======================================================================
Come join us in Columbus Ohio for the Ohio LinuxFest - 40 Years of UNIX
celebration. There on September 26, Dr Doug McIlroy, the genius behind C
and UNIX, will keynote. From netbooks to telephones, from high performance
clusters to the very webserver that
thinkgeek.com uses: Linux is everywhere.
Be part of history. Free registration is on our website.
http://p.sf.net/sfu/ohiolinux======================================================================
Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* A Geek Funeral
* Microsoft Security Essentials Released; Rivals Mock It
* Verizon CTO Argues For Metered Pricing
* OnLive CEO Provides Details On Cloud Gaming
* Scientists Decry "Horrifying" UK Border Test Plan
* Gamers Are More Aggressive To Strangers
* Amazon's Cloud May Provision 50,000 VMs a Day
* $338M Patent Ruling Against Microsoft Overturned
* Massachusetts Police Can't Place GPS On Autos Without Warrant
* Artificial Heart Recipient Has No Pulse
* Federal Summit Eyes Crackdown On Texting While Driving
* Company Uses DMCA To Take Down Second-Hand Software
* Using Aluminum Oxide Paint To Secure Wi-Fi
* US Relaxes Control Over ICANN
* Dam Burst Tool Disables China's Green Dam Censorware
* GPS Receiver Noise Can Be Used To Detect Snow Depth
* Oracle Fined For Benchmark Claims
* Auto-Detecting Malware? It's Possible
* NVidia Cripples PhysX "Open" API
* Google Wants to Map Indoors, Too
* What To Cover In a Short "DIY Tech" Course?
* Microsoft Blocks Pirates From Security Essentials Software
* Nvidia Discloses Details On Next-Gen Fermi GPU
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| A Geek Funeral |
| from the beam-me-up dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Tuesday September 29, @21:18 (Earth) |
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/09/09/29/193234/A-Geek-Funeral |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
We've recently talked about a [0]geek wedding, and now reader
[1]Sam_In_The_Hills writes in with news of his brother's geek funeral.
"I've not seen this topic covered here before even though it's one that
will concern us all at some time: what to do with our corporeal remains
after we've left for that great data bank in the sky. For my recently
departed brother (long illness, don't smoke!), I thought this [2]nice
SPARCstation would be a cool place to spend eternity. Yes, he's really in
there (after cremation). I kept the floppy drive cover but for space
reasons removed the floppy drive, hard drive, and most of the power
supply. I left behind the motherboard and power switch and plugs to keep
all openings covered. The case worked quite well at his memorial party.
His friends and family were able to leave their [3]final good-byes on
post-notes. Anyone who wanted to keep their words private could just slip
their note into the case through the floppy slot. All notes will be
sealed in plastic and placed within the case. There has been one
complication. His daughters like the look of it so much they aren't now
sure if they want to bury him. One more thing: the words on the plaque
really do capture one of the last things he ever said. Of course as kids
we watched the show in its first run."
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/29/193234
Links:
0. http://linux.slashdot.org/story/09/09/26/1821218/The-First-Geek-Wedding-At-a-LinuxFest?from=rss
1. mailto:sam@larry.wvnet.edu
2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26445696@N04/3961372594/
3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/26445696@N04/3961372582/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Microsoft Security Essentials Released; Rivals Mock It |
| from the free-but-is-it-worth-it dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Tuesday September 29, @23:11 (Microsoft) |
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/09/29/2250228/Microsoft-Security-Essentials-Released-Riv|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Bimal writes "After a short three-month beta program, Microsoft [0]is
officially releasing Microsoft Security Essentials, its free, real-time
consumer anti-malware solution for fighting viruses, spyware, rootkits,
and Trojans. MSE is available for Windows XP 32-bit, Windows Vista/7
32-bit, and Windows Vista/7 64-bit. 'Ars puts MSE through its paces and
finds an unobtrusive app with a clean interface that protected us in the
dark corners of the Internet.' The software received [1]positive notes
when in beta, including a [2]nod from the independent testing group
AV-Test." But reader [3]CWmike notes that Symantec is trash-talking
Microsoft's free offering. Jens Meggers, Symantec's vice president of
engineering, dismissed MSE as [4]a "poor product" that will "never be up
to snuff." Meggers added, "Microsoft has a really bad track record in
security." The GM of Trend Micro's consumer division sniffed, "It's
better to use something than to use nothing, but you get what you pay
for."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/29/2250228
Links:
0. http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/09/first-look-microsoft-security-essentials-impresses.ars
1. http://it.slashdot.org/story/09/06/24/216231
2. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9134753/Antivirus_testing_outfit_Microsoft_Security_Essentials_makes_the_grade?source=toc
3. mailto:mike_barton@computerworld.com
4. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9138667/Rivals_mock_Microsoft_s_free_security_software
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Verizon CTO Argues For Metered Pricing |
| from the what-happened-to-all-that-fiber dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Wednesday September 30, @01:04 (Communications) |
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/0131236/Verizon-CTO-Argues-For-Metered-Pricing |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
CNet is reporting on a press conference and speech given by Verizon's
CTO, Dick Lynch, at the FTTH Conference & Expo in Houston, in which he
[0]advocated for metered broadband pricing. "Lynch said during that press
conference according to reports that in the future broadband service will
likely be sold in packages based on how much bandwidth a person consumes.
This metered approach is similar to how the wireless industry has
operated. ... 'We're going to have to consider pricing structures that
allow us to sell packages of bytes, and at the end of the day the concept
of a flat-rate infinitely expandable service is unachievable,' GigaOm
quoted him as saying. ... Lynch didn't say that Verizon had metered
broadband plans in the works today. And he was quick to point out that
the company is not shifting its pricing, But he did say that he hoped the
that the Federal Communication Commission's plans to make Net neutrality
principles formal regulation would not hurt broadband providers' ability
to offer such premium bandwidth offerings, Telephony Online reported."
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/0131236
Links:
0. http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10363801-266.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| OnLive CEO Provides Details On Cloud Gaming |
| from the attack-of-the-jittering-packets dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday September 30, @02:11 (Networking) |
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/0426236/OnLive-CEO-Provides-Details-On-Cloud-Gami|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]eldavojohn writes "OnLive is [1]a new cloud gaming service that [2]is
in beta testing. While it might sound like nothing more than corporate
buzzwords creeping over into the gaming world, a new video reveals how
the CEO claims his service will work. Perlman explains OnLive's solution
to the video game compression problem and talks about the '80 ms latency
budget.' It's pretty interesting to listen to him [3]figure out this
budget and where the 'costs' come from. ([4]Video only.) Now, this all
hinges on the 'microconsole,' which ��� as he reveals at the beginning of
the video ��� is so cheap they plan to give it away. We may also see it
incorporated with TVs and other electronic devices. He goes on to talk
about perceptual science and dealing with packet irregularities on the
internet."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/0426236
Links:
0. mailto:my/.username@@@gmail.com
1. http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/03/24/135212&tid=171
2. http://games.slashdot.org/story/09/09/04/0348252/OnLive-Begins-Beta-Testing
3. http://www.technologyreview.com/blog/emtech/24151/
4. http://www.technologyreview.com/video/?vid=446
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Scientists Decry "Horrifying" UK Border Test Plan |
| from the genetic-papers-please dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Wednesday September 30, @03:27 (Government) |
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/09/09/29/1946232/Scientists-Decry-Horrifying-UK-Border-T|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]cremeglace writes "Scientists are dismayed and outraged at a new
project by the UK border agency to test DNA, hair, and nails to determine
the nationality of asylum seekers and help decide if they can enter the
UK. 'Horrifying,' 'naive,' and 'flawed' are among the words geneticists
and isotope specialists have used to describe the 'Human Provenance pilot
project.' The methods being used to determine ancestry include
fingerprinting of mitochondrial DNA and isotope analysis of hair and
nails. [1]ScienceInsider blog notes that it is 'not clear who is
conducting the DNA and isotope analyses for the Border Agency,' and that
the agency has not 'cited any scientific papers that validate its DNA and
isotope methods.' There is also a [2]followup post with more information
on the tests that are being used, and some [3]reactions from experts in
genetic forensic analysis. This story was [4]first reported in The
Observer on Sunday."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/29/1946232
Links:
0. mailto:cremeglace@gmail.com
1. http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/border-agencys.html
2. http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/nationality-tes.html
3. http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2009/09/nationality-tes-1.html
4. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/20/asylum-seeker-dna-tests
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Gamers Are More Aggressive To Strangers |
| from the xbox-live-proved-this-years-ago dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday September 30, @05:20 (Games) |
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/09/09/29/230233/Gamers-Are-More-Aggressive-To-Strangers |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]TheClockworkSoul writes "According to NewScientist, victorious gamers
enjoy a surge of testosterone ��� but [1]only if their vanquished foe is a
stranger. Interestingly, when male gamers beat friends in a shoot-em-up
video game, their levels of the hormone plummeted. This suggests that
multiplayer video games tap into the same mechanisms as warfare, where
testosterone's effect on aggression is advantageous. Against a group of
strangers ��� be it an opposing football team or an opposing army ��� there
is little reason to hold back, so testosterone's effects on aggression
offer an advantage. 'In a serious out-group competition you can kill all
your rivals and you're better for it,' says David Geary, an evolutionary
psychologist at the University of Missouri in Columbia, who led [2]the
study. However, when competing against friends or relatives to establish
social hierarchy, annihilation doesn't make sense. 'You can't alienate
your in-group partners, because you need them,' he says."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/29/230233
Links:
0. mailto:clockworksoul@optonline.net
1. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17868-gamers-are-more-aggressive-to-strangers.html
2. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T6H-4X7FRSD-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=0acfa9a61eff7b8aa4c14bf06952d7d7
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Amazon's Cloud May Provision 50,000 VMs a Day |
| from the golden-lining dept. |
| posted by kdawson on Wednesday September 30, @08:08 (The Internet) |
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/0152200/Amazons-Cloud-May-Provision-50000-VMs-|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Dan Jones writes "It has been estimated that Amazon Web Services is
provisioning some [0]50,000 EC2 server instances per day, or more than 18
million per year. But that [1]may not be entirely accurate. A single
Amazon Machine Image (the virtual machine) may be launched multiple times
as an EC2 instance, thereby indicating that the true number of individual
Amazon servers may be lower, perhaps much lower, than 50,000 per day. So,
even if it's out by a factor of 10 that's still 1.8 million VMs per year.
Is that sustainable? By way of comparison, In February of this year,
Amazon announced S3 contained 40 billion objects. By August, the number
was 64 billion objects. This indicates a growth of 4 billion S3 objects
per month, giving a daily growth total of about 133 million new S3
objects per day. How big can the cloud get before it starts to rain?"
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/0152200
Links:
0. http://www.jackofallclouds.com/2009/09/anatomy-of-an-amazon-ec2-resource-id/
1. http://www.cio.com.au/article/320340/inside_amazon_cloud_just_how_many_customer_projects
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| $338M Patent Ruling Against Microsoft Overturned |
| from the courts-just-like-making-work-for-themselves dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday September 30, @08:50 (Microsoft) |
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/1152211/338M-Patent-Ruling-Against-Microsoft-Overtu|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]some_guy_88 writes "The [1]$338 million verdict against Microsoft for
violating a patent held by Uniloc has now been overturned. 'Ric
Richardson ... is the founder of Uniloc, which sued Microsoft in 2003 for
violating its patent relating to technology designed to deter software
piracy. The company alleged Microsoft earned billions of dollars by using
the technology in its Windows XP and Office programs. In April, a Rhode
Island jury found Microsoft had violated the patent and told Microsoft to
pay the company $388 million, one of the largest patent jury awards in US
history. But on Tuesday ... US District Judge William Smith [2]"vacated"
the jury's verdict and ruled in favor of Microsoft.' In his ruling, Smith
said the jury 'lacked a grasp of the issues before it and [3]reached a
finding without a legally sufficient basis (PDF).'"
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/1152211
Links:
0. mailto:tomwadley@fastmail.fm
1. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/04/09/0324247/Microsoft-Ordered-To-Pay-388-Million-In-Patent-Case
2. http://www.theage.com.au/technology/biz-tech/aussie-inventors-445m-microsoft-windfall-wiped-out-20090930-gc77.html
3. http://blog.seattlepi.com/microsoft/library/20090929unilocorder.pdf
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Massachusetts Police Can't Place GPS On Autos Without Warrant |
| from the good-news-suspects dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday September 30, @09:33 (Privacy) |
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/1321214/Massachusetts-Police-Cant-Place-GPS-On-Auto|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]pickens writes "The EFF reports that the Supreme Court of
Massachusetts has held in Commonwealth v. Connolly that [1]police may not
place GPS tracking devices on cars without first getting a warrant,
reasoning that the installation of the GPS device was a seizure of the
suspect's vehicle. [2]Search and seizure is a legal procedure used in
many civil law and common law legal systems whereby police or other
authorities and their agents, who suspect that a crime has been
committed, do a search of a person's property and confiscate any relevant
evidence to the crime. According to the decision, 'when an electronic
surveillance device is installed in a motor vehicle, be it a beeper,
radio transmitter, or GPS device, the government's control and use of the
defendant's vehicle to track its movements interferes with the
defendant's interest in the vehicle notwithstanding that he maintains
possession of it.' Although the case only protects drivers in
Massachusetts, another recent state court case, People v. Weaver in the
State of New York, also held that because modern GPS devices are far more
powerful than beepers, [3]police must get a warrant to use the trackers,
even on cars and people traveling the public roads."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/1321214
Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/
1. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/09/cops-cant-convert-car
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_and_seizure
3. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/victory-location-pri
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Artificial Heart Recipient Has No Pulse |
| from the just-a-low-pitched-hum dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday September 30, @10:14 (Medicine) |
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/1348224/Artificial-Heart-Recipient-Has-No-Pulse|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]laggist writes "A heart patient in Singapore has been implanted with
[1]an artificial heart that pumps blood continuously, allowing her to
live without a pulse. From the article: '... the petite Madam Salina, who
suffers from end-stage heart failure, would not have been able to use the
older and bulkier models because they can only be implanted in patients
1.7m or taller. The 30-year-old administrative assistant is the first
recipient here to get a new artificial heart that pumps blood
continuously, the reason why there are no beats on her wrist.'" The story
is light on details, but an article from last year in MIT's Technology
Review explains a bit more about [2]how a pulse-less artificial heart
works.
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/1348224
Links:
0. mailto:aaron82@gmail.com
1. http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_436300.html
2. http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/17523/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Federal Summit Eyes Crackdown On Texting While Driving |
| from the as-long-as-i-can-still-play-bejeweled dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday September 30, @10:57 (Cellphones) |
| https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/1422243/Federal-Summit-Eyes-Crackdown-On-Texting|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]suraj.sun sends along this quote from an Associated Press report:
"Opening a government meeting on auto safety, the Obama administration
reported Wednesday that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a
half-million injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver
distraction, a striking indication of [1]the dangers of using mobile
devices behind the wheel. The Transportation Department was bringing
together experts over two days for what it's calling a 'distracted
driving summit' to take a hard look at the highway hazards caused by
drivers talking on cell phones or texting from behind the wheel. ...
Driver distraction was involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in
2008. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia have passed laws
making texting while driving illegal and seven states and the district
have banned driving while talking on a handheld cell phone, according to
the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Many safety groups have urged
a nationwide ban on texting and on using handheld mobile devices while
behind the wheel."
Discuss this story at:
http://mobile.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/1422243
Links:
0. mailto:suraj.sun@live.com
1. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gFP1DYVH_F_STKnQ7PqSkRAK3RkQD9B1LEQ00
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Company Uses DMCA To Take Down Second-Hand Software |
| from the what-i-sold-you-is-still-mine dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday September 30, @11:38 (Software) |
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/159232/Company-Uses-DMCA-To-Take-Down-Second-Hand-S|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]dreemteem writes "A judge Tuesday heard arguments in a dispute over
software sales that could potentially have repercussions on the
secondhand sale of virtually any copyrighted material. The suit was filed
by Timothy Vernor, a seller on eBay, after Autodesk, citing the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act, asked eBay to remove some of its software
products that Vernor had listed for sale there, and later to ban him from
the site. Vernor had not illegally copied the software but was [1]selling
legitimate CDs of the products secondhand. For that reason, he argued, he
was not infringing Autodesk's copyright. Autodesk countered that because
it licenses the software, rather than selling it outright, a licensee
does not have the right to resell its products."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/159232
Links:
0. mailto:richard_plant@idg.co.uk
1. http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/government-law/legislation/news/index.cfm?newsid=16847
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Using Aluminum Oxide Paint To Secure Wi-Fi |
| from the prank-possibilities-abound dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday September 30, @12:22 (Security) |
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/1534202/Using-Aluminum-Oxide-Paint-To-Secure-Wi-Fi|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]eldavojohn writes "The BBC reports on people [1]using aluminum oxide
in their paint to block Wi-Fi signals from leaving their home or
business. Aluminum oxide resonates at the same frequency as Wi-Fi signals
and other radio waves, blocking data from going outside a building. It's
not a flawless solution, as it may also block AM/FM signals. You or your
neighbors may be unwittingly using this already, as most pre-finished
wood flooring uses aluminum oxide as a protective coating."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/1534202
Links:
0. mailto:my/.username@@@gmail.com
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8279549.stm
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| US Relaxes Control Over ICANN |
| from the icann't-believe-it dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday September 30, @13:03 (Government) |
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/1633208/US-Relaxes-Control-Over-ICANN |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader tips news that the US Dept. of Commerce has signed an
agreement with ICANN to end their current oversight responsibilities and
[0]allow more input from the global community. "The move comes after
European regulators and other critics have said the US government
[1]could wield too much influence over a system used by hundreds of
millions of people worldwide. Those critics have complained, among other
things, about the slow rollout of Internet addresses entirely in
languages other than English." The US will still be involved; every three
years, ICANN's work will be [2]evaluated by a committee, one member of
which will be from the Dept. of Commerce.
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/1633208
Links:
0. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125432179022552705.html
1. http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/06/1240252&tid=498
2. http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=8226
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Dam Burst Tool Disables China's Green Dam Censorware |
| from the dam-you-anti-social-coders dept. |
| posted by timothy on Wednesday September 30, @13:48 (Censorship) |
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/1732204/Dam-Burst-Tool-Disables-Chinas-Green-Dam-Ce|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "The infamous [0]Green Dam censorship software
has suffered yet another blow. As ZDNet explains, Dam Burst, a tool
released by security researcher Jon Oberheide, [1]allows unprivileged
users to disable the censorware by removing the hooks that enable it to
monitor and block user activity, effectively restoring running
applications to their original uncensored state. While the Dam Burst
software is currently [2] available at Oberheide's website, community
mirrors will undoubtedly be necessary to avoid blocking by the Great
Firewall."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/1732204
Links:
0. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Dam
1. http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=4471
2. http://jon.oberheide.org/damburst/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| GPS Receiver Noise Can Be Used To Detect Snow Depth |
| from the for-the-journal-of-sensors-and-transducers dept. |
| posted by timothy on Wednesday September 30, @14:12 (Earth) |
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/188228/GPS-Receiver-Noise-Can-Be-Used-To-Detect-Sn|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]cremeglace writes "Scientists at the University of Colorado at Boulder
have found a use for GPS besides finding restaurants or the occasional
road-that-doesn't-exist: it [1]can be used to measure snow depth. The new
technique, which takes advantage of distortions of the GPS signal after
it reflects off the snowpack, may potentially improve weather forecasts
by allowing meteorologists to track snowfall patterns. ScienceNOW has the
story, which one geophysicist describes as 'a classical case of one
person's noise becoming another person's signal.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/188228
Links:
0. mailto:cremeglace@gmail.com
1. http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/929/2
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Oracle Fined For Benchmark Claims |
| from the ratchet-down-to-damn-lies dept. |
| posted by timothy on Wednesday September 30, @14:32 (Businesses) |
| https://developers.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/1824231/Oracle-Fined-For-Benchmark-Claims |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]pickens writes "Information Week reports that the Transaction
Processing Council, which sets benchmarks for measuring database
performance, has [1]fined Oracle $10,000 for Oracle's ads published
August 27 and September 3 on the front page of the Wall Street Journal
which violate the 'fair use' rules that govern TPC members by 'comparing
an existing TPC result to something that does not exist.' The ads said to
expect a product announcement on October 14 that would demonstrate that
some sort of hybrid Oracle-Sun setup [2]would offer two-digit performance
on the TPC-C online transaction processing test compared to IBM's 6
million transaction per minute result on its Power 595 running AIX and
DB2. The TPC Council serves as a neutral forum where benchmark results
are aired and compared. 'At the time of publication, they didn't have
anything' submitted to the council says Michael Majdalany, administrator
of the council adding that that Oracle is free to use TPC numbers [3]once
it submits an audited result for the Sun-Oracle system. Fines by the TPC
are infrequent, with the last action ��� a $5,000 fine ��� levied against
Microsoft in 2005 for unsupported claims about SQL Server. 'It takes a
fairly serious violation to warrant a member being fined,' says
Majdalany."
Discuss this story at:
http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/1824231
Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/
1. http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/hosted/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=220300395
2. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/29/tpc_slaps_oracle/
3. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/09/29/oracle-scolded-by-industry-group-for-sun-ad/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Auto-Detecting Malware? It's Possible |
| from the would-love-to-see-the-install-prompt-for-this dept. |
| posted by timothy on Wednesday September 30, @15:18 (Security) |
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/1916249/Auto-Detecting-Malware-Its-Possible |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]itwbennett writes "If antivirus protectors could collect data from
machines and users, including geographic location, social networking
information, type of operating system, installed programs and
configurations, 'it would enable them to quickly identify new malware
strains without even looking at the code,' says Dr. Markus Jakobsson. In
a recent article, he [1]outlines some examples of how this could work.
The bottom line is this: 'Let's ignore what the malware does on a
machine, and instead look at how it moves between machines. That is much
easier to assess. And the moment malware gives up what allows us to
detect it, it also stops being a threat.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/1916249
Links:
0. mailto:amy.t.bennett@gmail.com
1. http://www.itworld.com/security/79306/auto-detecting-malware-its-possible
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NVidia Cripples PhysX "Open" API |
| from the semi-open dept. |
| posted by timothy on Wednesday September 30, @16:06 (Graphics) |
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/202201/NVidia-Cripples-PhysX-Open-API |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "In a foot-meet-bullet type move, [0]NVidia is
going to disable PhysX engine if you are using a display adapter other
than one that came from their company. This despite the fact that you may
have an NVidia card on your system specifically to do this type of
processing. 'For a variety of reasons some development expense, some
quality assurance and some business reasons Nvidia will not support GPU
accelerated PhysX with Nvidia GPUs while GPU rendering is happening on
non-Nvidia GPUs.' Time to say hello to Microsoft dx physics or Intel's
Havok engine."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/202201
Links:
0. http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20090929095918_Nvidia_Reportedly_Limits_PhysX_Support_to_Nvidia_Only_Graphics_Sub_Systems.html
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Google Wants to Map Indoors, Too |
| from the where's-the-good-silverware dept. |
| posted by timothy on Wednesday September 30, @16:55 (Earth) |
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/2052258/Google-Wants-to-Map-Indoors-Too |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "Google maps are getting extended indoors next
month with a new app called Micello that takes over where conventional
navigators leave off ��� [0]mapping your route inside of buildings, malls,
convention centers and other points of interest. You don't get a 'you are
here' blinking dot yet ��� but they do promise to add one next year using
WiFi triangulation. At the introduction next month, Micello will only
work in California, but they plan to expand to other major US cities
during 2010."
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/2052258
Links:
0. http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Technology-For-Change/Charting-the-Final-FrontierGoogle-Maps-for-Indoors/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What To Cover In a Short "DIY Tech" Course? |
| from the when-bedazzler-is-not-enough dept. |
| posted by timothy on Wednesday September 30, @17:41 (Education) |
| https://ask.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/2123217/What-To-Cover-In-a-Short-DIY-Tech-Course |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]edumacator writes "Our school is working hard to provide our students
with relevant opportunities of study. We have a short 'seminar' period
that meets three days a week for thirty minutes. I've chosen to teach a
seminar on 'Home Grown Technology' even though I'm an English teacher and
only an amateur techie. If you had thirty minutes, three days a week, for
nine weeks, what would you teach a group of high school students? I'm
considering the Wii-mote smartboard and multitouch displays, but I'm
afraid I'm overreaching."
Discuss this story at:
http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/2123217
Links:
0. mailto:scott.kent@gmail.com
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Microsoft Blocks Pirates From Security Essentials Software |
| from the not-for-you dept. |
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday September 30, @18:47 (Security) |
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/2221211/Microsoft-Blocks-Pirates-From-Security-Essen|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]CWmike writes "Microsoft will [1]block users running counterfeit
copies of Windows from installing the free Security Essentials antivirus
software, said Alex Kochis, director of Microsoft's Genuine Windows team,
in a [2]post to a company blog. On-again, off-again debates about the
wisdom of blocking security-oriented downloads like patches or defensive
software have centered around the argument that Microsoft should protect
all users, including pirates, since hijacked PCs threaten the entire
Windows ecosystem. In this case, though, one analyst isn't buying that
line. 'I can't see any justification for making Microsoft give away
Security Essentials [to counterfeit Windows users],' said John Pescatore,
Gartner's primary security analyst. 'Those people have many other
choices, including free. There are plenty of alternatives to Security
Essentials,' he said, adding that that makes a difference. Windows
patches, on the other hand, aren't available from anyone but Microsoft."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/2221211
Links:
0. mailto:mike_barton@computerworld.com
1. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9138705/Microsoft_blackballs_pirates_from_Security_Essentials
2. http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/genuinewindows/archive/2009/09/29/microsoft-security-essentials-new-anti-virus-software-free-for-genuine-windows-users.aspx
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Nvidia Discloses Details On Next-Gen Fermi GPU |
| from the getting-the-skinny dept. |
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday September 30, @19:57 (Graphics) |
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/09/09/30/2235226/Nvidia-Discloses-Details-On-Next-Gen-F|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]EconolineCrush writes "The Tech Report has published the first
[1]details describing the architecture behind Nvidia's upcoming Fermi GPU.
More than just a graphics processor, Fermi incorporates many enhancements
targeted specifically at general-purpose computing, such as better
support for double-precision math, improved internal scheduling and
switching, and more robust tools for developers. Plus, you know, more
cores. Some questions about the chip remain unanswered, but it's not
expected to arrive until later this year or early next."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/09/30/2235226
Links:
0. mailto:econolinecrush@hotmail.com
1. http://techreport.com/articles.x/17670
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