http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl News for nerds, stuff that matters en-us Copyright 1997-2009, Geeknet, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2009-12-24T19:23:11+00:00 Geeknet, Inc. help@slashdot.org Technology hourly 1 1970-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicslashdot.gif http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl //slashdot.org/submission/1139972/Now-a-mobile-that-drives-away-mosquitoes?from=rss You don't need to carry mosquito repelling coils and creams to vacations anymore, your mobile handset can shoo the mosquitoes away. smileyrose006 2009-12-24T19:16:54+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139970/Search-Engine-Optimization-Services--SEO-Service?from=rss Search Engine Optimization Services-Guaranteed your website ranking results, leading SEO service provider agency over India, USA and Cayman Islands. seofortop 2009-12-24T19:13:13+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8063952&from=rss Sandia National Laboratories have unveiled their newest photovoltaic cells -- glitter-sized particles made of crystalline silicon. The cells are made using common microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems techniques, and the results are pretty spectacular to behold. More interestingly, however, is the fact that they use 100 times less material in generating the same amount of energy as a regular solar cell. Here comes the sun Bacteria for better solar panels Because of their size and shape, the cells are well-suited to unusual applications, and researchers envision mass-production of the cells for use on building-integrated tents or clothing, so campers (or military personnel) could recharge their cell phones on the go. Researchers also think that these particles will be inexpensive to produce, but there's no word on when they'll be ready for consumer application. We'll keep you posted -- but hit the source link for more a more detailed description. Snowflake-shaped photovoltaic cells bring the holiday cheer originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. PermalinkInhabitat | Sandia National Laboratories |Email this|Comments engfeed 2009-12-24T19:12:49+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8063942&from=rss HR network jailbreak A former prison inmate has been ordered to serve 18 months for hacking the facility's computer network, stealing personal details of more than 1,100 of its employees and making them available to other inmates. Case Study: WhatsUp keeps Legoland turnstyles ringing registerfeed 2009-12-24T19:12:35+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8063934&from=rss UltraDNS California facilities targeted Service to Amazon, Wal-Mart and several other shopping sites was briefly blocked on Wednesday evening when their DNS provider was hit by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. Web threats: Why conventional protection doesn't work registerfeed 2009-12-24T19:12:23+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8063908&from=rss A well-timed employee stock option exchange has delivered a generous windfall to nearly all of Google's 20,000 workers--about $117,000. nytfeed 2009-12-24T19:12:07+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139968/How-I-repair-virus-infected-computers?from=rss I have been helping people with computer problems for over 20 years now. Viruses are rising and will continue to rise. I am using the term viruses but this pertains to viruses, malware, spy ware, trojans, worms, browser attacks or any combination of the above. I will explain some common steps that will take care of most of the viruses that infect your computers. Some of the clues that show up in an infected computer are: Blue Screen of Death Antivirus 2009 Pop-ups Computer seems to be freezing Lost internet connection Windows does not start These are just a few; hardware problems are only about 10% of the problem. My latest one I destroyed Virus.Win32.Virut.ce (December 21, 2009). Your first step is to backup your data, if you cannot back it up. Then on the first possible chance you have without any executables!!! Careful with this one as it is a bit on the tricky side. It infects and prepends itself to your executables to execute and spread itself. I watched the best antivirus programs get disabled on this one. Kaspersky Antivirus real time protection was disabled BitDefender Antivirus would not open up to scan. Malwarebytes would not update. With no internet on this computer made this one a challenge for me. Yes I could have pulled out the hard drive and scanned with another computer. That is no fun, beating these viruses gives a person a feeling of I crushed that one and ready for the next one. Or I could have backed up and formatted Windows. So are you ready for the solutions? First do not do what I did; there was no real help on the web for this one that I could find. I dug into the registry and saw a couple of folders that were not supposed to be there. When I deleted them I think I upset the virus it created about 1500+ viruses at this point. Now I have a lot of viruses on the computer and I could not get into safe mode I would get the Blue Screen of Death. I downloaded Dr Web CureIt from another computer so that it was up to date. It found 1500+ viruses and deleted them for me. I felt pretty good at this point thinking that was too easy and it was. I proceeded to restart Windows and found when I tried to log in, it would log me off right away. The next step was to see if I could fix the broken Windows files. I set up the bios to boot to CD/DVD and inserted my Windows XP Disc. When the Windows Disc runs it asks you if you want to repair Windows do not use this option. Wait until it finds the Windows Operating System. At this point select your Windows Operating System, and select repair. It will look like it is installing Windows but what is it doing is repairing your Windows Structures. Your data should not be erased I say this because it is not suppose to. If it does contact me at Saskatoon Computer Repair your data can still be restored from a formatted Hard Disc. Once Windows finished I found that I could now log in. Virus.Win32.Virut.ce was not totally gone yet. I had to scan again with Dr. Web a second time reboot thinking here we go again. I was able to log in this next time and it loaded up Windows but it was looking for notepad.dll on start up. I grabbed notepad.exe from another computer and disabled the startup entry. Then I did a search in the registry and the Windows search for notepad.dll. I found another one and deleted it. Once again I rebooted the computer and hoped to be able to log in. Another partial win as I was able to log into the profile and no notepad.dll error. Wow I installed Malwarebytes and I was able to update nice looking good, I then installed BitDefender it installed and I was able to update. I am winning!!! I ran Malwarebytes, BitDefender, and Dr. Web; all three showed me no viruses. Done or so I thought. Remember at the beginning of the article I stated this Virus.Win32. Virut. ce ( It infects and prepends itself to your executables to execute and spread itself.) I had just built a computer and installed Windows; I pulled out my USB that I used to download Dr. Web. Well it was infected and nailed the new computer. I remember USBs that had a read only switch how I miss those. Because this was a new Windows install I just re-ran the installer and made sure I formatted this computer. Lost a half hour with this new computer was all. I had to laugh about this. You are probably asking yourself now how do I get this virus off my USB now, right? Well I have an image on my machines so in case of any problems I can run the image. I will not go into many details here as I do custom images for people so they can get rid of 99.9% of the viruses out there. The image takes only about 10 to 15 minutes on average to run and your data is safe on another drive. A couple of solutions before I go if you download a program on an infected computer and it will not install rename the setup file some of the viruses are looking for that setup file. For example; (Malwarebytes file is mbam-setup.exe) change it to something like setup.exe. Also there are some that do not let you run it after the setup so browse to the default location (C:\Program Files\Malwarebytes Anti-Malware) look for mbam or mbam.exe depends on if you have the extensions showing on your computer or not. Re-name mbam or mbam.exe to bam or bam.exe then start it from the file you just renamed. Also Malwarebytes takes a while to start and even longer when you are infected. This program will run in safe mode, make sure you have the latest definitions before you run it. This is just a typical day I have when fighting viruses. I hope this helps a lot of people with the amount of stress viruses put on people. You can also contact me to do this for you. I am a Computer Programmer and viruses are written by so called programmers so I understand what the infections do. You can reach me through my website: Saskatoon Computer Repair or TCG Computer Repair tcgcomputerrepair 2009-12-24T19:11:53+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139960/Christmas-Light-Guitar-Hero?from=rss Guitar Hero, implemented in Christmas lights and playable on the garage door! From the description on the Youtube page: "What do you get when you mix a Christmas Light show with Guitar Hero? Christmas Light Hero! A real game you play with a wii wireless guitar controller. Optional TV screen is available if you get in trouble, but if you use the screen, you don't get your name in the high score list. Song is "Cliffs of Dover" by the incredible Eric Johnson. " mbadolato 2009-12-24T18:42:36+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139958/American-Bar-Associations-Lists-Top-100-Blogs?from=rss The American Bar Association recently listed the editors' top 100 legal blogs, along with a call to "help (them) find blawgs worthy of note." With the notable absence of such slashdot standbys as groklaw or Ray Beckerman's blog, and with a preference for Patently O over my favorite Patent Prospector, the slashdot community might well be able to improve that list. What other law-related blogs do we read? dpille 2009-12-24T18:41:26+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8062950&from=rss A quick hint about a new feature in Snow Leopard's Mail that lets you easily see the path to any message you have opened in a separate window. macworldfeed 2009-12-24T18:32:32+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8062940&from=rss Some old-and-busted technologies die gracefully of natural causes. Pagers, PDAs, floppy disks -- they're gone, and good riddance. macworldfeed 2009-12-24T18:32:21+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8062938&from=rss This post is part of the IT Innovation series, sponsored by Sun & Intel. Read more at ITInnovation.com. Of course, the content of this post consists entirely of the thoughts and opinions of the author. Back in May, we wrote about an effort in the EU to make software developers liable for buggy software. As with earlier discussions on this topic there are a variety of opinions. Obviously, people don't like buggy software, and it's natural to feel that developers should be liable for software that doesn't work properly. At the same time, however, software is incredibly complex, and it's impossible to be entirely bug free. Adding liability, then, could have significant downsides in terms of scaring many developers off from developing, especially for more complex software. It appears that some of this debate is moving on to video games as well. JohnForDummies alerts us to a story discussing how complex video games are almost always quite buggy (found via Slashdot) and questioning if proposed liability laws in Europe might have an impact on the gaming community. This isn't a simple issue, of course. If a company is selling a product, buyers have every right to expect the product to work as advertised. But that doesn't mean that adding direct liability really makes sense. If a company constantly produces extremely buggy software, it should have incentives to fix those bugs directly -- not from the government -- such as the fact that people will be less interested in ever buying their products again in the future. It seems like laws for buggy software would be extreme overkill. Permalink | Comments | Email This Story techdirtfeed 2009-12-24T18:32:07+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139956/FBI-issues-code-cracker-challenge?from=rss The FBI today posted a pictogram on its site and challenged code crackers to solve its mysteries. In the bureau's challenge it is using pictogram symbols based on Native American motifs. The challenge offers over 50 words to decipher. coondoggie 2009-12-24T18:29:36+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139954/ISOHunt-loses-in-courty?from=rss "A U.S. federal court in California has issued a summary judgment against Canadian-based isoHunt (and its owner Gary Fung), ruling that the site violates U.S. copyright law by inducing copyright infringement. The judge ruled that the isoHunt case is little different from other U.S. cases such as Napster and Grokster, therefore concluding that there is no need to proceed to a full trial and granting Columbia Pictures request for summary judgment. "Isohunt has lost in court, but interestingly there was no actualy copyright infringment proven. The judge decided that because of ruling's like Napster and Grokster they have "induced" infringement, even though the infringment wasn't proven. IshmaelDS 2009-12-24T18:25:12+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139950/Zalman-CNPS10X-Extreme-CPU-Cooler-Review?from=rss The Zalman CNPS10X Extreme cpu cooler is the best built processor cooler I have had on my test bench to date. With top notch materials, build quality, feature set coupled with excellent performance, this great looking cooler should be on any buyer's short list. There really isn't more you could add onto a processor cooler without ruining the overall package. Anonymous Coward 2009-12-24T18:16:20+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8062512&from=rss No matter how blustery it might get at the North Pole, St. Nick can bring it home safely. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T18:13:16+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8062508&from=rss From electrochromic windows and more carry-on space to lights that mimic a sunrise, amenities on the Dreamliner promises flights like no other plane. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T18:13:05+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8062504&from=rss Seismologists discover that the same gravitational forces from the moon and the sun that cause ocean tides are triggering small, deep tremors on the San Andreas fault. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T18:12:54+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8062492&from=rss NASA's Cassini spacecraft has a holiday video treat for us, complete with Nutcracker theme music. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T18:12:43+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8062480&from=rss Google Wave is a powerful agent for collaboration and communication, but the free web app was built with so many forward-thinking ideas in mind, it can be confusing to use. Make sense of it all by following these starter's tips. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T18:12:32+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8062476&from=rss Are your holiday snaps blurry or sharp? It seems simple enough, but you don't want to mess around when memories are on the line. Learn tips to focus your camera when you're shooting a portrait or a landscape, and when it makes sense to switch the auto-focus setting off. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T18:12:20+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8062472&from=rss As e-readers such as the Amazon Kindle continue to rise, so follows the publishing industry's worst nightmare: e-book piracy. macworldfeed 2009-12-24T18:12:05+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139946/MacTech-Looking-for-25-year-stories?from=rss MacTech Magazine has kicked off it’s 25th Anniversary celebration. The magazine is seeking out great stories and memories from those who have been in the community a while. What kind of stories? Well, it depends on your background. For example, tech support stories, Macs and celebrities, wacky network stories, funny programming stories, etc... The best stories will be published in the magazine over the next year. http://www.mactech.com/25thAnnivStories/ has the submission form. neilticktin 2009-12-24T18:07:50+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139944/Photovoltaic-tech-top-stories-of-the-year?from=rss We see the PV research stories often on ./. So here is a story that recaps the actual industry developments of past year, highlighting things like long-awaited mass manufacturing of CIGS thin film-cells, grid parity being reached with some installations, i.e. sub-US$1.0 per watt manufacturing cost. savuporo 2009-12-24T18:07:27+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139942/The-Scare-Game-A-Horror-Comedy-Web-Series?from=rss Hello Again!This is Phil and Jenn from The Web series, The Scare Game. We just wanted to let you know that the 2nd episode is now up and ready to watch on youtube. You can see it here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeMyJmgPKqkWe would love some feedback and some word of mouth (good or bad). We recently got enough donations to continue with the series, so we are SUPER excited about that. The third episode is shot and will be released in the beginning of January. Hope you continue to enjoy The Scare Game! Phillip Hughes347-922-8443 Jenn Daugherty505-412-0526 Please call or email if you have any questions. We are always happy to chat. Anonymous Coward 2009-12-24T18:05:45+00:00