Today's Headlines & Columnists

If you have difficulty viewing this newsletter, click here to view as a Web page. Click here to view in plain text. Monday, January 2, 2012 TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS 'American optimism'? Not from Ron Paul. Texas congressman leaves rosy outlooks and lofty campaign promises to the other GOP candidates. (By Nia-Malika Henderson) GOP's battle plan: Attack Obama with his own words Republicans are finishing "the book," a massive document that will form the basis of their attack and that seeks to turn the president's promises against him. (By Peter Wallsten) Iran seeks more influence in Latin America A new diplomatic offensive highlights the Islamic republic's growing presence in the U.S.'s back yard. (By Joby Warrick) A remarkable life hijacked Viola Herms Drath had been to the Blue Star Mothers convention the week of Aug. 8, and she spoke excitedly about her great-granddaughter's first birthday. She was pleased that even at 91 years old, her calendar was so full. But by the end of the week, she was found dead. (By Josh White) Ravens claim No. 2 seed in the AFC Baltimore secures the AFC North title and a first-round bye in the NFL playoffs that begin next week. Denver sneaks in despite losing. (By Gene Wang and Mark Maske) NATION Killers lurking on bay's bottom Lost crab traps, called "ghost pots," kill thousands of crabs and other Chesapeake creatures every year. ( by Darryl Fears , The Washington Post) NASA flight may find moon's twin sister Twin NASA probes circling the moon could reveal that a second moon existed billions of years ago. ( by Brian Vastag , The Washington Post) In this Washington, 'life is good' Residents in this Iowa town have spent months hearing candidates talk about problems they largely don't have. ( by Eli Saslow in WASHINGTON, Iowa , The Washington Post) Texas consumer health program to shut down Less than a year after it opened, the Texas Consumer Health Assistance Program is preparing to shut down, a victim of Congress's inability to agree on a budget for next year. ( by Sarah Kliff , The Washington Post) Iran seeks more influence in Latin America A new diplomatic offensive highlights the Islamic republic's growing presence in the U.S.'s back yard. ( by Joby Warrick , The Washington Post) More National: Breaking National News & Headlines - Washington Post METRO Rainbow caps balmy day in D.C. Sunday was the first day of the new year, but that was only one of the day's distinctions. The temperature rose to 60 degrees in Washington, a January rarity. ( by Martin Weil , The Washington Post) Arlington reports zero homicides in 2011 No homicides were reported in Arlington County last year, for the first time in at least 50 years, according to county police. ( by Martin Weil , The Washington Post) Getting a handle on the new bag tax Not all Montgomery County shoppers were ready for the 5-cent surcharge. ( by Katherine Shaver and Victor Zapana , The Washington Post) Designer Eva Zeisel dead at 105 Mrs. Zeisel, who escaped turbulent times in prewar Europe, designed tableware that was credited with bringing a sense of serenity to American dinnertime. ( by Emily Langer , The Washington Post) Year's first baby is right on time Washington area's first baby of 2012 gives Upper Marlboro family a girl to follow two boys. ( by Donna St. George , The Washington Post) More Post Local: Washington, DC Area News, Traffic, Weather, Sports & More - The Washington Post POLITICS Romney benches his five grown sons Four years ago, the five Romney sons were a staple on the campaign trail. This time around, Mitt Romney's kids have been more scarce. ( by Sandhya Somashekhar in WINDHAM, N.H. , The Washington Post) Conservatives assess Romney National conservative leaders are beginning to accept the increasingly likely prospect of a Mitt Romney nomination, and how and whether they can live with that. ( by Amy Gardner and Rosalind S. Helderman , The Washington Post) Getting a handle on the new bag tax Not all Montgomery County shoppers were ready for the 5-cent surcharge. ( by Katherine Shaver and Victor Zapana , The Washington Post) Final push before Iowa Republican primary Seeking to press their advantages and differentiate themselves, the Republican candidates for president flooded the Iowa airwaves Sunday and stepped up the ground games in the final push before decision day. ( by Nia-Malika Henderson , The Washington Post) The line on the Iowa caucuses MONDAY FIX | Mitt Romney has the best odds of winning Tuesday, but Rick Santorum has the momentum. (, The Washington Post) More Post Politics: Breaking Politics News, Political Analysis & More - The Washington Post STYLE When two people no longer 'fit' People change, and not fitting anymore is a perfectly adequate reason for ending a relationship without judgments. (, The Washington Post) Debating life, universe and everything The philosophers were in town for the American Philosophical Association's annual conference. ( by Monica Hesse , The Washington Post) More Style: Culture, Arts, Ideas & More - The Washington Post SPORTS TV and radio listings: Jan. 2 TV and radio listings: Jan. 2 (, The Washington Post) Giants win the NFC East Eli Manning, New York top Dallas for last playoff spot. ( by Mark Maske , The Washington Post) Ravens take AFC North title With two electric runs by Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens secure their third AFC North title in team history with a 24-16 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. ( by Jeff Zrebiec , The Washington Post) Opinion | Mike Shanahan needs the right parts COLUMN | Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan is a brilliant play caller and has the competitive drive to succeed. But he needs the right players, especially a big-time quarterback. (, The Washington Post) Ravens claim No. 2 seed in the AFC Baltimore secures the AFC North title and a first-round bye in the NFL playoffs that begin next week. Denver sneaks in despite losing. ( by Gene Wang and Mark Maske , The Washington Post) More Sports: Sports News, Scores, Analysis, Schedules & More - The Washington Post WORLD In Iraq, Sunni official hit by bomb The blast that hit the finance minister's convoy injured 6 and will likely increase political tensions. ( by Dan Morse and Aziz Alwan , The Washington Post) In sports-mad Argentina, specialty journalism schools also an obsession Buenos Aires alone boasts about a dozen institutions like the Superior School of Sports Journalism. ( by Juan Forero , The Washington Post) India's drug trials fuel controversy As participation grows, so do fears that many Indians are entering trials without knowing the risks. ( by Rama Lakshmi , The Washington Post) Iran claims nuclear fuel advance The government today announced an engineering breakthrough and test-fired a radar-evading medium-range missile in the Persian Gulf. ( by Parisa Hafezi , The Washington Post) Iran seeks more influence in Latin America A new diplomatic offensive highlights the Islamic republic's growing presence in the U.S.'s back yard. ( by Joby Warrick , The Washington Post) More World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post LIVE DISCUSSIONS Redskins-Eagles postgame chat with Cindy Boren Live discussion about the Redskins vs. Eagles game. (, vForum) Dave Barry's 2011 year in review Dave Barry discusses all that made up 2011. (, vForum) More Conversations: Discussions, Blogs, Debates, Live Q&A's and More - The Washington Post TECHNOLOGY Google+ Service May Have 400 Million Users by End of 2012 Google Inc. is adding 625,000 new users a day to the Google+ social-networking service, which may total 400 million members by the end of next year, according to independent analysis of its growth. ( by Nick Turner Bloomberg News , Bloomberg) Alibaba Hired Duberstein Group for Washington Lobbying Help Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. hired Washington lobbying firm Duberstein Group Inc. earlier this year as it explored potential transactions involving Yahoo! Inc. ( by Ian King Bloomberg News , Bloomberg) CES 2012: Lenovo smart TV and cloud service Lenovo will be offering a smart television (dubbed the IdeaTV) in Q1 2012 with a focus on allowing users to easily share content between devices. ( by Dante D'Orazio , The Washington Post) CES 2012: Nokia to unveil portfolio of products The company calls the 710 launch "Day 1 of Rolling Thunder." ( by Thomas Ricker , The Washington Post) More Technology News - The Washington Post EDITORIAL The Arctic is vital to national security (, The Washington Post) Medical experiments on humans Better records and compensation for injuries are advisable. (, The Washington Post) Follow the money More scrutiny may be useful for the funding of programs to benefit D.C. youth. (, The Washington Post) D.C.'s lesson for Congress (, The Washington Post) Overcharged Pull the plug on electric-car subsidies. (, The Washington Post) More Opinions: Washington Post Opinion, Editorial, Op Ed, Politics Editorials - The Washington Post BUSINESS Local firm turns data and analysis into profitable advice Columbia-based Merkle is a 'work-hard, play-hard' kind of company, its 48-year-old chief executive, David Williams, says. (, The Washington Post) Exxon awarded $908 million An arbitration panel has awarded U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil $908 million in compensation for Venezuela's 2007 nationalization of its assets. ( by Brian Ellsworth and Marianna Parraga , The Washington Post) New at the Top: David F. Melcher, Exelis Inc. David F. Melcher, a retired Army lieutenant general and new chief executive of Exelis Inc., sees the importance of leadership in both the governmental and business contexts. (, The Washington Post) Week ahead for Jan. 2, 2012 The new year begins with a week packed with economic news. (, The Washington Post) Washington-area bankruptcies These firms recently filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's local court clerk's offices. (, The Washington Post) More Business News, Financial News, Business Headlines & Analysis - The Washington Post Get The Washington Post, your way. Want to stay on top of the latest news, features, commentary and more? Here's how: Mobile: Alerts: Social Media: Applications Web site E-mail SMS RSS Feeds Facebook Twitter SEND TO A FRIEND UNSUBSCRIBE E-NEWSLETTER CENTER GET HELP Washington Post Digital E-mail Customer Care 1150 15th Street NW Washington, D.C. 20071 © 2012 The Washington Post Privacy Policy

[Slashdot] Stories for 2012-01-02

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Slashdot Daily Newsletter

In this issue:
* What Could Have Been In the Public Domain Today, But Isn't

* Crysis 2 Most Pirated Game of 2011

* Ask Slashdot: Re-Entering the Job Market As a Software Engineer?

* The 'Cable Guy' Now a Network Specialist

* The Un-Internet and War On General Purpose Computers

* MAME Running In Chrome

* Fake Antivirus Scams Spread To Android

* Google Health's Lifeline Runs Out

* SCADA Vulnerabilities In Prisons Could Open Cell Doors

* Lax Security At Russian Rocket Plant

* Floyd Landis Sentenced For Hacking Test Lab

* Same Platform Made Stuxnet, Duqu; Others Lurk

* Optical Furnace Bakes Better Solar Cells

* GRAIL-A Enters Lunar Orbit

* New Online Dictionaries Automate Away the Linguistic Middleman

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| What Could Have Been In the Public Domain Today, But Isn't
| from the happy-new-year dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @10:28 (Books)
| with 318 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1523221/what-could-have-been-in-the-public-domain-today-but-isnt?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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SgtChaireBourne writes "Many works published in 1955 would have entered
the public domain this year. Duke University's Center for the Study of
the Public Domain has an overview of the [0]movies, books, songs and
historical works that are kept out of the public domain by changes to
copyright law since 1978. Instead of seeing these enter the public domain
in 2012, we will have to wait until 2051 before being able to use these
works without restriction."

Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1523221/what-could-have-been-in-the-public-domain-today-but-isnt?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2012/pre-1976

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| Crysis 2 Most Pirated Game of 2011
| from the everyone-already-had-chess dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @09:31 (Piracy)
| with 289 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1425227/crysis-2-most-pirated-game-of-2011?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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[0]MojoKid writes "When an advance copy of Crysis 2 leaked to the
Internet a full month before the game's scheduled release, Crytek and
Electronic Arts (EA) were understandably miffed and, as it turns out,
[1]justified in their fears of mass piracy. Crysis 2 was illegally
download on the PC platform 3,920,000 time, 'beating out' Call of Duty:
Modern Warfare 3 with 3,650,000 illegal downloads. Numbers like these
don't bode well for PC gamers and will only serve to encourage even more
draconian DRM measures than we've seen in the past."

Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1425227/crysis-2-most-pirated-game-of-2011?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://hothardware.com/
1. http://hothardware.com/News/Crysis-2-Tops-List-of-Most-Pirated-Games-of-2011/

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| Ask Slashdot: Re-Entering the Job Market As a Software Engineer?
| from the hope-springs-eternal dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @17:43 (Software)
| with 241 comments
| https://ask.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/2238233/ask-slashdot-re-entering-the-job-market-as-a-software-engineer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First time accepted submitter martypantsROK writes "It's been over 15
years since my main job was a software engineer. Since then I have held
positions as a Sales Engineer, then spent a few years actually doing
sales as a sales rep (and found I hated it) and then got into teaching. I
am still a teacher but I want to really get back into writing code for a
living. In the past couple of years I've done a great deal of Javascript,
PHP, Ajax, and Java, including some Android apps. So here's the question:
How likely would I be to actually get a job writing code? Is continual
experience in the field a must, or can a job candidate demonstrate enough
current relevance and experience (minus an actual job) with a multi-year
hiatus from software development jobs? I'll add, if you haven't already
done the math, that I'm over 50 years old."

Discuss this story at:
https://ask.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/2238233/ask-slashdot-re-entering-the-job-market-as-a-software-engineer?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

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| The 'Cable Guy' Now a Network Specialist
| from the 55k-isn't-too-slouchy dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @12:34 (Networking)
| with 197 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1732211/the-cable-guy-now-a-network-specialist?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[0]Hugh Pickens writes "Amy Chozick reports that cable guys, [1]long
depicted as slovenly cranks who dodged growling dogs and tracked mud on
the living room carpet, often have [2]backgrounds in engineering and
computer science and certifications in network engineering. 'Back in my
day, you called the phone company, we hooked it up, gave you a phone book
and left,' says Paul Holloway, a 30-year employee of Verizon, which
offers phone, Internet, television and home monitoring services through
its FiOS fiber optic network. 'These days people are connecting iPhones,
Xboxes and 17 other devices in the home.' The surge in high-tech
offerings comes at a critical time for cable companies in an increasingly
saturated Internet-based market where growth must come from all the
[3]extras like high-speed Internet service, home security, digital
recording devices and other high-tech upgrades. 'They should really
change the name to Time Warner Internet,' says Quirino Madia, a
supervisor for Time Warner Cable. 'Nine out of 10 times, that's all
people care about.' Despite their enhanced stature and additional
responsibilities, technicians haven't benefited much financially. The
median hourly income in 2010 for telecommunications equipment installers
and repairers was [4]$55,600 annually, up only 0.4 percent from 2008."

Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1732211/the-cable-guy-now-a-network-specialist?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cable_Guy
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/business/media/todays-cable-guy-upgraded-and-better-dressed.html
3. http://thesmartvan.com/blog/2011/03/21/7101/comcast-rewrites-its-cable-guy-job-description-should-more-field-service-managers-follow-suit/
4. http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos188.htm

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| The Un-Internet and War On General Purpose Computers
| from the insert-coin-to-continue dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @14:29 (Government)
| with 187 comments
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1925211/the-un-internet-and-war-on-general-purpose-computers?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

theodp writes " Apple,' writes Dave Winer in [0]The Un-Internet, 'is
providing a bad example for younger, smaller companies like Twitter and
Tumblr, who apparently want to control the 'user experience' of their
platforms in much the same way as Apple does. They feel they have a
better sense of quality than the randomness of a free market. So they've
installed similar controls.' Still, Winer's seen this movie before and
notes, 'Eventually we overcome their barriers, and another layer comes
on. And the upstarts become the installed-base, and they make the same
mistakes all over again. It's the Internet vs the Un-Internet. And the
Internet, it seems, always prevails.' Thinking along the same lines, Cory
Doctorow warns the stakes are only going to get higher, and issues a
call-to-arms for [1]The Coming War on General Purpose Computation."

Discuss this story at:
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1925211/the-un-internet-and-war-on-general-purpose-computers?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://scripting.com/stories/2011/12/31/theUninternet.html
1. http://boingboing.net/2011/12/27/the-coming-war-on-general-purp.html

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| MAME Running In Chrome
| from the ok-now-iterate-and-1-and-2-and-switch dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @05:58 (Google)
| with 148 comments
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/0148246/mame-running-in-chrome?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An anonymous reader writes to point out this interesting outgrowth of
Google's Native Client: a Google engineer has [0]ported MAME 0.143 to the
browser-based platform, and written about the process in detail,
outlining the overall strategy employed as well as specific problems that
MAME presented. An impressive postscript from the conclusion: "The port
of MAME was relatively challenging; combined with figuring out how to
port SDL-based games and load resources in Native Client, the overall
effort took us about 4 days to complete."

Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/0148246/mame-running-in-chrome?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. https://developers.google.com/native-client/community/porting/MAME

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Fake Antivirus Scams Spread To Android
| from the spreading-the-joy dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @16:38 (Android)
| with 143 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/2137238/fake-antivirus-scams-spread-to-android?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SharkLaser writes "Fake antivirus scams have plagued Windows and Mac OSX
during the last couple of years. Now it seems like such scams [0]have
spread to Android. Fake antivirus scams on Android work the same as they
do on PC's ��� a user with an Android phone downloads an application or
visits a website that says that the user's device is infected with
malware. It will then show a fake scan of the system and return
hard-coded 'positives' and gives the option the option to buy antivirus
software that will 'remove' the malware on the affected system. Android,
which is based on Linux, has been plagued with malware earlier too.
According to McAfee, [1]almost all new mobile malware now targets Android.
Android app stores, including the official one from Google, has also been
hosting hundreds of [2]trojan applications that send premium rate SMSes
on behalf of unsuspecting users."

Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/2137238/fake-antivirus-scams-spread-to-android?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/fake-antivirus-scams-targeting-android-users-122911
1. http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/20/mcafee-nearly-all-new-mobile-malware-in-q3-targeted-at-android-phones-up-37-percent/
2. http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00002280.html

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| Google Health's Lifeline Runs Out
| from the when-that-lining-isnt-silver dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @15:36 (Cloud)
| with 138 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/2035219/google-healths-lifeline-runs-out?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[0]turing0 writes "As a former bioinformatics researcher and CTO I have
some sad news to start 2012 with. Though I am sure not a surprise to the
Slashdot crowd, it appears we ��� or our demographic ��� made up more than
75% of the Google Health userbase. Today marks the end of [1]Google
Health. (Also see this post for the [2]official Google announcement and
lame excuse for the reasoning behind this myopic decision.) The decision
of Google to end this excellent service is a fantastic example of what
can represent the downside of cloud services for individuals and
enterprises. The cloud is great when and while your desired application
is present ��� assuming it's secure and robust ��� but you are at the mercy
of the provider for longevity." (Read more, below.)

This story continues at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/2035219/google-healths-lifeline-runs-out?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/2035219/google-healths-lifeline-runs-out?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. mailto:jrichards1@gmail.com
1. http://health.google.com/
2. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/update-on-google-health-and-google.html

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| SCADA Vulnerabilities In Prisons Could Open Cell Doors
| from the prison-break-meets-wargames dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @03:00 (Security)
| with 120 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/0134259/scada-vulnerabilities-in-prisons-could-open-cell-doors?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orome1 writes "Many prisons and jails use SCADA systems with PLCs to open
and close doors. Using original and publicly available exploits along
with evaluating vulnerabilities in electronic and physical security
designs, researchers discovered significant vulnerabilities in PLCs used
in correctional facilities by [0]being able to remotely flip the switches
to 'open' or 'locked closed' on cell doors and gates."

Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/0134259/scada-vulnerabilities-in-prisons-could-open-cell-doors?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=12145

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| Lax Security At Russian Rocket Plant
| from the who-cares-where-they-come-down dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @08:32 (Security)
| with 104 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/0937212/lax-security-at-russian-rocket-plant?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

theshowmecanuck writes "Reuters reports that there is [0]little or no
security at one of the main factories in Russia responsible for military
and Soyuz rocket manufacture. Blogger Lana Sator was able to walk right
into the empty (off hours) facility through huge gaps in the fences that
no-one bothered to repair, and there was no security to stop them aside
from some dogs that didn't bother them either. In fact Lana even has one
picture of herself posing [1]next to an apparently non-functional
security camera, another of her sitting on what looks like to be possibly
a [2]partially assembled rocket motor (someone who knows better can fill
us in), and has about 100 photos of the escapade all told on her [3]blog
about this (it's in Russian... which I don't speak... any translators out
there?). Russian officials are said to be deeply concerned. I wonder if
this has any bearing on why Russian rockets haven't been making it into
space successfully, or whether it and the launch failures are all part of
some general industrial malaise that is taking place."

Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/0937212/lax-security-at-russian-rocket-plant?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE7BS0TA20111229
1. http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/4423/33213654.dd/0_71bbd_fdd0240_XXL.jpg
2. http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/4526/33213654.df/0_71e5c_2d294a65_XXL.jpg
3. http://lana-sator.livejournal.com/160176.html#cutid1

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| Floyd Landis Sentenced For Hacking Test Lab
| from the thrill-of-victory dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @18:50 (Crime)
| with 100 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/2323250/floyd-landis-sentenced-for-hacking-test-lab?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
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McGruber writes with some news that slipped by in December: "[0]Floyd
Landis won the 2006 Tour de France, but was later stripped of his title
after testing 'positive for an unusually high ratio of the hormone
testosterone to the hormone epitestosterone (T/E ratio).' In February
2010, Slashdot covered the news that Landis had been [1]accused of
hacking into the laboratory that detected the unusually high T/E ratio.
Since then, Landis was '[2]convicted in absentia by a French court for
his role in hacking into the computers of a French doping lab,' according
to National Public Radio. Landis and his former coach Arnie Baker [3]both
received 12-month suspended sentences, according to USA Today."

Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/2323250/floyd-landis-sentenced-for-hacking-test-lab?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Landis
1. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/02/16/0230255/tour-de-france-champion-accused-of-hacking
2. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/11/10/142211319/french-court-convicts-cyclist-floyd-landis-in-hacking-of-doping-lab
3. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/story/2011-11-10/floyd-landis-convicted/51152204/1

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| Same Platform Made Stuxnet, Duqu; Others Lurk
| from the what-evil-lurks-in-the-hearts-of-men dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @00:02 (Microsoft)
| with 85 comments
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/0045215/same-platform-made-stuxnet-duqu-others-lurk?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

wiredmikey writes "New research from Kaspersky Labs has revealed that the
platform dubbed 'tilded' (~d), which was used to develop Stuxnet and
Duqu, [0]has been around for years. The researchers say that same
platform has been used to create similar Trojans which have yet to be
discovered. Alexander Gostev and Igor Sumenkov have put together some
interesting research, the key point being that the person(s) behind what
the world knows as Stuxnet and Duqu have actually been using the same
development platform for several years." An anonymous reader adds a link
to this "surprisingly entertaining presentation" (video) by a Microsoft
engineer, in which "he tells the story of [1]how he and others analysed
the exploits used by Stuxnet. Also surprising are the simplicity of the
exploits which were still present in Win7." See also the [2]report at
Secureist from which the SecurityWeek story draws.

Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/0045215/same-platform-made-stuxnet-duqu-others-lurk?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.securityweek.com/same-platform-used-develop-stuxnet-and-duqu-created-other-malware
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVNHX1Hrr6w&feature=youtu.be
2. https://www.securelist.com/en/analysis/204792208/Stuxnet_Duqu_The_Evolution_of_Drivers

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Optical Furnace Bakes Better Solar Cells
| from the might-as-well-be-walking-on-the-sun dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @11:30 (Earth)
| with 74 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1625210/optical-furnace-bakes-better-solar-cells?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at the [0]National Renewable
Energy Laboratory just announced that they have found a [1]way to create
more efficient photovoltaic cells using 50% less energy. The technique
hinges upon a new optical furnace that uses intense light instead of a
conventional furnace to heat silicon to make solar cells. The new furnace
utilizes 'highly reflective and heat-resistant ceramics to ensure that
the light is absorbed only by a silicon wafer, not by the walls inside
the furnace.'"

Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1625210/optical-furnace-bakes-better-solar-cells?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://www.nrel.gov/
1. http://inhabitat.com/nrels-new-optical-furnace-bakes-more-efficient-solar-cells-using-50-less-energy/

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| GRAIL-A Enters Lunar Orbit
| from the holy-grail-moonman dept.
| posted by timothy on Saturday December 31, @20:56 (Moon)
| with 59 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/0123214/grail-a-enters-lunar-orbit?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NASA's [0]twin-craft GRAIL mission, [1]launched way back in September ([2]more
information here), has successfully reached its destination. [3]Grail-A
has now entered lunar orbit; GRAIL-B is [4]expected to enter lunar orbit
tomorrow.

Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/0123214/grail-a-enters-lunar-orbit?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/27/1834226/twin-grail-probes-to-map-lunar-gravity-field
1. http://planetary.org/blog/article/00003180/
2. http://moon.mit.edu/
3. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/story/2011-12-31/nasa-moon-probe/52299620/1?csp=34news
4. http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/12/29/Twin-spacecraft-prepare-for-lunar-orbits/UPI-16441325209154/?dailybrief

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| New Online Dictionaries Automate Away the Linguistic Middleman
| from the boncha-porftis-hworkin dept.
| posted by timothy on Sunday January 01, @13:31 (The Internet)
| with 46 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1819210/new-online-dictionaries-automate-away-the-linguistic-middleman?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An article in The New York Times highlights two [0]growing collections of
words online that effectively bypass the traditional dictionary
publishing system of slow aggregation and curation. [1]Wordnik is a
private venture that has already raised more than $12 million in capital,
while the [2]Corpus of Contemporary American English is a project started
by Brigham Young professor Mark Davies. These sources differ from both
conventional dictionary publishers and crowd-sourced efforts like the
excellent [3]Wiktionary for their emphasis on avoiding human intervention
rather than fostering it. Says founder Erin McKean in the linked article,
'Language changes every day, and the lexicographer should get out of the
way. ... You can type in anything, and we'll show you what data we have.'

Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/12/01/01/1819210/new-online-dictionaries-automate-away-the-linguistic-middleman?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting

Links:
0. http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGmd3Sc-nGBO6knwziTIDa-WYSqYA&url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/business/wordniks-online-dictionary-no-arbiters-please.html
1. http://www.wordnik.com/
2. http://corpus.byu.edu/coca/
3. http://www.wiktionary.org/

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