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Atlantis Seekers Given Thrill by Google Ocean 321

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the jump-to-conclusions-mat dept.
RcK writes "Numerous articles are springing up regarding a feature found using the new Google Ocean, which some claim could be the location of Atlantis. While this is obviously early, and probably has the same credibility levels as previous claims of finding the mythical city, the detected anomaly is quite convincingly linear, is apparently the size of Wales and sits near where Plato hypothesized the city to be located." Google has stated that this is an issue with the way their ocean mapping software is working, but clearly that is a cover up while Google execs try to buy the real estate. I just hope they bring back Elvis next.
Windows

If Windows 7 Fails, Citrix (Not Linux) Wins 638

Posted by kdawson from the expedient dept.
Julie188 writes "Microsoft blogger Mitchell Ashley, who has been using Windows 7 full-time, predicts that Windows 7 will fail to lure XP users away from their beloved, aging operating system — after all, Windows 7 is little more than what Vista should have been, when it shipped two years ago. But eventually old PCs must be replaced and then we'll see corporations, desperate to get out of the expense of managing Windows machines, get wise. Instead of buying new Windows 7 PCs, they could deliver virtualized XP desktops to a worker's own PC and/or mobile device. Ashley believes that Citrix's Project Independence has the right idea."
The Almighty Buck

Phishing Is a Minimum-Wage Job 224

Posted by kdawson from the triumph-of-the-commons dept.
rohitm918 writes "A study by Microsoft Research concludes that phishers make very little (PDF): '...low-skill jobs pay like low-skill jobs, whether the activity is legal or not.' They also find that the Gartner numbers that everyone quotes ($3.2B/year etc) are rubbish, off by a factor of 50. 'Even though it harvests "free money," phishing generates total revenue equal to the total costs incurred by the actors. Each participant earns, on average, only as much as he would have made in the opportunities he gave up elsewhere. As the total phishing effort increases the total phishing revenue declines: the harder individual phishers try the worse their collective situation gets. As a consequence, increasing effort is a sign of failure rather than of success.'"
Government

A Peek At DHS's Files On You 241

Posted by kdawson from the fifteen-year-retention dept.
kenblakely writes "We've known for a while that the Department of Homeland Security was collecting travel records on those who cross US borders, but now you can see it for yourself. A Freedom of Information Act request got this blogger a look at DHS's file on his travels. Pretty comprehensive — all the way down to the IP address of the host he used to make a reservation."
Image

Inventor Builds Robot Wife 469

Posted by samzenpus from the you-lonely-lonely-man dept.
Inventor Le Trung must really like the book "The Stepford Wives," because he has built the dream of every lonely man without hope, a robot wife. Le's wife, Aiko, starts the day by reading him the newspaper headlines and they go for a drives in the countryside. Le says his relationship with Aiko hasn't strayed into the bedroom, but a few tweaks could turn her into a sexual partner, even redesigning her to have a simulated orgasm. *Shudder*
Security

Distributed, Low-Intensity Botnets 167

Posted by kdawson from the slow-probe dept.
badger.foo writes "We have seen the future of botnets, and it is distributed and low-key. Are sites running free software finally becoming malware targets? It all started with a higher-than-usual number of failed ssh logins at a low-volume site. I think we are seeing the shape of botnets to come, with malware authors doing their early public beta testing during the last few weeks."

Feed DIY solar heater constructed with aluminum cans (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

A solar-powered air conditioner doesn't do one much good during a Vermont winter, but rather than cranking on the heater (or huddling under the heated Hello Kitty mat) just to heat things up in a relatively small garage, a clever DIYer set out to concoct his own solar heater using scrap parts and a bit of free time. The solar wall was primarily built with black-painted soda cans, a wooden wall, plexiglass cover, and an inlet and outlet to channel the air around. The homegrown "solar furnace" captured the sunlight beaming onto the south side of the building, and as cool air found its way into the toasty cans and rose through drilled out portals, it managed to heat up a respectable 15-degrees Fahrenheit before escaping into the garage. The creator did note that his next attempt would sport a relocated inlet and be much larger in size, but if you're interested in putting a few in-the-way parts to good use next winter, be sure to hit the read link for a pictorial how-to.

[Via HackNMod, thanks Joe]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Comment Worth of Certifications and Hiring Patterns (Score 1) 381

by Phranklin (#5100418) Attached to: Upgrading Training and Certification?
Truth be told, typically the managers that seriously require certifications are people that aren't very technical themselves. They assume that people who have passed the test can save the day when things go wrong. They don't understand that, just as you said, the instructors of these classes lead you in the direction of getting a passing grade, and focus very little on understanding the ins and outs of the systems. It's in the best interest of the instructors to get you to pass the test, so that's what they do...

IMHO, these certifications don't really account for too much legitimate knowledge. After working for 3 or so years, my company hired another tech guy with his MCSE. I have no certifications, and they guy would constantly ask me questions about NT because I'd spent my time in the trenches, and knew the systems.

My advice to you is to try your best to get a job. If you have to, go ahead and get a certification, but understand what you're getting. It's worth may lie in your employability, and not in your skills... Once you have your job, bask in an environment where you legitimately gain new and useful skills and knowledge.

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