Writing Style Fingerprint Tool Easily Fooled

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday August 20, @05:08AM
from the is-that-your-signature dept.

court

privacy

science

Urchin writes"Some of the techniques used by literary detectives and courts of law to identify the authorship of text are easily fooled, say US researchers. They found that non-professional writers could hide their identity from 'stylometric' techniques by writing in the style of novelist Cormac McCarthy. Stylometric methods have been used in a number of high-profile legal cases in recent decades, including the 'Unabomber' trial. 'We would strongly suggest that courts examine their methods of stylometry against the possibility of adversarial attacks,' say the researchers."

NVIDIA hopes you'll be better able to distinguish its products if it renames them all

by Tim Stevens posted Aug 20th 2009 at 8:33AM

What's in a name? Very little if you're buying computer hardware lately. Back in the day, you could easily compare two CPUs because their names were simply how fast they were -- now you've got series of processors and graphics cards with naming conventions dreamed up by marketing gurus who don't know a front side bus from a school bus. NVIDIA had been shooting for something simple with its G, GT, and GTX lines, but it looks like last year's talk of a re-tooling of its lineup are coming true; all those seemingly straightforward letter prefixes seem set to be dropped in favor of "GeForce" followed by a number. The first to bear this re-branding will be the 40nm, DirectX 10.1 GeForce 210, set to hit the retail channels in October, followed later by the GeForce 230 and GeForce 300. How exactly they all will compare remains to be seen, but we're going to go ahead and speculate that bigger number probablyequals higher cost.

DNA-coated Nanotubes Help Kill Tumors Without Harm To Surrounding Tissue

ScienceDaily (Aug. 20, 2009) — Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have destroyed prostate cancer tumors in mice by injecting them with specially-coated, miniscule carbon tubes and then superheating the tubes with a brief zap of a laser.

Read More

US Navy Tries To Turn Seawater Into Jet Fuel

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday August 20, @01:52AM
from the ocean-in-the-tank dept.

power

military

science

Hugh Pickens writes"The New Scientists reports that faced with global warming and potential oil shortages, the US Navy is experimenting with making jet fuel from seawater by processing seawater into unsaturated short-chain hydrocarbons that with further refining could be made into kerosene-based jet fuel. The process involves extracting carbon dioxide dissolved in the water and combining it with hydrogen — obtained by splitting water molecules using electricity — to make a hydrocarbon fuel, a variant of a chemical reaction called the Fischer-Tropsch process, which is used commercially to produce a gasoline-like hydrocarbon fuel from syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen often derived from coal. The navy team have been experimenting to find out how to steer the CO2-producing process away from producing unwanted methane by finding a different catalyst than the usual cobalt-based catalyst. 'The idea of using CO2 as a carbon source is appealing,' says Philip Jessop, a chemist at Queen's University adding that to make a jet fuel that is properly 'green', the energy-intensive electrolysis that produces the hydrogen will need to use a carbon-neutral energy source; and the complex multi-step process will always consume significantly more energy than the fuel it produces could yield. 'It's a lot more complicated than it at first looks.'"

Apple sells 25% of music in America

Submitted by Shawn on Wednesday, 19 August 2009

No Comment

The NPD Group latest market research shows that one in four songs purchased in America is sold on iTunes. Compared to Wal-Mart (including Walmart, Walmart.com, Walmart Music Downloads) which sold 14 percent of music in America. Best Buy came in third. Something else that is interesting. iTunes sold 69 percent of all digital music sold in America, with Amazon ranking second at 8 percent.

“The growth of legal digital music downloads, and Apple’s success in holding that market, has increased iTunes’s overall strength in the retail music category,” said Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group. “But the importance of the big box retailers shouldn’t be dismissed, as long as the majority of music consumers continue to buy CDs.”

It is still hard to believe that the CD still dominates the way music is delivered.

Marine Corps Wants A Throwable Robot

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday August 19, @09:11PM
from the goblin-bomb-dispenser dept.

military

robot

technology

coondoggie writes"The US Marine Corps has a request — build and rapidly deploy more 10lb-or-under robots its personnel can throw into dangerous situationsthat can quickly gather information without endangering Marines. The throwable robot is part of a family of robots that would range from the 10lb version to one that would act as a central controlling device and weigh close to 300lbs. Marine commanders are demanding ever lighter robots so that troops don't have to offload critical equipment from their rucksacks to accommodate them."

Schneier On a Generation Gap In Privacy

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 19, @10:17AM
from the get-off-my-lawnbook dept.

privacy

communications

social

internet

goompaloompa writes"In the Japan Times, Bruce Schneier writes that a passing conversation online is not what it may seem and that maintaining your privacy is becoming even more difficult as social media and cloud computing become the norm. Furthermore, while users in Japan may think they are secure, their level of protection may vary when the computers that store their data are overseas. At the root of the problem is a new generation gap: old laws incapable of covering current-day scenarios. Quoting: 'Twenty years ago, if someone wanted to look through your correspondence, they had to break into your house. Now, they can just break into your ISP. Ten years ago, your voicemail was on an answering machine in your office; now it's on a computer owned by a telephone company. ... We need comprehensive data privacy laws, protecting our data and communications regardless of where it is stored or how it is processed. We need laws forcing companies to keep it private and delete it as soon as it is no longer needed, and laws giving us the right to delete our data from third-party sites. And we need international cooperation to ensure that companies cannot flaunt data privacy laws simply by moving themselves offshore."

Average Gamer Is 35, Fat and Bummed

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 19, @11:42AM
from the fun-also-causes-cancer dept.

medicine

kamapuaa writes"According to a study published in the upcoming October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the average US video game player is 35 years old, overweight, and tends toward depression. Specifically, female video game players tended towards depression, while males tended towards large BMIs. While the study itself points to several conclusions, one researcher noted: '... habitual use of video games as a coping response may provide a genesis for obsessive-compulsive video-game playing, if not video-game addiction.'"On the flip side, the Washington Post is running a story about the mental health benefits of playing video games.

Neural Pathway Missing In Tone-deaf People

ScienceDaily (Aug. 19, 2009) — Nerve fibers that link perception and motor regions of the brain are disconnected in tone-deaf people, according to new research in the August 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Experts estimate that at least 10 percent of the population may be tone deaf – unable to sing in tune. The new finding identifies a particular brain circuit that appears to be absent in these individuals.

Read More

Heathrow Driverless Taxi

Submitted by Shawn on Tuesday, 18 August 2009

No Comment

Heathrow Airport’s is going to have 18 personal rapid transport (PRT) vehicles. The driver-less taxis will move passengers around Heathrow Airport.

“The four-passenger personal rapid transport (PRT) vehicles, unveiled this week at the Science Museum in London, take airport-goers on a special narrow road from Heathrow’s Terminal 5 to various parking lots. Passengers use a touch screen to type in their destination, press a start button, and the battery-powered vehicle zips along at 25 mph to their destination. There’s a reason the pods look so futuristic–they were designed by Mark Lowson, who worked on the Saturn Rocket that launched Apollo missions.”

Windows 7 will cost half as much in the UK as in the US, crikey!

by Vladislav Savov posted Aug 19th 2009 at 6:28AM

Happy news for our British readers today -- Microsoft is selling Windows 7 Home Premium in the UK at the bargain price of £65 for the full (non-upgrade) version. Converted to $107, that's less than Americans have to shell out just for an upgrade ($120) and about half the price of the full thing ($200). The Professional and Ultimate varieties are also cheaper by about $40 each. With Windows 7 E now out of the picture (though seemingly still available for pre-order from the MS online store), it looks like Microsoft has chosen to match its lower price (listed with an £80 MSRP) with the new SKUs that will actually see retail shelves -- a price on-line retailers are now undercutting. Jolly good. CNET was first to the story and was told by an Amazon UK rep that the current pricing is expected to be indefinite, but previous intel on the matter has indicated that Microsoft will be hiking UK prices from January 1, 2010. So if you wanna be safe, better get that brand spanking new OS before Christmas rolls around.

Window Into The Brain: Diffusion Imaging MRI Tracks Memories And May Detect Alzheimer's At Early Stage

ScienceDaily (Aug. 17, 2009) — When we absorb new information, the human brain reshapes itself to store this newfound knowledge. But where exactly is the new knowledge kept, and how does that capacity to adapt reflect our risk for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of senile dementia later in our lives?

Read More

'Green' Energy From Algae

ScienceDaily (Aug. 17, 2009) — In view of the shortage of petrochemical resources and climate change, development of CO₂-neutral sustainable fuels is one of the most urgent challenges of our times. Energy plants like rape or oil palm are being discussed fervently, as they may also be used for food production. Hence, cultivation of microalgae may contribute decisively to tomorrow’s energy supply. For energy production from microalgae, KIT scientists are developing closed photo-bioreactors and novel cell disruption methods.

Read More

An Electricity-Cost Aware Internet Routing Scheme

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday August 17, @10:21AM
from the juice-is-juice dept.

power

internet

Al writes"Researchers from MIT, Carnegie Mellon and Akamai have developed a network-routing scheme that could save "internet-scale" companies such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft million of dollars each year by moving data to locations with the best electricity prices for a particular day. The scheme simply considers both the most-efficient routing path for data and the potential cost savings of routing it somewhere farther away. The researchers studied price fluctuations at locations across the country and used data from Akamai caching servers to test the idea out. In the best possible scenario--which would require more efficient server--they estimate that companies could save as much as 40% on the electricity bills (tens of millions each year). Google already operates at least one datacenter that shuts down when temperatures get too high. Is this the next logical step for internet computing?"

Man Jailed After Using LimeWire For ID Theft

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday August 12, @12:31PM
from the guess-his-making-available-defense-didn't-work-either dept.

privacy

court

internet

news

angry tapir sends along this excerpt from PC World:"A Seattle man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for using the LimeWire file-sharing service to lift personal information from computers across the US. The man, Frederick Wood, typed words like 'tax return' and 'account' into the LimeWire search box. That allowed him to find and access computers on the LimeWire network with shared folders that contained tax returns and bank account information. ... He used the information to open accounts, create identification cards and make purchases. 'Many of the victims are parents who don't realize that LimeWire is on their home computer,' [said Kathryn Warma of the US Attorney's Office]."

Microsoft forbidden from selling Word, will probably keep selling Word

by Nilay Patel posted Aug 12th 2009 at 11:42AM

Hey, remember that seemingly random patent case from May in which a federal jury awarded a company called i4i Ltd $200 million in patent damages against Microsoft? Things just got worse for Redmond: the judge in the case today issued a permanent injunction against sales of Word 2003, Word 2007, and any future versions of Word that can open .xml, .docx, or .docm files containing "custom XML." Yeah, no kidding -- that's pretty much all of 'em. At issue is i4i's patent on a method for reading XML, and obviously Microsoft's vowed to appeal, so expect this injunction to be stayed pending that appeal in short order -- and also expect Microsoft to eventually either find a way to win or simply pay up, since there's no way it'll let anyone kill Word. We'll see what happens. Word.

Update: CNET has a quick interview with i4i Chairman Loudon Owen, who says that he himself uses Word and that i4i isn't trying to "stop Microsoft's business" or "interfere with all the users of Word out there." It's an interesting read, go check it out.

Chevy Volt nabs shaky 230 MPG rating, might not ship in 2010

by Darren Murph posted Aug 11th 2009 at 9:03AM

We've always heard that you've got to take the bad with the good, but who said it had to be done at the same time? This morning, GovernmentGeneral Motors CEO Fritz Henderson had some rather sensational news to share about Chevrolet's Volt, but according to a report over at Autocar, that very vehicle is looking at some serious (potential) issues. As for the good news, we're told that the Volt has snagged a staggering 230 MPG rating in the city, but we should caution you that it's not as cut and dry as GM would have you believe. The EPA has released "a new methodology for determining a draft fuel economy standard for extended-range EVs like the Volt," and it's that murky measurement system that has blessed Chevy's wonder child with a triple digit MPG rating.

Now, for the bad news. This past Sunday, GM reportedly submitted a regulatory filing with the US Treasury, and while it can't be taken as official word per se, it does provide reason to believe that the promised November ship date will slip to an undisclosed month and year. The report also noted that there is "no assurance" that it will qualify for any remaining energy loans to develop advanced fuel technology automobiles, and if you needed more reason to doubt the whole ordeal, have a look at this zinger: "Our competitors and others are pursuing similar technologies and other competing technologies, in some cases with more money available; there can be no assurance that they will not acquire similar or superior technologies sooner than we do." Ah well -- at least we know the four or five prototype models destined for eBay will do Ma Earth proud, right?

Update: CNN has a nice look at this incredibly large MPG figure, and -- surprise, surprise -- it's not nearly as fantastic as it looks at first glance.

Read - Chevy Volt gets "230 MPG" rating
Read - Chevy Volt may be delayed [Via AutoblogGreen]

The Right Amount of "Challenge" In IT & Gaming

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday August 11, @08:08AM
from the inversely-proportional dept.

games

it

boyko.at.netqos writes"In an essay entitled 'An Epiphany I Had While Playing Pac-Man,' the author talks about how smart people need to find a certain amount of intellectual challenge from day to day. If they don't find it in their workplace, they'll end up playing complex, 'smart' games, like Civilization IV or Chess — and if they do find it in their workplace, they're more likely to sit down with a nice game of Pac-Man, Katamari Damacy, or Peggle. Quoting: 'When I look back on my life, and I compare the times in my life when I was playing simple games compared to the times in my life when I was playing complex ones, a pattern emerges. The more complexity and mental stimulation I was getting from other activities — usually my day job at the time — the less I needed mental stimulation in my free time. Conversely, in times when I was working boring jobs, I'd be playing games that required a lot of thinking and mental gymnastics.' The author then goes on to speculate that some IT workers might subconsciously be giving themselves more challenges by choosing to deal with difficult problems, rather than performing simple (but boring) preventative maintenance and proactive network management."

New Study Sheds Light On The Growing U.S. Wind Power Market

ScienceDaily (Aug. 11, 2009) — For the fourth consecutive year, the U.S. was home to the fastest-growing wind power market in the world in 2008, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Energy and prepared by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). Specifically, U.S. wind power capacity additions increased by 60 percent in 2008, representing a $16 billion investment in new wind projects.

Read More

Earth's Period of Habitability Is Nearly Over

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday August 11, @05:38AM
from the nice-while-it-lasts dept.

earth

science

xp65 writes"Scientists at this year's XXVIIth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil agree that we do not yet know how ubiquitous or how fragile life is, but that: 'The Earth's period of habitability is nearly over on a cosmological timescale. In a half to one billion years the Sun will start to be too luminous and warm for water to exist in liquid form on Earth, leading to a runaway greenhouse effect in less than 2 billion years.' Other surprising claims from this conference: that the Sun may not be the ideal kind of star to nurture life, and that the Earth may not be the ideal size."

Nissan’s Leaf

Submitted by Will on Monday, 10 August 2009

No Comment

Introducing Nissan’s all-electric “Leaf”. It has 5 seats, can go 90 mph, and has a range of 100 miles. It can recharge in 30 minutes and will cost less than $30,000. Scheduled to be be released by the end of 2010.

Hackers Get Free Parking In San Francisco

Posted by timothy on Friday July 31, @07:58AM
from the usually-spots-at-the-end-of-the-judah-line dept.

Hugh Pickens writes"PC World reports that at the Black Hat security conference this week, security researchers say that it is pretty easy for a technically savvy hacker to make a fake payment card that gives them unlimited free parking on San Francisco's smart parking meter system. 'It wasn't technically complicated and the fact that I can do it in three days means that other people are probably already doing it and probably taking advantage of it,' says Joe Grand. 'It seems like the system wasn't analyzed at all.' To figure out how the payment system worked, Grand hooked up an oscilloscope to a parking meter and monitored what happened when he used a genuine payment card. Grand discovered the cards aren't digitally signed, and the only authentication between the meter and card is a password sent from the former to the latter. Examining the meters themselves could yield additional vulnerabilities that might allow someone to conduct other kinds of attacks, such as propagating a virus from meter to meter via the smart cards or a meter minder's PDA."

Got Zinc? New Zinc Research Suggests Novel Therapeutic Targets

ScienceDaily (July 31, 2009) — Everyone knows that vitamins "from A to zinc" are important for good health. Now, a new research study in the August 2009 print issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biologysuggests that zinc may be pointing the way to new therapeutic targets for fighting infections. Specifically, scientists from Florida found that zinc not only supports healthy immune function, but increases activation of the cells (T cells) responsible for destroying viruses and bacteria.

Read More

11-Word Extracts May Infringe Copyright In Europe

Posted by kdawson on Friday July 31, @08:42AM
from the dibs-on-copyright-on-"the" dept.

splodus writes"The European Court of Justice, Europe's highest court, has ruled that a service providing 11-word snippets of newspaper articles could be unlawful. Media monitoring company Infopaq International searches newspaper articles and provides clients with a keyword and the five words either side. This practice was challenged by the DDF, a group representing newspaper interests, as infringing their members' copyright. The court has referred the issue back to national courts to determine whether copyright laws in each country will be subject to the ruling. The full ruling is available at the European Court of Justice Web site."

Mines Could Provide Geothermal Energy

ScienceDaily (July 31, 2009) — Mine shafts on the point of being closed down could be used to provide geothermal energy to local towns. This is the conclusion of two engineers from the University of Oviedo, whose research is being published in the journal Renewable Energy. The method they have developed makes it possible to estimate the amount of heat that a tunnel could potentially provide.

Read More