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Sci-Fi

Submission + - Firefly MMOG

Barny writes: "Multiverse, makers of an upcoming customizable mmog engine, have secured the rights to produce an online saga in the firefly universe.
First reported by Wired News,I think we can all admit to the same feelings summed up by Tim Absath.

Man I hope they don't butcher this.
"
Nintendo

Journal Journal: Nintendo, Wii Have a Problem 3

The site Wiihaveaproblem.com has many pictures, videos and testimonials about the Wii and users who accidentally destroy their property. Come one, come all, to the batting cages and bowling alleys of your own living room, and see exactly what's getting batted and bowled around. And think about strengthening your wrist strap.

Wii

Submission + - DarwiinRemote Released! Wiimote frontend for OSX!

jeckil writes: "DarwiinRemote is a tiny software which reads data from and sends data to Nintendo Wii Remote. It detects all 3 axis sensors, all buttons (except power). You can modify which controller led indicator is on and send force feedback. Right now it only supports a basic front row control scheme but they should release a better version in a few days. All the source code is available and compatible with latest version of xcode. One can only wonder.... If the latest apple rumor turns out to be true, things could get very interesting for apple.

Someone already released a modified version of this app. It seems there have been some problems detecting the remote so an alternate version that uses the wiimote's sync button has been released."
Announcements

Submission + - NASA announcement re: 'significant' water on Mars

gp310ad writes: WASHINGTON — NASA hosts a news briefing at 1 p.m. EST, Wednesday, Dec. 6, to present new science results from the Mars Global Surveyor. The briefing will take place in the NASA Headquarters auditorium located at 300 E Street, S.W. in Washington and carried live on NASA Television and www.nasa.gov.
Google

Submission + - Google dropped Talk.Orgins because of hacking

alek writes: "Yesterday, /. discussed "Google De-indexes Talk.Origins, Won't Say Why" with various tin-foil hat theories advanced. Today, Matt Cutts from the Google anti-spam team posted "How Google Handles Hacked Sites" and provides a blow-by-blow of what actually happened. In summary, Talk.Orgins was hacked, with hidden Javascript inserted to link to rape and animal sex web sites. Google's algorithms flagged this nefarious behavior as spam and did indeed de-index the site. They also flagged it in the WebMaster Console so the site owner would see this, plus even sent them Email that something was amiss — indications are they knew before the site owner did! Talk.Orgins has fixed the problem and Matt confirms that their re-inclusion request has been approved. While Google has a reputation for being non-communicative, they didn't do too shabby here IMHO."
The Internet

Submission + - Our love/hate relationship with Wikipedia

netbuzz writes: "The Washington Post this morning gets its snickers in a bunch at the expense of those Wikipedians who do the best they can to apply the minimum "notability" standards needed to keep the online encyclopedia's 1.5 million English entries relatively free of worthless junk. "It's also safe to assume these are people with a lot of time on their hands," the Post writer notes. ... These are people doing a truly thankless job ... and they deserve a few thank-yous.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/9474 "
Security

Submission + - Another NASA Hacker Indicted

eldavojohn writes: "Earlier this year, UK citizen & hacker of NASA Gary KcKinnon was extradited to the United States (also interviewed twice). Now, another hacker has been indicted of hacking more than 150 U.S. government computers. Victor Faur, 26, of Arad, Romania claims to have led a "white hat team" to expose flaws in U.S. government computers. From the article,
The breached computers were used to collect and process data from spacecraft. Because of the break-ins, systems had to be rebuilt and scientists and engineers had to manually communicate with spacecraft, resulting in $1.36 million in losses for NASA and nearly $100,000 in losses for the Energy Department and the Navy, prosecutors said. Several suspected NASA hackers have been dealing with law enforcement recently.
It seems everyone else has been busy hacking into U.S. government computers while I've been wasting my time playing Warcraft."
Space

Submission + - Organic Matter Found on Meteorites in Canada

eldavojohn writes: "From what sounds like the opening of an X-Files episode, Canadian scientists have reportedly found organic matter on a meteorite older than the sun. In Tagish Lake in Canada, scientists believe that organic globules found inside a meteorite are organic material older than the sun. From the article,
"We mean that the material in the meteorite has been processed the least since it was formed. The material we see today is arguably the most representative of the material that first went into making up the solar system." The meteorite likely formed in the outer reaches of the asteroid belt, but the organic material it contains probably had a far more distant origin. The globules could have originated in the Kuiper Belt group of icy planetary remnants orbiting beyond Neptune. Or they could have been created even farther afield. The globules appear to be similar to the kinds of icy grains found in molecular clouds — the vast, low-density regions where stars collapse and form and new solar systems are born.
The article seems to imply that life could potentially survive in these meteorites and maybe even travel through space — supporting the theory that life arrived on earth and evolved from that point on."
Displays

Submission + - Computer monitor in eyeglasses

ozancakmakci writes: "We have all seen science fiction ideals of computer displays concealed in eyeglasses. One of the earlier spectacle based designs was created by David Bettinger and disclosed in US Patent 4,806,011. Regardless of market potential, there are several optical engineering challenges that need to be overcome before displays in eyeglasses become pervasive. From an optical engineering point of view, the design space is large enough and designers have to make choices. A good example of such a choice is choosing just the right field of view while maintaining high image quality and a large exit pupil. Exit pupil of an optical system is analogous to the windows at your home, the larger the windows, the easier it is to see the outside world. It has been challenging to design and fabricate a large field of view and a large exit pupil for an eyeglass based display. Advances in fabrication technologies are now allowing complicated surface profiles to be manufactured. Exploitation of a complicated surface profile leads to low element count designs. Researchers at the University of Central Florida, CREOL/College of Optics & Photonics have designed and fabricated a computer monitor in eyeglasses which uses sophisticated surface profiles to achieve a compact design. The current specifications include an 8mm exit pupil, 20 degree field of view, 15mm eye clearance, and 1.5 arcminute resolution. Two pictures of this latest prototype can be seen on this page."
Technology (Apple)

Submission + - Pyramid Stones Were Poured, not Quarried

brian0918 writes: "Times Online is reporting that French and American researchers have discovered that the stones on the higher levels of the great pyramids of Egypt were built with concrete. From the article: 'Until recently it was hard for geologists to distinguish between natural limestone and the kind that would have been made by reconstituting liquefied lime.' They found 'traces of a rapid chemical reaction which did not allow natural crystalisation. The reaction would be inexplicable if the stones were quarried, but perfectly comprehensible if one accepts that they were cast like concrete.'"
Security

Submission + - Oracle 0day Flaw Project Cancelled

Benny Folds writes: "Cesar Cerrudo or Argeniss has suddenly cancelled plans to release daily zero-day flaws in Oracle databases during the first week in December. Just days before the project was due to start, Cerrudo announced that "due to many problems," the WoODB (Week of Oracle Database Bugs) is being scrapped. He did not elaborate on the reasons for the cancellation but it is likely the result of (legal?) pressure from some quarters."
Enlightenment

Submission + - Monday the 27th replaces Friday the 13th jinx

Reporter writes: "Move over Friday the 13th, because you've been replaced. British insurers say Monday the 27th is really the unluckiest day. From the article: "More people suffer mishaps when the 27th is a Monday than on any other day, insurers AA warn. Their report, based on one million claims, dispels the myth that Friday the 13th is the date to fear most." Mishaps to them are having an accident or breaking something. But don't worry, you're "safe" until August 2007."
Robotics

Submission + - Unpiloted passener jet tests UAV swarm system

spacepingu writes: The UK military recently tested a remote-controlled passenger jet over south-west England. Although the pilot was sitting in the back of the ageing BAC 1-11, he controlled it entirely using the 'UAV Command and Control Interface (UAVCCI)'. This also allowed him to operate several virtual UAVs in a simulated attack scenario. The ultimate goal is for a fighter pilot to control a swarm of attack UAVs alongside his own plane. Next March, a Tornado fighter pilot will do use the UAVCCI to fly the unpiloted BAC1-11 as well as several simulated UAVs, all from the cockpit of his own jet.

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