Category: reader

Ubuntuforums.org Hacked

satuon writes “The popular Ubuntu Forums site is now displaying a message saying there was a security breach. What is currently known: Unfortunately the attackers have gotten every user’s local username, password, and email address from the Ubuntu Forums database. The passwords are not stored in plain text. However, if you were using the same password as your Ubuntu Forums one on another service (such as email), you are strongly encouraged to change the password on the other service ASAP. Ubuntu One, Launchpad and other Ubuntu/Canonical services are NOT affected by the breach.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Ubuntuforums.org Hacked

Jail Time For Price-Fixing Car Parts

An anonymous reader writes “The U.S. Dept. of Justice has announced that Panasonic and its subsidiary Sanyo have been fined $56.5 million for their roles in price fixing conspiracies involving battery cells and car parts. The fines are part of a larger investigation into the prices of auto parts. Interestingly, 12 people at various companies have been sentenced to jail time, and three more are going to prison. Since the charges are felonies, none of the sentences are shorter than a year and a day. Criminal fines targeting these companies has totaled over $874 million. ‘The conduct of Panasonic, SANYO, and LG Chem resulted in inflated production costs for notebook computers and cars purchased by U.S. consumers. These investigations illustrate our efforts to ensure market fairness for U.S. businesses by bringing corporations to justice when their commercial activity violates antitrust laws.'” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Jail Time For Price-Fixing Car Parts

MI5 Hiring Industrial Espionage IT Support Staff

AmiMoJo writes “A recent job posting by MI5 seeks to recruit ‘Data Exploitation Specialists.’ The core of the role is described as ‘provid[ing] tactical solutions and operational support to business users of information exploitation systems.’ In other words, industrial espionage. This open admission comes at a time when the UK and its partners are accusing China of the same thing. Pot, meet kettle?” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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MI5 Hiring Industrial Espionage IT Support Staff

They’re doing a Superman/Batman movie… but that’s not the big news

Man of Steel director Zack Snyder just came out and rocked our worlds at Comic-Con. Not just announcing that Batman will be in the Superman sequel — which he did with a cool-looking metallic Superman-Batman logo that drove the crowd nuts. But that was not the biggest deal. Read more…        

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They’re doing a Superman/Batman movie… but that’s not the big news

Rethinking the Wetsuit

symbolset writes “Apparently Australians have come up with the brilliant idea: if you don’t want to be eaten by a shark, it’s best to not go swimming in shark-infested waters in a seal costume. ‘Scientists from the University of Western Australia, with designers Shark Attack Mitigation Systems (SAMS), have unveiled two new wetsuits that they say could save lives in the water. Based on a breakthrough discovery that sharks are colour-blind, one wetsuit, labelled the “Elude, ” is designed to camouflage a swimmer or diver in the sea. At the other extreme, the “Diverter” sports bold white and dark-blue stripes, and is intended to mirror nature’s warning signs to ward off any potential shark attack.'” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Rethinking the Wetsuit

What Actually Happens to All Your Deleted Files?

We delete files all the time to free up space, or to get rid of pesky evidence, but the whole process is a lot more complicated than it seems from the outside. When you go to “delete” something, you’re just pressing the start button on a much more involved, much more random process. So what actually happens to that data? Read more…        

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What Actually Happens to All Your Deleted Files?

What the World Would Look Like If You Could Actually See Wi-Fi Signals

Everybody loves Wi-Fi. Fast why fy, free wee fee, everywhere wireless. But what if we could actually see the Wi-Fi signals we use everyday? What if they covered the world in an electric smoggy haze? Would you still love it? Ah what the hell, probably hell yes. Read more…        

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What the World Would Look Like If You Could Actually See Wi-Fi Signals

MIT Uses Machine Learning Algorithm To Make TCP Twice As Fast

An anonymous reader writes “MIT is claiming they can make the Internet faster if we let computers redesign TCP/IP instead of coding it by hand. They used machine learning to design a version of TCP that’s twice the speed and causes half the delay, even with modern bufferbloated networks. They also claim it’s more ‘fair.’ The researchers have put up a lengthy FAQ and source code where they admit they don’t know why the system works, only that it goes faster than normal TCP.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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MIT Uses Machine Learning Algorithm To Make TCP Twice As Fast

Scientists Created an Impossible Supermaterial Totally by Accident

For more than a century, scientists have been saying the same thing: It’s impossible to create a water-free disordered magnesium carbonate. It’s too difficult. You’ll never amount to anything ! Well, suck it, haters: Researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden have unveiled a super-absorbent version of magnesium carbonate that breaks the world record for surface area and water absorption. Read more…        

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Scientists Created an Impossible Supermaterial Totally by Accident