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Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* Many Antivirus Tools Fail in LinuxWorld Test
* AMD Backs openSUSE with Huge New Infrastructure
* MythTV Scheduling Service Reveals Pricing
* Music DRM in Critical Condition?
* OHSU Turns Mouse into Factory for Human Liver Cells
* ATI Driver Flaw Exposes Vista Kernel to Attackers
* FCC Rejects Cheap/Fast Internet Device
* Chinese Pirates Copy iPhone, Make Improvements
* Australia to Offer Widespread ISP-level Filtering
* Sun Lowers Barriers to Open-Source Java
* Blogger Finds Bug in NASA Global Warming Study?
* China Sets Sights on Comprehensive Lunar Survey
* Fair Use for YouTube & MySpace Users
* Only 25% of Firefox Downloaders Are 'Active Users'
* Police Data-Mining Done Right
* Google Rolls Out Online Storage Services
* Discouraging Students from Taking Math
* SCO Loses
* New 'Stellarator' Design for Fusion Reactors
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Many Antivirus Tools Fail in LinuxWorld Test |
| from the survival-of-the-fittest dept. |
| posted by CowboyNeal on Thursday August 09, @20:41 (Security) |
|
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/09/2243229
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]talkinsecurity writes "In a public, side-by-side test conducted last
night at LinuxWorld, [1]ten antivirus products were confronted with 25
known viruses. The results were surprisingly disparate. Only three of the
products caught all of the viruses; three only caught 61 percent, and one
caught an abysmal 6 percent. The test, which wasn't particularly
complicated, proves that there still are wide differences in the
effectiveness of AV tools. A lot of people think all AV tools are the
same ��� they're not!"
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/09/2243229
Links:
0. mailto:hoffootballcards@cs.com
1. http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=131246&WT.svl=news1_1
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| AMD Backs openSUSE with Huge New Infrastructure |
| from the money-where-mouth-is dept. |
| posted by CowboyNeal on Thursday August 09, @23:09 (AMD) |
|
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/0044231
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]apokryphos writes "AMD has [1]helped sponsor the progress of openSUSE
with leading-edge hardware and development expertise. "AMD is helping to
ensure that the [2]openSUSE Build Service continues to be an important
collaboration and development platform for developers of all
distributions," said Terri Hall, AMD vice president of Commercial Systems
Marketing. Are these continued announcements of huge support from large
OEMs an indication of a new era?"
Discuss this story at:
http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/0044231
Links:
0. http://francis.giannaros.org/
1. http://news.opensuse.org/?p=101
2. http://opensuse.org/Build_Service
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| MythTV Scheduling Service Reveals Pricing |
| from the filling-a-void dept. |
| posted by CowboyNeal on Friday August 10, @00:36 (Television) |
|
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/0049249
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "A group of open source developers have been
working behind the scenes to create a [0]new service known as Schedules
Direct to provide affordable scheduling data for North American users of
MythTV. Today, they've announced an initial pricing plan of $15 for a 3
month block, non-recurring. Details are still fairly light at the moment,
but there's a mailing list and a FAQ available on the site ��� one notable
tidbit is that the developers 'expect pricing to drop by the end of the
initial term. Our goal is $20/year.' This comes weeks before the
[1]planned shutdown of Zap2it Labs' Data Direct service mentioned
previously."
Discuss this story at:
http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/0049249
Links:
0. http://schedulesdirect.org/
1. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/20/1920224&tid=188
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Music DRM in Critical Condition? |
| from the can't-happen-soon-enough dept. |
| posted by CowboyNeal on Friday August 10, @03:14 (Music) |
|
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/0328236
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
ianare writes "Universal Music Group, the largest music company on the
planet, has announced that [0]the company is going to sell DRM-free music.
The test will see UMG offering a portion of its catalog ��� primarily its
most popular content ��� sold without DRM between August 21 and January 31
of next year. The format will be MP3, and songs will sell for 99 each,
with the bitrate to be determined by the stores in question.
RealNetwork's Rhapsody service will offer 256kbps tracks, the company
said in a separate statement. January 31 is likely more of a fire escape
than an end date. If UMG doesn't like what they're seeing, they'll pull
the plug. UMG says that it wants to watch how DRM-free music affects
piracy rates."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/0328236
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| OHSU Turns Mouse into Factory for Human Liver Cells |
| from the more-drugged-up-mice dept. |
| posted by CowboyNeal on Friday August 10, @05:12 (Biotech) |
|
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/0526205
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Oregon Health & Science University researchers have figured out how to
turn a mouse into a [0]factory for human liver cells that can be used to
test how pharmaceuticals are metabolized. The technique, published in the
journal Nature Biotechnology, could soon become the gold standard not
only for examining drug metabolism in the liver, which helps scientists
determine a drug's toxicity, but also can be used as a platform for
testing new therapies against infectious diseases that attack the liver,
such as hepatitis C and malaria.
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/0526205
Links:
0. http://www.ohsu.edu/ohsuedu/newspub/releases/livercells080907.cfm
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ATI Driver Flaw Exposes Vista Kernel to Attackers |
| from the sneaking-in dept. |
| posted by CowboyNeal on Friday August 10, @07:34 (Windows) |
|
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/0448207
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Shack0ption writes "An unpatched flaw in an ATI driver was at the center
of the [0]mysterious Purple Pill proof-of-concept tool that exposed a way
to maliciously tamper with the Windows Vista kernel. The utility,
released by Alex Ionescu and yanked an hour later after the kernel
developer realized that the ATI driver flaw was not yet patched, provided
an easy way to load unsigned drivers onto Vista ��� effectively defeating
the new anti-rootkit/anti-DRM mechanism built into Microsoft's newest
operating system. Ionescu [1]confirmed his tool was exploiting a
vulnerability in an ATI driver ��� atidsmxx.sys, version 3.0.502.0 ��� to
patch the kernel to turn off certain checks for signed drivers. This
meant that a malicious rootkit author could essentially piggyback on
ATI's legitimately signed driver to tamper with the Vista kernel."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/0448207
Links:
0. http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=427
1. http://blogs.zdnet.com/security/?p=438
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FCC Rejects Cheap/Fast Internet Device |
| from the recycling-the-packets dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @08:43 (The Internet) |
|
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/1231216
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Tech.Luver writes "ABC News reports that a group of technology
companies including Google, Microsoft, and Dell, have failed to convince
the Federal Communications Commission of [1]the utility of high-speed
internet access via television airwaves. The FCC concluded the potential
to disrupt consumer image quality was too high, in a statement released
Wednesday. 'The technology companies say the unlicensed and unused TV
airwaves, also known as "white spaces," would make Internet service
accessible and affordable, especially in rural areas and also spur
innovation. However, TV broadcasters oppose usage of white spaces because
they fear the device will cause interference with television programming
and could cause problems with a federally mandated transition from analog
to digital signals in February 2009.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/1231216
Links:
0. mailto:Tech.Luver@gmail.com
1. http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3458912
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Chinese Pirates Copy iPhone, Make Improvements |
| from the that's-the-entrepreneurial-spirit dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @09:37 (Hardware Hacking) |
|
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/1236207
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "Popular Science notes that manufacturers in
China duplicate many well-know products. This includes the Apple iPhone,
imitations of which are rolling off the assembly line already. That might
actually be a good thing for some users, [0]who might enjoy the user
experience of China's own miniOne. 'It ran popular mobile software that
the iPhone wouldn't. It worked with nearly every worldwide cellphone
carrier, not just AT&T, and not only in the U.S. It promised to cost half
as much as the iPhone and be available to 10 times as many consumers.'
The cloned iPhone uses a Linux-based system. 'The cloners hire a team of
between 20 and 40 engineers to begin decoding the circuit boards. At the
same time, coders start to develop an operating system for the phone with
a similar feature set. (The typical cloner either uses off-the-shelf
code, writes something entirely new, or modifies a publicly available
Linux-based system.)' Using the iPhone as an example, the PopSci site
walks through the process of making imitation technology."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/1236207
Links:
0. http://www.popsci.com/popsci/technology/e7e48a137b144110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Australia to Offer Widespread ISP-level Filtering |
| from the definitely-thinking-of-the-children dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @10:24 (Censorship) |
|
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/1242207
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Phurge writes "According to a Sydney Morning Herald article, the
Australia government has decided to take the controversial step of
[0]having internet service providers filter web content at the request of
parents, in a crackdown on online bad language, pornography and child sex
predators. 'The more efficient compulsory filtering of internet service
providers (ISPs) was proposed in March last year by the then Labor
leader, Kim Beazley. At the time, the Communications Minister, Helen
Coonan, and ISPs criticised his idea as expensive. Three months later
Senator Coonan announced the Government's Net Alert policy, which
promised free filtering software for every home that wanted it. She also
announced an ISP filtering trial to be conducted in Tasmania. That trial
was scrapped. Today Mr Howard will hail the ISP filtering measure as a
world first by any Government, and is expected to offer funding to help
cover the cost. Parents will be able to request the ISP filter option
when they sign up with an ISP. It will be compulsory to provide it. The
measures will come into effect by the end of this month.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/1242207
Links:
0. http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/veto-for-parents-on-web/2007/08/09/1186530535350.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Sun Lowers Barriers to Open-Source Java |
| from the coffee-making-made-easy dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @11:18 (Programming) |
|
http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/1440246
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Shyane writes "Sun Microsystems is making it [0]easier for open-source
programmers to ensure their Java versions meet the company's
compatibility requirements, but the deal extends only to those involved
in Sun's own open-source Java project. The program grants access to its
Java Technology Compatibility Kit to anyone with an open-source Java
project that is based substantially on Sun's open-source Java software
and governed by the GPL. Programmers need access to the test kit to prove
that a project is in compliance with the Java specification. Projects
that pass Sun's compatibility kit tests also can use the official Java
logos for free."
Discuss this story at:
http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/1440246
Links:
0. http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62030656,00.htm
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Blogger Finds Bug in NASA Global Warming Study? |
| from the not-such-a-good-thing dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @12:11 (NASA) |
|
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/1530251
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "According to an article at DailyTech, a
blogger has discovered [0]a Y2K bug in a NASA climate study by the same
writer who accused the Bush administration of trying to censor him on the
issue of global warming. The authors have acknowledged the problem and
released corrected data. Now the study shows the warmest year on record
for the contiguous 48 states as being 1934, not 1998 as previously
reported in the media. In fact, the corrected study shows that half of
the 10 warmest years on record occurred before World War II." The
article's assertion that there's a propaganda machine working on behalf
of global warming theorists is outside the bounds of the data, which I
think is interesting to note.
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/1530251
Links:
0. http://www.dailytech.com/Blogger+finds+Y2K+bug+in+NASA+Climate+Data/article8383.htm
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| China Sets Sights on Comprehensive Lunar Survey |
| from the space-race-version-two dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @13:07 (Space) |
|
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/1538217
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]eldavojohn writes "Perhaps unsatisfied with the [1]closeups that
Google Moon has to offer, China has decided to [2]survey the moon down to
the 'inch'. In the second half of 2007, they plan to launch an unmanned
lunar satellite to first orbit the moon, land on the moon & then return
samples to earth for them to analyze. '"The moon probe project is the
third milestone in China's space technology after satellite and manned
spacecraft projects, and a first step for us in exploring deep space,"
the China National Space Administration head said. The orbiter
represented the first phase, with a moon rover to be used in the second
phase scheduled for around 2012, reports said. The plan for the third
phase, scheduled for around 2017, was for another rover to land on the
lunar surface and collect samples before returning to Earth.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/1538217
Links:
0. mailto:my/.username@@@gmail.com
1. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/07/20/1153207&tid=217
2. http://www.physorg.com/news105957357.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Fair Use for YouTube & MySpace Users |
| from the getting-back-the-right-to-speak dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @13:51 (The Courts) |
|
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/1637240
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "A few years back, documentary filmmakers
didn't know what copyrighted clips they could safely include in their
films as a 'fair use'. Now there's a well-accepted [1]set of 'best
practices' that establishes rational, predictable rules. The same folks
who brought rationality to the world of documentary filmmaking are about
to [2]work their magic in the user-generated online content space,
including user-created videos on YouTube and user-created music on My
Space. They said: 'Nonprofessional, online video [3]now accounts for a
sizeable portion of all broadband traffic, with much of the work weaving
in copyrighted material ... A new culture is emerging ��� remix culture, an
unpredictable mix of the witty, the vulgar, the politically and
culturally critical, and the just plain improbable ... What's fair in
online-video use of copyrighted material? The healthy growth of this new
mode of expression is at risk of becoming a casualty of the efforts of
copyright owners to limit wholesale redistribution of their content on
sites like YouTube, and of videomakers' own uncertainties about the
law.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/1637240
Links:
0. http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/
1. http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/statement_of_best_practices_in_fair_use/
2. http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2007/08/new-fair-use-project-for-user-generated.html
3. http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/blogs/fair_use/new_copyright_and_fair_use_project_announced/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Only 25% of Firefox Downloaders Are 'Active Users' |
| from the i-account-for-ten-percent-of-that dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @14:42 (Mozilla) |
|
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/1727218
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]bheer writes "[1]The Guardian points out a page on the Mozilla wiki
noting that '[2]only 50% of the people downloading Firefox actually try
it out, and only a further half of those continue to use it actively.'
ZDNet has some [3]commentary on the browser's retention rate. While a 25%
retention rate isn't necessarily bad, Mozilla is trying to improve these
figures with a [4]12 point plan that includes more TV and media
advertising, a better start page and several installation tweaks."
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/1727218
Links:
0. http://rbheerampgmailcom/
2. http://wiki.mozilla.org/Retention
3. http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=5887
4. http://wiki.mozilla.org/Retention#Firefox_Retention_12_point_plan
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Police Data-Mining Done Right |
| from the way-its-supposed-to-be-used dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @15:33 (Privacy) |
|
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/1727249
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]enharmonix writes "Courtesy of [1]Bruce Schneier, it's nice to hear
[2]something good about data mining for a change: predicting and stopping
crime. For example, police in Redmond, VA, 'started overlaying crime
reports with other data, such as weather, traffic, sports events and
paydays for large employers. The data was analyzed three times a day and
something interesting emerged: Robberies spiked on paydays near cheque
cashing storefronts in specific neighbourhoods. Other clusters also
became apparent, and pretty soon police were deploying resources in
advance and predicting where crime was most likely to occur.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/1727249
Links:
0. mailto:enharmonix+slashdot@gmail.com
1. http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2007/08/police_data_min.html
2. http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tech/data-mining.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Google Rolls Out Online Storage Services |
| from the instant-access-warez-stash dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @16:18 (Google) |
|
http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/1925243
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "The associated press reports that [0]Google
is slated to provide online storage at a price. From the article: 'Web
search and Internet services company Google Inc. on Friday began selling
expanded online storage, targeted for users with large picture, music or
video file collections. The prices range from $20 per year for 6
gigabytes of online storage; $75 per year for 25 gigabytes of storage;
$250 per year for 100 gigabytes of storage; and $500 per year for 250
gigabytes of storage.' Is this too expensive for what there offering, or
are you going to make use of it?"
Discuss this story at:
http://developers.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/1925243
Links:
0. http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/10/ap4008938.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Discouraging Students from Taking Math |
| from the every-child-left-behind dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @17:01 (Education) |
|
http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/2042245
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Coryoth writes "Following on from [1]a previous story about UK schools
encouraging students to drop mathematics, an article in The Age accuses
Australian schools of much the same. The claim is that [2]Australian
schools are actively discouraging students from taking upper level math
courses to boost their academic results on school league tables. How
widespread is this phenomenon? Are schools taking similar measures in the
US and Canada?"
Discuss this story at:
http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/2042245
Links:
0. http://jedidiah.stuff.gen.nz/wp/
1. http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/04/25/1625216&tid=146
2. http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/elite-maths-discouraged/2007/08/06/1186252630154.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| SCO Loses |
| from the finish-him dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @17:47 (Caldera) |
|
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/2148253
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "The one summary judgement that puts a stick
into SCO's spokes has just come down. The judge in the epic SCO case has
ruled that [0]SCO doesn't own the Unix copyrights. With that one
decision, a whole bunch of other decisions will fall like dominoes. As PJ
says, 'That's Aaaaall, Folks! ... All right, all you Doubting Thomases. I
double dog dare you to complain about the US court system now. I told you
if you would just be patient, I had confidence in the system's ability to
sort this out in the end. But we must say thank you to Novell and
especially to its legal team for the incredible work they have done. I
know it's not technically over and there will be more to slog through,
but they won what matters most, and it's been a plum pleasin' pleasure
watching you work. The entire FOSS community thanks you for your skill
and all the hard work and thanks go to Novell for being willing to see
this through."
Discuss this story at:
http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/2148253
Links:
0. http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20070810165237718#comments
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| New 'Stellarator' Design for Fusion Reactors |
| from the less-whoosh-boom-for-your-money dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Friday August 10, @18:40 (Power) |
|
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/10/2044254
|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]eldavojohn writes "The holy grail of fusion reactors has always seemed
'just a few years off' for many decades. But [1]a recent design
enhancement termed a 'Stellarator' may change all that. The point at
which a fusion reactor crashes is when particles begin escaping due to
disruptions in the plasma. A NYU team has discovered that coiling
specific wires to form a magnetic field may contain the plasma. This may
be a a viable way to create a plasma body with axial symmetry, and a far
better chance of remaining stable. Like other forms of containment this
does require energy itself, but could bring us closer to a stable fusion
reactor. It may not be [2]cold fusion or '[3]table top' fusion but it
certainly is a step forward. The paper is [4]up for peer review in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=07/08/10/2044254
Links:
0. mailto:my/.username@@@gmail.com
1. http://www.physorg.com/news105962413.html
2. http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/05/2148217&tid=14
3. http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/13/1631217&tid=14
4. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/104/30/12250
Copyright 1997-2006 OSTG. All rights reserved.
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