Submission + - Cryptome's plug pulled? (geekosystem.com) 4
garg0yle writes: Cryptome appears to be offline, after a DCMA takedown notice went to their service provider, Network Solutions.
Submission Summary: 0 pending, 38 declined, 13 accepted (51 total, 25.49% accepted)
Submission + - Interstellar hydrogen prevents light-speed travel? (theregister.co.uk) 1
garg0yle writes: As if relativity wasn't enough to prevent us travelling at light speed, Professor William Edelstein of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is now claiming that the interstellar hydrogen, compressed in front of the ship, would bring the journey to a shocking end. From the article, 'As the spaceship reached 99.999998 per cent of the speed of light, "hydrogen atoms would seem to reach a staggering 7 teraelectron volts", which for the crew "would be like standing in front of the Large Hadron Collider beam".'
Submission + - Jedi group seeking new leader (theregister.co.uk)
garg0yle writes: A group of Jedis in England are seeking a new leader after their previous one was forced to step down due to health concerns. Prospective candidates should have a martial arts background and be steeped in the teachings of the Force. I'm assuming you just send your resume to Coruscant to apply?
Submission + - Fruit bats can drink humans under the table? (arstechnica.com)
garg0yle writes: It's known that animals in nature (including fruit bats) will seek out fermented fruit in much the same way humans seek out anything containing alcohol. But do they get drunk in the way that humans do? Researchers in Canada decided to find out, and the results were surprising. Even with enough alcohol in their bloodstream to make most humans wobbly-kneed, the bats were able to fly through an obstacle course without difficulty. From the article, "the authors think that it is more likely that they are simply hard drinkers."
Submission + - Will your Super Bowl party be illegal? (arstechnica.com)
garg0yle writes: According to some folks, watching the Super Bowl on a television bigger than 55 inches is illegal. Is this true? Yes and no — long story short, if you're in a private residence you're probably okay, but if you're running a sports bar you may technically have to negotiate a license with the NFL. Just don't charge for food, or call it a "Super Bowl" party, since the term itself is copyright.
Submission + - Google Toolbar tracks your browsing, even when off (theregister.co.uk)
garg0yle writes: Google's Toolbar is supposed to allow the user to disable it. However, it was discovered by a researcher that it was still sending information even when disabled. A patch is now available, and Google claims this was just a bug, not a feature.
Submission + - CompTIA changes their tune about lifetime certs (arstechnica.com)
garg0yle writes: Recently, it was reported that CompTIA had changed their A+, Network+, and Security+ certifications — rather than being "for life", there would now be a recertification requirement through continuing-education credits (and an accompanying fee). Needless to say, this made a lot of people very unhappy, and today it was announced that CompTIA has reversed their decision. Basically, any certification obtained before 2011 will still be "for life".
Submission + - Windows bug found - affects all versions since NT (theregister.co.uk)
Submission + - Police called over 11-year-old's science project (boingboing.net) 2
garg0yle writes: Police in San Diego were called to investigate an 11-year-old's science project, consisting of "a motion detector made out of an empty Gatorade bottle and some electronics", after the vice-principal came to the conclusion that it was a bomb. Charges aren't being laid against the youth, but it's being recommended that he and his family "get counseling". Apparently, the student violated school policies — I'm assuming these are policies against having any kind of independent thought?
Submission + - Wiimote finding new use as sensors for scientists (wired.com)
garg0yle writes: Scientists are repurposing Wiimotes (the controllers for the Nintendo Wii console) as scientific sensors to help measure wind speed or evaporation from lakes, among other things. At about $40 per unit, the controller is much cheaper than specialized sensors. The scientists are still considering how to add storage and extend the battery life.
Submission + - B&N Nook successfully opened (wired.com)
garg0yle writes: A team has managed to open the Barnes and Noble Nook e-reader, gaining full access to the operating system. From the article, "The Nook is now a computer running a full Android operating system, with a built-in, free cellular connection to the internet. It also has a battery that lasts days, not hours." They are documenting their progress on the Nook Devs wiki.
Submission + - Is Earth's atmosphere an import? (wired.com)
garg0yle writes: One of the questions about the formation of our planet is, where did the atmosphere come from. One theory is that the oxygen, nitrogen, etc. was part of the coalescing ball, and "seeped out" during the final stages of the planet's formation. However, a new article at Wired says isotopic analysis of krypton and xenon indicates that they (and the rest of our atmosphere) may be of extraterrestrial origin, either arriving via comets or being swept up from gas clouds.
Submission + - Cameroon the new Hong Kong of malware? (theregister.co.uk)
garg0yle writes: According to McAfee, more than a third of Cameroon domains (TLD of .cm) is infested with viruses or other not-so-fun party treats. Given that it's very easy to mis-type .com as .cm, this puts the computers of a lot of fat-fingered typists in peril. Second place on the most-infested domains list goes to China (.cn), while Hong Kong (last year's "winner") is now comfortably middle-of-the-pack.
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