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Comment Re:Wait a second... (Score 2, Interesting) 376

by TrueKonrads (#27745351) Attached to: Europe Funds Secure Operating System Research
3.3 mil is a lot of money for uncertain outcome. We already have microreboots in some toy systems, that should solve crashes and ensure that system continues to operate (though it will probably go through the crash-reboot-work-crash cycle endlessly. We already have in-memory kernel patching from SUN and partially from linux. Not to mention SELinux and Hurd and the rest of security ideas. I think that the real purpose of the project is to suck funding. Let me quote from Tannenbaum's project proposal:
  • "..but I should start out by pointing out how ambitious and risky this research is." In layman's terms it means: "I want to experiment, but no promises or even deliverables".
  • "... nearly all experience with actual security incidents shows that security problems almost always stem from actions that the design and rules forbid but which bugs in the code allow to happen anyway." and "The most serious reliability and security problems are those relating to the operating system" I am a security consultant and most security incidents stem from misunderstanding the basics, like password management, not buffer overflows. Seriously, has he ever consulted a security practitioner?
  • Some classic proof by (broken) analogy: "Banks lock their front doors at night and have strong safes even though there are laws forbidding bank robbery" What does this prove exactly?
  • "What I am proposing is a fundamental redesign of the operating system." Dude, seriously, You mention known concepts and offer fundamental redesign? Is this just a rewrite project for minix?

I could go on and on like this. This is how funds are spent without any real gain, not even new concept evolution. Andy, give the EU taxpayers money back!
Government

Submission + - Navy launches U.S.S Independence

Submitted by TrueKonrads
TrueKonrads writes: The US Navy launched new Littoral Combat Ship — the U.S.S. Independence. It is a wickedly cool Trimaran, that can be tailored to carry helicopters, big guns, torpedoes and angry men and move at 60 knots, which is a lot for ship this size and for sea faring ships in general.
Programming

Web 2.0, Meet JavaScript 2.0 248

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the just-plain-geeked dept.
Jeremy Martin writes "Well I suppose it's an undeniable fact about us programmer-types — every now and then we just can't help but get excited about something really nerdy. For me right now, that is definitely JavaScript 2.0. I was just taking a look at the proposed specifications and I am really, truly excited about what we have coming."
Transportation

Reaction Engines plan Mach 5 Airliner 221

Posted by CmdrTaco from the not-very-likely dept.
What is? writes "A British company has designed an eco-friendly airliner that could make a trip from London to Sydney in under five hours. Reaction Engines has received funding from the European Space Agency to design the plane as part of the Long-Term Advanced Propulsion Concepts and Technologies project. The A2 airliner would be capable of carrying 300 passengers at speeds of up to Mach 5."
Linux Business

Lotus Notes 8.5 Will Support Ubuntu 7.0 297

Posted by kdawson from the desktop-in-the-enterprise dept.
E5Rebel sends in an article from Computerworld.uk article that reports: "IBM believes Linux on the enterprise desktop is finally ready for widespread adoption. To meet future demand it is preparing to deliver its next versions of Lotus Notes enterprise collaboration software and Lotus Symphony office productivity applications for the first time with full support for Ubuntu Linux 7.0... The Ubuntu support for Notes and Symphony were a direct response to demand from customers."
The Internet

The World Wide Computer, Monopolies and Control 129

Posted by Soulskill from the i-cant-do-that-dave dept.
Ian Lamont writes "Nick Carr has generated a lot of discussion following his recent comments about the IT department fading away, but there are several other points he is trying to make about the rise of utility computing. He believes that the Web has evolved into a massive, programmable computer (the "World Wide Computer") that essentially lets any person or organization customize it to meet their needs. This relates to another trend he sees — a shift toward centralization. Carr draws interesting parallels to the rise of electricity suppliers during the Industrial Revolution. He says in a book excerpt printed on his blog that while decentralized technologies — the PC, Internet, etc. — can empower individuals, institutions have proven to be quite skilled at reestablishing control. 'Even though the Internet still has no center, technically speaking, control can now be wielded, through software code, from anywhere. What's different, in comparison to the physical world, is that acts of control become harder to detect and those wielding control more difficult to discern.'"
Windows

Microsoft Releases Specs for Binary Formats 205

Posted by Zonk from the thanks-for-the-hand-up dept.
skolima writes "In response to requests for even easier access to the Binary Formats, Microsoft has agreed to remove any intermediate steps necessary to get the documentation. They're going to just post it, making it directly available as a download on the Microsoft web site. Microsoft will also make the Binary Formats subject to its Open Specification Promise by February 15, 2008. They're even planning to include an Open Source converter implementation."
Upgrades

The Economics of Chips With Many Cores 343

Posted by kdawson from the please-insert-25-cents dept.
meanonymous writes "HPCWire reports that a unique marketing model for 'manycore' processors is being proposed by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign researchers. The current economic model has customers purchasing systems containing processors that meet the average or worst-case computation needs of their applications. The researchers contend that the increasing number of cores complicates the matching of performance needs and applications and makes the cost of buying idle computing power increasingly prohibitive. They speculate that the customer will typically require fewer cores than are physically on the chip, but may want to use more of them in certain instances. They suggest that chips be developed in a manner that allows users to pay only for the computing power they need rather than the peak computing power that is physically present. By incorporating small pieces of logic into the processor, the vendor can enable and disable individual cores, and they offer five models that allow dynamic adjustment of the chip's available processing power."
Sony

Sony Announces DRM-Free Music at Amazon 293

Posted by Soulskill from the not-as-dumb-as-we-thought dept.
sehlat brings us a New York Times report that Sony has agreed to start selling DRM-free music from Amazon's MP3 store. This comes days after Sony revealed plans for physical MusicPass cards that would allow DRM-free access to a small portion of Sony's library. Now that all four major record labels are on board with Amazon, some are expecting Apple to make moves away from DRM as well. From the NYTimes: "Sony's partnership with Amazon.com also underscores the music industry's gathering effort to nurture an online rival to Apple, which has sold more than three billion songs through its iTunes store. Most music purchased on iTunes can be played only on Apple devices, and Apple insists on selling all single tracks for 99 cents. Amazon, which sells tracks for anywhere from 89 cents to over a dollar, offers the pricing variability the labels want."
The Media

Congress Creates Copyright Cops 533

Posted by Zonk from the story-you-are-about-to-see-is-a-fib-but-its-short dept.
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Not satisfied with pitiful potential penalties of $150,000 for infringing upon a $0.99 song, Congress is proposing new copyright cops in the "'PRO IP' Act of 2007, specifically the creation of the Office of the United States Intellectual Property Enforcement Representative (USIPER). They also feel that the authorities need the authority to seize any computers used for infringement and to send copyright cops abroad to help other countries enforce US laws. MPAA boss Dan Glickman praised the bill saying that, 'films left costs foreign and domestic distributors, retailers and others $18 billion a year,' though Ars points out that it allegedly costs the studios only $6 billion."
Google

Google Maps GPS Simulator 205

Posted by samzenpus from the google-where-you-are dept.
garbletext writes "A new version of Google Maps introduced this week includes a beta feature dubbed My Location that was designed to simulate the GPS experience on mobile phones and handheld devices that do not include GPS hardware, like Apple's iPhone. Essentially, the My Location feature takes information broadcast from mobile towers near non-GPS equipped mobile phones to approximate the device's current location on the map down to about 10 city blocks. "It's not GPS, but it comes pretty close (approximately 1000m close, on average)," the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant explained on its website. "We're still in beta, but we're excited to launch this feature and are constantly working to improve our coverage and accuracy." The My Location feature is currently available for most web-enabled mobile phones, including Java, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Nokia/Symbian devices."
Debian

Ubuntu Dev Summit Lays Out Plans For Hardy Heron 261

Posted by Zonk from the hee-such-humorous-names dept.
Opurt writes "On the first day of the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Boston this week, a roundtable session focused on the vision for the upcoming Hardy Heron Ubuntu release. Unlike Gutsy Gibbon, which brought a handful of experimental features along with some new functionality, the focus with Heron will be on robustness as it will be supported on the desktop for 3 years. 'The Compiz window manager, which adds sophisticated visual effects to the Ubuntu user interface, will be a big target for usability improvements. Keyboard bindings and session management were noted as two areas where Compiz still needs some work.' PolicyKit and Tracker will also be significantly tweaked, while Heron is also likely to see a complete visual refresh."
Toys

Geek and Gadgets Set Cross-US Speed Record 805

Posted by kdawson from the breaker-breaker-need-a-bear-check dept.
Brikus writes "And you thought your car had gadgets. In this story from Wired magazine, we hear about Alex Roy and his quest to break the record time for a cross-USA road trip. One of the biggest roadblocks to breaking the record: highway patrol officers, about 31,000 along the way. So Roy decked out his E39 BMW M5 with a thermal camera, radar/laser detectors, GPS devices, police scanners, and other high-tech gadgets and toys."

Rob Malda Answers Your Questions 221

Posted by Roblimo from the pants-are-still-optional-but-not-for-you dept.
Last week hundreds of you posted questions for Slashdot's CmdrTaco, AKA Rob Malda. Today we present his answers to 10 of the highest-moderated questions. CT: You can continue to sign up for 10 year anniversary parties but we're already working on shipping shirts so you won't be able to get a care package... but you can still try to run for the big grand prize by just taking videos of pictures or just doing something cool at your parties to prove that we should have been there.

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