All of the data generated in your IT infrastructure is seriously valuable.
Why? It contains a definitive record of application performance, security
threats, fraudulent activity, and more. Splunk takes this data and makes
sense of it. IT sense. And common sense.
http://p.sf.net/sfu/splunk-sdnws
======================================================================
Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* When Having the US Debt Paid Off Was a Problem
* Weaponizable Police UAV Now Operational In Texas
* Anonymous Takes On a Mexican Drug Cartel
* Career Advice: Don't Call Yourself a Programmer
* Australia's Biggest Airline Grounds Its Entire Fleet
* Droughts Linked To Global Warming
* Dolphin, a 3rd Party Android Browser, Relayed URL Data
* HP Officially Out of TouchPads
* Is That an Android On Your Wrist?
* Nokia Unveils OLED Phone You Control By Bending
* Ask Slashdot: Best EEPROM Programmer For a Hobbyists?
* <em>Battlefield 3</em> Performance: 30+ Graphics Cards Tested
* Google Street View Moves Indoors
* AWS Load Balancer Sends 2 Million Netflix API Reqs To Wrong Customer
* Quiet Cellular Antenna Tech To Boost S. African SKA Bid
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| When Having the US Debt Paid Off Was a Problem
| from the problem-I'd-take dept.
| posted by timothy on Saturday October 29, @08:11 (The Almighty Buck)
| with 520 comments
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/001214/when-having-the-us-debt-paid-off-was-a-problem?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Hugh Pickens writes "NPR reports that not so long ago, the prospect of
a debt-free U.S. was seen as a real possibility with the potential to
upset the global financial system. As recently as 2000, the U.S. was
running a budget surplus, taking in more than it was spending every year
��� and economists were projecting that the [1]entire national debt could
be paid off by 2012. So the government commissioned a secret report
outlining the possible harmful consequences of retiring the debt
completely. For one thing, paying off the national debt would mean the
end of Treasury bonds, a pillar of the global economy. Treasury
securities are [2]crucially important to the world financial system in a
number of ways: banks buy them as low-risk assets, the Fed uses them for
executing monetary policy, and mortgage interest rates vary based on
Treasury rates. 'It was a huge issue ... for not just the U.S. economy,
but the global economy,' says Diane Lim Rogers, an economist in the
Clinton administration. In the end, Jason Seligman, the economist who
wrote most of the report titled '[3]Life After Debt (PDF),' concluded it
was a good idea to pay down the debt ��� but not to pay it off entirely.
'There's such a thing as too much debt,' says Seligman. 'But also such a
thing, perhaps, as too little.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/001214/when-having-the-us-debt-paid-off-was-a-problem?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/
1. http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2011/10/21/141510617/what-if-we-paid-off-the-debt-the-secret-government-report
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Treasury_security
3. http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2011/10/20/LifeAfterDebt.pdf
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Weaponizable Police UAV Now Operational In Texas
| from the chasing-perps-is-hard-work dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 29, @09:19 (Crime)
| with 345 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1236236/weaponizable-police-uav-now-operational-in-texas?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
crackspackle writes "The Montgomery County Sheriff's Office in suburban
Houston, Texas is [0]preparing to launch operations with a newly received
Shadowhawk MK-III unmanned aerial vehicle, paid for by grant money
received by the Department of Homeland Security. The MK-III is a product
marketed for both military and law enforcement applications. Michael
Buscher, chief executive officer of manufacturer [1]Vanguard Defense
Industries, said this is the first local law enforcement agency to buy
one of his units. 'The aircraft has the capability to have a number of
different systems on board. Mostly, for law enforcement, we focus on what
we call less lethal systems,' he said, including Tazers that can send a
jolt to a criminal on the ground or a gun that fires bean bags known as a
'stun baton.' 'You have a stun baton where you can actually engage
somebody at altitude with the aircraft. A stun baton would essentially
disable a suspect,' he said. The MK-III also has more lethal options
available, capable of carrying either a 40mm or 37mm grenade launcher or
12 gauge shotgun with laser designator."
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1236236/weaponizable-police-uav-now-operational-in-texas?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.click2houston.com/news/29619788/detail.html
1. http://vanguarddefense.com/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Anonymous Takes On a Mexican Drug Cartel
| from the you-know-they-have-guns-right dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 29, @15:03 (Crime)
| with 328 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1644256/anonymous-takes-on-a-mexican-drug-cartel?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New submitter NarcoTraficante writes "After one of their members was
kidnapped in Veracruz, Mexico by the Zetas drug cartel, Mexican Anonymous
members have issued an ultimatum to the Zetas in a recently posted
YouTube video. The video [0]demands the release of the kidnapped member
and threatens to publish information of cartel members and affiliates in
Veracruz if the victim is not released by November 5. The Houston
Chronicle article warns that there will be bloodshed if Anonymous
publishes information on the Zeta's operations, either perpetrated by
rival cartels or reprisal attacks by the Zetas themselves."
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1644256/anonymous-takes-on-a-mexican-drug-cartel?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Career Advice: Don't Call Yourself a Programmer
| from the be-a-leveraged-syngeristic-cloud-solution-instead dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 29, @12:48 (Businesses)
| with 302 comments
| https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1441256/career-advice-dont-call-yourself-a-programmer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Ian Lamont writes "Patrick McKenzie has written about the do's and
don't's of working as a software engineer, and some solid (and often
amusing) advice on how to get ahead. One of the first pieces of advice: '[1]Don't
call yourself a programmer: "Programmer" sounds like "anomalously
high-cost peon who types some mumbo-jumbo into some other mumbo-jumbo."
If you call yourself a programmer, someone is already working on a way to
get you fired.' Although he runs his own company, he is a cold realist
about the possibilities for new college grads in the startup world: 'The
high-percentage outcome is you work really hard for the next couple of
years, fail ingloriously, and then be jobless and looking to get into
another startup.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1441256/career-advice-dont-call-yourself-a-programmer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://alum.mit.edu/www/lamont
1. http://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Australia's Biggest Airline Grounds Its Entire Fleet
| from the self-imposed-no-fly-zone dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 29, @10:29 (Australia)
| with 285 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1241254/australias-biggest-airline-grounds-its-entire-fleet?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Australia's national airline QANTAS, famous
for never having had a fatal crash, has been [0]grounded effective
immediately by its management. The grounding is [1]in response to
industrial action by union employees and has stranded passengers all over
the world, with 108 planes grounded indefinitely. The Australian
Government is [2]seeking an urgent industrial relations hearing in a
likely bid to suspend the industrial action and halt further damage to
the Australian economy."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1241254/australias-biggest-airline-grounds-its-entire-fleet?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-29/qantas-locking-out-staff/3608250?WT.svl=news0
1. http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/disruptions/global/en
2. http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/qantas-grounds-entire-fleet/story-e6frfq80-1226180315331
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Droughts Linked To Global Warming
| from the hot-off-the-presses dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 29, @18:35 (Earth)
| with 215 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/216220/droughts-linked-to-global-warming?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Layzej writes "Two new papers indicate that we are likely [0]already
seeing some of the predicted impacts of global warming. The first used
Monte Carlo simulations to analyze how many new record events you expect
to see in a time series with a trend. They applied the technique to the
unprecedented Russian heat wave of July 2010, which killed 700 people and
contributed to soaring wheat prices. According to the analysis, there's
an 80 percent chance that climate change was responsible. The authors
have [1]described their methods and how they improved on previous studies.
The second group studied [2]wintertime droughts in the Mediterranean
region. They found that 'the magnitude and frequency of the drying that
has occurred is too great to be explained by natural variability alone.
This is not encouraging news for a region that already experiences water
stress, because it implies natural variability alone is unlikely to
return the region's climate to normal.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/216220/droughts-linked-to-global-warming?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/russian-heat-climate-change/
1. http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2011/10/the-moscow-warming-hole/
2. http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2011/20111027_drought.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Dolphin, a 3rd Party Android Browser, Relayed URL Data
| from the question-of-intent dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 29, @11:40 (Android)
| with 158 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1251215/dolphin-a-3rd-party-android-browser-relayed-url-data?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader sends this excerpt from AndroidPolice.com: "As it
turns out, Dolphin HD, one of the top browsers the Android platform has
to offer, [0]sends pretty much every web page URL you visit, including
those that start with https, to a remote server en.mywebzines.com, which
belongs to the company. In fact, the WebZines feature was introduced only
recently back in June with version 6.0, so it's safe to say this tracking
started around the same time.'" The Dolphin team quickly responded with a
blog post saying [1]they did not store any of the data, and no browsing
information was captured about users. They also rolled out a new version
of the browser, 7.0.2, which fixed the issue.
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1251215/dolphin-a-3rd-party-android-browser-relayed-url-data?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/10/27/privacy-advisory-dolphin-hd-sends-url-of-every-page-you-visit-to-a-remote-server-in-plain-text/
1. http://blog.dolphin-browser.com/2011/10/27/webzine-does-not-store-user-data/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| HP Officially Out of TouchPads
| from the now-you'll-have-to-touch-different dept.
| posted by timothy on Friday October 28, @22:40 (HP)
| with 119 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/0022201/hp-officially-out-of-touchpads?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First time accepted submitter AtomicAdam writes "I guess all that waiting
and hoping was in vain. HP just sent out an email [0]officially claiming
to be out of TouchPads. 'Dear Valued Customer: Making sure customers have
a positive experience when they purchase our products is a priority for
us. In some cases, limited inventory makes it challenging to fulfill all
customer orders. As you signed up for updates on the HP TouchPad, we
wanted you to know that we are officially out of stock. Some retailers
will have some stock available, but our online inventory is depleted.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/0022201/hp-officially-out-of-touchpads?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://atomhax.com/?p=11
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Is That an Android On Your Wrist?
| from the or-are-you-yourself-an-android dept.
| posted by timothy on Saturday October 29, @07:15 (Android)
| with 110 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/015246/is-that-an-android-on-your-wrist?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DeviceGuru writes "[0]Two startups are about to go chrono y chrono with
competing Android gizmos. The [1]I'm Watch exclusively targets smartwatch
applications, whereas the [2]WIMM Platform is meant to create 'a new
market of connected wearable devices that deliver timely, relevant
information at a glance' ��� of which smartwatches are but one example. The
Italian-designed I'm Watch runs a customized Android 1.6 on a 454 MHz
ARM9 processor with just 64MB of RAM; the WIMM module, a product of
Silicon Valley, runs Android 2.1 on a 667 MHz ARM11 CPU. Would you
actually wear one of these things?" Personally, I'd rather have an [3]IBM
watch running Linux.
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/015246/is-that-an-android-on-your-wrist?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://deviceguru.com/android-smartwatch-smackdown/
1. http://live.imwatch.it/
2. http://www.wimm.com/
3. http://www.research.ibm.com/WearableComputing/linuxwatch/linuxwatch.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Nokia Unveils OLED Phone You Control By Bending
| from the both-hands-on-the-phone-no-the-wheel dept.
| posted by timothy on Saturday October 29, @01:33 (Cellphones)
| with 106 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/0048255/nokia-unveils-oled-phone-you-control-by-bending?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jldailey618 writes "Nokia just unveiled an OLED smartphone that is
[0]controlled by flexing the device with both hands. By bending corners
and pushing the sides inward and outward, the user can scroll, zoom, and
select. 'Researchers would not discuss exactly how the processor behind
the twisty screen functioned, but they did say that it would be
compatible with most current operating systems.'" Reader [1]jones_supa
adds a link to The Inquirer (with video), which points out that the
twist-based (rather than poke-based) interface means "you can do many
basic functions such as scrolling, zooming and answering calls [2]even
while wearing mittens."
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/0048255/nokia-unveils-oled-phone-you-control-by-bending?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://inhabitat.com/nokia-unveils-oled-phone-you-control-by-bending/
1. mailto:jonskunator@gmail.com
2. http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2120280/nokia-kinetic-concept-smartphone-video-demo
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Ask Slashdot: Best EEPROM Programmer For a Hobbyists?
| from the getting-technical dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 29, @16:17 (Programming)
| with 96 comments
| https://ask.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/194214/ask-slashdot-best-eeprom-programmer-for-a-hobbyists?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BigSes writes "I had been in the amusement repair industry (video gaming,
pinball, jukeboxes, etc) for more than a decade, but have recently taken
a new career path. I still greatly enjoy tinkering with all the
electronics, and collect many arcade games and pinball machines for my
home. I always had access to EEPROM / PROM / PIC / GAL programmers on the
job, but never owned one personally. I'm finding it difficult to work
within my chosen hobby without one, and ordering pre-programmed chips can
be cost prohibitive for some projects. I would love it if some of you
professionals or other hobbyists out there could recommend a great
programmer that supports a large number of chip formats for me to use.
I'd like it to be something USB, more modern than Serial or Parallel port
(usually what we had in the old days) and preferably sub-$300, new or
used. There are tons of Chinese import types on eBay, but I'd hate to
spend $80+ if I am unsure of the quality."
Discuss this story at:
https://ask.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/194214/ask-slashdot-best-eeprom-programmer-for-a-hobbyists?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| <em>Battlefield 3</em> Performance: 30+ Graphics Cards Tested
| from the anti-aliased-bullets dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 29, @17:24 (First Person Shooters (Games))
| with 79 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1922214/battlefield-3-performance-30-graphics-cards-tested?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New submitter wesbascas writes "Have you ever wanted to play a new PC
game, but weren't sure where your PC falls between the minimum and
recommended system requirements? I don't have a whole lot of time to game
these days and with new hardware perpetually coming out and component
vendors often tweaking their model numbering schemes, knowing exactly
what kind of experience I'm buying for $60 can be difficult. Luckily,
somebody [0]benchmarked Battlefield 3's campaign on a wide range of
hardware configurations and detail settings. If you've purchased a system
in the past few years you should be in luck. The video cards tested start
with the AMD Radeon HD 4670 and Nvidia GeForce 8500 GT, and go up to the
brand new Radeon HD 6990 and GeForce GTX 590. I hate it that my aging
Radeon HD 4870 isn't going to cut it at 1080p, but am glad that I found
out before buying the game." If you're curious about the game itself,
here's [1]a detailed review from Eurogamer and [2]a briefer one from
Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1922214/battlefield-3-performance-30-graphics-cards-tested?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063.html
1. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-10-25-battlefield-3-review-review
2. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/10/26/wot-i-think-battlefield-3s-campaign/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Google Street View Moves Indoors
| from the i'm-not-sure-the-cars-will-fit dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 29, @19:44 (Google)
| with 56 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/2222241/google-street-view-moves-indoors?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Hugh Pickens writes "Google is taking its Street View mapping service
indoors with plans moving ahead for 360-degree Business Photos, a program
that would send [1]Google photographers to various businesses to snap
professional photos for their Places Page. 'This experience, using Street
View technology, includes 360-degree imagery of the business interior and
storefront,' says Google. 'With this immersive imagery, potential
customers can easily imagine themselves at the business and [2]decide if
they want to visit in person.' Photographs are taken by 'trusted'
photographers, though businesses can also upload their own images via
Google Places. It's starting with businesses 'that we know are searched
for most regularly,' like restaurants, hotels, retail shops, gyms,
salons, and repair shops. Taking internal photos and posting them online
brings up some security questions, but Google says its [3]photographs
will 'capture nothing different to what a customer would see by visiting
the business in real life.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/2222241/google-street-view-moves-indoors?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://poncacityweloveyou.com/
1. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2395479,00.asp
2. http://maps.google.com/maps?sll=33.742814,-117.816672&layer=c&cid=7704649002191693046&panoid=qHPoNvOZOYBaFsE0vGCa5A&cbp=13,127.37,,0,11.85&gl=us&hq=comic+book+store+orange+county&t=h&vpsrc=0&cbll=33.742848,-117.816622&ie=UTF8&hnear=&source=embed&ll=33.740137,-117.815398&spn=0.005603,0.013368&z=16
3. http://maps.google.com/help/maps/businessphotos/faq.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| AWS Load Balancer Sends 2 Million Netflix API Reqs To Wrong Customer
| from the close-does-not-in-fact-count dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 29, @13:54 (Cloud)
| with 42 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1637219/aws-load-balancer-sends-2-million-netflix-api-reqs-to-wrong-customer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
rsk writes "Amazon Web Services' [0]Elastic Load Balancer is a dynamic
load-balancer managed by Amazon. Load balancers regularly swapped around
with each other which can lead to surprising results; like getting
[1]millions of requests meant for a different AWS customer. Using ELBs
can result in AWS unintentionally introducing [2]a man-in-the-middle
(attack) into your application environment. [3]Most AWS users do not
realize this can happen and have not secured against it."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/10/29/1637219/aws-load-balancer-sends-2-million-netflix-api-reqs-to-wrong-customer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/
1. https://forums.aws.amazon.com/thread.jspa?threadID=79007
2. http://www.thebuzzmedia.com/aws-elastic-load-balancer-sends-2-million-netflix-api-requests-to-wrong-customer/
3. https://forums.aws.amazon.com/search.jspa?objID=c3&q=traffic+not+mine&x=0&y=0
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Quiet Cellular Antenna Tech To Boost S. African SKA Bid
| from the can-we-hear-them-now? dept.
| posted by timothy on Saturday October 29, @04:27 (Cellphones)
| with 28 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/10/28/2234204/quiet-cellular-antenna-tech-to-boost-s-african-ska-bid?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
slash-sa writes "Two South Africans have given their home country a boost
with its [0]Square Kilometre Array (SKA) bid by inventing cellular
antenna technology which reduces 'noisy' emissions from cellular base
stations in the area. [1]They reduced emissions by using an antenna based
on phased-array principles, providing omnidirectional coverage but also
blocking the RF transmissions along a single direction (that would
correspond with the bearing of the SKA core site). The antenna has been
tested and performs extremely well. Trialling measurements have shown
that the RF signal levels at the proposed SKA core site can be reduced
significantly, while at the same time, much of the original GSM coverage
can be retained."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/10/28/2234204/quiet-cellular-antenna-tech-to-boost-s-african-ska-bid?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.ska.ac.za/
1. http://mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/37130-quiet-cellular-antenna-technology-for-ska.html
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