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  1. Re:Exactly why I stopped buying Apple on Many Mac OS Users Not Getting Security Updates · · Score: 2, Informative

    When was the last time iOS 4 recieved a security update? Additionally, if you actually had an iPhone 3G you would know that upgrading to iOS 4 basically rendered it useless even though it was technically possible.

  2. Re:Exactly why I stopped buying Apple on Many Mac OS Users Not Getting Security Updates · · Score: 1

    I needed to buy a laptop with a German keyboard since I now work in Germany and need practice with the new layout (it's more than just Z & Y reversed if you code for a living). Switching to Windows 7 is what I did with that laptop but that's not what the article is about. It's about updating OS X, not Windows, who's trolling now?

    By the time I realized iOS 4 had borked my phone, CyanogenMod was an option for Android.

    It's not about more "Software Updates", it's about adequate security for devices I use for online banking.

  3. Re:Exactly why I stopped buying Apple on Many Mac OS Users Not Getting Security Updates · · Score: 1

    Only for a very limited definition of run. I had dropped calls increase to about 1 in 5 and the software made the phone run sluggish. It cannot be upgraded beyond that and upgrading to that point is a mistake if you actually like to use your phone.

    You are all calling me a troll, but I don't like being extorted into hardware upgrades due to lack of continued support for older hardware.

  4. Exactly why I stopped buying Apple on Many Mac OS Users Not Getting Security Updates · · Score: 1, Insightful

    When my iPhone 3G could not be upgraded to iOS4, I switched to andriod for security concerns.
    Then my 2 generation intel Macbook Pro was too old to upgrade to Mavericks, so I bought a Lenovo.
    I'm seeing a pattern here. I will not buy Apple anymore as a result of their withholding security updates from older and perfectly functional hardware. My response is not to buy a newer model, but to switch away from Apple products.
    I initially switched to Apple because I liked their hardware and as a developer I wanted to experience a variety of OS's. Seeing how they abandon products only a few years old has left a sour taste in my mouth, I'm done buying Apple products, I've learned my lesson.

  5. Re: In other Breaking News... on Car Hackers Mess With Speedometers, Odometers, Alarms and Locks · · Score: 1

    What article did you read? The article linked in the summary says physical access to the CAN network was required for this hack. They said other researchers had hacked the car over Bluetooth, but not the researchers in the article.

  6. In other Breaking News... on Car Hackers Mess With Speedometers, Odometers, Alarms and Locks · · Score: 2

    In other breaking news, cutting the brake lines of cars can prevent them from operating correctly. Somebody issue a recall, quick!

    This is not news, a CAN bus is viewed by the industry in the same way as analog wiring in the car, physically vulnerable. It's an issue when the side view mirror actuators are on the CAN bus, and thieves can open the door and start the engine with this technique. However, this research is stating the obvious for anyone in the know. Next thing you know, one of these researchers will find a copy of the J1939 protocol standard used by the automotive industry and discover what the CAN messages mean without fuzzing the problem space.

    If someone found an On Star exploit that allowed a hacker to remotely accomplish these things on the CAN bus, then it would be news, this is not.

  7. Re:$600,000 on LulzSec's Raynaldo Rivera, a.k.a. 'neuron,' Gets One-Year Prison Term · · Score: 3, Informative

    Unlike student loans, this debt can be cancelled out by declaring bankruptcy. He will lose everything he has first though, assuming he doesn't have assets valued at $600k

  8. Re:WA - voted by mail 2 weeks ago on U.S. Election Day In Progress: What's Been Your Experience? · · Score: 1

    I voted 2 weeks ago as well. I hear WA is expected to have a voter turnout exceeding 85%. I hope other states adopt this approach, it is certainly the most democratic and fair approach to elections I've seen so far, since every voter has weeks to go through the literature sent about all the candidates. And no one has to skip work to vote, so it doesn't disenfranchise the poor.

    There's still the option of going to an actual polling place, like I did 4 years when voting for president, but I much prefer voting by mail.

  9. Re:why are the options close together? on Why Does a Voting Machine Need Calibration? · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why use a touch screen at all? They should have just made the screens have bezel keys along the sides like an ATM.

  10. Re:Patent Law? on Surfcast Sues Microsoft Over Tile Patent · · Score: 1

    Also not a lawyer, but I'm pretty sure defend it or lose it just applies to trademarks.

  11. Re:How Much Would What Cost? on Ask Slashdot: Explaining Version Control To Non-Technical People? · · Score: 1

    There are still fixed costs to maintaining a server even if the software is free. A git or SVN server won't store it's own backups offsite. Our Engineering department still gets charged by our IT department for hosting for wikis, source control, etc, even though the software running on the server is 'free', it doesn't deploy and maintain itself.

  12. Better for printing weapons? on Ancient Egyptian Tech May Be Key To Printing 3D Ceramics · · Score: 0

    Seems like this might make a better gun than a reprap.

  13. Re:Engineering was always a better bet.. on Is a Computer Science Degree Worth Getting Anymore? · · Score: 1

    I'm quite happy with my Bachelor of Science in Applied Sciences. Basically a CS degree from the college of Engineering at my University. I now do real time embedded programming for vehicle control systems. Lots of physics at the system level, keeps me engaged. All the V&V work gets tedious, but I wouldn't want to be the cause of someone dying because it was too tedious to write unit tests.

    FYI, the National Society of Professional Engineers is adding a Software Engineering classification for 2013. Not for the feint of heart, as a professional, you assume a good deal of liability for the projects you're involved with.

  14. Re:Putting Tin Foil hat on.... on Researchers Create Short-term Memories In Rat Brains · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yes, they know that the plaques impair brain function by inference, they don't understand how, because no one knows what a memory is. Face it, we know a lot about the physical structure of the brain, but we don't really know how it works. Asserting that we understand the process of memory because we know a few things about a disease linked to memory is false equivalence. It's equally disingenuous to suggest that knowing more about how memories are formed, stored, and accessed would have no practical benefit when trying to understand and treat diseases which affect memory.

  15. Re:Putting Tin Foil hat on.... on Researchers Create Short-term Memories In Rat Brains · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There really is no justification for this type of research. I can't think of any possible good use, and the potential for abuse is sky-high. Implanting artificial memories would never be a good thing to do under any circumstances.

    Understanding the mechanics of memory may lead to breakthroughs which could cure diseases like Alzheimer's.

  16. Re:Not surprising. on Open Source Smart Meter Hacking Framework Released · · Score: 1

    Fourthly, a virus on a smart meter? Good luck with that. They're nowhere near that smart...

    What an incredibly naive assumption. A friend of mine audits smart meter security and occasionally speaks at Black Hat about them. Viruses can target embedded systems and can be written if the flash/update mechanism over the network is secured with "childishly simple" methods. Once compromised firmware has been distributed across the network of meters, if they happen to have a remote disconnect feature, hundreds of thousands of houses could be potentially disconnected from the grid simultaneously at the command of a malicious hacker.

    If that much of the load was removed from the grid at once, permanent damage to the power infrastructure can occur, about as devastating as an EMP attack to a city. All this because the utilities are too greedy and don't want to remove the remote disconnect feature from the meters.

    Remember, anyone can get a meter and perform all sorts of reverse engineering. Is it really secure when you think about stopping a persistent threat with the skill and resources of the stuxnet authors. Some technology professionals see "childishly simple" security to be professional malpractice, like failing to perform basic load calculations when designing a bridge.

  17. It's like that radio commerial... on Chemical That Affects Biological Clock Offers New Diabetes Treatment · · Score: 2, Informative

    Part of you is worried about your weight, but All of you wants a Baby! Call XYZ fertility clinic today.

  18. Phone Accessories for the Blind on Georgie: Smartphone For the Blind and Visually Impaired · · Score: 2

    They should look at integrating with blue tooth shoes too. Funny to see more than one story about smart phone technology for the visually impaired in the same day.
    http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/07/footwear-blind?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/bluetoothshoes
    The shoes have an actuator in the heel which can vibrate to signal when to turn or alert the presence of an obstacle, a sensor in the toe for detecting obstacles, and blue tooth for phone app integration.

  19. Re:What puzzles me... on Your Passwords Don't Suck — It's Your Policies · · Score: 1

    Just remember 1 really strong password. Then change your password 9 times every 90 days to keep using it. There's no policy rule that forbids a password that was used in the last 90 days, so obviously IT is okay with this approach to security.

  20. Re:Scientists Charged For Not Being Psychic on US Seismologist Testifies Against Scientists In Quake-Prediction Case · · Score: 2

    The case against them is based on negligence. By not considering the worst case scenario and preparing for it, they've been failing the public trust. The expert is testifying that post earthquake 2009, the building codes still are inadequate since they do not consider the worst case scenario if it is an infrequent event. The fact the model they are currently using, was developed in California, and is now recognized by the scientific community as a whole as flawed, to the point where it is no longer taught to students, could be considered negligence.

    I am not an Italian lawyer, nor any other type of lawyer for that matter.

  21. Re:Looking from the other side on Ask Slashdot: Handing Over Personal Work Without Compensation? · · Score: 1

    Sounds like an intranet only sort of in house application. To get an attack surface on it, you first have to break the VPN connection needed to access it. Unless he's providing remote access, it's not a security risk. From the summary, it sounded like merely centralized access, not remote access to systems using public facing web services.

  22. Re:Oversimplification, if they pay you they MIGHT on Ask Slashdot: Handing Over Personal Work Without Compensation? · · Score: 1

    I've been a programmer for 10 years now and usually its in the employment contract that anything you write related to the company's business while employed unless specifically excluded belongs to the company. In this case, it's directly related to their business operations and something they would greatly benefit from, so the copyright would obviously belong to them if he had an IP section in his new hire docs. I think he approached the company initially and they pointed to the employment contract which stated they own the copyright to his work and wouldn't pay extra for that since it wasn't something in their budget and not something they really want, regardless of how much he thinks they need it. The fact that he was paid to work for a lesser role, has no bearing on ownership of the IP if he signed a document granting his employer the copyright (and it's very likely he did).

    If he didn't sign something explicitly, then varying on the state, his employer may own it depending on the conditions of his employment. The fact it's outside of his job description usually does not come into the equation since it is accepted that you have privileged access to trade secrets, etc.

  23. Re:Could someone elaborate on NRC Approves New Nuclear Reactor Design · · Score: 2

    I think the Department of Defense would beg to differ. They just designed a new reactor for their latest ship. http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/cliff-kuang/design-innovation/how-does-navy-design-nuclear-supercarrier-future

  24. Re:How are they going on How Tiny Worms Could Help Humans Colonize Mars · · Score: 1

    They're running a life support check for manned capsules, not releasing the worms on the surface. They would send a chimp, but it would be more expensive to build a test capsule that big.

  25. Re:Programmer != Engineer, idiot. on Career Advice: Don't Call Yourself a Programmer · · Score: 1

    What about a Bachelor of Science in Applied Sciences from the Engineering College at my University? Don't I get to call myself a software engineer? I don't call myself a Professional Engineer, but neither do other recent engineering grads and they have engineer in their titles. It takes several years work experience and an exam to become a PE in the states, and once you get it, you can put it after your name like PhD. I know plenty of mechanical, electrical, and chemical engineers who are not PE's.

    In my opinion, the difference between programming and software engineering is the approach. Software Engineering is a discipline; it involves requirements, design, verification & validation of functionality, etc. Programming is just writing code.