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Sun Microsystems

Submission + - OpenOffice Refuses to Support OOXML (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes: "OpenOffice has decided not to support OOXML, but don't let that mislead you. They will still be able to import Office 2007 files in the 3.0 release, they just want to make it clear that, whatever it is that Office 2007 outputs, it's not compliant with Microsoft's own standard. Of course, even that is hard to figure out when Office has too many ways to do everything, but they're still doing what they can."
Graphics

Submission + - SPAM: A new way to improve computer graphics

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "Computer scientists at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) have developed a fog and smoke machine for computer graphics which dramatically cuts computing costs for generating bright images. They've used 'photon mapping' algorithms, a subset of the more computationally intensive ray tracing algorithms — and with better results. This could lead to better computer graphics for movies and video games. Now, the researchers are adapting their algorithms to render other materials, such as skin, milk and plants which behave more or less like fog or smoke. But read more for additional details and references."
Toys

The Javabot Combines Engineering and Coffee 165

Posted by Zonk from the there-is-nothing-wrong-here dept.
WormholeFiend writes "The Javabot is the coffee machine of the future — completely next generation. It is the fully-automated system that runs the Roasting Plant Coffee Company in New York and its design is illustrative of what can be achieved using new thinking and methodologies to something that was previously regarded as a black art. The system is part of the experience because the coffee system runs throughout the shop. It's the first walk-in coffee machine in effect, and customers sit there and watch as their coffee beans rush past in pneumatic tubes, as they move from storage bins to staging, roasting station, grinding and a brewing machine where they are dispensed with the repeatable accuracy of a purpose-built machine. Customers can choose from any blend of seven different beans and every aspect of the process is controlled."
Security

Submission + - US Military Realized the Internet is Dangerous

Submitted by
SamLJones
SamLJones writes: "After an unprecedented number of electronic attacks in the last year or so, the US military is realizing the security holes they have.

Military officials have long believed that "it's cheaper, and we kill stuff faster, when we use the Internet to enable high-tech warfare," says a top adviser to the U.S. military on the overhaul of its computer security strategy. "Now they're saying, Oh, shit.'"
"
Robotics

Submission + - Inside Story of Armed Robot "Pullout" in I (popularmechanics.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It appears that the initial rumor of the SWORDS robot being pulled out of Iraq—and its subsequent correction—were just that: sensationalizing in the blogosphere. Popular Mechanics has a lengthy update to its original scoop, digging into the sketchy responses from defense contractors when pressed about the bot's actual duties in battle. From the article: "Although others have used our story to generate a false online rumor about these armed UGVs, the nature of those "technical issues" that Gotvald mentioned in his statement, and that Qinetiq and Foster-Miller have yet to address directly, remains a mystery. Until someone can explain why SWORDS lost its funding, and what exactly it is — and isn't — being used for in Iraq, the rumors are likely to continue. If this is the dawn of the era of robotic infantry, things are off to a decidedly rocky start."
The Courts

Monster Cables Pushes Around the Wrong Small Company 572

Posted by Zonk from the keeps-the-electricity-demons-out dept.
Alien54 writes "Audioholics has a fun read regarding a recent legal dustup involving Monster Cables. The well-known (some might say notorious) cabling company sent a cease and desist letter to Blue Jeans Cable over a supposed patent violation. What the Monster folks couldn't have known was that Blue Jeans president Kurt Denke used to be a lawyer. His response is as humorous as it is thorough. ' Let me begin by stating, without equivocation, that I have no interest whatsoever in infringing upon any intellectual property belonging to Monster Cable. Indeed, the less my customers think my products resemble Monster's, in form or in function, the better ... If there is more than one such connector design in actual use by Monster Cable as to which appropriation of trade dress is alleged, of course, I will require this information for each and every such design. On the basis of what I have seen, both in the USPTO documents you have sent and the actual appearance of Monster Cable connectors which I have observed in use in commerce, it does not appear to me that Monster Cable is in a position to advance a nonfrivolous claim for infringement of these marks.'"
Programming

The Return of Ada 336

Posted by Zonk from the lord-byron-will-be-in-the-sequel dept.
Pickens writes "Today when most people refer to Ada it's usually as a cautionary tale. The Defense Department commissioned the programming language in the late 1970s but few programmers used Ada, claiming it was difficult to use. Nonetheless many observers believe the basics of Ada are in place for wider use. Ada's stringency causes more work for programmers, but it will also make the code more secure, Ada enthusiasts say. Last fall, contractor Lockheed Martin delivered an update to ERAM, the Federal Aviation Administration's next-generation flight data air traffic control system — ahead of schedule and under budget, which is something you don't often hear about in government circles. Jeff O'Leary, an FAA software development and acquisition manager who oversaw ERAM, attributed at least part of it to the use of the Ada, used for about half the code in the system."

Armed Robots Not Actually Gone From Iraq 263

Posted by Zonk from the someone-call-for-an-exterminator dept.
NightFalcon90909 writes "You may have heard that armed robots were yanked from Iraq after a gun started to swivel without it being told to do so. 'A recent news report that armed robots had been pulled out of Iraq is mistaken, according to the company that makes the robot [Foster-Miller] and the Army program manager. 'The whole thing is an urban legend,' says Foster Miller spokesperson Cynthia Black, of the reports about SWORDS moving its gun without a command.'"
Security

Oklahoma Leaks 10,000 Social Security Numbers 245

Posted by Zonk from the that's-some-good-securitying dept.
DrJokepu writes "Apparently the folks at the Department of Corrections of Oklahoma just forgot to use common sense when they created the state's Sexual and Violent Offender Registry. By putting SQL queries in the URLs, they not only leaked the personal data of tens of thousands of people, but enabled literally anyone with basic SQL knowledge to put his neighbor/boss/enemies on the sexual offender list. Fortunately, after the author of the blog The Daily WTF notified the department about the issue, the site went down for 'routine maintenance' on April 13 2008."
Government

Malaysian Candidates Required to Have Blogs 41

Posted by Zonk from the make-sure-to-have-required-what-i-had-for-lunch-post-too dept.
Pioneer Woman writes "Abdul Rahman Dahlan, secretary general of the United Malays National Organization party's youth wing, said all those vying for national youth posts must have blogs to introduce themselves and their programs ahead of party elections in December. The decision appeared aimed at countering heavy losses that the ruling National Front coalition suffered in last month's general elections. In a country where mainstream media is tightly controlled by the government they underestimated the power of online campaigning. In the past, party politicians have said bloggers spread lies and rumors but now even youth deputy Khairy Jamaluddin — who once compared bloggers to monkeys living by the law of the jungle — has a blog."
United States

Bush Cyber Initiative Aims To Monitor, Restrict Access To Federal Network 120

Posted by Zonk from the gotta-keep-em-seperated dept.
dstates writes "Details of George Bush's Cyber Initiative are beginning to trickle out. The Cyber Initiative was created in January to secure government against electronic attacks. Newsweek says that over the next seven years, Bush's Cyber Initiative will spend as much as $30 billion to create a new monitoring system for all federal networks, a combined project of the DHS, the NSA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The U.S. government has launched a classified operation called Byzantine Foothold to detect, track, and disarm intrusions on the government's most critical networks. ComputerWorld reports that all data traffic flowing through agency networks will be checked, and that it will be inspected at a deeper level than the current system is capable of. BusinessWeek, meanwhile, reports that one requirement is to reduce the number of internet access points in the Federal Government from the thousands now in use to only 100 sites by June 2008. How this will impact public information resources such as the Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine or even the US Congress remains to be seen."
Earth

Tech That Will Save Our Species - Solar Thermal Power 648

Posted by Zonk from the we-could-use-a-little-saving dept.
NoMoreCoal writes "Salon has up a story by Joe Romm, former undersecretary of energy during the Clinton administration, discussing a lesser-known alternative energy solution. It's a technology that (he claims) is ready to provide zero-carbon electric power big, fast, cheap and (most importantly) right now: solar thermal power. 'Improvements in manufacturing and design, along with the possibility of higher temperature operation, could easily bring the price down to 6 to 8 cents per kilowatt hour. CSP makes use of the most abundant and free fuel there is, sunlight, and key countries have a vast resource. Solar thermal plants covering the equivalent of a 92-by-92-mile square grid in the Southwest could generate electricity for the entire United States. Mexico has an equally enormous solar resource. China, India, southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Australia also have huge resources.'" Interesting stuff, even if he does mention the Archimedes Death Ray.

Microsoft Accommodating Eee With Lightweight XP 386

Posted by Zonk from the accomnodations-for-all dept.
KrispyChips writes "In what could be a first Microsoft is working to create a special build of Windows, just because Windows doesn't run very well on a certain computer. ASUS' runaway success Eee PC is now 'officially' available with Windows XP, but (according to APC magazine) is not exactly a great experience. There are none of the nice pre-loaded apps that come with the Linux version, for example. And XP has some real problems coping with the screen size and limited system specs of the unit. As a result, ASUS says it is going back to Microsoft and working on a special XP build that will be lightweight and more suited to UMPCs."
Programming

Submission + - The Return of Ada 1

Submitted by
Pickens
Pickens writes: "Today, when most people refer to Ada, it's usually as a cautionary tale. The Defense Department commissioned the programming language in the late 1970s but few programmers used Ada claiming it was difficult to use. Nonetheless, many observers believe the basics of Ada are in place for wider use. "We're seeing a resurgence of interest," says Robert Dewar, president of AdaCore. "The thing people have always said about Ada is that it is hard to get a program by the compiler, but once you did, it would always work." Ada's stringency causes more work for programmers, but it will also make the code more secure, Ada enthusiasts say. Last fall, contractor Lockheed Martin delivered an update to ERAM, the Federal Aviation Administration's next-generation flight data air traffic control system — ahead of schedule and under budget, which is something you don't often hear about in government circles. Jeff O'Leary, an FAA software development and acquisition manager who oversaw ERAM, attributed at least part of it to the use of the Ada, used for about half the code in the system."

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