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Submission + - Instagram User Drop Blamed on Holidays, Not Recent Controversy (slashdot.org) 1

Submitted by
Nerval's Lobster
Nerval's Lobster writes: "When AppData first posted a graph (above) showing a 25 percent drop in Instagram’s daily active users, it sparked a flurry of discussion online—much of it focused on the recent controversy over the photo-sharing service’s Terms of Use. The New York Post, for example, blamed the dip on a “revolt” among Instagram users incensed over changes in the Terms of Use, including new legalese that some interpreted as blanket permission for the service to start selling user photos to advertisers. But a new statement from AppData, which tracks app traffic, suggests there’s another cause behind the dip in daily active users: the season. “The decline in Facebook-connected daily active users began closer to Christmas, not immediately after the proposed policy changes,” read a statement the firm sent to The Wall Street Journal. “The drop between Dec. 24 and 25 seems likely to be related to the holiday, during which time people are traveling and otherwise have different routines than usual.”"

Submission + - Senate Renews Warrentless Eavesdropping Act (wired.com)

Submitted by electron sponge
electron sponge writes: On Friday morning, the Senate renewed the FISA Amendments Act, which allows for warrentless electronic eavesdropping, for an additional five years. The act, which was originally passed by Congress in 2008, allows law enforcement agencies to access private communications as long as one participant in the communications could reasonably be believed to be outside the United States. This law has been the subject of a federal lawsuit, and was argued before the Supreme Court recently.
NASA

Submission + - NASA's NEXT ion thruster clocks up continuous operation world record (gizmag.com)

Submitted by cylonlover
cylonlover writes: NASA's Evolutionary Xenon Thruster (NEXT) ion engine has set a new world record by clocking up 43,000 hours of continuous operation at NASA’s Glenn Research Center’s Electric Propulsion Laboratory. The seven-kilowatt thruster is intended to propel future NASA deep space probes on missions where chemical rockets aren't a practical option. The NEXT ion thruster is one of NASA’s latest generation of engines. With a power output of seven kilowatts, it’s over twice as powerful as the ones used aboard the unmanned Dawn space probe. Yet it is simpler in design, lighter and more efficient, and is also designed for very high endurance.

Its current record of 43,000 hours is the equivalent of nearly five years of continuous operation while consuming only 770 kg (1697.5 lbs) of xenon propellant. The NEXT engine would provide 30 million-newton-seconds of total impulse to a spacecraft. What this means in simple terms is that the NEXT engine can make a spacecraft go (eventually) very far and very fast.
Google

Submission + - Want a Job at Google? Better Know Microsoft Office!

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: After recent Slashdot discussions on Google's quest to unseat Microsoft Office in business and whether Google Docs and MS-Word are an even matchup, let's complete the trilogy by bringing up the inconvenient truth that numerous Google job postings state that candidates with Microsoft Office expertise are 'preferred' to those lacking these skills. 'For example,' notes GeekWire, 'when hiring an executive compensation analyst to support Google's board, the company will give preference to candidates who are 'proficient with Microsoft Excel."' Parents and kids at schools that have gone or are going Google are reassured that, 'it is more important to teach technology skills than specific programs' and that 'Google itself uses Google Apps to run its multi-billion dollar company.' Which, for the most part, is true. Just don't count on getting certain Google jobs with that attitude, kids!

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