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[Slashdot] Stories for 2011-08-18

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Proof Positive - Extended Validation SSL Increases Online Sales and Transactions
Understand how the proper IT security policies can actually drive more sales. It also discusses how Extended Validation (EV) works, why phishing is such a problem, and how to get better results using EV SSL.
http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sdnl/114/51427554/
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Slashdot Daily Newsletter

In this issue:
* <em>World of Warcraft</em> Finally Loses Subscribers
* Fired Techie Created Virtual Chaos At Pharma Co.
* Facebook Says That Google+ Has No Users
* Anti-Piracy Lawyers Accuse Blind Man of Downloading Films
* Analysis of Google's Motorola Acquisition
* GPGPU Bitcoin Mining Trojan
* Accused Teen Bomber Finds FBI Surveillance Team's Wireless Network
* $80 Android Phone Sells Like Hotcakes In Kenya
* Interview With GNOME 3 Designer Jon McCann
* How To Steal ATM PINs With a Thermal Camera
* <em>Crysis 2</em> Update a Perfect Case of Wasted Polygons
* Notch Asks For Trial By Combat
* NASA Shoots Down Comet Elenin Doomsday Predictions
* SpaceX Given Approval For ISS Mission
* <em>Rage</em> and the Tech Behind id Tech 5
* Paul Ceglia: Facebook Is Doing the Forgery, Not Me
* Australian 'Electronic Pigeon Hole' Could Replace Gov't Snail Mail
* Malicious Spam Spikes To 'Epic' Level
* Collar-Bomber Tracked By Gmail Accesses
* USPTO Issues 8,000,000th Patent
* Hackers Get Their Own Scoreboard and Rankings
* 27,000 South Koreans Sue Apple
* MABEL Robot Runs Like a Human
* Moon Younger Than Previously Thought
* UCLA Engineers Create Energy-Generating LCD Screen
* Judge Dismisses Google's Complaint Over Android Code Viewing
* Virtual Lab Rat Saves Human Lives
* The Computer Labs That Created the Digital World
* Amazon Launches 'AWS GovCloud'
* LinuxCon 2011 Keynotes Streamed Free
* Graphene In Space Offers Clues To Life On Earth

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| <em>World of Warcraft</em> Finally Loses Subscribers
| from the infinite-growth-apparently-unsustainable dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 17, @03:54 (Role Playing (Games))
| with 349 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/0230212/World-of-Warcraft-Finally-Loses-Subscribers?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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bonch writes "After seven years and a highpoint of 12 million
subscribers, [0] World of Warcraft has seen a loss of nearly one million
subscribers in the last six months for the first time in its history,
according to Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime during an Activision earnings
call. However, the game remains the most popular MMO, and Morhaime said
Blizzard plans to reverse the trend with fresh content. Some believe that
the loss in subscriber interest is a sign of the game's inevitable
twilight years. Blizzard also recently received [1]a trademark for 'Mists
of Pandaria,' fueling speculation about the next expansion pack."

Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/0230212/World-of-Warcraft-Finally-Loses-Subscribers?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://pc.ign.com/articles/118/1186203p1.html
1. http://pc.ign.com/articles/118/1185744p1.html

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| Fired Techie Created Virtual Chaos At Pharma Co.
| from the no-printers-were-harmed dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 17, @05:19 (Security)
| with 331 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/021218/Fired-Techie-Created-Virtual-Chaos-At-Pharma-Co?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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[0]itwbennett writes "Using a secret vSphere console, Jason Cornish,
formerly an IT staffer at the U.S. subsidiary of drug-maker Shionogi,
[1]wiped out most of the company's computer infrastructure earlier this
year. Cornish, 37, pleaded guilty Tuesday to computer intrusion charges
in connection with the attack."

Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/021218/Fired-Techie-Created-Virtual-Chaos-At-Pharma-Co?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.itworld.com/
1. http://www.itworld.com/it-managementstrategy/194445/fired-techie-created-virtual-chaos-pharma-company

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| Facebook Says That Google+ Has No Users
| from the pew-pew-no-you-are-dumb dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 17, @13:00 (Facebook)
| with 289 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1627203/Facebook-Says-That-Google-Has-No-Users?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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[0]dkd903 noticed another amusing shot in the battle between G+ and
Facebook. CNN is running a story where Facebook's director of game
partnership Sean Ryan basically says [1]Google+ has no users. The article
is mostly about casual gaming on social platforms, which I am really sick
of individually blocking.

Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1627203/Facebook-Says-That-Google-Has-No-Users?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://digitizor.com/
1. http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/08/16/facebook-google-has-no-users/

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| Anti-Piracy Lawyers Accuse Blind Man of Downloading Films
| from the you-wouldn't-download-a-seeing-eye-dog dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 16, @22:23 (Piracy)
| with 285 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/16/2346248/Anti-Piracy-Lawyers-Accuse-Blind-Man-of-Downloading-Films?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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[0]souravzzz writes "As the mass-lawsuits against BitTorrent users in the
United States drag on, detail on the collateral damage this
extortion-like scheme is costing becomes clear. It is likely that
thousands of people have been wrongfully accused of sharing copyrighted
material, yet they see no other option than to pay up. One of the cases
that stands out is that of a California man [1]who's incapable of
watching the adult film he is accused of sharing because he is legally
blind."

Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/16/2346248/Anti-Piracy-Lawyers-Accuse-Blind-Man-of-Downloading-Films?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://souravchakraborty.co.nr/
1. http://www.seattleweekly.com/2011-08-10/news/porn-piracy-bittorrent/

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| Analysis of Google's Motorola Acquisition
| from the of-all-the-recent-acquisitions-it-was-definitely-one-of-them dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 16, @20:10 (Android)
| with 274 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/16/2334230/Analysis-of-Googles-Motorola-Acquisition?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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bonch writes "Pundits have been analyzing Google's [0]Motorola
acquisition since its announcement. Dan Lyons, formerly known as Fake
Steve Jobs, says [1]Google never cared for the Nortel patents, and that
they drove the bidding price up intentionally while negotiating to buy
Motorola. This idea is questioned by MG Siegler, who believes buying
Motorola for $12.5 billion ��� almost two years' worth of Google's annual
profits ��� is [2]an act of desperation. John Gruber notes that [3]Motorola
was threatening to wage a patent war against other Android partners
during the time they would have been negotiating with Google, and that
Motorola likely forced them into an expensive buyout rather than a patent
license agreement. Google may have also been motivated by the fact that
[4]Microsoft was reportedly pursuing a Motorola buyout." S&P researchers
apparently [5]weren't a fan of the deal.

Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/16/2334230/Analysis-of-Googles-Motorola-Acquisition?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/15/1228202/Google-To-Acquire-Motorola-Mobility-For-125-Bill
1. http://realdanlyons.com/blog/2011/08/15/suck-on-it-applesoft/
2. http://parislemon.com/post/8964980217/rope-a-dope-indeed
3. http://daringfireball.net/2011/08/balls
4. http://gigaom.com/2011/08/15/guess-who-else-wanted-to-buy-motorola/
5. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-20093229-94/s-p-downgrades-google-stock-on-motorola-deal-plans/

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| GPGPU Bitcoin Mining Trojan
| from the now-thats-not-so-bad dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 17, @09:00 (Bitcoin)
| with 238 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1250213/GPGPU-Bitcoin-Mining-Trojan?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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An anonymous reader writes "Security researchers have unearthed a piece
of [0]malware that mints a digital currency known as Bitcoins by
harnessing the immense power of an infected machine's graphical
processing units. According to new research from antivirus provider
Symantec, Trojan.Badminer uses GPUs to generate virtual coins through a
practice known as minting. That's the term for solving difficult
cryptographic proof-of-work problems and being rewarded with 50 Bitcoins
for each per correct block."

Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1250213/GPGPU-Bitcoin-Mining-Trojan?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/08/16/gpu_bitcoin_brute_forcing/

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| Accused Teen Bomber Finds FBI Surveillance Team's Wireless Network
| from the we-need-better-names dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @15:51 (Wireless Networking)
| with 205 comments
| https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1937232/Accused-Teen-Bomber-Finds-FBI-Surveillance-Teams-Wireless-Network?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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roccomaglio writes "The suspect who is accused of planning to bomb his
high school in Tampa updated his Facebook status with the following: 'The
weirdest thing happened today...when my homie Nic Peezy was trying to
connect to a wireless network the connections list came up and one of
them was called: [0]FBI_SURVEILLANCE_VAN,' The FBI might want to revisit
their wireless network naming conventions."

Discuss this story at:
https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1937232/Accused-Teen-Bomber-Finds-FBI-Surveillance-Teams-Wireless-Network?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2011/aug/17/12/tampa-police-say-theyve-thwarted-school-violence-p-ar-251078/

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| $80 Android Phone Sells Like Hotcakes In Kenya
| from the not-quite-as-tasty dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 17, @02:32 (Android)
| with 193 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/0144227/80-Android-Phone-Sells-Like-Hotcakes-In-Kenya?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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[0]kkleiner writes "Earlier this year, the Chinese firm Huawei unveiled
IDEOS through Kenya's telecom titan, Safaricom. So far, [1]this $80
smartphone has found its way into the hands of 350,000+ Kenyans, an
impressive sales number in a country where 40% of the population lives on
less than two dollars a day. The smartphone is the exemplar of a truly
liberating device, and thanks to Android and Huawei, it has the potential
to reach virtually untapped markets."

Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/0144227/80-Android-Phone-Sells-Like-Hotcakes-In-Kenya?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://singularityhub.com/
1. http://singularityhub.com/2011/08/16/80-android-phone-sells-like-hotcakes-in-kenya-the-world-next/

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| Interview With GNOME 3 Designer Jon McCann
| from the point-and-counterpoint dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @16:21 (GNOME)
| with 185 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1943218/Interview-With-GNOME-3-Designer-Jon-McCann?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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An anonymous reader writes "In an [0]extensive interview, GNOME 3
designer Jon McCann talks about the future of GNOME 3 ��� why it's all
about the apps and why he is convinced that KDE and Ubuntu are actually
different operating systems. He also reacts to the [1]outspoken criticism
against GNOME 3, which has been making the rounds lately."

Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1943218/Interview-With-GNOME-3-Designer-Jon-McCann?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://derstandard.at/1313024283546/Interview-GNOME-Designer-Jon-McCann-about-the-future-of-GNOME3
1. http://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/04/0115232/Linus-Torvalds-Ditches-GNOME-3-For-Xfce

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| How To Steal ATM PINs With a Thermal Camera
| from the i-see-what-you-did-there dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 17, @11:24 (Security)
| with 150 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1416244/How-To-Steal-ATM-PINs-With-a-Thermal-Camera?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An anonymous reader writes "Researchers from UCSD have demonstrated how
thermal imagery cameras can be used to [0]steal customers' PINs (PDF)
when you withdraw cash from ATMs. Their paper, entitled [1]'Heat of the
Moment: Characterizing the Efficacy of Thermal Camera-Based Attacks',
(PDF) discovered that plastic PIN pads were the best for retaining heat
signatures showing which numbers (and in which order) were used by bank
customers. Fortunately the methodology does not appear to have been used
by criminals yet, but a third of people surveyed admit that they do not
check ATMs for tampering before withdrawing cash."

Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1416244/How-To-Steal-ATM-PINs-With-a-Thermal-Camera?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2011/08/17/stealing-atm-pins-with-thermal-cameras/
1. http://www.usenix.org/events/woot11/tech/final_files/Mowery.pdf

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| <em>Crysis 2</em> Update a Perfect Case of Wasted Polygons
| from the almost-as-many-as-starfox dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 16, @23:20 (AMD)
| with 142 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/0246223/Crysis-2-Update-a-Perfect-Case-of-Wasted-Polygons?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

crookedvulture writes "Crytek made news earlier this summer by releasing
a big DirectX 11 update for the PC version of its latest game, Crysis 2.
Among other things, the update added extensive tessellation to render
in-game elements with a much higher number of polygons. Unfortunately, it
looks like [0]most of those extra polygons have been wasted on flat
objects that don't require more detail or on invisible layers of water
that are rendered even in scenes made up entirely of dry land.
Screenshots showing the tessellated polygon meshes for various items make
the issue pretty obvious, and developer tools confirm graphics cards are
wasting substantial resources rendering these useless or unseen polygons.
Interestingly, Nvidia had a hand in getting the DirectX 11 update rolled
out, and its GeForce graphic cards just happen to perform better with
heavy tessellation than AMD's competing Radeons."

Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/0246223/Crysis-2-Update-a-Perfect-Case-of-Wasted-Polygons?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://techreport.com/articles.x/21404

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| Notch Asks For Trial By Combat
| from the how-all-trademark-claims-should-be-settled dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 17, @16:46 (Quake)
| with 142 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1838230/Notch-Asks-For-Trial-By-Combat?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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Vrallis writes "As reported recently, Mojang AB, the creators of
Minecraft, have been [0]sued by Bethesda over the name of their latest
project, Scrolls, citing a trademark infringement with their Elder
Scrolls games. In his latest blog post, Notch, the founder of Mojang, has
[1]challenged Bethesda to a trial by combat. Specifically, a frag match
in Quake 3."

Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1838230/Notch-Asks-For-Trial-By-Combat?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/05/2123244/Bethesda-Tells-Minecraft-Creator-Cease-and-Desist
1. http://notch.tumblr.com/post/9038258448/hey-bethesda-lets-settle-this

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| NASA Shoots Down Comet Elenin Doomsday Predictions
| from the phew-i-was-worried dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 17, @12:12 (Earth)
| with 137 comments
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/162253/NASA-Shoots-Down-Comet-Elenin-Doomsday-Predictions?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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[0]coondoggie writes "The comet Elenin, which will pass by Earth October
16, has generated such an inordinate amount of doomsday reports from a
number of different sources that [1]NASA today issued a release meant to
address a variety of them. To address the myriad concerns, NASA said its
scientists compiled a list of the most popular questions it has received
about Elenin."

Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/162253/NASA-Shoots-Down-Comet-Elenin-Doomsday-Predictions?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. mailto:mcooney@nww.com
1. http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/nasa-shoots-down-comet-elenin-doom-and-gloom-

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| SpaceX Given Approval For ISS Mission
| from the try-not-to-run-into-it dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 17, @00:19 (ISS)
| with 135 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/003250/SpaceX-Given-Approval-For-ISS-Mission?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An anonymous reader sends this snippet from an AFP report:
"California-based rocket maker SpaceX said that it will make a test
flight in late November to the International Space Station, now that NASA
has retired its space shuttle program. 'SpaceX has been hard at work
preparing for our next flight ��� a mission designed to demonstrate that a
privately-developed space transportation system can deliver cargo to and
from the International Space Station (ISS),' the company, also called
Space Exploration Technologies, said in a statement. The mission is the
second to be carried out by SpaceX, one of a handful of firms competing
to make a spaceship to replace the now-defunct US shuttle, which had been
used to carry supplies and equipment to the orbiting outpost. '[0]NASA
has given us a November 30, 2011 launch date, which should be followed
nine days later by Dragon berthing at the ISS,' the company said." SpaceX
has [1]an information sheet for the Dragon capsule, as well as an
interesting post about [2]the costs involved in their launches.

Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/003250/SpaceX-Given-Approval-For-ISS-Mission?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hxEszJ8W7e9pmliOwZgdVcRCz0wQ?docId=CNG.f86f7de5aa4632fa5f9294df8b17a703.31
1. http://www.spacex.com/dragon.php
2. http://www.spacex.com/usa.php

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| <em>Rage</em> and the Tech Behind id Tech 5
| from the next-gen-rocket-launchers dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 17, @15:05 (First Person Shooters (Games))
| with 133 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1832251/Rage-and-the-Tech-Behind-id-Tech-5?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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[0]MojoKid writes "id Software's long-awaited FPS, Rage, is set to ship
in October. When it launches, Rage will be the first game to feature id's
newest graphics engine, dubbed id Tech 5. id Tech 5 has evolved
considerably since the company started talking about it four years ago,
however. While it contains a number of additional features,
[1]MegaTexturing remains one of the game's most visible advances.
MegaTexturing uses a single large texture to map the terrain of an entire
area. Data from that texture is streamed in depending on where the player
is standing and what's visible. Effects that would normally be blended in
traditional tiled texturing can be baked into the megatexture and
streamed off disc when needed. The advantage of megatexturing is that it
allows artists to create unique environments rather than resorting to a
variety of tricks to hide repetitive texture tiles." id's Tim Willits
spoke with Eurogamer about Rage's development, explaining how [2]their
goal of fast-paced action dictated certain design decisions. Rage will
[3]make use of Steamworks, but won't require a persistent connection for
offline play. However, small parts of optional single-player content will
only be available to players who buy the game new. Willits said, "Most
people never find them. But as soon as you do, you're like, oh. And then
you start to look for it. That's our first-time buyer incentive."

Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1832251/Rage-and-the-Tech-Behind-id-Tech-5?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://hothardware.com/
1. http://hothardware.com/Reviews/Rage-The-Tech-Behind-Id-Tech-5/
2. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-11-tim-willits-building-rage-and-never-selling-out-interview
3. http://www.shacknews.com/article/69716/rage-will-use-steamworks

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| Paul Ceglia: Facebook Is Doing the Forgery, Not Me
| from the bored-now dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 17, @10:37 (Facebook)
| with 122 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/147238/Paul-Ceglia-Facebook-Is-Doing-the-Forgery-Not-Me?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An anonymous reader writes "Last week, Facebook [0]said it found the
original 'authentic contract' between Mark Zuckerberg and Paul Ceglia, a
man who claims he owns half of the company according to a 2003 contract.
Now, Ceglia says the original 'authentic contract' Facebook claims to
have found [1]is really just a Photoshopped image the company planted on
his computer."

Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/147238/Paul-Ceglia-Facebook-Is-Doing-the-Forgery-Not-Me?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/07/2041200/Facebook-We-Have-Proof-Ceglias-Contract-Is-Fake
1. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/exclusive-paul-ceglia-says-facebook-is-doing-the-forgery/2707

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| Australian 'Electronic Pigeon Hole' Could Replace Gov't Snail Mail
| from the arrives-through-a-series-of-tubes dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 17, @01:18 (Australia)
| with 111 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/0313246/Australian-Electronic-Pigeon-Hole-Could-Replace-Govt-Snail-Mail?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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[0]angry tapir writes "Australia's federal Opposition will [1]look to
create a national government-funded 'electronic pigeon hole' for all
Australians in an effort to cut the costs of 'snail mail' communication,
if they are returned to power at the next election. According to
Opposition communications minister Malcolm Turnbull, the pigeon hole
would effectively act as a life-long single source of storage for
communications between each citizen and government. The service would be
free for Australians in exchange for their agreeing to no longer receiver
paper-based communications from government agencies and other related
organizations."

Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/0313246/Australian-Electronic-Pigeon-Hole-Could-Replace-Govt-Snail-Mail?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.techworld.com.au/
1. http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/397526/turnbull_uncoops_electronic_pigeon_hole_all_australians_/

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| Malicious Spam Spikes To 'Epic' Level
| from the whack-a-mole dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @13:52 (Spam)
| with 110 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1712257/Malicious-Spam-Spikes-To-Epic-Level?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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Trailrunner7 writes "There has been a huge spike in spam volume in the
last few days, including [0]a massive amount of malicious spam with
infected attachments, and researchers say that levels of junk mail are
now far higher than they were before [1]the takedown of the notorious
Spamit affiliate program last fall. The huge spike comes at a time when
spam should, in fact, be dropping because of the takedown of the Rustock
botnet, the Spamit network and other botnets. 'From the beginning of
August, we have observed a huge surge of malicious spam which far exceeds
anything we have seen over the past two years, including prior to the
SpamIt takedown last October. The majority of the malicious spam comes
from the Cutwail botnet, although Festi and Asprox are among the other
contributors,' M86 researcher Rodel Mendrez said."

Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1712257/Malicious-Spam-Spikes-To-Epic-Level?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://labs.m86security.com/2011/08/massive-rise-in-malicious-spam/
1. https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/malicious-spam-spikes-epic-level-081711

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Collar-Bomber Tracked By Gmail Accesses
| from the crimes-that-would-have-worked-better-in-the-80s dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 17, @08:15 (Crime)
| with 105 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/0341201/Collar-Bomber-Tracked-By-Gmail-Accesses?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RockDoctor writes "Reports indicate that [0]a suspect has been arrested
in the Australian [1]'collar bomb' hostage/extortion case. The allegation
is that the suspect had set up a Gmail account, through which he
(allegedly) planned to communicate with the extortion victims and arrange
delivery of the payment. Unfortunately for him, records were kept showing
the location and time the account was set up, and also for a number of
accesses. This information, combined with 'CCTV footage and motor vehicle
records,' allowed the police to put an identity to the suspect, and
arrange for his arrest. So, if you're planning an extortion scheme, don't
drive your car to the internet cafe, don't set up the account from an
airport, wear anonymous clothes (like Jason Bourne does?) and do all your
accesses through hacked shell accounts somewhere in Outer Mongolia. But,
this being Slashdot, everyone knew that already."

Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/0341201/Collar-Bomber-Tracked-By-Gmail-Accesses?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14538010
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-14398198

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| USPTO Issues 8,000,000th Patent
| from the congratulations-i-think dept.
| posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 17, @09:53 (Patents)
| with 105 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1334238/USPTO-Issues-8000000th-Patent?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

toybuilder writes "It took nearly 80 years for the first 1 million
patents to issue in the U.S. On Tuesday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office issued [0]its eight-millionth patent. This most recent 1 million
patents took only about 5 years."

Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1334238/USPTO-Issues-8000000th-Patent?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.uspto.gov/news/Millions_of_Patents.jsp

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Hackers Get Their Own Scoreboard and Rankings
| from the and-the-winner-is dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @11:51 (Security)
| with 99 comments
| https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1416233/Hackers-Get-Their-Own-Scoreboard-and-Rankings?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

wiredmikey writes "Sometimes hacking is about money; other times, it's
about competition, and when that happens, it is also about getting a
little credit. Enter [0]RankMyHack.com. The site is described as the
world's '[1]first elite hacker ranking system,' and invites people to
submit proof of their Website hacks in exchange for points ��� the higher
the points, the higher the place on the leader board. In order to get
ranked, hackers need to prove they have indeed hacked a site ��� by
inserting a predetermined text into the hacked site page. Rankmyhack then
scans for the text in the page and gives score based on how popular the
website is, with lower points awarded for XSS attacks. Assuming the site
is real ��� and early reports indicate that it is ��� hackers can now see
where their hacks stack up against those of their peers. Will this morph
into a playground for hacktivists to hone their skills?"

Discuss this story at:
https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1416233/Hackers-Get-Their-Own-Scoreboard-and-Rankings?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://rankmyhack.com/
1. http://www.securityweek.com/hackers-get-their-own-scoreboard-and-rankings

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 27,000 South Koreans Sue Apple
| from the one-bad-apple dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @15:30 (Iphone)
| with 98 comments
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1853257/27000-South-Koreans-Sue-Apple?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[0]jfruhlinger writes "You may have already forgotten the [1]iPhone
location-tracking furor, but 27,000 South Koreans haven't! They (or the
lawyers recruiting them) have [2]launched a class action suit against
Apple due to the 'emotional distress' suffered. The litigants are seeking
around $1,000 apiece in damages. From the article: 'Apple has faced
complaints and criticisms since it said in April that its iPhones were
storing locations of nearby cellphone towers and Wi-Fi hot spots for up
to a year. Such data can be used to [3]create a rough map of the device
owner's movements.'"

Discuss this story at:
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1853257/27000-South-Koreans-Sue-Apple?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://joshreads.com/
1. http://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/04/26/1758220/iPhone-Tracking-Ruckus-Ongoing
2. http://www.itworld.com/mobile-wireless/194657/south-korea-class-action-suit-against-apple-now-has-27000-plaintiffs
3. http://news.yahoo.com/skoreans-sue-apple-over-iphone-user-information-043449140.html

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| MABEL Robot Runs Like a Human
| from the I-wanna-run-like-you-hoo-hoo dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @17:12 (Robotics)
| with 92 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2037203/MABEL-Robot-Runs-Like-a-Human?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[0]MrSeb writes "Researchers at the University of Michigan have created a
running, obstacle-scaling robot. This robot, which is called MABEL (not
an acronym), is capable of [1]running at speeds of up to 3.06 meters per
second, or 6.8 mph. Physically she is very similar to a human ��� a heavy
torso, and light, springed legs that act as load balancers and shock
absorbers ��� and with a clever feedback system, MABEL even runs like a
human, spending 40% of her time three or four inches off the ground."

Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2037203/MABEL-Robot-Runs-Like-a-Human?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://mrseb.co.uk/
1. http://www.eecs.umich.edu/eecs/about/articles/2011/MABEL-runs.html

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Moon Younger Than Previously Thought
| from the not-a-day-over-4-billion dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @19:20 (Moon)
| with 92 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2247255/Moon-Younger-Than-Previously-Thought?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TaeKwonDood writes "Analysis of a piece of lunar rock brought back to
Earth by the Apollo 16 mission in 1972 has shown that the Moon may be
much younger than previously believed. Researchers say that the findings
allow for one of two possibilities: [0]the moon is 200 million years
younger than previously thought, or the theory that the moon use to be a
molten ocean is wrong."

Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2247255/Moon-Younger-Than-Previously-Thought?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://news.ku.dk/all_news/2011/2010.8/moon-younger-than-we-thought/

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| UCLA Engineers Create Energy-Generating LCD Screen
| from the power-of-light dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @19:49 (Displays)
| with 60 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2250249/UCLA-Engineers-Create-Energy-Generating-LCD-Screen?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An anonymous reader writes "Engineers at [0]UCLA have developed
technology that allows gadgets like smartphones and laptops to [1]convert
sunlight, ambient light, and their own backlight into energy. Equipping
LCD-enhanced devices with so-called polarizing organic photovoltaics will
recoup battery loads of lost power, and enable smartphone users to scour
Yelp, scan Twitter, and update their Facebook page without fear of
draining the charge before a real communication crisis arises."

Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2250249/UCLA-Engineers-Create-Energy-Generating-LCD-Screen?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-engineers-invent-photovoltaic-210685.aspx
1. http://inhabitat.com/electronics-will-charge-themselves-with-energy-harvesting-lcd-screens/

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Judge Dismisses Google's Complaint Over Android Code Viewing
| from the it's-outta-here dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @18:57 (Android)
| with 45 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2142203/Judge-Dismisses-Googles-Complaint-Over-Android-Code-Viewing?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[0]CWmike writes "A U.S. trade judge has [1]rejected Google's move to
block the testimony of a Microsoft expert witness in the dispute with
Motorola over patents allegedly used by Android. Last week, [2]Google
accused Microsoft of violating a confidentiality agreement struck between
Microsoft, Motorola and Google in the ITC case. The judge rejected
Google's motion on Monday. 'The ALJ [Administrative Law Judge] finds no
basis to discern from Google's statement whether Google made a
reasonable, good-faith effort to resolve the matter with Microsoft,' he
wrote in his ruling."

Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2142203/Judge-Dismisses-Googles-Complaint-Over-Android-Code-Viewing?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://twitter.com/mikeatcw
1. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219269/Judge_bounces_Google_s_complaint_over_Android_code_viewing
2. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219115/Google_claims_Microsoft_improperly_showed_Android_code_to_expert?

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Virtual Lab Rat Saves Human Lives
| from the break-out-the-pretend-cheese dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @18:04 (Medicine)
| with 42 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2053201/Virtual-Lab-Rat-Saves-Human-Lives?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An anonymous reader writes "There is already a Virtual Physiological
Human project going on in Europe, to program a simulated human that can
serve as a guinea pig, but this National Institute of Health effort to
[0]program a Virtual Physiological Rat promises to help humans even more.
It's too difficult to simulate humans with algorithms, but the simpler
rat physiology can be easily programmed, and by hand-tweaking its virtual
genes, these rats-in-an-algorithm can be set up to what-if about
interventions that cure human diseases more easily that when simulating
humans directly. Long live the virtual lab rat!"

Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2053201/Virtual-Lab-Rat-Saves-Human-Lives?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Business-Analytics/Virtual-Rat-to-Cure-Human-Diseases/

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| The Computer Labs That Created the Digital World
| from the in-the-beginning dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @18:24 (Digital)
| with 35 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2137246/The-Computer-Labs-That-Created-the-Digital-World?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[0]MrSeb writes "In the time of Socrates, Plato and Cicero, great minds
came together in local forums or sophist schools. The Enlightenment of
the 18th century was triggered by homely gatherings at salons and fueled
by the steaming hotpot of coffeehouses and caffeine. Today we still use
forums, of course, and plenty of inventions and insight still originate
from coffeehouses, but most innovation occurs in laboratories.
ExtremeTech takes a look at [1]the six computer labs that gave birth to
the digital world ��� from Bletchley Park in Blighty, to PARC labs in Palo
Alto, and everything in between."

Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2137246/The-Computer-Labs-That-Created-the-Digital-World?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://mrseb.co.uk/
1. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/92982-6-computer-labs-that-created-the-digital-world

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Amazon Launches 'AWS GovCloud'
| from the uptime-is-not-a-mandate dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 16, @21:06 (Cloud)
| with 26 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/16/2339232/Amazon-Launches-AWS-GovCloud?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

wiredmikey writes "Amazon Web Services today announced '[0]AWS GovCloud,'
a new AWS Region designed to allow U.S. government agencies and
contractors to [1]move IT applications and systems into the cloud by
addressing their specific regulatory and compliance requirements.
Previously, government agencies with data subject to Compliance
regulations such as the International Trade and Arms Regulation (ITAR),
which governs how organizations manage and store defense-related data,
were unable to process and store data in the cloud that the federal
government mandated be accessible only by U.S. persons. AWS said that it
will screen customers prior to providing access to the AWS GovCloud,
helping to ensure customers are 'U.S. Persons,' not subject to export
restrictions."

Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/08/16/2339232/Amazon-Launches-AWS-GovCloud?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://aws.amazon.com/govcloud-us/
1. http://www.securityweek.com/amazon-web-services-launches-aws-govcloud

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| LinuxCon 2011 Keynotes Streamed Free
| from the from-the-comfort-of-your-own-home dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @14:41 (Linux)
| with 22 comments
| https://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1755208/LinuxCon-2011-Keynotes-Streamed-Free?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DeviceGuru writes "All keynote sessions from the [0]LinuxCon North
America 2011 conference held in Vancouver this week are [1]being made
available for free public streaming today through Friday (August 17-19).
One noteworthy highlight: today's 4:45 pm (pdt) keynote will feature Greg
Kroah-Hartman in conversation with Linus Torvalds. Viewing the streams
requires free registration."

Discuss this story at:
https://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/1755208/LinuxCon-2011-Keynotes-Streamed-Free?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://events.linuxfoundation.org/events/linuxcon
1. http://deviceguru.com/linuxcon-2011-talks-streaming-live-aug-17-19/

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Graphene In Space Offers Clues To Life On Earth
| from the little-atoms-big-universe dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 17, @17:33 (Space)
| with 14 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2048207/Graphene-In-Space-Offers-Clues-To-Life-On-Earth?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zothecula writes "Human beings may have only discovered how to create the
one-atom-thick sheets of carbon atoms known as graphene in 2004 but it
appears [0]the universe could have been churning out the stuff since much
earlier than that. While not conclusive proof of its existence in space,
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has [1]identified the signature of
graphene in two small galaxies outside our own. If confirmed, it would be
the first-ever cosmic detection of the material and could hold clues to
how carbon-based life forms such as ourselves developed."

Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/08/17/2048207/Graphene-In-Space-Offers-Clues-To-Life-On-Earth?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/dna-meteorites.html
1. http://www.gizmag.com/graphene-in-space/19545/


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