Follow Slashdot blog updates by subscribing to our blog RSS feed

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
Security

Submission + - EU ministers seek to ban creation of hacking tools (networkworld.com)

alphadogg writes: Justice Ministers across Europe want to make the creation of "hacking tools" a criminal offense, but critics have hit back at the plans, saying that they are unworkable. Ministers from all 27 countries of the European Union met on June 9 to discuss European Commission proposals for a directive on attacks against information systems. But in addition to approving the Commission's text, the ministers extended the draft to include "the production and making available of tools for committing offenses". This is problematic, as much legal and legitimate software could be put to criminal use by hackers. The draft mentions "malicious software designed to create botnets or unrightfully obtained computer passwords," but goes no further in attempting to clarify what "tools" might be subject to criminal sanctions.
Idle

Submission + - Libyan rebels weaponize Power Wheels toy ATV (jalopnik.com)

Danny Rathjens writes: "jalopnik.com reports, "You know the little Power Wheels-style ATV [4-wheeled slow-moving truck] your kid uses to drive across the lawn? It turns out that it makes a great machine gun drone in the hands of Libyan rebel, and structural engineer, Mohammad Bin Saud. Bin Saud is one of a growing legion of rebel Libyans turning anything and everything — including the aforementioned Power Wheels — into weapons." Most of the content is a video clip from Al-Jazeera."
Government

Submission + - Obama: "We don't have enough engineers' (computerworld.com)

dcblogs writes: President Obama wants to boost engineering graduation rates by 10,000 a year. In 2009, the U.S. produced 126,194 engineering graduates for bachelor's and master's degrees and for Ph.D.s. The U.S. had just over 1.9 million engineers in 2010. The unemployment rate in 2010 for all engineers was 4.5%. "We've made incredible progress on education, helping students to finance their college educations, but we still don't have enough engineers," said Obama. He's counting on the private sector to help expand the number of graduates.
News

Submission + - Reason Seen More as Weapon Than Path to Truth (nytimes.com)

mdsolar writes: "For centuries thinkers have assumed that the uniquely human capacity for reasoning has existed to let people reach beyond mere perception and reflex in the search for truth. Rationality allowed a solitary thinker to blaze a path to philosophical, moral and scientific enlightenment.

Now some researchers are suggesting that reason evolved for a completely different purpose: to win arguments. Rationality, by this yardstick (and irrationality too, but we’ll get to that) is nothing more or less than a servant of the hard-wired compulsion to triumph in the debating arena."

Comment Re:Still consuming (Score 1) 496

..Sort of. Chi fan is a generic term for eating. Although you can have 'chi' as its own verb and you can eat lots of things. chi wu fan le mei you? = did you eat lunch ni you mei you chi fan? = did you eat? ni you mei you chi mi fan = did you eat rice Slightly different. Remember that in chinese if you want to be proper, you need to use two character phrases, one character "words" can be ambiguous.
Windows

Submission + - Quicktime + Vista = BSOD!

Question Guy writes: http://lowendmac.com/fishkin/07/0410.html
Apple Quicktime is causing a troubling problem which doesn't seem to be addressed by any of the major software & hardware manufacturers involved. On Toshiba machines, such as the Protege Tablet M400s, opening a locally stored quicktime .MOV on a machine with Windows Vista will cause instant BSOD. All other video functions seem to be working in other video playback types (even streaming .MOVs work), and there is little or no 'buzz' on the internet which might push any of the parties to play nice together. (Microsoft for Vista, Intel for the GMA945 chipset, Toshiba for their custom software for tablet functionality, or Apple for Quicktime)

Help, anyone?
Space

Black Hole Cluster Spawns Massive Cloud 74

Shifty Jim writes in with an article at space.com reporting that a cluster of galaxies harboring black holes may be the source of a massive cloud millions of light years across. Quoting: "A giant cloud of superheated gas 6 million light years wide might be formed by the collective sigh of several supermassive black holes, scientists say. The plasma cloud... might be the source of mysterious cosmic rays that permeate our universe... The plasma cloud is located about 300 million light years away near the Coma Cluster and is spread across a vast region of space thought to contain several galaxies with supermassive black holes... embedded at their centers."

Slashdot Top Deals

Brain off-line, please wait.

Working...