Wednesday November 30, 2011

China Crisis:
China Wants Cyberwarfare Hotline to US

China Daily, a newspaper known for reporting Chinese government policy, has called for the establishment of a crisis hotline between Beijing and Washington.

Recent reports in the US indicate that hackers in China are regularly intruding into American networks, so the Chinese need to demonstrate that they are concerned with the issue.

From China Daily:

With both state actors and non-state actors joining the cyber game, the risks of miscalculation between states will increase, especially if a non-state hacker can infiltrate a country's military networks and launch an attack against another country.

Posted in: Net by bubblejam at 11:37 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Tuesday November 29, 2011

Hot Metal:
Printers Vulnerable to Hackers

Security researchers have identified printers as a hugely vulnerable element of computer networks.

Threats to printers have been overlooked until now, but compromised devices could in theory be forced to overheat and combust.

From MSNBC:

HP said Monday that it is still reviewing details of the vulnerability, and is unable to confirm or deny many of the researchers’ claims, but generally disputes the researchers’ characterization of the flaw as widespread. Keith Moore, chief technologist for HP's printer division, said the firm "takes this very seriously,” but his initial research suggests the likelihood that the vulnerability can be exploited in the real world is low in most cases.

Posted in: Net by bubblejam at 10:31 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Monday November 28, 2011

Red Herring:
DNA Barcodes to Prevent Counterfeit Fish Sales

Many restaurants pass off cheap fish as more expensive varieties.

The problem has grown so large that restauranteurs are planning to use DNA fingerprinting to ensure diners get what they pay for.

From AP

Mislabeling is widespread in the seafood industry and usually involves cheaper types of fish being sold as more expensive varieties. A pair of New York high school students using DNA barcoding of food stocked in their own kitchens found in a 2009 study that caviar labeled as sturgeon was actually Mississippi paddlefish.

Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 08:10 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Thursday November 24, 2011

Emo:
The Phone System That Recognises Your Emotions

There are few things more infuriating than an automated phone answering system.

Now a new technology can be used to detect your emotional state and tailor a response accordingly.

From Gizmag:

After having identified a person's mood and intentions, the system could then adapt the dialogue accordingly. If a user sounded doubtful of the system, for instance, it could offer them more help. If they sounded bored or angry, however, that offer might just irk them further.

Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 10:07 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Wednesday November 23, 2011

This is a Lie:
Lying More Common in Emails

A recent study indicates that people are more likely to lie when writing emails.

As well as the personal distance created by the medium, not communicating in real time seems to encourage mendacity.

From ScienceBlog:

“In exploring the practical implications of this research, the results indicate that the Internet allows people to feel more free, psychologically speaking, to use deception, at least when meeting new people,” Feldman and Zimbler say. “Given the public attention to incidents of Internet predation, this research suggests that the deindividualization created by communicating from behind a computer screen may facilitate the process of portraying a disingenuous self.”

Posted in: Net by bubblejam at 10:15 AM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Sunday November 20, 2011

Fluid Situation:
EU Declares Water Does Not Prevent Dehydrationz

View imageThe EU have banned bottled water companies from declaring that water can prevent dehydration.

A panel of 21 doctors was convened to come up with this surprising conclusion.

From The Daily Telegraph:

The Department for Health disputed the wisdom of the new law. A spokesman said: “Of course water hydrates. While we support the EU in preventing false claims about products, we need to exercise common sense as far as possible."

Posted in: Politics by bubblejam at 07:01 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Saturday November 19, 2011

This is Not The Last Time You'll See These:
Cult US Sitcom Returns as Internet-Only Show

Cult US sitcom Arrested Development was cancelled by Fox after three seasons, a move derided by die-hard fans.

Now streaming service Netflix are bringing the show back as an internet-only download.

From CNET:

"Arrested Development" last aired five years ago, when it got nixed by Nielsen. Its three-season run earned it a spot on Time magazine's list of the 100 best TV shows ever and inspired the sort of cult devotion that led to props being auctioned on eBay.

Posted in: Net by bubblejam at 07:16 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Friday November 18, 2011

See The Light:
Lightest Material Ever Created

Researchers have developed the world's lightest material, a lattice made from metal tubes 1,000 times thinner than a human hair.

The material could have many applications including thermal insulation and shock absorption.

From BBC News:

William Carter, manager of architected materials at HRL, compared the new material to larger low-density structures.

"Modern buildings, exemplified by the Eiffel Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge are incredibly light and weight-efficient by virtue of their architecture," he said.

"We are revolutionising lightweight materials by bringing this concept to the nano and micro scales."

Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 06:21 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Wednesday November 16, 2011

Broad Spectrum:
Steve Jobs Hoped to Use Wi-Fi to Supplant Mobile Carriers

Venture capitalist John Stanton has revealed that Steve Jobs wanted to create his own wireless network to cut out mobile carriers completely.

Jobs planned to use unlicensed Wi-Fi spectrum and eliminate the involvement of carriers such as AT&T.

From ITworld:

Stanton, currently chairman at venture capital firm Trilogy Partners, said he spent a fair amount of time with Jobs between 2005 and 2007. "He wanted to replace carriers," Stanton said of Jobs, the Apple founder and CEO who passed away recently after a battle with cancer. "He and I spent a lot of time talking about whether synthetically you could create a carrier using Wi-Fi spectrum. That was part of his vision."

Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 10:38 AM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Tuesday November 15, 2011

Protect & Serve?
NYPD Begins Eviction of Occupy Wall Street

The New York Police Department (NYPD) has started to evict protesters from Zucotti Park, the site of the Occupy Wall Street demonstration.

NYPD officers began their operation against the two month old protest at 1am local time.

From the New York Daily News:

"They took oaths to protect and serve," Jason Lee, 36 of Brooklyn, told a reporter who managed to remain in the protest. "They broke that oath tonight. They destroyed what we built. That's tyranny by any definition."

Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 08:48 AM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Sunday November 13, 2011

Petri Dish:
Lab-Grown Meat is Coming

Scientists in the Netherlands are making great progress in their quest to grow meat from animal cells in a lab.

They are coming to the point where they will be able to produce the first lab-grown hamburger, at a cost of a quarter of a million euros.

From Reuters:

"The first one will be a proof of concept, just to show it's possible," Post told Reuters in a telephone interview from his Maastricht lab. "I believe I can do this in the coming year."

Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 04:29 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Friday November 11, 2011

Facing Up:
Facebook Agrees to Make Privacy Changes 'Opt-In'

Facebook has been criticised in the past for playing fast and loose with user privacy.

Now the companty has come to an agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission to make future changes 'opt-in'.

From TechCrunch:

Facebook has come under fire from the FTC and privacy advocates for a pushing users through a transition tool in December 2009 that made public some previously private information such as a user’s Likes. More recently, Facebook was criticized for enabling a facial recognition feature by default for European users. It was made opt-out rather than allowing users to decide whether they wanted their photos scanned for faces to assist them with tagging, and whether their faces would be identified in the photos uploaded by friends.

Posted in: Net by bubblejam at 12:49 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Thursday November 10, 2011

Knot Bad:
Scientists Fashion Complex Molecular Knots

Scientists have created the most complex non-DNA molecular knot, a 160 atom loop with five crossing points known as a pentafoil knot.

These complex molecules could eventually lead to materials with desirable qualities such as elasticity and shock absorption.

From Science Debate:

David Leigh, Edinburgh University professor of organic chemistry, said: "It's very early to say for sure, but the type of mechanical cross-linking we have just carried out could lead to very light but strong materials, something akin to a molecular chain mail."

Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 09:40 AM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Tuesday November 08, 2011

Help Wanted:
US Military Need Help Securing Networks

Darpa, the US military research agency responsible for the creation of the Internet, has admitted that it needs more help to secure networks.

Public networks like the Internet are far too porous and vulnerable to attack, so Darpa is soliciting ideas for solutions to the problem.

From Wired:

Because it’s the blue-sky research agency that helped create the internet, Darpa framed the problem as a deep, existential one, not a pedestrian question of insecure code. “It is the makings of novels and poetry from Dickens to Gibran that the best and the worst occupy the same time, that wisdom and foolishness appear in the same age, light and darkness in the same season,” mused Regina Dugan, Darpa’s director. She’s talking about the internet. “These are the timeless words of our existence. We know it is true of everything.”

Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 02:07 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Monday November 07, 2011

Lifelike:
Biology Inspires Technology

One of the biggest trends in contemporary science is biomimicry, where new developments are based on techniques already seen in nature.

Now researchers have developed a reusable adhesive tape with remarkable properties based on the wall climbing abilities of gecko lizards.

From Gizmag:

The secret to the wall climbing ability of many insects and geckos lies in the thousands of tiny hairs called setae that cover their feet and legs. The sheer abundance of these hairs, coupled with flattened tips that can splay out to maximize contact on even rough surface areas, make it sufficient for the Van der Waals forces, which operate at a molecular level and are relatively weak compared to normal chemical bonds, to provide the requisite adhesive strength that allows them to scurry along walls and ceilings.

Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 06:36 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Sunday November 06, 2011

How Do You Like Them Apples?
Apple's Lower Price Strategy Suceeding

Apple products have traditionally seen as being expensive.

But the company uses its huge cash reserves to tie-up components and passes savings onto consumers, frustrating competitors in the process.

From The New York Times:

Apple’s new pricing strategy is a big change from the 1990s, when consumers regarded Apple as a producer of overpriced tech baubles, unable to compete effectively with its Macintosh family of computers against the far cheaper Windows PCs. But more recently, it began using its growing manufacturing scale and logistics prowess to deliver Apple products at far more aggressive prices, which in turn gave it more power to influence pricing industrywide.

Posted in: Net by bubblejam at 09:26 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Friday November 04, 2011

Vengeful Librarians:
CIA Unit Monitors Social Media

The CIA has a unit, known informally as 'vengeful librarians', dedicated to monitoring social networks to gauge global perceptions of America.

The unit's analysts often forward posts to the President of the United States.

From AP:

The CIA facility was set up in response to a recommendation by the 9/11 Commission, with its first priority to focus on counterterrorism and counterproliferation. But its several hundred analysts — the actual number is classified — track a broad range, from Chinese Internet access to the mood on the street in Pakistan.

Posted in: Net by bubblejam at 09:31 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Wednesday November 02, 2011

Nuked:
Belgium Readies End of Nuclear Power

Although Belgium still lacks a government, the main political parties have agreed to end the use of nuclear power by 2025 — subject to the adoption of alternative energy as a replacement.

The plans were originally drawn up and made law in 2003, but the Fukushima disaster has increased public hostility to nuclear power stations.

From Reuters:

"If it turns out we won't face shortages and prices would not skyrocket, we intend to stick to the nuclear exit law of 2003," a spokeswoman for Belgium's energy and climate ministry said.

Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 01:39 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry

Tuesday November 01, 2011

Trojan Purse:
Mac OS Trojan Mines Bitcoins

Fraudsters have found a new way to make money in the form of virtual currency using computer viruses.

Applications downloaded from torrent sites have been found to contain a trojan that uses the infected computer to make Bitcoins.

From TechWorld:

So far, the Trojan has been detected in a BitTorrent download for GraphicConverter version 7.4, an image editing application for Mac OS X. However, this doesn't mean that there aren't similarly Trojanized torrents out there.

Posted in: Net by bubblejam at 10:15 AM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry