers, upping the early termination clauses on many contracts from $175 to $325. "The cards are stacked against AT&T," says Dean Crutchfield, "because people have been waiting for Verizon to get this phone for so long, but AT&T has to protect itself.""
Iphone

Submission + - Verizon to Offer iPhone Users Unlimited Data

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "The WSJ reports that Verizon Wireless, the country's largest wireless carrier, is confident enough in its network that it will offer unlimited data-use plans when it starts selling the iPhone around the end of this month, a person familiar with the matter says. Such plans would provide a key means of distinguishing its service from rival AT&T Inc., which limits how much Internet data its customers may use each month. Verizon has a lot at stake as it starts to carry the iPhone, which it will announce Tuesday at an event in New York City, people familiar with the matter say. Verizon more than any other U.S. carrier has built its reputation on its network quality, and any stumble in handling iPhone traffic will call into question Verizon's major selling point. On the other hand, if it does handle the iPhone well, then AT&T will have a harder time arguing it didn't mismanage its own network. Anthony J. Melone, Verizon's chief technology officer, says the company has invested heavily in its 3G network to handle surging smartphone traffic including nine million Android subscribers, up from none a year earlier. "We added enormous capacity to the network in one fell swoop," says Melone. "It is there waiting for us to grow into it. That will help me tremendously with my 3G network.""
The Media

Submission + - Some Wikileaks Contributions to Public Discourse 3

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "EFF reports that regardless of the heated debate over the propriety of Wikileaks actions, some of the cables have contributed significantly to public and political conversations around the world. The Guardian reported on a cable describing an incident in Afghanistan in which employees of DynCorp, a US military contractor, hired a "dancing boy," an underaged boy dressed as women, who dance for gatherings of men and is then prostituted — an incident that contributed important information to the debate over the use of private military contractors. A cable released by Wikileaks showed that Pfizer allegedly sought to blackmail a Nigerian regulator to stop a lawsuit against drug trials on children. A Wikileaks revelation that the United States used bullying tactics to attempt to push Spain into adopting copyright laws even more stringent than those in the US came just in time to save Spain from the kind of misguided copyright laws that cripple innovation and facilitate online censorship. An article by the New York Times analyzed cables released which indicated the US is having difficulties in fulfilling Obama's promise to close the Guantánamo Bay detention camp and is now considering incentives in return for accepting detainees, including a one-on-one meeting with Obama or assistance obtaining IMF assistance. "These examples make clear that Wikileaks has brought much-needed light to government operations and private actions," writes Rainey Reitman, "which, while veiled in secrecy, profoundly affect the lives of people around the world and can play an important role in a democracy that chooses its leaders.""
Facebook

Submission + - Facebook Censors Birth Photos

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "The Chicago Tribune reports that Laura Eckert, a photographer who specializes in pictures of pregnant women and the first moments of a baby's life had her account disabled for posting pictures Facebook initially deemed inappropriate, including shots of a friend and her newborn moments after birth that partially showed her friend's breasts, but not her nipples. Eckert says she sent more than 30 e-mails to Facebook to inquire and didn't get a response until the day after KCRG-TV in Cedar Rapids reported on her plight. "It's funny it happened after the media got involved. I sent many polite e-mails asking for information over the course of the last few weeks and got no response. None," says Eckhert. For their part Facebook has now re-enabled the account and spokesman Simon Axten apologized explaining that Facebook reviews thousands of pieces of content every day to ensure Facebook remains a safe and trusted environment for everyone. "Of course, we make an occasional mistake. This is an example," says Axten. "When this happens, and it's brought to our attention, we work quickly to resolve the issue." Eckert says she is relieved to be able to log on to Facebook again, but that she's still unclear which birth photos the company allows. "No one has picked up on the angle that interests me most...that Facebook has apparently changed their Terms of Use since I originally agreed to them, yet I can't remember them ever asking me to "re-agree" to them.""
United States

Submission + - Obama Eyeing Internet ID for Americans 1

Submitted by
Pickens
Pickens writes: "CBS News reports that the Obama administration is currently drafting the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace, which will be released by the president in the next few months. "We are not talking about a national ID card," says Commerce Secretary Gary Locke whose department will be in charge of the program. "We are not talking about a government-controlled system. What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords, through creation and use of more trusted digital identities." Although details have not been finalized, the "trusted identity" may take the form of a smart card or digital certificate that would prove that online users are who they say they are. These digital IDs would be offered to consumers by online vendors for financial transactions. White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt says that anonymity and pseudonymity will remain possible on the Internet. "I don't have to get a credential if I don't want to," says Schmidt. There's no chance that "a centralized database will emerge," and "we need the private sector to lead the implementation of this.""
Science

Submission + - Should Dolphins be Treated as Non-Human Persons?

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Dolphins have long been recognized as among the most intelligent of animals but now the Times reports that a series of behavioral studies suggest that dolphins, especially species such as the bottlenose, have distinct personalities, a strong sense of self, can think about the future and are so bright that they should be treated as “non-human persons”. “Many dolphin brains are larger than our own and second in mass only to the human brain when corrected for body size,” says Lori Marino, a zoologist at Emory University. “The neuroanatomy suggests psychological continuity between humans and dolphins and has profound implications for the ethics of human-dolphin interactions." For example, one study found that dolphins can recognize their image in a mirror as a reflection of themselves — a finding that indicates self-awareness similar to that seen in higher primates and elephants and other studies have found that dolphins are capable of advanced cognitive abilities such as problem-solving, artificial language comprehension, and complex social behavior, indicate that dolphins are far more intellectually and emotionally sophisticated than previously thought. Thomas White, professor of ethics at Loyola Marymount University has written a series of academic studies suggesting dolphins should have rights claiming that the current relationship between humans and dolphins is, in effect, equivalent to the relationship between whites and Black slaves two centuries ago. “The scientific research . . . suggests that dolphins are ‘non-human persons’ who qualify for moral standing as individuals," says White."
Hardware

Submission + - Lady Gaga Invents Camera Sunglasses for Polaroid 1

Submitted by
Pickens
Pickens writes: "The Herald Sun reports that one year after being named creative director and 'inventor of specialty projects' with iconic brand Polaroid, pop icon Lady Gaga has unveiled her latest invention at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas: sunglasses with a buily-in camera that can take pictures and video and project it onto tiny screens that can be seen by others. "These are something I envisioned many years ago, during the Fame Ball tour when I made glasses out of iPod screens," says GaGa. "I thought wouldn't it be wonderful if these could be functional?" The stylish GL20 Camera Glasses contain a camera, 1.5-inch OLED screens, and a USB key in the earpiece so imagery can be transferred to a computer and uploaded to the Internet and will be released commercially later this year at an unspecified price. "I am so excited to extend myself behind the scenes as a designer, and to, as my father puts it finally have a real job.""
The Military

Submission + - Pentagon to Cut Spending by Another $78 Billion

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "The Washington Post reports that Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Pentagon will have to cut spending by another $78 billion over the next five years, a reminder that the US military will not remain exempt from painful austerity measures that federal lawmakers say will be necessary to control the soaring national debt. Gates says he hopes that "what had been a culture of endless money . . . will become a culture of savings and restraint" at the Defense Department. Gates says the armed services have already successfully carried out a directive he issued in May to squeeze $100 billion in savings over the next five years by eliminating low-priority programs, thinning command structures and reducing overhead at the Pentagon but says the fiscal realities facing the federal government led the Obama administration to order cuts of an additional $78 billion from its long-term spending plan. "We must come to realize that not every defense program is necessary, not every defense dollar is sacred or well-spent, and more of everything is simply not sustainable," says Gates."

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