When Phones Are Just Too Smart
Jan 30, 2010 Technology
Despite the availability of over 140,000 apps on iTunes, researchers have found that the average iPhone or iPod Touch owner uses only 5 to 10 regularly.
White House killing NASA’s moon mission, reports say
Jan 30, 2010 Developement
The Obama administration budget plan will call for ending NASA’s plan to return humans to the moon, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel newspaper.
Gun With Wireless Arming Signal Goes On Sale Soon
Jan 30, 2010 IT
An anonymous reader writes “Armatix has built a pistol that will disarm itself when it is taken away from a watch that sends it a wireless arming signal. The .22 caliber guns will go on sale in the US within months, and the initial price is 7,000 euro. Higher caliber models will follow. To activate the gun, users must enter a pin code on the wristwatch, and then keep it within roughly 20cm of the gun. If the person is disarmed, the gun can’t be used against them. Also coming soon this year, civilians will also be able to buy three-shot Tasers, rubber bullets, as well as Heckler and Koch black rifles.” This might not be good news for the citizens of New Jersey.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Google To Pay $500 For Bugs Found In Chromium
Jan 30, 2010 IT
Trailrunner7 writes to mention that a new program from Google could pay security researchers $500 for every security bug found in Chromium. Of course if you find a particularly clever bug you could be eligible for a $1337 reward. “Today, we are introducing an experimental new incentive for external researchers to participate. We will be rewarding select interesting and original vulnerabilities reported to us by the security research community. For existing contributors to Chromium security — who would likely continue to contribute regardless — this may be seen as a token of our appreciation. In addition, we are hoping that the introduction of this program will encourage new individuals to participate in Chromium security. The more people involved in scrutinizing Chromium’s code and behavior, the more secure our millions of users will be. Such a concept is not new; we’d like to give serious kudos to the folks at Mozilla for their long-running and successful vulnerability reward program.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Parallel Algorithm Leads To Crypto Breakthrough
Jan 30, 2010 IT
Hugh Pickens writes “Dr. Dobbs reports that a cracking algorithm using brute force methods can analyze the entire DES 56-bit keyspace with a throughput of over 280 billion keys per second, the highest-known benchmark speeds for 56-bit DES decryption and can accomplish a key recovery that would take years to perform on a PC, even with GPU acceleration, in less than three days using a single, hardware-accelerated server with a cluster of 176 FPGAs. The massively parallel algorithm iteratively decrypts fixed-size blocks of data to find keys that decrypt into ASCII numbers. Candidate keys that are found in this way can then be more thoroughly tested to determine which candidate key is correct.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Apple’s iPad, Oracle’s plan for Sun share limelight
Jan 30, 2010 Software
While it seemed that all eyes were on Apple’s unveiling of the long-awaited iPad this week, Oracle on the same day revealed its plans for Sun Microsystems’ technology, while those at Sun braced for the merger and began their public goodbyes. We also had a flurry of financial reports this week and some Internet weirdness associated with President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address.
Apple’s iPad marketing sparks complaint to FTC
Jan 30, 2010 Software
Apple’s iPad, announced Wednesday, has already led to one complaint to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in which a consumer charged Apple with false advertising by showing Adobe Flash working on the device.
CA names new chief executive
Jan 30, 2010 Software
Infrastructure software giant CA Inc.’s board of directors has appointed William McCracken as CEO, replacing John Swainson, who announced his retirement in September.
Reason 4.0
Jan 30, 2010 Software
Replace racks of hardware instruments and drum machines with virtual software? When Reason 1.0 was first released nearly 10 years ago, the idea was still largely heretical. Reason, which combined solid-performing racks of software instruments and effects with mixing and sequencing, helped change that perception. Part of Reason’s popularity is its open-ended interface: beginning users can stick to its automatically configured front panel, while advanced users can hit the Tab key and repatch modules into powerful custom rigs. A steady stream of updates over time has added modules and refined functionality while adhering closely to the original formula and keeping the use of system resources and screen real estate economical.
Browsers can leave a unique trail on the Web, privacy group says
Jan 30, 2010 Software
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has created an online tool that details the wealth of information a Web browser reveals, which can pose privacy concerns when used to profile users.