NASA's Future Inflatable Lunar Base
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98507461/article.pl
Roland Piquepaille writes "If you think that future NASA's moon camps need to have a science fiction look, you might be disappointed. Today, NASA is testing small inflatable structures. In fact, if these expandable 'tents' receive positive reviews, astronauts will 'camp' on the moon as early as 2020. These 12-foot (3.65 meter) diameter inflatable units could be used as building blocks for a future lunar base. Right now, a prototype is tested at NASA's Langley Research Center. But NASA also wants to test other inflatable structures in the not-too-friendly environment of the Antarctic next year. Still, it's too early to know if NASA's first habitable lunar base will use inflatable or rigid structures."
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=0y8GAb"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=0y8GAb" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98507461"/>Zonk2007-03-02T17:05:00+00:00nasayay-camping-watch-out-for-space-bearsscience3131,31,26,13,2,0,0http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/1652218&from=rssWorm Exploiting Solaris Telnetd Vulnerability
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98479392/article.pl
MichaelSmith writes "Several news sites are reporting that a worm is starting to exploit the Solaris Telnet 0-day vulnerability. By adding simple text to the Telnet command, the system will skip asking for a username and password. If the systems are installed out of the box, they automatically come Telnet-enabled.'The SANS Internet Storm Center, which monitors Internet threats, has noticed some increase in activity on the network port used by Solaris' telnet feature, according to an ISC blog posted on Tuesday. "One hopes that there aren't that many publicly reachable Solaris systems running telnet," ISC staffer Joel Esler wrote.'"
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=kh6PB6"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=kh6PB6" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98479392"/>Zonk2007-03-02T16:26:00+00:00securitybeware-of-rotten-fruitit4747,47,36,32,7,4,2http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/1553253&from=rssMacBook Wi-Fi Hijack Details Finally Released
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98471417/article.pl
Wick3d Gam3s writes "Hacker David Maynor attempted to put the strange tale of the Macbook Wifi hack to rest, and offered an apology for mistakes made. All this and a live demo of the takeover exploit was made at a Black Hat DC event yesterday. Maynor promised to release e-mail exchanges, crash/panic logs and exploit code in an effort to clear his tarnished name. Said Maynor: 'I screwed up a bit [at last year's Black Hat in Las Vegas]. I probably shouldn't have used an Apple machine in the video demo and I definitely should not have discussed it a journalist ahead of time ... I made mistakes, I screwed up. You can blame me for a lot of things but don't say we didn't find this and give all the information to Apple.'"
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=4cURQF"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=4cURQF" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98471417"/>Zonk2007-03-02T15:44:00+00:00securitystrange-tale-of-patch-10.4.8apple2323,20,17,10,7,5,4http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/1520210&from=rssVista Activation Cracked by Brute Force
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98457241/article.pl
Bengt writes "The Inquirer has a story about a brute force Vista key activation crack. It's nothing fancy; it's described as a 'glorified guesser'. The danger of this approach is that sooner or later the key cracker will begin activating legitimate keys purchased by other consumers. From the article: 'The code is floating, the method is known, and there is nothing MS can do at this point other than suck it down and prepare for the problems this causes. To make matters worse, Microsoft will have to decide if it is worth it to allow people to take back legit keys that have been hijacked, or tell customers to go away, we have your money already, read your license agreement and get bent, we owe you nothing.'"
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=MMVtDV"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=MMVtDV" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98457241"/>Zonk2007-03-02T15:02:00+00:00windowsdisturbance-in-the-forceit203203,198,161,115,41,28,19http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/1442231&from=rssUsing Lasers to Speed Computer Data
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98438227/article.pl
Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "The start-up Lightfleet has developed an unusual way to use lasers to speed the flow of data inside a computer, hoping to break a bottleneck that can hamper machines using many microprocessors, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company plans to sell servers it predicts will be much more efficient than existing systems in tackling tough computing problems. Tasks could include automatically recognizing a face in a video image or sifting through billions of financial transactions for signs of illegal activity. These machines will attempt to sidestep some of the problems associated with parallel computation by ensuring all processors are connected, all the time."
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=hPWmuo"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=hPWmuo" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98438227"/>Zonk2007-03-02T14:25:00+00:00supercomputingthey-are-not-fricking-lasershardware4444,44,33,22,13,8,4http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/1340235&from=rssBBC Strikes Deal With YouTube
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98426833/article.pl
twofish writes "Google's YouTube video site will soon be showing content from the BBC in a deal announced today. Auntie Beeb's content will be spread across three different channels, one for news and two for entertainment programmes. Content will include adverts, and clips from shows such as "Top Gear", "The Mighty Boosh", and nature shows narrated by David Attenborough. The deal is likely to be controversial, particularly since the BBC is paid for by a compulsory tax system (the license fee) rather than through advertising or subscription. The article goes on to say that they won't be 'hunting down' people that upload their content to YouTube. Just the same, they reserve the right to take down or remove programmes that have run on their channels which might damage relationships; examples might be football offerings or 'edited' shows."
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=U3SQhp"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=U3SQhp" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98426833"/>Zonk2007-03-02T13:42:00+00:00googleyou-got-your-british-stuck-in-my-tubemainpage124124,120,104,61,17,9,4http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/1329230&from=rssVisualizing Searches Over Time
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98399357/article.pl
An anonymous reader writes "Chris Harrison has built a visualization that explores what people are doing online over time. He explains, 'Search engines are the gateway to the internet for most people, and so search queries provide insight into what people are doing and thinking. In order to examine millions of search queries, I built a simple, cyclical, clock-like visualization that displays the top search terms over a 24-hour period.' Interesting to see that the masses online have fairly coherent and consistent search behaviors. He also investigates the notorious AOL dataset."
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=QV7Duu"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=QV7Duu" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98399357"/>CowboyNeal2007-03-02T12:01:00+00:00internethalf-past-chatmainpage4747,44,39,25,13,8,4http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/0317204&from=rssUsing Gym Rats' Body Power to Generate Electricity
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98367538/article.pl
Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "A Hong Kong health club is hoping that a car battery, some StairMasters and dozens of gym rats can help ease the world's energy problems. It is just one of a wave of projects that are trying to tap the power of the human body, the Wall Street Journal reports. The article explains the impetus behind the project: 'The human power project at California Fitness was set in motion by Doug Woodring, a 41-year-old extreme-sports fanatic and renewable-energy entrepreneur, who pitched the experiment to the gym's management last May. "I've trained my whole life, and many megawatts have been wasted," says Mr. Woodring, who has worked out at the Hong Kong gym for years. "I wanted to do something with all that sweat."'"
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=f2OvXI"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=f2OvXI" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98367538"/>CowboyNeal2007-03-02T10:24:00+00:00powerother-biodiesel-generatorshardware206206,197,167,110,31,15,9http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/049254&from=rssiPods to be Used as Flight Data Recorders
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98324494/article.pl
udamahan writes "Flight Global reports small aircraft manufacturer LoPresti is introducing a system that uses an iPod as a flight data recorder. The company states that they chose the iPod for its size, low power requirements, and the 'thousands of developers passionate about writing applications for the iPod.' The article notes that data recorders are typically used for maintenance, flight/safety analysis, or, assuming proper protection, crash investigation."
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=KjQ74G"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=KjQ74G" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98324494"/>CowboyNeal2007-03-02T07:40:00+00:00mediacockpit-white-boxesapple164164,161,147,91,36,22,9http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/0355225&from=rssOpen Access For Research Gaining Steam
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98287009/article.pl
An anonymous reader writes "The BBC reports that open access to research is gaining steam as more than 20,000 people, including Nobel Prize winners, have signed a petition calling for greater access to publicly-funded research. While publishers are fighting open access, a growing number of funding agencies and universities are making it a mandatory requirement."
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=peEq6F"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=peEq6F" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98287009"/>CowboyNeal2007-03-02T05:35:00+00:00educationpopularity-contestsyro5959,58,45,30,21,14,10http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/0158208&from=rssMarvin Minsky On AI
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98251296/article.pl
An anonymous reader writes "In a three-part Dr. Dobbs podcast, AI pioneer and MIT professor Marvin Minsky examines the failures of AI research and lays out directions for future developments in the field. In part 1, 'It's 2001. Where's HAL?' he looks at the unfulfilled promises of artificial intelligence. In part 2 and in part 3 he offers hope that real progress is in the offing. With this talk from Minsky, Congressional testimony on the digital future from Tim Berners-Lee, life-extension evangelization from Ray Kurzweil, and Stephen Hawking planning to go into space, it seems like we may be on the verge of another AI or future-science bubble."
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=sdygbC"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=sdygbC" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98251296"/>CowboyNeal2007-03-02T04:18:00+00:00programmingdreaming-of-electric-sheepdevelopers166166,164,140,92,34,18,10http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/0133231&from=rssOracle to Buy Hyperion for $3.3 Billion
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98236091/article.pl
Oolala submitted an article that opens: "Business software maker Oracle Corp. will buy Hyperion Solutions Corp. for $3.3 billion in cash, renewing a shopping spree aimed at toppling rival SAP AG. The deal announced Thursday will give Oracle an arsenal of Hyperion products that are widely used by SAP's customers. Hyperion's tools, known as "business intelligence" software, help chief financial officers and other top corporate executives track their company's performance."
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=uMdI6e"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=uMdI6e" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98236091"/>CowboyNeal2007-03-02T03:43:00+00:00moneybig-ticket-itemsit4747,42,35,18,10,4,3http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/0127242&from=rssRandal Schwartz's Charges Expunged
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98202113/article.pl
After 13 years, Randal Schwartz has had his conviction expunged. In effect, legally it never happened. If you haven't heard about this one before, my take is that as a contractor at Intel, Randal did some over-zealous white-hat cracking free-of-charge; this embarrassed some people in management (he pointed out that their passwords were terrible) and management then chose to embarrass themselves further by having him convicted of a felony under an 'anti-hacking' law. More info can be had from the Friends of Randal Schwartz.
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=QfwKb4"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=QfwKb4" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98202113"/>doom (posted by CowboyNeal)2007-03-02T02:35:00+00:00perlabout-timeit185185,181,148,114,44,31,22http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/0117257&from=rssSimple Computation Using Dominos
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98176418/article.pl
An anonymous reader writes "When silicon fails to beat Moores law, maybe dominos can help. This guy has created a half adder in dominos as a proof of concept for domino computation. If he intends to make a full domino computer he's going to need an awful lot of dominos."
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=CffPLJ"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=CffPLJ" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98176418"/>CowboyNeal2007-03-02T01:12:00+00:00hardhackhouses-of-cardshardware119119,113,96,64,29,16,14http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/02/0040228&from=rssA Bad Week for Symantec
http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/98149179/article.pl
Evan Hughes writes "NeoSmart Technologies has published a scathing editorial regarding 3 high-profile mistakes by Symantec Corp. — all in less than a week. In what seems to be a string of stupid mistakes culminating in the infection of CNN-parent Turner Broadcasting Systems by Rinbot— a virus dedicated to the eradication of Symantec from the known world."
<p><a href="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?a=s42kFu"><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~a/Slashdot/slashdot?i=s42kFu" border="0"></img></a></p><img src="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~4/98149179"/>CowboyNeal2007-03-02T00:21:00+00:00securityseen-better-daysit215215,210,168,118,47,29,16http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/01/2315230&from=rss