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  Science: Phoenix Lander Discovers Nighttime Snowfall on Mars on Friday July 03, @02:02PM

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday July 03, @02:02PM
from the time-to-build-a-martian-snowman dept.
mars
Many outlets are reporting on the recently released results of the various experiments and observations of NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander. Most notable is the discovery of nighttime snowfall on the planet, lending credibility to the idea of an active water cycle hypothesized based on earlier data collection. "The papers rely on evidence from a variety of the instruments on the lander, and the description of the data provides an impressive catalog of the various ways that Phoenix could prod and query the Martian pole. In the months before Martian winter shut the lander down, it managed to dig a dozen trenches, taking soil samples from each. These samples went into wet and dry chemistry labs, had their conductivity tested, and were even examined using an atomic force microscope. Meanwhile, cameras and a LIDAR system (a laser-based range detector) scanned the surroundings. The overall conclusion is that the northern pole has an active water cycle. This had been suggested by a variety of evidence from orbital sensors, as well early images returned from Phoenix. It's also not a huge shock, given the seasonal growth and retreat of the polar ice cap. Still, Phoenix provided some significant details on the cycling of water in the area where it landed."
Read More... 13 comments
mars space getyourasstomars marsboarding science mars story
Comments: 13
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  Technology: Seattle Data Center Outage Disrupts E-Commerce on Friday July 03, @01:11PM

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday July 03, @01:11PM
from the no-sigmas-for-you dept.
internet
1sockchuck writes "A major power outage at Seattle telecom hub Fisher Plaza has knocked payment processing provider Authorize.net offline for hours, leaving thousands of web site unable to take credit cards for online sales. The Authorize site is still down, but its Twitter account attributes the outage to a fire, while AdHost calls it a 'significant power event.' Authorize.net is said to be trying to resume processing from a backup data center, but there's no clear ETA on when Fisher Plaza will have power again."
Read More... 37 comments
internet technology noredundancy nakatomiplaza fisherprice tech internet story
Comments: 37
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  Ask Slashdot: Is the Kindle DX Worth the Money? on Friday July 03, @12:20PM

Posted by timothy on Friday July 03, @12:20PM
from the wouldn't-turn-it-down-in-a-gift-basket dept.
displays
An anonymous reader writes "Now that some little time has passed, and the hype has died down a bit, I'm wondering if anyone has taken the $500 plunge and gotten a Kindle DX. From the academic-paper-reading-geek perspective, is it worth the money? How well does it work with PDFs, and is it easy to get them on and off? I haven't been able to find any good reviews on the interweb that address its usability as I would like to use it."
Read More... 118 comments
displays media education defectivebydesign deeecks askslashdot displays story
Comments: 118
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  Technology: XHTML 2 Cancelled on Friday July 03, @11:32AM

Posted by timothy on Friday July 03, @11:32AM
from the that-html-5-he's-so-hot-right-now dept.
internet
Jake Lazaroff writes "According to the W3 News Archive, the charter for the XHTML2 Working Group — set to expire on December 31st, 2009 — will not be renewed. What does this mean? XHTML2 will never be a W3C recommendation, so get on the HTML 5 bandwagon now. According to the XHTML FAQ, however, the W3C does 'plan for the XML serialization of HTML to remain compatible with XML.' Looks like with HTML 5, we'll get the best of both worlds."
Read More... 85 comments
internet technology !html5sucks strictisbest streamlining tech internet story
Comments: 85
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  Hardware: Squeezing a Wikipedia Snapshot Onto an 8GB iPhone on Friday July 03, @10:41AM

Posted by timothy on Friday July 03, @10:41AM
from the but-you'll-miss-the-latest-edit-wars dept.
handheld
blackbearnh writes with this excerpt from O'Reilly Radar "Think about Wikipedia, what some consider the most complete general survey of human knowledge we have at the moment. Now imagine squeezing it down to fit comfortably on an 8GB iPhone. Sound daunting? Well, that's just what Patrick Collison's Encyclopedia iPhone application does. App Store purchasers of Collison's open source application can browse and search the full text of Wikipedia when stuck in a plane, or trapped in the middle of nowhere (or, as defined by AT&T coverage...)"
Read More... 106 comments
handheld macbook storage cellphones dontpanic hardware handheld story
Comments: 106
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  Technology: Emulated PC Enables Linux Desktop In Your Browser on Friday July 03, @09:50AM

Posted by timothy on Friday July 03, @09:50AM
from the right-where-you-need-a-pc-is-on-your-computer dept.
software
Ianopolous writes "Classic DOOM and DSL Linux Desktop inside your Java-enabled browser! The latest JPC, the fast 100% Java x86 PC emulator, is now available with online demos and downloads. JPC is open source and is the most secure way of running x86 software ever — 2 layers (applet sandbox, JPC sandbox) of independently validated security make it the world's most secure means of isolating x86 software. Visit the website to try out some classic games and play around with Linux all within your web browser. Refresh = reboot!"
Read More... 106 comments
it linux software java slashdotted tech software story
Comments: 106
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  Technology: London Stock Exchange To Abandon Windows on Friday July 03, @09:24AM

Posted by timothy on Friday July 03, @09:24AM
from the don't-weld-shut-the-doors-then dept.
windows
BBCWatcher writes "Computerworld's Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols reports that the London Stock Exchange is abandoning its Microsoft Windows-based trading platform: 'Anyone who was ever fool enough to believe that Microsoft software was good enough to be used for a mission-critical operation had their face slapped this September when the LSE's Windows-based TradElect system brought the market to a standstill for almost an entire day .... Sources at the LSE tell me to this day that the problem was with TradElect ...'"
Read More... 189 comments
windows business it money flamebait tech windows story
Comments: 189
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  IT: iPhone Vulnerability Yields Root Access Via SMS on Friday July 03, @09:01AM

Posted by timothy on Friday July 03, @09:01AM
from the tweet-hack dept.
security
snydeq writes "Pwn2Own winner Charlie Miller has revealed an SMS vulnerability that could provide hackers with root access to the iPhone. Malicious code sent by SMS to run on the phone could include commands to monitor location using GPS, turn on the phone's microphone to eavesdrop on conversations, or make the phone join a DDoS attack or botnet, Miller said. Miller did not provide detailed description of the SMS vulnerability, citing an agreement with Apple, which is working to fix the vulnerability in advance of Black Hat, where Miller plans to discuss the attack in greater detail. 'SMS is a great vector to attack the iPhone,' Miller said, as SMS can send binary code that the iPhone processes without user interaction. Sequences can be sent to the phone as multiple messages that are automatically reassembled, thereby surpassing individual SMS message limits of 140 bytes."
Read More... 140 comments
media security cellphones ipwn haha it security story
Comments: 140
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  News: US Couple Gets Prison Time For Internet Obscenity on Friday July 03, @08:15AM

Posted by timothy on Friday July 03, @08:15AM
from the your-honor-it-was-just-some-good-clean-fun dept.
court
angry tapir writes "The husband and wife owners of a California company that distributed pornographic materials over the Internet have been each sentenced to one year and one day in prison. Extreme Associates and owners Robert Zicari, also known as Rob Black, 35, and his wife, Janet Romano, aka Lizzie Borden, 32, pleaded guilty in March to a felony charge of conspiracy to distribute obscene material through the mail and over the Internet."
Read More... 352 comments
court usa censorship thinkofthechildren homeofthebrave news court story
Comments: 352
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  Technology: RC Submarine Lays Fiber Through Sewers In Italy on Friday July 03, @04:57AM

Posted by timothy on Friday July 03, @04:57AM
from the let's-not-see-the-camera-view-please dept.
networking
Francesco Fondi writes "An Italian Company is using RC scale model submarines to lay fiber through Milan's sewage system. The RC submarine used is the Neptune SB-1, produced by Taiwanese company Thunder Tiger. It costs ca $600 in US hobby shops." In Italian, but the pictures speak for themselves.
Read More... 110 comments
it toy robot technology networking tech networking story
Comments: 110
 
Firefighters Save Woman From Fire By Changing The Channel
Pornography Outlawed In Ukraine, Unless It's "Medicinal"
Staff Strip Naked to Improve Morale
A Ride On the Sorry Bus
Poll Marking U.S. Independence Day with ...
Fireworks, set off by fireworks professionals.
Fireworks, store-bought but amateur-deployed.
Fireworks, home-made.
Effigies and slogans.
A nice quiet evening.
You are a deeply insensitive clod; Canada Day is over!
[ Results | Polls ]
Comments:143 | Votes:6245

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