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Why You See 'Free Public WiFi' In So Many Places 260

Posted by Soulskill from the deja-vu-all-over-again dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Almost anywhere you go these days (particularly at airports), if you check for available WiFi settings, you have a pretty good chance of seeing an ad hoc network for 'Free Public WiFi.' Of course, since it's ad hoc (computer to computer) it's not actually access to the internet. So why is this in so many places? Turns out it's due to a bug in Windows XP. Apparently, the way XP works is that if it can't find a 'favorite' WiFi hotspot, it automatically sets up the computer to broadcast itself as an ad hoc network point, using the name of the last connection the computer attempted. So... people see 'Free Public WiFi' and they try to log on. Then their own computer starts broadcasting the same thing, because it can't find a network it knows. And, like a virus, the 'Free Public WiFi' that doesn't work lives on and on and on."
Data Storage

Data Storage Capacity Mostly Wasted In Data Center 165

Posted by CmdrTaco from the and-they-never-turn-the-lights-off dept.
Lucas123 writes "Even after the introduction of technologies such as thin provisioning, capacity reclamation and storage monitoring and reporting software, 60% to 70% of data capacity remains unused in data centers due to over provisioning for applications and misconfiguring data storage systems. While the price of storage resource management software can be high, the cost of wasted storage is even higher with 100TB equalling $1 million when human resources, floor space, and electricity is figured in. 'It's a bit of a paradox. Users don't seem to be willing to spend the money to see what they have,' said Andrew Reichman, an analyst at Forrester Research."
Image

School District Drops 'D' Grades 617

Posted by samzenpus from the pass-fail-education dept.
Students in one New Jersey school district will no longer be able to squeak by in class after the Morris County School Board approved dropping the D grade. Beginning in the fall students who don't get a C or higher will get an F on their report card. "I'm tired of kids coming to school and not learning and getting credit for it," said Superintendent Larrie Reynolds in a Daily Record report.
Crime

If You Don't Want Your Car Stolen, Make It Pink 390

Posted by CmdrTaco from the how-to-quit-smoking-too dept.
pickens writes "A study in the Netherlands illustrates car thieves' preferences. From 2004-2008, the most commonly colored vehicle stolen was black. This may be because black vehicles look more luxurious. Following close behind black were gray/silver automobiles. Of the 109 pink cars in the study, not one was stolen. A bright and uncommon color, like pink, may be as effective deterrent as an expensive security system. Ben Vollaard, who conducted the research, wrote, 'If the aversion to driving a car in an offbeat color is not too high – or if someone actually enjoys it – then buying deterrence through an uncommon car color may be at least as good a deal as buying deterrence through an expensive car security device.'"
Transportation

Submission + - I Want to Ride My e-Bicycle 1

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Electric bicycles have been around for more than a century, but have never quite captured the imagination of auto-obsessed Americans. That may be about to change. At CES this month, Sanyo showed off its sleek, lightweight Eneloop Hybrid Bicycle. Priced at $2,300, the e-bike sports a black lithium-ion battery strapped to the frame beneath the seat. Press a button on the left handlebar, and a 250-watt motor kicks in, providing about twice the power as your own pedaling. Some basic e-bike models, like the Ezip Trailz can be had for as low as $500. Trek and Schwinn both began selling e-bikes last year, and Best Buy is offering e-bikes in three test markets: Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland, OR.
Encryption

What's Holding Back Encryption? 660

Posted by CmdrTaco from the cypher-sex-is-a-different-thing dept.
nine-times writes "After many years in IT, I've been surprised to notice how much of my traffic is still unencrypted. A lot of businesses that I interact with (both business and personal) are still using unencrypted FTP, and very few people use any kind of encryption for email. Most websites are still using unencrypted HTTP. DNSSEC seems to be picking up some steam, but still doesn't seem to be widely used. I would have thought there would be a concerted effort to move toward encryption for the sake of security, but it doesn't seem to be happening. I wanted to ask the Slashdot community, what do you think the hold up is? Are the existing protocols somehow not good enough? Are the protocols fine, but not supported well enough in software? Is it too complicated to manage the various encryption protocols and keys? Is it ignorance or apathy on the part of the IT community, and that we've failed to demand it from our vendors?"

Submission + - Geoengineering Snow in Moscow, Fail! (globalpost.com)

Submitted by dinoyum
dinoyum writes: Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov's promise of a winter without snow in the capitol city has fallen short. While cloud seeding is not a new concept for Russia, often used on major holidays, geoengineering snow has never been done to that magnitude. Carrying off the $6 million procedure required Jets to spray silver iodide into coming clouds, ensuring that all precipitation fall before it reached the capital. However a combination of disrupted radar, wind control, and faulty weathermen have been blamed by Luzhkov's for his failed attempt at playing mother nature. For now, Russia can go back to enjoying snow.

Submission + - Missing decimal comma, huge sums debited (poste.it)

Submitted by mario.m7
mario.m7 writes: Poste Italiane, the Italian postal service has suffered yesterday from an abnormal computation in ATM and credit card operations, since the decimal comma was not taken and the whole sum debited multiplied by 100, resulting in a 115,00 Euro transaction debited as 11.500 Euro!
Il Sole 24 Ore reports that thousands of accounts are in the deep red and locked, so that no more operations are possible. Poste Italiane are gradually recovering the problem, fixing the error and re-crediting the sum debited in excess. Consumer associations have offered support to clients in case this inefficiency will last for more time and cause damages.

Submission + - SPAM: Contact Lens Displays: the iPhone of the future?

Submitted by destinyland
destinyland writes: "We already see a future in which the humble contact lens becomes a real platform, like the iPhone is today," argues researcher Babak Parvis, "with lots of developers contributing their ideas and inventions." He provides an update on the contact lens with transparent circuitry that's being developed at the University of Washington. (Its components will eventually include hundreds of LEDs which form images in front of the eye such as charts and photographs). They've already developed a lens-with-LED prototype that's powered by 330 microwatts of wireless radio-frequency power, and believe the lenses could also be used as biosensors to deliver body chemistry readings (including blood sugar levels). But "What we've done so far barely hints at what will soon be possible with this technology," says Dr. Parviz.
Link to Original Source

Submission + - Kids to get an Internet "Panic Button" (smh.com.au)

Submitted by CuteSteveJobs
CuteSteveJobs writes: Children who feel they are being bullied, harassed or groomed online could call for help instantly using a "panic button" on their PCs under a plan by the Australian Government's cyber-safety working group. The button shall look like a "friendly dolphin", who will connect the child victim instantly to police or child protection groups. Australian Internet Censorship Advocate Hetty "Save the Children" Johnson says the Internet needs something like 000 or 911. Will this be another scheme wasting taxpayer dollars in lieu of parental supervison, or could it actually work? Are 1 in 4 children really sexually abused by the Internet? Can flaming and trolling be classified as bullying?
Censorship

Submission + - Protesting China's Required Censorship Software (globalpost.com)

Submitted by
dinoyum
dinoyum writes: "Censorship in China is nothing new, but the level of action taken to force Chinese citizens to comply has garnered global recognition. China marked the date July 1st, 2009 as day "manufacturers will be forced to install filtering software on all new PCs". While many have resorted to digitally lashing out against Green Dam, Chinese artist and designer of famous Birds Nest at Beijing Olympics, Ai Weiwei has decided upon a different approach.

[He Wants] A general internet strike — no work, no games, no email or anything else online — for 24 hours on the date the government plans to require censorship software on all new computers, he says, will be a quiet act of rebellion. Not coincidentally, July 1 is the 88th anniversary of the Communist Party of China. Though he posted the idea, Ai wants to leave the meaning to those who participate."I gave almost no explanation about why I'm doing it," Ai said. "I just give the structure and people will fill in their own meaning. I don't want to be political first. I wanted to set up an act that everyone can easily accept, and then realize the power later. "I want people to see their own power," he said.

"

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