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  Technology: Symantec Exec Warns Against Relying On Free Antivirus on Saturday July 04, @09:29AM

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday July 04, @09:29AM
from the totally-unbiased-no-really dept.
security
thefickler writes "Clearly, the rise of free antivirus is starting to worry Symantec, with one of their top executives warning consumers not to rely on free antivirus software (including Microsoft's Security Essentials). 'If you are only relying on free antivirus to offer you protection in this modern age, you are not getting the protection you need to be able to stay clean and have a reasonable chance of avoiding identity theft,' said David Hall, a Product Manager for Symantec. According to Hall, there is a widening gap between people's understanding of what protection they need and the threats they're actually facing."
Read More... 43 comments
internet it security fud desperation tech security story
Comments: 43
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  News: The Chemistry of Firework Displays on Saturday July 04, @08:16AM

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday July 04, @08:16AM
from the two-parts-oooh-one-part-ahhhh dept.
usa
Ponca City, We love you writes "David Ropeik writes at MSNBC that there's a lot more to making a basic firework display than putting a fuel source and an oxidizer together. Pyrotechnic chemists, who are trying to create bedazzlement instead of bang, don't want their work to explode, but to burn for a bit, so it gives a good visual show. To achieve the desired effect, the sizes of the particles of each ingredient have to be just right, and the ingredients have to be blended together just right. To slow down the burning, chemists use big grains of chemicals, in the range of 250 to 300 microns, and they don't blend the ingredients together very well, making it harder for the fuel and oxidizer to combine and burn, thus producing a longer and brighter effect. Surprisingly few emitters are used in pyrotechnics, and there are no commercially useful emitters in blue-green to emerald green in the 490-520 nm region. Energy from the fire in the basic fuel is transferred to the atoms of the colorant chemicals, exciting the electrons in those chemicals into a higher energy state. As they cool down, they move back to a lower state of energy, emitting light. So, you actually see the colors in fireworks as they're cooling down. To get the really tricky shapes, like stars or hearts, the colorant pellets are pasted on a piece of paper in the desired pattern. That paper is put in the middle of the shell with explosive charges above it, and below. When those charges go off, they burn up the paper, and send the ignited colorant pellets out in the same pattern they were in on the sheet of paper, spreading wider apart as they fly."
Read More... 22 comments
science usa news usa story
Comments: 22
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  Technology: Behind the First Secure Quantum Crypto Network on Saturday July 04, @05:11AM

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday July 04, @05:11AM
from the not-just-really-really-small-keys dept.
encryption
schliz writes "Researchers behind the world's largest quantum encrypted network said the technology could secure business networks inside six years. The prototype Quantum Key Distribution network was built by the Secure Communication Based On Quantum Cryptography (SECOQC) group last year. It is described in a journal paper published by the Institute of Physics this week, which includes details on how it is based on the trusted-repeater paradigm."
Read More... 26 comments
security encryption networking technology whatsthepoint tech encryption story
Comments: 26
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  Games: Despite New Owner, id Still Lives Or Dies By Their Engines on Saturday July 04, @03:21AM

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday July 04, @03:21AM
from the i-want-to-bunny-hop-in-elder-scrolls-v dept.
fps
The Guardian has an article about id Software's status after being purchased by ZeniMax (Bethesda's parent company) not long ago. While id gained considerable financial stability out of the deal, it's clear that what Bethesda has to gain is access to top-of-the-line engine technology, which they've often needed to license. id's Todd Hollenshead said, "The videogames business is defined by technology, which is why guys like JC [John Carmack] are still so significant. Consumers may not be as in touch with the intricacies as they used to be, but you can still make significant, impactful change. We're confident Rage will be one of them..." He also mentions that "the PC market has receded in terms of significance," a sentiment evidenced by id's aggressive expansion into the iPhone games market.
Read More... 45 comments
fps games quake id games fps story
Comments: 45
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  Hardware: Generating Power From Ocean Buoys and Kites on Saturday July 04, @02:09AM

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday July 04, @02:09AM
from the i-can-see-my-house-from-here dept.
power
cheezitmike writes "Researchers at Oregon State University are testing a new type of wave-energy converter to generate electricity from ocean waves: 'Even when the ocean seems calm, swells are moving water up and down sufficiently to generate electricity. ... For decades the challenge has been to build a device that can withstand monster waves and gale-force winds, not to mention corrosive saltwater, seaweed, floating debris and curious marine mammals. ... In the most recent prototypes, a thick coil of copper wire is inside the first component, which is anchored to the seafloor. The second component is a magnet attached to a float that moves up and down freely with the waves. As the magnet is heaved by the waves, its magnetic field moves along the stationary coil of copper wire. This motion induces a current in the wire — electricity.'" Meanwhile, researchers at Stanford are working to design "turbine kites" that operate at 30,000 feet, where air currents flow much faster than they do close to the ground. Ken Caldeira, a Stanford associate professor, said, "If you tapped into 1% of the power in high-altitude winds, that would be enough to continuously power all civilization."
Read More... 65 comments
power technology planet oregonmyoregon kittenpower hardware power story
Comments: 65
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  News: UK Police Told To Use Wikipedia When Preparing For Court on Saturday July 04, @12:06AM

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday July 04, @12:06AM
from the citation-needed dept.
government
Half-pint HAL tips news of UK prosecution lawyers who are instructing police to study information on Wikipedia when preparing to give expert testimony in court. "Mike Finn, a weaponry specialist and expert witness in more than 100 cases, told industry magazine Police Review: 'There was one case in a Midlands force where police officers asked me to write a report about a martial art weapon. The material they gave me had been printed out from Wikipedia. The officer in charge told me he was advised by the CPS to use the website to find out about the weapon and he was about to present it in court. I looked at the information and some of it had substance and some of it was completely made up.' Mr. Finn, a former Metropolitan Police and City of London officer and Home Office adviser, added that he has heard of at least three other cases where officers from around the country have been advised by the CPS to look up evidence on Wikipedia."
Read More... 142 comments
internet government citationneeded !good idiots news government story
Comments: 142
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  Games: Massive Bank Fraud In EVE Online on Friday July 03, @11:05PM

Posted by Soulskill on Friday July 03, @11:05PM
from the virtual-madoff dept.
money
djconrad was one of several readers to point out the latest major scandal in EVE Online, the space MMO notable for its large, player-driven economy and the entertaining stories it often generates. A player named Ricdic, chairman of a large in-game bank, decided to embezzle roughly 200 billion ISK (the game's currency). Ricdic exchanged the ISK for about $5,000 to pay off real-life debts. Massively has an in-depth write-up about how the theft affects the game and its players. Since the scandal became public, there's been a run on the virtual bank, and its executives are doing what they can to reassure people that it will continue to exist. Ricdic was banned, not for the embezzlement, but for trading 200 billion ISK for real currency, which is forbidden by EVE's EULA.
Read More... 92 comments
games money eve eveonline haha games money story
Comments: 92
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  Science: Hawking Says Humans Have Entered a New Stage of Evolution on Friday July 03, @10:03PM

Posted by Soulskill on Friday July 03, @10:03PM
from the already-banned-in-kansas dept.
biotech
movesguy sends us to The Daily Galaxy for comments by Stephen Hawking about how humans are evolving in a different way than any species before us. Quoting: "'At first, evolution proceeded by natural selection, from random mutations. This Darwinian phase, lasted about three and a half billion years, and produced us, beings who developed language, to exchange information. I think it is legitimate to take a broader view, and include externally transmitted information, as well as DNA, in the evolution of the human race,' Hawking said. In the last ten thousand years the human species has been in what Hawking calls, 'an external transmission phase,' where the internal record of information, handed down to succeeding generations in DNA, has not changed significantly. 'But the external record, in books, and other long lasting forms of storage,' Hawking says, 'has grown enormously. Some people would use the term evolution only for the internally transmitted genetic material, and would object to it being applied to information handed down externally. But I think that is too narrow a view. We are more than just our genes.'"
Read More... 246 comments
science biotech evolution memes idiocracy science biotech story
Comments: 246
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  Your Rights Online: Amazon Wants Patent For Inserting Ads Into Books on Friday July 03, @08:02PM

Posted by Soulskill on Friday July 03, @08:02PM
from the it-was-the-best-of-times,-it-was-comcastic dept.
books
theodp writes "Three Amazon inventors set out to correct what they felt was a real problem: that 'out-of-print or rare books ... typically do not include advertisements ... the content is fixed and, therefore, has not been adapted to modern marketing.' Their solution is spelled out in newly-disclosed Amazon patent applications for On-Demand Generating E-Book Content with Advertising and Incorporating Advertising in On-Demand Generated Content. From the patent apps, here's what the future of reading may look like: 'For instance, if a restaurant is described on page 12, [then the advertising page], either on page 11 or page 13, may include advertisements about restaurants, wine, food, etc., which are related to restaurants and dining.' So, what would a delightfully-tacky-yet-unrefined Hooters ad do for your Hemingway experience?"
Read More... 169 comments
books money patents amazon haha yro books story
Comments: 169
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  IT: Fake Tamiflu "Out-Spams Viagra On Web" on Friday July 03, @07:11PM

Posted by Soulskill on Friday July 03, @07:11PM
from the stiff-competition dept.
spam
cin62 writes "The number of Internet scammers offering fake versions of the anti-swine flu drug Tamiflu has surpassed those selling counterfeit Viagra, reports CNN. Since the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, was declared a global pandemic last month, there has been an increase in the number of Web sites and junk emails offering Tamiflu for sale. 'Every Web site that used to sell Viagra is now selling Tamiflu. We are pretty sure that the same people are making the Tamiflu as are making the Viagra,' said Director of Policy for the UK's Royal Pharmaceutical Society." This news fits in nicely with a report Wired ran a couple weeks ago about the hysteria behind H1N1.
Read More... 55 comments
spam news medicine panacea ambrosia it spam story
Comments: 55
 

YRO

Poll Marking U.S. Independence Day with ...
Fireworks, set off by fireworks professionals.
Fireworks, store-bought but amateur-deployed.
Fireworks, home-made.
Effigies and slogans.
A nice quiet evening.
You are a deeply insensitive clod; Canada Day is over!
[ Results | Polls ]
Comments:213 | Votes:9861

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