Ruvim writes "Boston Dynamics has developed a 'Sand Flea' 11-lb robot that drives like an RC car, but when it needs to, it can jump 30 feet into the air. An onboard stabilization system keeps it oriented during flight to improve the view from the video uplink and to control landings."
New submitter sienrak writes "Shawn Henry, who is preparing to leave the FBI after more than two decades with the bureau, said in an interview that the current public and private approach to fending off hackers is 'unsustainable.' 'I don't see how we ever come out of this without changes in technology or changes in behavior, because with the status quo, it's an unsustainable model. Unsustainable in that you never get ahead, never become secure, never have a reasonable expectation of privacy or security,' Mr. Henry said."
eldavojohn writes "According to Lead designer Stone Librande, it has been confirmed that the next installment of SimCity will require a constant internet connection. Perhaps as a form of DRM, the 2013 edition looks like it will be the first to include online play but will also require you to constantly be connected to Origin to play — even if that wasn't your point of purchase. Add SimCity to the growing list."
New submitter Volanin writes "The e-book versions of the Harry Potter series are being released through Pottermore, and J.K. Rowling has chosen to do a number of interesting things with them, including releasing them without DRM restrictions. 'One of the encouraging things about the Pottermore launch is that the books will be available on virtually every platform simultaneously, including the Sony Reader, the Nook, the Kindle and Google's e-book service. ... even Amazon has bowed to the power of the series and done what would previously have seemed unthinkable: it sends users who come to the titles on Amazon to Pottermore to finish the transaction.'"
New submitter smwny writes "Google's system programming language, Go, has just reached the 1.0 milestone. From the announcement: 'Go 1 is the first release of Go that is available in supported binary distributions. They are available for Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X and, we are thrilled to announce, Windows. ... Go 1 introduces changes to the language (such as new types for Unicode characters and errors) and the standard library (such as the new time package and renamings in the strconv package). Also, the package hierarchy has been rearranged to group related items together, such as moving the networking facilities, for instance the rpc package, into subdirectories of net. A complete list of changes is documented in the Go 1 release notes. That document is an essential reference for programmers migrating code from earlier versions of Go. ... A similar process of revision and stabilization has been applied to the App Engine libraries, providing a base for developers to build programs for App Engine that will run for years.'"
Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that the market for night classes and online instruction in programming and Web construction is booming, as those jumping on board say they are preparing for a future in which the Internet is the foundation for entertainment, education and nearly everything else. Knowing how the digital pieces fit together will be crucial to ensuring that they are not left in the dark ages. 'Inasmuch as you need to know how to read English, you need to have some understanding of the code that builds the Web,' says Sarah Henry, 39, an investment manager who took several classes, including some in HTML, the basic language of the Web, and WordPress, a blogging service. 'I'm not going to sit here and say that I can crank out a site today, but I can look at basic code and understand it. I understand how these languages function within the Internet.' The blooming interest in programming is part of a national trend of more people moving toward technical fields. 'To be successful in the modern world, regardless of your occupation, requires a fluency in computers,' says Peter Harsha. 'It is more than knowing how to use Word or Excel but how to use a computer to solve problems.' However seasoned programmers say learning how to adjust the layout of a Web page is one thing, but picking up the skills required to develop a sophisticated online service or mobile application is an entirely different challenge that cannot be acquired by casual use for a few hours at night and on the weekends."
An anonymous reader tips news of a new feature announced by Google today: Account Activity. Writing on their official blog, Google's Andreas Tuerk said, "If you sign up, each month we’ll send you a link to a password-protected report with insights into your signed-in use of Google services. For example, my most recent Account Activity report told me that I sent 5 percent more email than the previous month and received 3 percent more. An Italian hotel was my top Gmail contact for the month. I conducted 12 percent more Google searches than in the previous month, and my top queries reflected the vacation I was planning: [rome] and [hotel]." You may remember from earlier this month that Stephen Wolfram began showing some of the extensive personal analytics data he has collected over the past 20 years.
supersloshy writes "The popular GNOME desktop environment has just announced the release of version 3.4. User-facing updates include, among others, a new look for many GNOME applications, smooth scrolling support in GTK, integrated document search in GNOME Shell, a new dynamic background, improved accessibility configuration options, new high-contrast icons, and more documentation. Developer-facing improvements include the release of GTK+ 3.4 and updates to standard GNOME libraries as part of the latest GNOME Developer Platform."
penciling_in writes "Paul Vixie shares his personal account of the DNSChanger takedown operation, working with the FBI and a worldwide team. He also explains the delay issues in identifying and notifying victims, which resulted in the FBI asking the judge for an extension. They were given four more months. 'On July 9 2012 the replacement DNS servers operated by ISC will be shut down and any victims who still depend on these servers will face new risks,' he warns. A half-dozen national Internet security teams around the world have created special websites that will display a warning message to potential victims of the DNS Changer infection. The full list of these 'DNS Checking' websites is published by the DNS Changer Working Group."
novenator writes "Today the Denver Zoo has unveiled the world's first poo/trash-powered motorized tuk tuk. The vehicle also boast a gasification system designed by the zoo itself. From the article: 'The tuk tuk was purchased from Thailand and then re-designed to run on gasified pellets made from animal droppings and waste generated by the zoo's staff and human visitors, according to The Denver Post. The poo-powered tuk tuk is the second prototype The Denver Zoo has put together to show off their sustainable energy system -- the first? A blender used to mix margaritas at a zoo event.'"
An anonymous reader writes with an excerpt from Science World Report: "Astronomers hunting for rocky planets with the right temperature to support life estimate there may be tens of billions of them in our galaxy alone. A European team said on Wednesday that about 40 percent of red dwarf stars — the most common type in the Milky Way — have a so-called 'super-Earth' planet orbiting in a habitable zone that would allow water to flow on the surface."
Zothecula writes with news involving space and lasers. From the article: "A collision between Earth and an asteroid a few kilometers in diameter would release as much energy as the simultaneous detonation of several million nuclear bombs, and with the impact of an asteroid estimated at around 10 km (6.2 miles) in diameter believed to be responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs, numerous strategies have been devised to try and avoid such devastation. The latest idea comes from engineers at Glasgow's University of Strathclyde who suggest that a swarm of laser-wielding satellites could nudge Earth-bound asteroids off their collision course."
Tom Chilton, lead game designer of Blizzard's World of Warcraft, gives us a look at what's in store in the MMO's latest expansion.
States are having a hard time keeping up with the cloud, especially when it comes to taxing it.
AOL decommissioned almost 10,000 servers and saved itself US$5 million along the way to winning a contest that highlights the cost of running inefficient or...
Both Microsoft and Google plan to put forth proposals at the IETF meeting this week to make the Web faster.
Want to check how Google-reliant you are? Now you can.
If you're confused about what Google does and doesn't know about your online activity, don't worry: Google is letting you in on the secret.
The new OneCloud service provides much-needed integration of data between apps on iOS devices, and makes the Box app a must-have download for iPad users.
In the runup to the trial date for their dispute over whether Google's Android mobile OS infringes on Oracle's Java patents, Google and Oracle are negotiating...
Popular notetaking software now turns talk into type.
BlueStacks lets you run Android apps on your Windows machine. Here's how to use it.
SAP's SuccessFactors subsidiary is rolling out a version of its Jam social collaboration platform at no charge to all users, the company announced Wednesday.
Google is now offering customers of its Apps for Business communications and collaboration suite an optional service that automatically captures, archives and...
Boston Dynamics’s latest robot project is a RC car that can jump 30 feet into the air.
An exclusive survey finds that many CIOs say cloud services are a plus for business continuity and speedy deployment. But they still worry about security.
Samsung Electronics has shipped 5 million units of its "smart notepad", the Galaxy Note, surpassing most expectations, according to analysts.
U.S. government agencies will have tight IT budgets over the next 12 to 18 months, but opportunities for small IT vendors exist as many agencies divide up...
Looking for a portable iPhone speaker that's also easy to recycle? Check out the cardboard boombox.
California's Judicial Council has put the brakes on a long-running, massive software project that was supposed to modernize the state's trial courts...
If you ever collaborate or exchange files with others, this is the time to speak up for interoperability.
The sales make Samsung the leading mobile phone provider in Korea in addition to China, France, and Spain.
A group of malware experts from security companies Kaspersky Lab, CrowdStrike, Dell SecureWorks and the Honeynet Project, have worked together to disable the...
Interested in hands-on help in creating Metro style apps for Microsoft's new operating system? Microsoft has a free one-day developer camp just for you.
A ruling from the European Commission on allegations that Google abused its dominant market position is expected within days.
In a speedy show of consensus, the European Union's three law making institutions have agreed new rules that will cut mobile phone roaming charges for consumers...
in Belize, an iPad proved the better product for communication, but for actually getting the job done a Toshiba Ultrabook won out.
OneCloud is designed to help IT departments better manage the mobile applications that their end users install on their tablets and PCs and use for work.
Adobe is releasing a security update for Flash Player today, but aside from patching a couple Critical vulnerabilities, the update also includes a new and improved background updater tool.
Nokia will not contribute its patents to the upcoming nano-SIM standard if an Apple proposal is selected in what Nokia said Wednesday is a violation of standard...
Adobe released Flash Player 11.2 on Tuesday, addressing two critical arbitrary code execution vulnerabilities and introducing a silent update option.
Apple has approved Taposé, an app that mimics the functionality seen in the concept videos for the Microsoft Courier tablet project.
Online file locker Rapidshare is legal in Germany, but has to adjust its policy regarding infringing content, the Higher Regional Court in Hamburg has ruled...
Puppet Labs has added a data library to the enterprise version of its open-source IT automation software, allowing administrators to more easily reuse...
Buyers don't realize how expensive a 'cheap' printer really is until they start replacing the ink.
A patent lawsuit between a David and Goliath in the tech world threatens to silence a four-year-old girl, parents claim.
Nokia has partnered with China Telecom to begin selling its Lumia 800c smartphone in the country.
Jive Software has developed a version of its enterprise social collaboration software designed for intranets, the latest product it creates for specific...
Train passengers will soon be able to use their mobile phones on the city's subways.
The European Commission is to get tough on cybercrime it revealed on Wednesday, but won't target illegal file-sharing.
DeNA, a major mobile platform operator in Japan, said Wednesday it has signed deals with China's three largest carriers to offer its games through their official...
Apple is trying to appease a regulator that is taking the company to court for allegedly misleading advertisements.
The Kindle Touch 3G is now also available in seven languages -- German, French, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and American or British English.
Apple will offer refunds to people who bought its latest iPad following a claim by Australia's competition regulator that it ran misleading advertisements over...
Rovio Entertainment, the developer of the popular Angry Birds games, has acquired Futuremark Games Studio, the games development arm of Futuremark, a developer...
My article declaring Linux dead as a desktop OS has sparked some debate, but much of it misses the real point.
German security company Avira has released free antivirus software for Apple Macs, joining a host of security software providers offering protection for OS X.
The CIO of the City of Cambridge, Mass., developed an iPhone and Android app that citizens can use to report potholes, vandalism and other issues.
How does the 4G iPad stack up against some of the dedicated mobile hotspot competition if you need to connect your devices on the go?
Online social gaming site RockYou has agreed to pay $250,000 in civil penalties and make other concessions after a 2009 data breach that exposed the information of over 32 million users.
An Apple VP explains that the battery charging "issues" with the new iPad are really just normal operating behavior working as designed.