Robonaut To Escort On Space Shuttle Mission 74

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday August 12, 2010 @12:58PM from the goodness-gracious-me dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The STS-133 crew will deliver robot Robonaut 2 (R2) to the International Space Station. Cocooned inside an aluminum frame and foam blocks cut out to its shape, R2 is heading to the station inside the Permanent Multipurpose Module in space shuttle Discovery's payload bay. R2, with its humanlike hands and arms and stereo vision, is expected to perform some of the repetitive or more mundane functions inside the orbiting laboratory to free astronauts for more complicated tasks and experiments."

Gaming With GPS On Your Smartphone 43

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday February 27, 2010 @03:33AM from the getting-lost-despite-two-meter-precision dept.

Barence writes "If your handset doesn't get you out and about, tramping through mud, climbing around and hunting for hidden treasure, then something needs an upgrade. The iPhone, Blackberry's Storm and Bold lines, and many Symbian and Android handsets, now sport GPS, which makes your smartphone the ticket to join a global movement of outdoor games. These are outbound challenges that pit teams and solo players against themselves and each other in the search for hidden treasure, undiscovered landmarks, and hidden spots all over the world. This article delves into several of the best smartphone-friendly real-world games, each of which is a bridge between the online and offline worlds."

Secret Service Runs At "Six Sixes" Availability 248

Posted by timothy on Friday February 26, 2010 @08:56PM from the only-need-half-as-many dept.

PCM2 writes "ABC News is reporting that the US Secret Service is in dire need of server upgrades. 'Currently, 42 mission-oriented applications run on a 1980s IBM mainframe with a 68 percent performance reliability rating,' says one leaked memo. That finding was the result of an NSA study commissioned by the Secret Service to evaluate the severity of their computer problems. Curiously, upgrades to the Service's computers are being championed by Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who says he's had 'concern for a while' about the issue."

PS3 Hacked? 296

Posted by Soulskill on Monday January 25, 2010 @07:35AM from the another-one-bites-the-dust dept.

Several readers have sent word that George Hotz (a.k.a. geohot), the hacker best known for unlocking Apple's iPhone, says he has now hacked the PlayStation 3. From his blog post: "I have read/write access to the entire system memory, and HV level access to the processor. In other words, I have hacked the PS3. The rest is just software. And reversing. I have a lot of reversing ahead of me, as I now have dumps of LV0 and LV1. I've also dumped the NAND without removing it or a modchip. 3 years, 2 months, 11 days...that's a pretty secure system. ... As far as the exploit goes, I'm not revealing it yet. The theory isn't really patchable, but they can make implementations much harder. Also, for obvious reasons I can't post dumps. I'm hoping to find the decryption keys and post them, but they may be embedded in hardware. Hopefully keys are setup like the iPhone's KBAG."

Comment Re:How do you think it works in the EU ? (Score 3, Informative) 507

by TheWGP on Monday December 28, 2009 @12:22PM (#30572066) Attached to: NY Times, LA Times Want Amazon To Collect More State Taxes

Please read the discussion - zip2tax provides only zip code tax information, which is 100% useless for many places, where zip codes cross county and city lines at will. Much greater specificity than zip code alone is needed; whether that entails lat/long coordinates or merely address tracking is not clear.

Cell Phone Searches Require Warrant 161

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday December 15, 2009 @03:27PM from the don't-search-me-bro dept.

schleprock63 writes "The Ohio state supreme court has decided that a cell phone found on a suspect cannot be searched without a warrant. The majority based this decision on a federal case that deemed a cell phone not to be a 'closed container,' and therefore not searchable without a warrant. The argument of the majority contended that a cell phone does not contain physical objects and therefore is not a container. One dissenting judge argued that a cell phone is a container that simply contains data. He argued that the other judges were 'needlessly theorizing' about the contents of a cell phone. He compared the data contained within an address book that would be searchable." The article notes that this was apparently the first time the question has come up before any state supreme court.

Scientists Say a Dirty Child Is a Healthy Child 331

Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday November 24, 2009 @07:07PM from the snack-is-going-to-be-on-the-floor-today dept.

Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California have shown that the more germs a child is exposed to, the better their immune system in later life. Their study found that keeping a child's skin too clean impaired the skin's ability to heal itself. From the article: "'These germs are actually good for us,' said Professor Richard Gallo, who led the research. Common bacterial species, known as staphylococci, which can cause inflammation when under the skin, are 'good bacteria' when on the surface, where they can reduce inflammation."

Microsoft Denies It Built Backdoor Into Windows 7 450

Posted by timothy on Thursday November 19, 2009 @06:16PM from the how-are-your-wife's-bruises? dept.

CWmike writes "Microsoft has denied that it has built a backdoor into Windows 7, a concern that surfaced yesterday after a senior National Security Agency (NSA) official testified before Congress that the agency had worked on the operating system. 'Microsoft has not and will not put "backdoors" into Windows,' a company spokeswoman said, reacting to a Computerworld story Wednesday. On Monday, Richard Schaeffer, the NSA's information assurance director, told the Senate's Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security that the agency had partnered with the developer during the creation of Windows 7 'to enhance Microsoft's operating system security guide.' Thursday's categorical denial by Microsoft was accompanied by further explanation of exactly how the NSA participated in the making of Windows 7. 'The work being discussed here is purely in conjunction with our Security Compliance Management Toolkit,' said the spokeswoman. The company rolled out the Windows 7 version of the toolkit late last month, shortly after it officially launched the operating system."

Comment Re:What!? (Score 1) 658

by TheWGP on Tuesday November 03, 2009 @03:48PM (#29967162) Attached to: Feds Bust Cable Modem Hacker

It's the only way to be sure!

EA Looking Into Reviving Classic Games? 142

Posted by Soulskill on Thursday August 13, 2009 @05:52AM from the easier-than-being-creative dept.

Gamasutra reports that Electronic Arts has filed for trademarks on several popular old franchises: Populous, Wing Commander, Theme Park, and Road Rash. This, along with comments from Harvey Elliot of EA's Bright Light Studio, have led many to suspect that we may see new titles for those IPs in the near future. Elliot said, "If you remember all the old classics you played, if you go back and play them now, they're not the same. They were right for their time, and the trick with those games is coming up with what's right for the time now. I'm going to look at them at some point; I think there's an opportunity to bring those back in the future, but only if it's right for the time and not just a 'remake' or something. We'd need to do it in a way that's true to the original values, but would still make a great game today."

Ballmer Threatens To Pull Out of the US 1142

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday June 06, 2009 @09:18AM from the tax-schmax dept.

theodp writes "Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is threatening to move Microsoft employees offshore if Congress enacts President Obama's plans to curb tax avoidance by US corporations. 'It makes US jobs more expensive,' complained billionaire Ballmer. 'We're better off taking lots of people and moving them out of the US as opposed to keeping them inside the US.' According to 2006 reports, Microsoft transferred $16 billion in assets to secretive Dublin subsidiaries to shave billions off its US tax bill. 'Corporate tax is part of the overall advantage of doing business in Ireland,' acknowledged Ballmer in 2005. 'It would be disingenuous to say otherwise.'"

Terminator Salvation Opens Well, Scientists Not Impressed 344

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday May 23, 2009 @01:25PM from the come-with-me-if-you-want-to-groove-baby dept.

destinyland writes "A science magazine asks an MIT professor, roboticists, artificial intelligence workers, and science fiction authors about the possibility of an uprising of machines. Answers range from 'of course it's possible' to 'why would an intelligent network waste resources on personal combat?' An engineering professor points out that bipedal robots 'are largely impractical,' and Vernor Vinge says a greater threat to humanity is good old-fashioned nuclear annihilation. But one roboticist says it's inevitable robots will eventually be used in warfare, while another warns of robots in the hands of criminals, cults, and other 'non-state actors.' 'What we should fear in the foreseeable future is not unethical robots, but unethical roboticists.'" The new movie got off to a good start, drawing $13.4 million in its first day. I found it reasonably entertaining; pretty much what I'd expect from a Terminator movie. If nothing else, I learned that being able to crash helicopters and survive being thrown into the occasional wall are the two most valuable skills to have during a robot uprising. What did you think?

Comment Stupid gets as stupid does (Score 1) 665

by TheWGP on Sunday May 10, 2009 @12:01PM (#27897173) Attached to: Alienware Refusing Customers As Thieves

If you're stupid enough to buy Alienware - from the company or otherwise - you deserve what you've got coming to you.

That said, it looks like Alienware just wishes there were no Doctrine of First Sale, from the phrasing of their denial.

Microsoft Windows, On a Mainframe 422

Posted by timothy on Wednesday March 04, 2009 @06:47PM from the operating-systems-plural dept.

coondoggie writes with an excerpt from Network World: "Software that for the first time lets users run native copies of the Windows operating systems on a mainframe will be introduced Friday by data center automation vendor Mantissa. The company's z/VOS software is a CMS application that runs on IBM's z/VM and creates a foundation for Intel-based operating systems. Users only need a desktop appliance running Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) client, which is the same technology used to attach to Windows running on Terminal Server or Citrix-based servers. Users will be able to connect to their virtual and fully functional Windows environments without any knowledge that the operating system and the applications are executing on the mainframe and not the desktop."

Comment Re:tax in disguise (Score 1) 246

by TheWGP on Sunday March 01, 2009 @11:16AM (#27029793) Attached to: Spectrum Fees May Preclude US Low-Cost Cellular

The problem with your argument is that people will pay whatever the carriers want, unless it's completely ridiculous. This is, at least in part, because of two things: one, two-year-contracts and two, more importantly, the fact that ALL THE CARRIERS CHARGE THE SAME. There simply ISN'T a national alternative - no carrier has any incentive to decrease price because none of them wants to kill the goose that lays golden eggs. Before someone says this isn't true, it's generally very well established and accepted (even the NYT article mentions it) that SMS is entirely free to the carriers - there is no work or maintenance required beyond what is already done for voice services.