More »

See the article here:
Watch Foxconn Workers Make an iPad [Video]

When the Sapporo Gakuin University attempted to transfer their mail system from Hotmail to Windows Live@edu, it looks like Microsoft may have misinterpreted the meaning of the word “Troubleshooting.” After a hiccup in the transfer process, the university’s system engineer followed Microsoft’s instructions, and as a result, ended up deleting the entire university mail system. More »

More:
How Microsoft *Almost* Screwed Up a Japanese University [Microsoft]

We all blindly agree with those much too long Terms of Service Agreements without even reading them, right? So what happens if you like, do something unagreeable with the TOS? According to the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals… nothing. They’ve ruled that it’s not a crime to break a TOS. More »

More:
It’s Not a Crime to Break a Terms of Service Agreement (So It’s Okay to Never Read Them) [Law]

Solar photovoltaic cells and solar thermal collectors both capture the sun’s rays. The first one turns the light into electricity, while the other turns it into hot water for heating. They usually battle for rooftop real estate, but Naked Energy has found a way to merge them both into a single solar solution. More »

More:
Solar Panel-In-a-Tube Generates Power and Hot Water At the Same Time [Science]

Hot on the heels of the antivirus firms targeting Flashback, Apple has released another Java update meant to identify and remove any infections of the malware. The company posted the update on Thursday afternoon both to its website and Software Update, making it the third Java update released by the company in just over a week.

“This Java security update removes the most common variants of the Flashback malware,” Apple wrote in the support document for the update. “This update also configures the Java web plug-in to disable the automatic execution of Java applets. Users may re-enable automatic execution of Java applets using the Java Preferences application. If the Java web plug-in detects that no applets have been run for an extended period of time it will again disable Java applets.”

Thursday’s update is essentially the same version of Java released by Apple last week, but with a Flashback removal tool and a preference to control whether Java applets can run automatically or not. At this point in the game, it seems that most Mac users reading Ars probably already identified any infections and removed them, but Apple’s latest update will undoubtedly cover users who are either still unaware of the infection or unsure of what to do about it.

Read the comments on this post

Read this article:
Apple updates Java for a third time, this time with Flashback malware removal

A version of the Nook SimpleTouch is now equipped with front-lighting, Barnes & Noble announced Thursday. The new Nook SimpleTouch costs $40 more than the standard version with the light being the only difference; other features remain the same.

Built-in lighting has become the next logical step for e-ink readers. On April 6, TechCrunch found that Amazon had acquired patents for a front-lighting design in 2010. The company has offered Kindle cases with built in lighting for some time, but on this count Barnes & Noble has beaten Amazon to this feature.

The new Nook benefits from “Flex Lighting,” a thin LED lighting film that sits like a skin on top of the e-ink display. The lighting relies on one or two LEDs, according to The E-Book Reader, and its brightness is adjustable. The standard battery life estimate for a Nook SimpleTouch is two months of one hour of reading per day. Barnes & Noble states the device will still last “over one month” if the reader is using the lighting.

Hilariously, Barnes & Noble is marketing the Nook SimpleTouch toward couples beleaguered by a specific situation—where one person wants to read later than the other (“End bedtime reading debate—when you want to read & your partner wants to sleep,” reads the features list). We expect the Nook SimpleTouch will find a much wider audience, though the $139 price tag is a bit steep compared to the $99 regular Nook SimpleTouch. We’d point out that it’s also only $60 less than the Kindle Fire; which reader you’d choose depends on your dedication to e-ink. The device is available for pre-orders today and will ship May 1.

Read the comments on this post

Original post:
New Nook SimpleTouch with built-in LED lighting lets you read in the dark

Google just announced its earnings for Q1 of 2012 and the company did not disappoint. It raked in $10.65 billion, a full 24 percent higher than last year for the same time period and a hefty improvement over last quarter. Of that rather sizable chunk of cash, $10.2 billion came from advertising revenues — $7.3 billion of that placed on Google’s own properties. GAAP net income for the quarter was $2.89 billion, more than twice that of Q1 2011, which brings its total war chest to $49.3 billion in cash on hand. Perhaps the biggest news for investors, though, is the 2-for-1 stock split, which is a perfect accompaniment for the skyrocketing price. It’s worth noting however, that this new stock is a new class of non-voting shares. For more info check out the PR after the break and don’t miss the letter from Larry Page and Sergey Brin at the source link.

Continue reading Google reports $10.65 billion in revenue for Q1 2012, splits stock

Google reports $10.65 billion in revenue for Q1 2012, splits stock originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Google 1, 2 | Email this | Comments

Read More:
Google reports $10.65 billion in revenue for Q1 2012, splits stock

itwbennett writes “Audi’s electric cars are quiet, maybe too quiet, which is why Audi spent 3 years creating replicated engine noise for its electric car models. We’re so conditioned to the noise of an engine revving that a driver behind the wheel of a too-quiet car may not realize how fast he’s driving, and a pedestrian relying on auditory clues may be unaware of an approaching vehicle, says Ralf Kunkel, Head of Audi Acoustics.” Nissan’s been on this for years (as has Honda); one day, you may only get to choose which noise your car makes, rather than whether it does.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

View the original here:
Audi Gives Silent Electric Car Synthetic Sound

Those eager to check for and remove Flashback malware from their Macs won’t have to wait for Apple to release its own software, as two security firms have now swooped in with their own tools.

The first is Kaspersky Lab, which was the first well-known security firm to confirm the half-million infection number originally supplied by Russian antivirus company Dr. Web. Kaspersky put up a site called FlashbackCheck that allows users to enter their Mac’s hardware UUID (with instructions on how to find it)—this allows the firm to check against its own record of infected machines. Kaspersky has also released its own Flashfake Removal Tool—another name for Flashback—which makes it much easier for users to remove than the tedious Terminal method. (Update: Kaspersky Lab has temporarily suspended distribution of its Flashfake removal tool as the tool was found removing user settings unnecessarily. A replacement tool is expected soon, Kaspersky’s Flashback Checker, however, remains available.)

The second firm is F-Secure, the original authors of the aforementioned Terminal method. Their tool is a single download that automates the detection and removal of Flashback. F-Secure’s tool was most recently updated on Thursday morning to fix a false positive bug that was present in the original release.

These are in addition to a FlashbackChecker tool that we wrote about earlier this week, which was authored by programmer Juan Leon. There’s still no time schedule for when Apple’s own tool will be available, but for those who suspect their machines have been infected, the removal apps from Kaspersky and F-Secure should help to calm those fears.

Read the comments on this post

See the original article here:
Still trying to remove Flashback from your Mac? Antivirus firms to the rescue

Facebook’s massively expanding its Download Your Information service into an all-encompassing archive of the data Mr. Zuckerberg collects about your daily dose of people-stalking. DYL was introduced in 2010 and allowed you to pull down all the photos, posts, messages, friend lists and chat conversations in the archives — but now will also offer stored IP addresses, previous names you’ve used, friend requests you’ve made, with further categories due in the future. It’ll have to sate the concerns of privacy organizations worldwide, since it’s rumored to collect 84 different categories of information about you (85 if you count all those Instagram photos it just bought). It’ll be gradually rolled out to all 845 million users in the coming weeks and is available from your general account settings.

Facebook revealing the personal data it collects, won’t spare your drunk-poking blushes originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 11:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink New York Times | Facebook | Email this | Comments

Follow this link:
Facebook revealing the personal data it collects, won’t spare your drunk-poking blushes