Do you know more about science than the average American?

Feeling science-savvy? Take Pew Research Center’s 13 question Science and Technology Knowledge Quiz and see where you stand against a representative sampling of Americans. Read more…        

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Do you know more about science than the average American?

More Cannovation? ‘360 Lid’ Beer Can Making the Rounds

While Budweiser’s new bowtie-shaped beer can is a couple of weeks away from launch, a series of smaller breweries have already launched another new type of can: One with a ” 360 Lid ” that peels completely away, allowing tipplers to drink brew through a circular, drinking-glass-like aperture. Here at the Core77 offices we rarely drink beer out of cans. (That’s not snobbery; unlike bottles, cans cannot be broken against desks and wielded as weapons during editorial squabbles that devolve into melees.) But the few times we have, we’ve never had a problem getting beer to pour from the tab-sized opening into our gulping mouths. So why the new can? Pennsylvania-based licenser Sly Fox Brewing Company insists a circular opening “allows the full flavor and aroma of the beer to hit the drinker’s senses.” And yes, the drinking rim is rounded over, so you don’t cut your lips with each swig. (more…)        

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More Cannovation? ‘360 Lid’ Beer Can Making the Rounds

BitTorrent Sync creates private, peer-to-peer Dropbox, no cloud required

BitTorrent today released folder syncing software that replicates files across multiple computers using the same peer-to-peer file sharing technology that powers BitTorrent clients. The free BitTorrent Sync application is labeled as being in the alpha stage, so it’s not necessarily ready for prime-time, but it is publicly available for download and working as advertised on my home network. BitTorrent, Inc. (yes, there is a legitimate company behind BitTorrent ) took to its blog to announce  the move from a pre-alpha, private program to the publicly available alpha. Additions since the private alpha include one-way synchronization, one-time secrets for sharing files with a friend or colleague, and the ability to exclude specific files and directories. Read 13 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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BitTorrent Sync creates private, peer-to-peer Dropbox, no cloud required

China Behind 96% of All Cyber-Espionage Data Breaches, Verizon Report Claims

colinneagle writes “Verizon’s 2013 Data Breach Investigation Report is out and includes data gathered by its own forensics team and data breach info from 19 partner organizations worldwide. China was involved in 96% of all espionage data-breach incidents, most often targeting manufacturing, professional and transportation industries, the report claims. The assets China targeted within those industries included laptop/desktop, file server, mail server and directory server, in order to steal credentials, internal organization data, trade secrets and system info. A whopping 95% of the attacks started with phishing to get a toehold into their victim’s systems. The report states, ‘Phishing techniques have become much more sophisticated, often targeting specific individuals (spear phishing) and using tactics that are harder for IT to control. For example, now that people are suspicious of email, phishers are using phone calls and social networking.’ It is unknown who the nation-state actors were in the other 4% of breaches, which the report says ‘may mean that other threat groups perform their activities with greater stealth and subterfuge. But it could also mean that China is, in fact, the most active source of national and industrial espionage in the world today.'” The report also notes that financially-motivated incidents primarily came from the U.S. and various Eastern European countries. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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China Behind 96% of All Cyber-Espionage Data Breaches, Verizon Report Claims

FedEx’s New Delivery Manager Schedules Deliveries For 2-Hour Windows

Today, FedEx announced it will begin allowing customers to pay $5 to reschedule a delivery to a new date or location, or $10 to narrow delivery down to a 2-hour window. Read more…        

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FedEx’s New Delivery Manager Schedules Deliveries For 2-Hour Windows

Java users beware: Exploit circulating for just-patched critical flaw

If you haven’t installed last week’s patch from Oracle that plugs dozens of critical holes in its Java software framework, now would be a good time. As in immediately. As in, really, right now . In the past few days, attack code targeting one of the many remote-code-execution vulnerabilities fixed in Java 7 Update 21 was folded into either the folded into the RedKit or CrimeBoss exploit kit. By Sunday, that attack code was being actively unleashed on unsuspecting end users, according to a short blog post published by a researcher from antivirus provider F-Secure. The post doesn’t say where the attacks were being hosted or precisely how attackers are using them. Still, Oracle describes the vulnerability as allowing remote code execution without authentication. And that means you should install the patch before you do anything else today. The track record of malware purveyors of abusing advertising networks, compromised Apache servers , and other legitimate enterprises means readers could encounter attacks even when they’re browsing a site they know and trust. Read 3 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Java users beware: Exploit circulating for just-patched critical flaw

Researchers watch nanoparticles self-assemble for the very first time

It’s not quite the T-1000 pulling itself together after being blown apart , but it’s pretty much the same idea. For the first time in history, scientists have observed the self-assembly of nanoparticles in real-time. Read more…        

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Researchers watch nanoparticles self-assemble for the very first time

WD ships 5mm Blue UltraSlim drive, enables thinner budget Ultrabooks

We were intrigued with the prospects of Western Digital’s 5mm Blue drive when we saw it last summer: finally, a 2.5-inch spinning disk thin enough to rival slimmer SSDs without the price premium of a hybrid like the WD Black SSHD . If you shared the same curiosity, you’ll be glad to hear that the finished product is shipping as the WD Blue UltraSlim. Device builders can now stuff 500GB into spaces that would exclude 7mm disks , yet pay just $89 for the privilege — a price low enough to let even frugal Ultrabooks shed some bulk. The 5mm disk reaches its miniscule dimensions through the use of a tiny edge connector that mates both power and a SATA interface, leaving more room for the drive machinery. We can’t guarantee that you’ll find a Blue UltraSlim in your next PC or set-top box when Western Digital hasn’t named any of its customers, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the wafer-like drive is commonplace in the near future. Filed under: Laptops , Storage Comments Source: Western Digital

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WD ships 5mm Blue UltraSlim drive, enables thinner budget Ultrabooks

IBM’s solar tech is 80% efficient thanks to supercomputer know-how

IBM Research’s prototype HCPVT system in Zurich. By borrowing cooling systems used in its supercomputers, IBM Research claims it can dramatically increase the overall efficiency of concentrated photovoltaic solar power from 30 to 80 percent. Like other concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) collectors, IBM’s system at its Zurich laboratory uses a mirrored parabolic dish to concentrate incoming solar radiation onto PV cells. The dish uses a tracking system to move with the sun, concentrating the collected radiation by a factor of 2,000 onto a sensor containing triple-junction PV cells. During daylight hours, each 1-sq cm PV chip generates on average between 200 and 250 watts of electrical power, harnessing up to 30 percent of the incoming solar energy. Ordinarily, the remaining 70 percent of energy would be lost as heat. But by capturing most of that heat with water, IBM Research says it is able to reduce system heat losses to around 20 percent of the total incoming energy. This results in a bottom-line efficiency of 80 percent for its CPV collector, dubbed HCPVT for High Concentration Photovoltaic Thermal. Unlike a regular CPV system, HCPVT delivers its energy in two forms: electricity and hot water. Read 7 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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IBM’s solar tech is 80% efficient thanks to supercomputer know-how

Noodle Robots Replacing Workers In Chinese Restaurants

kkleiner writes “Recently developed noodle-making robots have now been put into operation in over 3,000 restaurants in China. Invented by a noodle restaurant owner, each unibrow-sporting robot currently costs 10,000 yuan ($1,600), which is only three months wages for an equivalent human noodle cook. As the cost of the robot continues to drop, more noodle shops are bound to displace human workers for the tirelessly working cheaper robots.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Noodle Robots Replacing Workers In Chinese Restaurants