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[Slashdot] Stories for 2006-12-25
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Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* Cyber Crime Hits Big Time This Year
* Google Reaches Second-Most Visited Site Status
* College Freshmen Struggle With Tech Literacy
* Penguins Disappearing From Southern Hemisphere
* Using Cellphones to Track Your Kids
* DHS's 'Secure Flight' Program Proven Insecure
* Send a Name to Mars for Christmas
* ESR's Desktop Linux 2008 Deadline
* Thinkpad X60- The Tablet Goes Ultraportable
* The Physics of Santa
* New Research Could Lead to Transparent Displays
* Department of Defense Now Blocking HTML Email
* Digital Media Winners and Losers of 2006
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| Cyber Crime Hits Big Time This Year |
| from the too-many-bored-people dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Saturday December 23, @20:55 (Security) |
| http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/0152214 |
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An anonymous reader writes to point out the Washington Post's analysis of
this year's [0]spike in junk email and online attacks, such as botnets
and worms. Image-embedded spam emails made up an amazing percentage of
all messages sent in the months of October and November, and something
like four million bots are actively adding to that total. These botnets
are also increasingly connected to organized crime, as are 'independent'
hacker groups. The article goes on for three pages, and doesn't have a
lot of hope that 2007 will look a whole lot better. From the article:
"Experts worry that businesses will be slow to switch to the [Windows
Vista]. And even if consumers rush to upgrade exiting machines or
purchase new ones that include Vista, Microsoft will continue to battle
security holes in legacy versions of Microsoft Office, which are expected
to remain in widespread use for the next 5-10 years."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/0152214
Links:
0. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/22/AR2006122200367.html
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| Google Reaches Second-Most Visited Site Status |
| from the frequent-googing dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Saturday December 23, @22:26 (Google) |
| http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/024257 |
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Another anonymous reader has written to mention a story carried by
Bloomberg, which has the news that [0]Google is the second-most visited
site on the internet. This puts it out in front of Yahoo!, which
previously held the position. Google is now just behind Microsoft which,
as the submitter pointed out, is the site that IE defaults to. From the
article: " Visitors to Google's sites rose 9.1 percent to 475.7 million
in November from a year earlier, while those to Yahoo sites rose 5.2
percent to 475.3 million, ComScore Networks Inc. said today. Both sites
trail Microsoft, which had 501.7 million visitors, ComScore said. It is
the first time that Mountain View, California-based Google attracted more
visitors than Yahoo, reflecting Google's growing popularity outside the
U.S."
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/024257
Links:
0. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=akmPwI7HOrjQ&refer=news
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| College Freshmen Struggle With Tech Literacy |
| from the gotta-grow-up-nerd-to-get-ahead dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday December 24, @00:33 (Education) |
| http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/0452253 |
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[0]snow_man writes to mention an article on the E-Commerce News site
about [1]techno-literacy problems with incoming college freshmen. Some
schools, like CSU, are planning on including a technology comprehension
test alongside their English and Math evaluations for new students. From
the article: "Not all of Generation M can synthesize the loads of
information they're accessing, educators say. 'They're geeky, but they
don't know what to do with their geekdom,' said Barbara O'Connor, a
Sacramento State communications studies professor involved in a
nationwide effort to hone students' computer-research skills. On a recent
nationwide test to measure their technological 'literacy' -- their
ability to use the Internet to complete class assignments -- only 49
percent of the test-takers correctly evaluated a set of Web sites for
objectivity, authority and timeliness. Only 35 percent could correctly
narrow an overly broad Internet search."
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/0452253
Links:
0. mailto:snow_manNO@SPAMrocketmail.com
1. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/suqLG8D50ywC7U/Generation-Ms-Surprising-Struggle-With-Tech-Literacy.xhtml
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| Penguins Disappearing From Southern Hemisphere |
| from the space-penguins-gotta-be dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday December 24, @03:42 (Science) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/0832201 |
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The Scotsman is running a piece looking at the [0]mysterious
disappearance of penguins from all around the world. A biologist who
studies the rockhopper penguin characterizes the population crash as
'sinister', as scientists are still baffled as to why almost 30% of the
birds have vanished. From the article: "Grant Munro, the director of
Falklands Conservation, said there were fears that rockhoppers might
become extinct. 'If the present situation were to carry on then it's not
a particularly great forecast. It doesn't look like they are suddenly
going to start increasing in numbers ... In the Falklands, they are part
of everyday life. If you head down to the beach you are going to see
penguins.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/0832201
Links:
0. http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1905342006
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| Using Cellphones to Track Your Kids |
| from the better-than-a-collar-i-guess dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday December 24, @05:32 (Privacy) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/0841253 |
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David Pogue at the New York Times wrote this week about a new, novel use
for cellphones: [0]tracking your children. Several new ventures,
including ones from names like Disney, Verizon, and Sprint, will offer
web-accessible locating services by pinpointing the G.P.S. signal in
their commercial devices. There's also some discussion of child-specific
services, like the 'Whereifone', which is more 'Star Trek communicator'
than actual cell. From the article: "To pinpoint the phone's location,
you call up the Web site, enter your password, click 'locate,' and
presto: an icon appears on a map -- either a street map or actual
satellite photo. In the photo view, you can zoom in enough to see
individual buildings. These are existing satellite photos --you won't
actually see your child standing there -- but this feature is still
creepy and awesome. You can even watch 'bread crumbs' appear on the map
as the phone moves around (cost: one talk-time minute apiece). That could
be helpful if you're trying to assist someone lost on the road, or in the
kinds of emergencies encountered primarily in your nightmares."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/0841253
Links:
0. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/technology/21pogue.html?ex=1324357200&en=e9e5c7d0af02befa&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
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| DHS's 'Secure Flight' Program Proven Insecure |
| from the i-trust-the-government-as-far-as-i-can-throw-it dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday December 24, @06:14 (Privacy) |
| http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/0853236 |
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News.com is reporting the somewhat unsurprising news that [0]a government
program we were assured was 'perfectly safe', has actually been proven to
be a privacy nightmare. The 'Secure Flight' program [1]matched air
traveler information with commercial databases in the interests of
national security. The charter for the program specifically forbade the
TSA from accessing this information; the organization got their hands on
it anyway. The Department of Homeland Security has released a report,
detailing these findings and analyzing the situation. The News.com piece
makes it clear the report was released on Friday in an attempt to obscure
it from public notice; it was only linked to from a DHS subsite, and has
not shown up on the DHS or TSA main pages. From the article: "The report
from the Homeland Security privacy office takes pains to say that the
privacy compromises over Secure Flight were 'not intentional,' and
includes a list of seven recommendations to avoid similar mishaps in the
future. Those include explaining to the public exactly what's going on
and creating a 'data flow map' to ensure information is handled in
compliance with the 1974 Privacy Act. This isn't the first report to take
issue with Secure Flight. Last year, auditors at the U.S. Government
Accountability Office reported that the program violated the Privacy
Act."
Discuss this story at:
http://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/0853236
Links:
0. http://politics.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/07/2015236&tid=172
1. http://news.com.com/Feds+Homeland+Security+project+didnt+protect+privacy/2100-1029_3-6145796.html?tag=nefd.top
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| Send a Name to Mars for Christmas |
| from the last-minute-shopping dept. |
| posted by CmdrTaco on Sunday December 24, @09:07 (Christmas Cheer|
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/1349219 |
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space_elf writes "[0]The P***tary Society has an interesting program
just in time for Christmas, and just perfect for the persnickity someone
in your life who seems to have everything. You can submit a name that
will be written on a mini-disk and flown aboard the upcoming Phoenix
mission to Mars. Included in the free (as in beer) service is [1]a
certificate to present to them as proof of their name going into space. "
I know some of you haven't finished your shopping... last chance!
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/1349219
Links:
0. http://p***tary.org/special/fromearth/phoenix
1. http://p***tary.org/image/phoenix_holiday_certificate.jpg
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ESR's Desktop Linux 2008 Deadline |
| from the might-be-a-couple-years-late dept. |
| posted by CmdrTaco on Sunday December 24, @10:13 (Linux) |
| http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/1356204 |
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[0]jesboat noted [1]Eric S. Raymond and [2]Rob Landley's essay about what
the Linux community must do to achieve dominance entitled "[3]World
Domination 201". It says "Idealism about open formats will not solve our
multimedia problem in time; in fact, getting stuck on either belief in
the technical superiority of open source or free-software purism
guarantees we will lose. The remaining problems aren't technical ones,
and none of the interesting patents will expire before the end of 2008.
We've got to ship something that works now. If we let this be a blocking
issue preventing overall Linux adoption during the transition window, we
won't have the userbase to demand changes in the laws to untangle the
screwed up patent system, or even prevent it from getting worse. It's a
chicken and egg problem, demanding a workaround until a permanent
solution can be achieved. We can't set the standards until after we take
over the world."
Discuss this story at:
http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/1356204
Links:
0. http://slashdot.org/~jesboat/
1. http://www.catb.org/~esr/
2. http://www.landley.net/
3. http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/world-domination/world-domination-201.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Thinkpad X60- The Tablet Goes Ultraportable |
| from the send-review-units-no-return-postage-necessary dept. |
| posted by CmdrTaco on Sunday December 24, @11:26 (Portables) |
| http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/147238 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Rovi writes "Lenovo had a gift for Thinkpad fans this season- they
finally released the successor to the X41 Tablet. The [0]Thinkpad X60
Tablet weighs in at about three and a half pounds and has great tablet
functionality. The updates from the older model include a 2.5" hard drive
(the X41 used a 1.8"), automatic screen orientation, and an Intel Core
Duo processor. For performance seekers some serious upgrades are
available, such as a 120GB 5400RPM hard drive, 100GB 7200RPM drive, SXGA+
monitor, or up to 4GB of RAM."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/147238
Links:
0. http://www.xyzcomputing.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=891
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The Physics of Santa |
| from the tachyons-and-jeffries-tubes-oh-my dept. |
| posted by CmdrTaco on Sunday December 24, @12:36 (Christmas Cheer|
| http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/1527235 |
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[0]Roland Piquepaille writes "If you don't believe that Santa Claus can
deliver presents to millions of homes in a single night, Larry
Silverberg, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North
Carolina State University (NCSU), explains that Santa's society of elves
has an understanding of physics and engineering that exceeds our own. In
fact, [1]Santa Claus and his crew really can deliver presents in one
night because of their advanced knowledge of electromagnetic waves, the
space/time continuum, nanotechnology, genetic engineering and computer
science. For example, he doesn't carry presents. He uses a nano-toymaker
to fabricate toys grown atom by atom inside the children's homes. Very
entertaining reading... Here is a link to additional details and
[2]pictures of Santa and his elves flying over New Zealand."
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/1527235
Links:
0. http://www.primidi.com/
1. http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/2006/dec/212.html
2. http://blogs.zdnet.com/emergingtech/?p=442
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| New Research Could Lead to Transparent Displays |
| from the i'll-take-that-as-a-contact-lense-please dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday December 24, @14:22 (Displays) |
| http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/1817226 |
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An anonymous reader tipped us to a ScienceDaily story about [0]advances
that may lead to transparent transistors. By combining inorganic and
organic materials, we may reach the goal of transparent surfaces that can
display information, with no visible wiring marring the effect. The
article cites HUDs on car windshields, and targeting goggles for
soldiers, but I'm sure we can think of some additional interesting uses
for such a technology. From the article: "High-performance, transparent
transistors could be combined with existing kinds of light display
technologies, such as organic light-emitting diodes, liquid crystal
displays (LCDs) and electroluminescent displays, which are already used
in televisions, desktop and laptop computers and cell phones ...
Prototype displays using the transistors developed at Northwestern could
be available in 12 to 18 months, said Marks. He has formed a start-up
company, Polyera, to bring this and related technologies to market."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/1817226
Links:
0. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061223092615.htm
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Department of Defense Now Blocking HTML Email |
| from the nuke-them-from-orbit-only-way-to-be-sure dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday December 24, @16:20 (Security) |
| http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/1922216 |
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[0]oKAMi-InfoSec writes "The Department of Defense (DoD) has taken the
step of [1]blocking HTML-based email. They are also banning the use of
Outlook Web Access email clients. The DoD is making this move because
HTML messages can easily be infected with spyware and executable lines of
code that enable hackers to access DoD networks, according to an article
in Federal Computer Week by Bob Brewin . A spokesman for the Joint Task
Force for Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO) claims that this is a
response to an increased network threat condition. The network threat
condition has risen from Information Condition 5 to Information Condition
4 (also called Infocon 4). InfoCon 5 is normal operating conditions and
Infocon 4 comes as a result of 'continuing and sophisticated threats'
against DoD Networks. The change to Infocon 4 came in mid-November, after
the Naval War College suffered devastating attacks that required their
entire system be taken offline, but the JTF-GNO spokesman claims there is
no connection."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/1922216
Links:
0. http://www.okami-infosec.blogspot.com/
1. http://www.fcw.com/article97178-12-22-06-Web
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| Digital Media Winners and Losers of 2006 |
| from the there-were-many-of-both dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday December 24, @18:20 (Media) |
| http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/24/1932217 |
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An anonymous reader writes "MP3 Newswire released its annual list of
[0]winners and losers in digital media for 2006. Winners include
[1]Azureus, the [2]Pirate Bay, and [3]YouTube. The losers list includes
[4]Streamcast, [5]Captain Copyright (and his sidekick Lieutenant Lame),
and the [6]Online Guitar Archive. At the bottom of the post are links to
past year's winners and losers lists."
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=06/12/24/1932217
Links:
0. http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/6002/winners-losers2006.html
1. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/05/1628256&tid=188
2. http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/03/1220249&tid=153
3. http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/10/09/217207&tid=217
4. http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/03/26/1639248&tid=123
5. http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/06/02/2154201&tid=146
6. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=98/06/10/1149246&tid=95
Copyright 1997-2006 OSTG. All rights reserved.
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