Angry AT&T Customers May Disrupt Service

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday December 16, @11:19AM
from the because-he-can dept.

apple

g0dsp33d writes"Fake Steve Jobs, the alter-alias of Newsweek's Dan Lyons, is calling disgruntled AT&T users to protest comments from AT&T’s Ralph de la Vega that smart phone (specifically iPhone) usage is responsible for their network issues and his plan to end unlimited data plans. The post, dubbed "Operation Chokehold" wants AT&T customers to use as much data service as they can on Friday, December 19th at noon. While Fake Steve Jobs is notable for its satire, many Twitter and Facebook users seem to be rallying to its cry. It is unclear if there will be enough support to cause a DDOS."

The Importance of Attractiveness Depends on Where You Live

ScienceDaily (Dec. 16, 2009) — Do good-looking people really benefit from their looks, and in what ways? A team of researchers from the University of Georgia and the University of Kansas found that yes; attractive people do tend to have more social relationships and therefore an increased sense of psychological well-being. This seems like common sense, and might be why we spend billions of dollars each year trying to become more attractive.

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McDonald's WiFi will be free like obesity starting January

By Thomas Ricker posted Dec 16th 2009 5:45AM

If you live in small-town America then you're already familiar with the hippest hangout around: McDonald's. Now everyone in the US, not just Zune owners, will be treated to free WiFi to go with their manufactured food purchases. Starting mid-January, some 11,000 Mickey Dee locations will partner with AT&T to scrub the $2.95 for 2-hours of WiFi fee according to David Grooms, CIO of McDonalds USA. The idea is to hook the nation's loitering youth into purchasing additional items in between Facebook updates capturing late-night brawls with local rent-a-cops. Thank gawd there's a middle-aged man-clown out there who likes to babysit children.

Close-Up Photos of Dying Star Show Our Sun's Fate

ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2009) — About 550 light-years from Earth, a star like our Sun is writhing in its death throes. Chi Cygni has swollen in size to become a red giant star so large that it would swallow every planet out to Mars in our solar system. Moreover, it has begun to pulse dramatically in and out, beating like a giant heart. New close-up photos of the surface of this distant star show its throbbing motions in unprecedented detail.

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Dying Star Mimics Our Sun's Death

Posted by kdawson on Wednesday December 16, @02:59AM
from the telltale-heart dept.

space

science

coondoggie writes"In about 5 billion years, our Sun will face a nasty death. Scientists with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics this week releaseddramatic new pictures of a dying star much like the Sun, about 550 light-years from Earth. According to the researchers, Chi Cygni has swollen in size to become a red giant star so large that if it were in our solar system it would swallow every planet out to Mars and cook the asteroid belt. The star has started to pulse dramatically, beating like a giant heart with a period of 408 days."The research team produced a video of the pulsating star, using infrared images captured via very long baseline interferometry.

Hackers Counter Microsoft COFEE With Some DECAF

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday December 15, @10:36PM
from the please-mister-moto dept.

microsoft

security

software

technology

An anonymous reader writes"Two developers have created 'Detect and Eliminate Computer Assisted Forensics' (DECAF). The tool tries to stop Microsoft's Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE), which helps law enforcement officials grab data from password-protected or encrypted sources. After COFEE was leaked to the Web, Microsoft issued takedown notices to sites hosting the software."The article notes that DECAF is not open source, so you aren't really going to know for sure what it will do to your computer

The Perfect Way To Slice a Pizza

Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday December 15, @12:09PM
from the equal-distribution-of-the-pie dept.

math

iamapizza writes"New Scientist reports on the quest of two math boffins for the perfect way to slice a pizza. It's an interesting and in-depth article; 'The problem that bothered them was this. Suppose the harried waiter cuts the pizza off-center, but with all the edge-to-edge cuts crossing at a single point, and with the same angle between adjacent cuts. The off-center cuts mean the slices will not all be the same size, so if two people take turns to take neighboring slices, will they get equal shares by the time they have gone right round the pizza — and if not, who will get more?' This is useful, of course, if you're familiar with the concept of 'sharing' a pizza."

Aussie Scientists Find Coconut-Carrying Octopus

Posted by timothy on Tuesday December 15, @01:40PM
from the concealed-carry-in-australian-waters dept.

science

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from an AP report:"Australian scientists have discovered an octopus in Indonesia that collects coconut shells for shelter — unusually sophisticated behavior that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal. The scientists filmed the veined octopus, Amphioctopus marginatus, selecting halved coconut shells from the sea floor, emptying them out, carrying them under their bodies up to 65 feet (20 meters), and assembling two shells together to make a spherical hiding spot. ... 'I was gobsmacked,' said Finn, a research biologist at the museum who specializes in cephalopods. 'I mean, I've seen a lot of octopuses hiding in shells, but I've never seen one that grabs it up and jogs across the sea floor. I was trying hard not to laugh.'"

Yellowstone Supervolcano Larger Than First Thought

Posted by timothy on Tuesday December 15, @10:50AM
from the even-superer dept.

earth

science

drewtheman writes"New studies of the plumbing that feeds the Yellowstone supervolcano in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park shows the plume and the magma chamber under the volcano are larger than first thought and contradicts claims that only shallow hot rock exists. University of Utah research professor of geophysics Robert Smith led four separate studies that verify a plume of hot and molten rock at least 410 miles deep that rises at an angle from the northwest."

Microsoft Fined In India For Using "Money Power" Against Pirates

microsoftPosted by Soulskill on Monday December 14, @03:05PM
from the somebody-forward-this-to-the-riaa dept.

money

court

news

bhagwad writes"The Delhi High Court has found Microsoft guilty of using money and influence to make it expensive to defend against piracy cases. According to the judge, 'When the constitution of India provides equality before law, this equality has to be all pervasive and cannot be allowed to be diluted because of money power or lobbying power.' Furthermore, the judge said that Microsoft had to deposit a certain amount of money beforehand, and, if they lost the case, the money would go to the defendants for their legal and travel expenses. For icing on the cake, the court also appointed a commissioner to probe the matter further and ordered Microsoft to pay the costs. In an age where muscled corporations harass the ordinary person through expensive litigation, it's highly pleasurable to see them rapped for it by a judge."

3-D Microchips for More Powerful and Environmentally Friendly Computers

ScienceDaily (Dec. 14, 2009) — The world of IT pursues its race for performance. CMOSAIC could boost the computing performance of central processors by a factor 10 while consuming less energy.

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Robot Can Read Human Body Language

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday December 10, @11:35AM
from the we-are-the-robots dept.

science

An anonymous reader writes"European researchers have developed a new approach to artificial intelligence that could allow computers to respond to behavior as well as commands, reacting intelligently to the subtle nuances of human communication. It's no trivial feat – many humans struggle with the challenge on a day-to-day basis."

Electrolux "Silence Amplified" vacuum with iPod dock and speakers probably sucks

By Thomas Ricker posted Dec 10th 2009 6:59AM

Crazy huh? Sure, but if your company just launched a commercial vacuum cleaner so quiet that it's called the "UltraSilencer" then what better way to drive that point home than by adding an "iPod dock" (though that's no iPod we've ever seen) and speakers to the damn thing? In fact, Electrolux has taken this Silence Amplified concept so far that they've conducted a lab study to prove that "music assisted vacuuming increases the number of nozzle sweeps, improves the cleaning result and leaves a general feeling of happiness." Duh. Now go check the video evidence after the break.

Electrolux "Silence Amplified" vacuum with iPod dock and speakers probably sucks

Electrolux

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Are Holiday and Weekend Eating Patterns Affecting Obesity Rates?

ScienceDaily (Dec. 10, 2009) — The holidays can be challenging for even the most diligent dieters. But are weekends just as detrimental? Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., found that weekend eating patterns change significantly.

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Electromagnetic Fields as Cutting Tools

ScienceDaily (Dec. 10, 2009) — The bodywork on motor vehicles must be sufficiently stable, but processing the high-strength steels involved -- for example punching holes in them -- can prove something of a challenge. A new steel-cutting process will save time, energy and money in the future.

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Hops Compound May Prevent Prostate Cancer

Drink More BEER:)

ScienceDaily (Dec. 10, 2009) — The natural compound xanthohumol blocks the effects of the male hormone testosterone, therefore aiding in the prevention of prostate cancer.

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UK man builds life-sized Dalek, furthers intergalactic evil

By Joseph L. Flatley posted Dec 8th 2009 3:54PM

Sci-fi fandom and the DIY ethic go hand in hand -- and for evidence, you need only look at the large number of Star Trek and Star Wars-themed projects we've seen in this space over the years. Still, few of them have achieved the scope of the full-sized Dalek that Rob Bosher built for about £700 (roughly $1,140). Powered by an electric wheelchair and constructed mostly from wood, this guy can be piloted via remote control and even features working lights, a moving eye (a reconstituted magic eight ball) and a voice modulator for the creepy, alien order to "exterminate." When not trying to slowly (very slowly) populate the earth with a robot army bent on universal conquest and destruction, Bosher hopes to use his project to make money for regional charities.

Extreame Sheperding

Sea Level Could Rise from 0.75 to 1.9 Meters This Century

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2009) — A new scientific study warns that sea level could rise much faster than previously expected. By the year 2100, global sea level could rise between 75 and 190 centimetres, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Craving Hinders Comprehension Without You Realizing It

I wonder if this translates to strong food cravings too? My experience says yes.

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2009) — A new University of Pittsburgh study reveals that craving a cigarette while performing a cognitive task not only increases the chances of a person's mind wandering, but also makes that person less likely to notice when his or her mind has wandered.

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A Greener Way to Get Electricity from Natural Gas

ScienceDaily (Dec. 8, 2009) — A new type of natural-gas electric power plant proposed by MIT researchers could provide electricity with zero carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, at costs comparable to or less than conventional natural-gas plants, and even to coal-burning plants. But that can only come about if and when a price is set on the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases -- a step the U.S. Congress and other governments are considering as a way to halt climate change.

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Linux Reaches 32% Netbook Market Share

Posted by kdawson on Monday December 07, @10:07PM
from the one-third-of-world-domination dept.

portables

linux

christian.einfeldt writes"Linux netbooks have captured 32% of the global netbook market, says Jeff Orr, an analyst with consumer computer research firm ABI Research. The largest share of netbook sales is in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, according to Orr. ABI's latest figures align with a statement by Dell executives in February of this year, to the effect that Linux netbooks comprised about 33% of Dell shipments of Dell Inspiron mini 9s netbooks. These data points cast doubt on claims by Microsoft that Windows XP has captured 98% of the netbook market (a figure Microsoft later revised to 93%). In an interview with DesktopLinux.com, Orr made clear that the 32% Linux netbook market share did not include either user-installed Linux or dual-boot systems, but was confined to just pre-installed Linux shipments."

Many Parents Encourage Underage Drinking, Australian Study Finds

ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2009) — Half of Australian adults and 63 per cent of Australians on a higher income believe 15- to 17-year-olds should be allowed to consume alcohol under parental supervision at home, according to the latest MBF Healthwatch survey.

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Confused school district fires sysadmin for running SETI@home: 'As an educational institution we do not support the search for E.T.'

By Nilay Patel posted Dec 2nd 2009 3:24PM

We've dealt with a number of confused and outright foolish school administrators in our time, but it seems like Arizona's Higley Unified School District might be run by the most bonkers of the bunch: they've fired IT director Brad Niesluchowski for running SETI@Home on some 5,000 of the district's machines. Why? According to confidently-underinformed superintendent Denise Birdwell, Higley Unified "certainly would have supported cancer research," but does "not support the search for E.T." Well, that's just peachy -- except that her flippant dismissal of SETI belies a complete ignorance of one of the oldest and most respected distributed-computing projects in the world, and what it's actually looking for. Oh, but it gets worse: Birdwell thinks SETI@home -- which primarily runs as a screensaver -- was somehow slowing down "educational programs in every classroom," and magically estimates that it's cost her district "$1 million in added utility fees and replacement parts," with a further huge cost required to remove the software. Completing her transformation into the worst-possible stereotype of a school district superintendent, Birdwell's even got the local cops on the case. Yeah, it's idiotic, but it could be worse -- we can only imagine the hell that would have broken loose had Higley's machines been a part of the renegade Engadget Folding@home team.

Musical Tesla Coils Perform Zelda

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday December 02, @12:46PM
from the nerds-with-time dept.

music

heychris writes"You've gotta love the Chicago Tribune's story on Tesla Coil hobbyists from the first sentence. 'Under a starry Saturday sky behind a Lake Zurich warehouse, three men unload a small flamethrower, electric cabling, neon-tube "light sabers," about 80 pounds of chain mail and two 7-foot devices that look like monster-movie props.' So what does one do with 1.6 million (sorry, not 1.21 jigga-) watts and a Tesla coil or two? Play 110dB music, of course."