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Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* Researcher To Release Web-Based Android Attack
* World's Northernmost Town Gets Nightlights
* iFixit Tears Down Microsoft's Kinect For Xbox 360
* CDN Optimizing HTML On the Fly
* EU Commission Says People Have a 'Right To Be Forgotten' Online
* Nicaragua Raids Costa Rica, Blames Google Maps
* Microsoft Open Sources F#
* Ubuntu Dumps X For Unity On Wayland
* Apple To Discontinue Xserve
* Scientists Overclock People's Brains
* EPIC Files Lawsuit To Suspend Airport Body Scanner Use
* Firefox 4 Beta For Mobile Now Faster and Sleeker
* $2,000 Bounty For Open Source Xbox Kinect Drivers
* Skin-Tight Bodysuits Could Protect Astronauts From Bone Loss
* Hulu Plus Now Available To All — But Be Warned
* College Application Inflation — Marketing Meets Admissions
* MS Adds Security Suite To Update Service, Antivirus Rival Objects
* NASA's Stunning Close-Up Photos of Comet Hartley 2
* Major Security Holes Found In Mobile Bank Apps
* Another Leak Delays Final Discovery Launch
* Considering a Fair Penalty For Illegal File-sharing
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Researcher To Release Web-Based Android Attack
| from the oopsie-daisy dept.
| posted by timothy on Thursday November 04, @22:39 (Cellphones)
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/0229205/Researcher-To-Release-Web-Based-Android-Attack?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CWmike writes "A computer security researcher says he plans to release
code Thursday that [0]could be used to attack some versions of Google's
Android phones over the Internet. The attack targets the browser in
older, Android 2.1-and-earlier versions of the phones. It is being
disclosed Thursday at the HouSecCon conference by M.J. Keith, a security
researcher with Alert Logic. Keith says he has written code that allows
him to [1]run a simple command line shell in Android (video) when the
victim visits a website that contains his attack code. The bug used in
Keith's attack lies in the WebKit browser engine used by Android. Google
said it knows about the vulnerability. 'We're aware of an issue in WebKit
that could potentially impact only old versions of the Android browser,'
Google spokesman Jay Nancarrow confirmed in an e-mail. 'The issue does
not affect Android 2.2 or later versions.' Version 2.2 [2]runs on 36.2
percent of Android phones, Google says"
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/0229205&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9195058/Researcher_to_release_Web_based_Android_attack
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czx_AKdj8ug
2. http://developer.android.com/resources/dashboard/platform-versions.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| World's Northernmost Town Gets Nightlights
| from the goodbye-darkness-my-old-friend dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Friday November 05, @00:20 (Idle)
| https://idle.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/0038233/Worlds-Northernmost-Town-Gets-Nightlights?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Velcroman1 writes "On October 26, 2,000 Norwegians watched the sun set.
The next time they'll see it rise? Sometime in February. Extended
nighttime is an annual occurrence for the residents of [0]Longyearbyen,
Norway ��� Earth's northernmost town. Located at 78 degrees north latitude
in the Arctic circle, Longyearbyen experiences a phenomenon called Polar
Night, in which the town remains in perpetual darkness for four months
each winter. To lighten up the seemingly endless night, Philips has
started an experiment called '[1]Wake Up the Town.' And anyone who's
complained about the brief daylight hours in winter will want to know how
it works."
Discuss this story at:
http://idle.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/0038233&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longyearbyen
1. http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/11/04/philips-perpetual-night-ultimate-night-lights/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| iFixit Tears Down Microsoft's Kinect For Xbox 360
| from the will-it-fix dept.
| posted by timothy on Friday November 05, @01:46 (XBox (Games))
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/0343246/iFixit-Tears-Down-Microsofts-Kinect-For-Xbox-360?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
alphadogg writes "Microsoft's new hands-free Kinect game controller is
packed with [0]four microphones, two autofocus cameras and a motion
detector chip that together make for one heck of a complex toy, according
to iFixit's [1]initial teardown of the device. 'We haven't been this
excited to get our hands on new hardware since the iPad,' says Kyle
Wiens, CEO of the company. 'The way that we interact with computers is
(finally) evolving, and Kinect is unlike any hardware we've ever taken
apart. In fact, the only thing we've ever taken apart that has anywhere
close to this many sensors is Pleo, the dinosaur robot.' iFixit describes
Kinect as 'a horizontal bar of sensors connected to a small, motorized
pivoting base.' The $150 device that Microsoft put hundreds of millions
of dollars of research into can be purchased separately from the Xbox 360
or as part of a bundle. A Prime Sense PS1080-A2 is at the heart of
Kinect's motion detection capabilities, as it connects to all of Kinect's
sensors and processes images of your game room's color and scope before
shooting them over to the Xbox. iFixit couldn't immediately identify all
of the chips within the box, so plans to update its teardown."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/0343246&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/110410-microsoft-kinect-teardown-ifixit.html
1. http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Microsoft-Kinect-Teardown/4066/1
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| CDN Optimizing HTML On the Fly
| from the speed-is-good dept.
| posted by timothy on Friday November 05, @04:57 (Google)
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/0422243/CDN-Optimizing-HTML-On-the-Fly?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Caerdwyn writes "Cotendo, which is a content distribution network, has
taken to [0]altering HTML as it passes through their CDN to optimize web
pages for faster rendering. This is essentially a repackaging of the
Apache mod [1]mod_pagespeed (from Google), with the critical difference
being that the rewriting of HTML occurs inline rather than at the web
server. We all know that well-written HTML can result in much better
rendering of whatever your content is; the questions are 'Will this
automatic rewriting cause other problems, i.e. browser quirks?' and
'Assuming that only the web pages of Cotendo's customers are altered, are
there nonetheless potential legal troubles with someone rewriting HTML
before delivery to a browser?'"
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/0422243&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://www.cotendo.com/press/23/
1. http://code.google.com/speed/page-speed/docs/module.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| EU Commission Says People Have a 'Right To Be Forgotten' Online
| from the pesky-data-retention-laws dept.
| posted by timothy on Friday November 05, @08:02 (Privacy)
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/0411231/EU-Commission-Says-People-Have-a-Right-To-Be-Forgotten-Online?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
nk497 writes "The European Commission wants to [0]strengthen data
protection rules to give more power to consumers ��� including the right to
be forgotten online. Legislation it's looking to push through next year
will let consumers know when and how their data is being used, and force
companies to delete it when asked. 'People should be able to give their
informed consent to the processing of their personal data,' the
commission said in a statement. 'They should have the "right to be
forgotten" when their data is no longer needed or they want their data to
be deleted.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/0411231&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/362527/people-have-right-to-be-forgotten-online-says-eu
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Nicaragua Raids Costa Rica, Blames Google Maps
| from the i-was-just-following-my-gps dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @08:45 (Google)
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/1158254/Nicaragua-Raids-Costa-Rica-Blames-Google-Maps?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Garabito writes "An error on Google Maps has [0]caused an international
conflict in Central America. A Nicaraguan military commander, relying on
Google Maps, moved troops into an area near San Juan Lake [1]along the
border between his country and Costa Rica (Google translation of
[2]Spanish original). The troops are accused of setting up camp there,
taking down a Costa Rican flag and raising the Nicaraguan flag, doing
work to clean up a nearby river, and dumping the sediment in Costa Rican
territory."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/1158254&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://searchengineland.com/nicaragua-raids-costa-rica-blames-google-maps-54885
1. http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nacion.com%2F2010-11-04%2FElPais%2FNotasSecundarias%2FElPais2577867.aspx
2. http://www.nacion.com/2010-11-04/ElPais/NotasSecundarias/ElPais2577867.aspx
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Microsoft Open Sources F#
| from the does-f#-scale dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @09:27 (Microsoft)
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/1244236/Microsoft-Open-Sources-F?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
aabelro writes "Don Syme has [0]announced the release of the [1]F#
compiler source code as a code drop under Apache 2.0. He wrote, 'The F#
PowerPack now [2]includes libraries, tools and the compiler/library
source code drops. I'd like to take a moment to explain the F# team's
approach to this. Firstly, the source for the F# compiler in our MSI/CTP
releases has been available for some time, in the releases themselves, so
in that sense there's not much new in this release. Secondly, we've
always made sure we have a free download binary release of F# available,
and will continue to do that, and that should still be the main way you
"get" a release of F#. However, we've long discussed making
compiler+library source available in a different way. After some
discussion, we've decided to do this via a "code drop" model, where we
[3]make available versions of the compiler+library code logically
matching each release of the F# language itself.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/1244236&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://www.infoq.com/news/2010/11/FSharp-Open-Source
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F_Sharp_(programming_language)
2. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/dsyme/archive/2010/11/04/announcing-the-f-compiler-library-source-code-drop.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0
3. http://fsharppowerpack.codeplex.com/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Ubuntu Dumps X For Unity On Wayland
| from the no-longer-marks-the-spot dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @10:08 (X)
| https://linux.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/137212/Ubuntu-Dumps-X-For-Unity-On-Wayland?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Canonical and Ubuntu founder Mark
Shuttleworth has announced that Ubuntu will [0]move away from the
traditional X.org display environment to Wayland ��� a more modern
alternative. The move means there is now little reason for GNOME
developers to recommend Ubuntu as an operating system. Shuttleworth said,
'We're confident [1]we���ll be able to retain the ability to run X
applications in a compatibility mode, so this is not a transition that
needs to reset the world of desktop free software. Nor is it a transition
everyone needs to make at the same time: for the same reason we'll keep
investing in the 2D experience on Ubuntu despite also believing that
Unity, with all its GL dependencies, is the best interface for the
desktop. We'll help GNOME and KDE with the transition, there's no reason
for them not to be there on day one either.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/137212&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://www.cio.com.au/article/367050/ubuntu_risky_leap_unity_wayland/
1. http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/551
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Apple To Discontinue Xserve
| from the bad-day-for-X-names dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @10:50 (Apple)
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/1341204/Apple-To-Discontinue-Xserve?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Toe, The writes "Apple has announced that they are [1]discontinuing
their line of 1u rack-mount servers. With their usual understated style,
the announcement comes in the form of a [2]box on their website and a
[3]transition guide (PDF) to their low-end Mac mini server or their
now-more-powerful-than-Xserve Mac Pro server. Attitudes about the Xserve
have ranged from considering it a token nod to enterprise to an
underpowered wimp to a tremendous value. Apparently, the migration to
Intel processors removed some of the value of clustering Xserves, leaving
them somewhat overpriced compared to other, more traditional offerings.
The odd thing is that Apple clearly has shown they have the capacity for
enterprise, but rarely the will to take it on. So, does the
discontinuation of their rack-mount mean they have abandoned enterprise
for their post-PC offerings, or are they simply acknowledging that their
products aren't gaining traction in the data center? Or do they have
something else up their sleeve for next year?"
Discuss this story at:
http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/1341204&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://slashdot.org/~Toe%2C+The/
1. http://www.afp548.com/article.php?story=xserve
2. http://www.apple.com/xserve/resources.html
3. http://images.apple.com/xserve/pdf/L422277A_Xserve_Guide.pdf
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Scientists Overclock People's Brains
| from the time-to-install-some-extra-fans dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @11:30 (Math)
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/1441251/Scientists-Overclock-Peoples-Brains?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
arshadk writes with this excerpt from the BBC about researchers at Oxford
University who found that inducing a small current in a subject's
parietal lobe [0]boosted their capacity for numerical learning: "The
current could not be felt, and had no measurable effect on other brain
functions. As it was turned on, the volunteers tried to learn a puzzle
which involved substituting numbers for symbols. Those given the current
from right to left across the parietal lobe did significantly better when
given, compared to those who were given no electrical stimulation. The
direction of the current was important ��� those given stimulation running
in the opposite direction, left to right, did markedly worse at these
puzzles than those given no current, with their ability matching that of
an average six-year-old. The effects were not short-lived, either. When
the volunteers whose performance improved was re-tested six months later,
the benefits appear to have persisted. There was no wider effect on
general maths ability in either group, just on [1]the ability to complete
the puzzles learned as the current was applied."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/1441251&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11692799
1. http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(10)01234-0?script=true
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| EPIC Files Lawsuit To Suspend Airport Body Scanner Use
| from the shut-up-it's-cold-here dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @12:13 (Transportation)
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/158250/EPIC-Files-Lawsuit-To-Suspend-Airport-Body-Scanner-Use?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]nacturation writes "The Electronic Privacy Information Center [1]filed
a petition for review and motion for an emergency stay, urging the
District of Columbia Court of Appeals to [2]suspend the Transportation
Security Administration's full body scanner program. EPIC said that
[3]the program is 'unlawful, invasive, and ineffective' (PDF). EPIC
argued that the federal agency has violated the Administrative Procedures
Act, the Privacy Act, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the
Fourth Amendment. EPIC cited the invasive nature of the devices, the
TSA's disregard of public opinion, and the impact on religious freedom."
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/158250&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://nacturationatgmail.com/
1. http://epic.org/privacy/body_scanners/epic_v_dhs_suspension_of_body.html
2. http://blogs.forbes.com/kashmirhill/2010/11/02/should-the-law-that-protects-against-upskirt-filming-protect-against-tsa-body-scanners/
3. http://epic.org/press/RELEASE_EPIC_v_DHS_11_02_10.pdf
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Firefox 4 Beta For Mobile Now Faster and Sleeker
| from the almost-like-some-sort-of-fox dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @12:55 (Firefox)
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/1640245/Firefox-4-Beta-For-Mobile-Now-Faster-and-Sleeker?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Mozilla has [0]released Beta 2 of Firefox 4
for Mobile. Some notable improvements over the initial beta release
include 'reduced memory usage, improved text rendering and a 60% install
size reduction on Android (from around 43 MB to 17 MB).' Mozilla also
makes mention that 'actions like panning and zooming are faster and
smoother, and page load times are reduced from our previous beta. On
Android 2.2, we're now around 25% faster on the SunSpider JavaScript
benchmark than the stock browser.' A future beta release will enable GL
acceleration, which should further improve the performance of the
browser."
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/1640245&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2010/11/04/firefox-4-beta-for-mobile-is-now-faster-and-sleeker/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| $2,000 Bounty For Open Source Xbox Kinect Drivers
| from the helping-everybody-to-look-dumb dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @13:40 (Microsoft)
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/176251/2000-Bounty-For-Open-Source-Xbox-Kinect-Drivers?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]ptorrone writes "Open source hardware company Adafruit Industries is
[1]offering a $2,000 bounty for the first person or group to upload
driver code and examples under an open source license to [2]GitHub for
the [3]Xbox Kinect released yesterday. The Kinect sensor outputs video at
a frame rate of 30Hz, with the RGB video stream at 32-bit color VGA
resolution (640��480 pixels), and the monochrome video stream used for
depth sensing at 16-bit QVGA resolution (320��240 pixels with 65,536
levels of sensitivity). The open hardware group would like to see this
camera used for education, robotics and fun outside the Xbox." The bounty
was originally $1,000, but [4]Microsoft's dour response induced Adafruit
to double it. ("With Kinect, Microsoft built in numerous hardware and
software safeguards designed to reduce the chances of product tampering.
Microsoft will continue to make advances in these types of safeguards and
work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep
Kinect tamper-resistant.") In addition, the Xbox 360 dashboard update
that preceded Kinect's launch [5]contains upgraded anti-piracy
restrictions.
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/176251&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://ptadafruitcom/
1. http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2010/11/04/the-open-kinect-project-the-ok-prize-get-1000-bounty-for-kinect-for-xbox-360-open-source-drivers/
2. https://github.com/
3. http://www.xbox.com/en-US/kinect
4. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20021836-52.html
5. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-kinect-dash-anti-piracy-blog-entry
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Skin-Tight Bodysuits Could Protect Astronauts From Bone Loss
| from the wink-wink-you-bet-they-will dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @14:22 (Medicine)
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/1732207/Skin-Tight-Bodysuits-Could-Protect-Astronauts-From-Bone-Loss?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]jamie passes along a report about research from MIT's Man-Vehicle
Laboratory into using "superhero-style" skinsuits to [1]combat the
effects of extended stays in microgravity on bone density in astronauts.
([2]Abstract.) Quoting: "Astronauts lose 1 to 2 percent of their bone
mass for each month they spend in space. As far back as the Gemini
missions, conditioning exercise regimes have been used to slow the rate
of bone loss, but a 2001-2004 NASA-sponsored study showed that crew
members aboard the International Space Station were still losing up to
2.7 percent of their interior bone material and 1.7 percent of outer
hipbone material for each month they spent in space. ... With stirrups
that loop around the feet, the elastic gravity skinsuit is purposely cut
too short for the astronaut so that it stretches when put on ��� pulling
the wearer's shoulders towards the feet. In normal gravity conditions on
Earth, a human's legs bear more weight than the torso. Because the suit's
legs stretch more than the torso section, the wearer's legs are subjected
to a greater force ��� replicating gravity effects on Earth." See? Seven of
Nine's outfit was inspired by science after all.
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/1732207&from=newsletter
Links:
0. mailto:jamie@slashdot.org
1. http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-10/superhero-style-skin-tight-spacesuit-provides-healthy-compression-astronauts
2. http://www.citeulike.org/article/7893663
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Hulu Plus Now Available To All — But Be Warned
| from the plus-or-minus dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @15:05 (Media)
| https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/1852203/Hulu-Plus-Now-Available-To-All-mdash-But-Be-Warned?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
itwbennett writes "Peter Smith outlines some of the things you need to
know [0]before plunking down your $10 subscription fee for Hulu Plus,
which yesterday came out of its invitation-only phase and is now open to
everyone. First off, don't assume that paying $10 gets you out of viewing
ads like it does on Netflix ��� and there's no way to skip them. Second,
yes, there's tons of content available on Hulu Plus, but it's not
necessarily the same content as hulu.com. 'So if you've been watching a
show on hulu.com and can't wait to watch it on the big screen via your
PS3, stop a moment and check the Hulu Plus listings,' advises Smith. And
then there's the issue of performance, which at least in the preview
version has been less than perfect."
Discuss this story at:
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/1852203&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://www.itworld.com/personal-tech/126636/hulu-plus-now-available-all-what-you-need-know-signing
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| College Application Inflation — Marketing Meets Admissions
| from the forward-this-application-to-seven-of-your-friends dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @15:49 (Education)
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/1940237/College-Application-Inflation-mdash-Marketing-Meets-Admissions?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
gollum123 sends this quote from the Chronicle of Higher Education: "The
numbers keep rising, the superlatives keep glowing. Each year,
[0]selective colleges promote their application totals, along with the
virtues of their applicants. For this fall's freshman class, the
statistics reached remarkable levels. Stanford received a record 32,022
applications from students it called 'simply amazing,' and accepted 7
percent of them. Brown saw an unprecedented 30,135 applicants, who left
the admissions staff 'deeply impressed and at times awed.' Nine percent
were admitted. Such announcements tell a story in which colleges get
better ��� and students get more amazing ��� every year. In reality, the
narrative is far more complex, and the implications far less sunny for
students as well as colleges caught up in the cruel cycle of selectivity.
To some degree, the increases are inevitable: the college-bound
population has grown, and so, too, has the number of applications
students file, thanks in part to online technology. But wherever it is
raining applications, colleges have helped seed the clouds ��� by
recruiting widely and aggressively for ever more applicants. Many
colleges have made applying as simple as updating a Facebook page. Some
deans and guidance counselors complain that it's too easy. They question
the ethics of intense recruitment by colleges that reject the
overwhelming majority of applicants. Today's application inflation is a
cause and symptom of the uncertainty in admissions."
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/1940237&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://chronicle.com/article/Application-Inflation/125277/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| MS Adds Security Suite To Update Service, Antivirus Rival Objects
| from the shades-of-internet-explorer dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @16:35 (Security)
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/205256/MS-Adds-Security-Suite-To-Update-Service-Antivirus-Rival-Objects?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CWmike writes "Microsoft has started adding Security Essentials to the
optional download list seen by US Windows users when they fire up the
operating system's update service, [0]and antivirus rivals are crying
foul. 'Commercializing Windows Update to distribute other software
applications raises significant questions about unfair competition,'
Carol Carpenter, a GM at Trend Micro, said on Thursday. 'Windows Update
is a de facto extension of Windows, so to begin delivering software tied
to updates has us concerned,' she added. 'Windows Update is not a choice
for users, and we believe it should not be used this way.' If Windows
doesn't detect working security software on the PC, Microsoft adds
Security Essentials to the Optional section of Microsoft Update, a
superset of the better-known Windows Update, or to Windows Update if it
has been configured to also draw downloads from Microsoft Update.
Microsoft made a point to say that it was not offering the software via
Windows Update, but only through the Microsoft Update service, which also
offers patches for new versions of non-operating system software, notably
Office and Windows Media Player. But most users won't understand the
distinction."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/205256&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9195079/Rival_calls_foul_over_Microsoft_s_delivering_Security_Essentials_via_Windows_Update
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| NASA's Stunning Close-Up Photos of Comet Hartley 2
| from the for-sufficiently-distant-values-of-close dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @17:21 (NASA)
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/2113247/NASAs-Stunning-Close-Up-Photos-of-Comet-Hartley-2?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Several readers have sent word that NASA's EPOXI spacecraft performed a
close approach to comet Hartley 2 yesterday, taking pictures within
roughly 700km of the nucleus. Bad Astronomer Phil Plait has a
[0]collection of some fantastic photographs, and you can [1]check out a
ton of other images on the mission website. The Planetary Society blog
[2]put together a neat animation of the flyby. NASA's [3]mission fact
sheet (PDF) explains EPOXI's background ��� it's the supplemental mission
of the Deep Impact craft that smashed a small probe into a different
comet [4]back in 2005 ��� and why Hartley 2 was chosen for this flyby (they
couldn't find their original target).
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/2113247&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/11/04/amazing-close-ups-of-comet-hartley-2/
1. http://epoxi.umd.edu/3gallery/20101104_CA.shtml
2. http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00002758/
3. http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/494786main_EPOXI-FlybyFactSheet.pdf
4. http://tech.slashdot.org/story/05/06/26/133227/Deep-Impact-Comet-Smashing-Video
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Major Security Holes Found In Mobile Bank Apps
| from the and-you-can-take-that-to-the-uh-nevermind dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, @18:04 (Security)
| https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/2011243/Major-Security-Holes-Found-In-Mobile-Bank-Apps?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NeverVotedBush writes with this excerpt from CNet: "A security firm
[0]disclosed holes today in mobile apps from Bank of America, USAA,
Chase, Wells Fargo and TD Ameritrade, [1]prompting a scramble by most of
the companies to update the apps. ... Specifically, viaForensics
concluded that: the USAA's Android app stored copies of Web pages a user
visited on the phone; TD Ameritrade's iPhone and Android apps were
storing the user name in plain text on the phone; Wells Fargo's Android
app stored user name, password, and account data in plain text on the
phone; Bank of America's Android app saves a security question (used if a
user was accessing the site from an unrecognized device) in plain text on
the phone; and Chase's iPhone app stores the username on a phone if the
user chose that option, according to the report. Meanwhile, the iPhone
apps from USAA, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Vanguard and PayPal's
Android app all passed the security tests and were found to be handling
data securely."
Discuss this story at:
http://mobile.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/2011243&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20021874-245.html
1. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703805704575594581203248658.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Another Leak Delays Final Discovery Launch
| from the find-the-leak-and-plug-it dept.
| posted by timothy on Friday November 05, @18:52 (NASA)
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/2238243/Another-Leak-Delays-Final-Discovery-Launch?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
vsolepr writes "[0]Today's scheduled launch was scrubbed because of a
gaseous hydrogen leak near the spacecraft's external tank. This is the
fourth time in the past week that Discovery's launch was delayed due to
various leaks and electrical issues. NASA now is aiming for a launch date
no earlier than Nov. 30."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/2238243&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/11/101105-science-space-shuttle-discovery-scrubbed-delayed-november/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Considering a Fair Penalty For Illegal File-sharing
| from the if-there-is-such-a-thing dept.
| posted by timothy on Friday November 05, @19:39 (Piracy)
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/2247231/Considering-a-Fair-Penalty-For-Illegal-File-sharing?from=newsletter
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt, following up on yesterday's
announcement of the [0]1.5 million dollar verdict against Jammie Thomas:
"This week a federal jury handed down the verdict in the third
file-sharing trial against a Minnesota mother of four who has been
fighting against the charges brought by the RIAA since 2005.
Understandably, a lot of people are outraged by this verdict and while
reading through comments about the fine on some online forums, I saw some
interesting [1]opinions on how these fines should be assessed. The point
that $62,500 per song is excessively high seems to be something that
everyone can agree on, but what actually is fair seems to be a big point
of contention."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/11/05/2247231&from=newsletter
Links:
0. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/11/04/1732215/Jammie-Thomas-Hit-With-15-Million-Verdict
1. http://www.myce.com/news/what-is-a-fair-penalty-for-illegal-file-sharing-or-piracy-36230/
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