15 unfamous, but great, Space Shuttle photos

Credit: NASA/ Houston Press

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2011/07/great_shuttle_photos.php photographs satellite spacewalk clouds tether payload bay astronaut overhead shot garage yard sale MIR Russian Soviet USSR space station

DARPA's 1.8 gigapixel drone camera could see you waving at it from 15,000 feet (video)

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/02/darpas-18-gigapixel-drone-camera-could-see-you-waving-at-it-from-15-000-feet/272796/ / Defense Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency experimental 1.8-gigapixel surveillance video camera ARGUS-IS PBS video drone hang out at 15,000 feet over a small city-sized area roughly half of Manhattan provide video surveillance machine vision moving objects generating structured data out of  video displaying the pictures branch of government corporation Google American city Big Data analysis criminals consumers display behavior that can be spotted at that distance, helping them deploy police marketing promotion on the ground more effectively collateral data technology widely deployed in a country with a more repressive government /

Go off-roading in just your shoes

Credit: Reebok/ The Gadgeteer

http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/02/01/go-off-roading-in-just-your-shoes/ / pair of shoes Reebok ATV 19+ carbon rubber sole 19 irregular lugs  designed grip any terrain snow mud sand grass provide cushioning support foot design rugged synthetic toe heel overlays no stubbed toes here engineered for stability high speed running terrain sports shoes /

How two scientists are using the New York Times archives to predict the future

"Researchers are creating software that analyzes 22 years of New York Times archives, Wikipedia and about 90 other web resources to predict future disease outbreaks, riots and deaths — and hopefully prevent them."

http://gigaom.com/2013/02/01/how-two-scientists-are-using-the-new-york-times-archives-to-predict-the-future/  / Researchers Microsoft Technion-Israel Institute of Technology creating software analyzes 22 years of New York Times archives Wikipedia other web resources predict future disease outbreaks, riots and deaths hopefully prevent them new research initiatives mine web data predict events Recorded Future analyzes news blogs social media help identify predictive signals industries, including financial services defense defence Researchers using Twitter Google track flu outbreaks “Mining the Web to Predict Future Events” Eric Horvitz Microsoft Research Kira Radinsky Technion-Israel Institute describe their work newly released paper news about natural disasters storms droughts could used predict cholera outbreaks Angola Following those weather events alerts about a downstream risk of cholera could have been issued nearly a year in advance epidemiologists look at some of the same relationships such studies are typically few in number employ heuristic assessments frequently retrospective analyses generating predictions predictive guiding near-term action outline the advantages that software has over humans in this area /

eBay fraud: an absolutely ridiculous experience

Definitely worth a read.  Some of the comments are as informative as the article itself.

Take home message: don't expect any support from eBay if you have problems.

http://arstechnica.com/staff/2013/01/ebay-fraud-and-me-my-absolutely-ridiculous-experience/

And the sequel:
http://arstechnica.com/staff/2013/02/ebay-fraud-and-me-the-sequel-a-pathetic-end-to-the-debacle/      / scam customer support help desk  eBay fraudsters fraud purchase $13,000 LED rope lighting account registered e-mail address properly verify the e-mail address was experiencing how little concern the company resolving issue matter was resolved spurious complaint ecommerce e-commerce /

FTC to mobile app makers: More disclosure to consumers, please

http://gigaom.com/2013/02/01/ftc-to-mobile-app-makers-more-disclosure-to-consumers-please/  / FTC Federal Trade Commission recommends app makers disclose to users how their personal info is being used wants advertisement ad networks mobile platforms work together mobile version Do Not Track mobile application developer informing consumers what they are doing with their data, the Federal Trade Commission report privacy companies developing iOS Android Blackberry Windows Phone platform the disclosure personal information users accessed stored used should be very easy to understand mobile world expanding innovating speed FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz best practices safeguard consumer privacy build trust  mobile marketplace report workshop recommendations consumer mobile industry prioritize users privacy findings app users didn’t install uninstalled app didn’t want share their personal information less than one third of Americans feel like they have control over how their personal information once input into their mobile device /

Twitter says hackers may have accessed data on 250,000 user accounts

http://gigaom.com/2013/02/01/twitter-says-sophisticated-hackers-may-have-accessed-data-on-250000-user-accounts/  / Chinese hackers targeting United States media companiesThe Wall Street Journal New York Times  blog post Twitter social media company security threats data associated site company attack not amateurs attack hacks hacking potentially affected small percentage users company urged change passwords regularly keep track of their accounts access patterns identifying unauthorized access attempts one live attack able to shut it down in process access limited user information usernames email addresses session tokens encrypted salted versions passwords /

Top 9 things your smartphone sucks at (& how to fix them)

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2013/02/top-9-things-your-smartphone-sucks-at-and-how-to-fix-them/  / smart phone mobile cell charge recharge battery life battery type keyboard tiny keys virtual auto correct typing skills control craplication crapware delete apps root jailbreak iPhone iOS Android unlock durable drop break screen battery cover glass case picture photograph distraction annoy update attention dropped call /

Cats: biggest threat to US wildlife

Not just the United States: cats & other introduced species are a problem all around the world.

In Australia, other disastrous introductions include: camels, goats, pigs, cane toads, foxes & rabbits.

Nor is the problem restricted to animals. Distructive introductions in Australia include: water hyacinth & prickly pear.

Disastrous introductions in New Zealand include: white tail spiders (accidental introduction — bite causes a skin wasting disease), possums & gorse.

What are the introduced problem species in your country?

http://www.ibtimes.com/cats-biggest-threat-us-wildlife-1046306 / feral pest species extinction human artifact wildlife /

Is there an excuse for short variable names?

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/02/is-there-an-excuse-for-short-variable-names/ / code program programme maintenance maintain optics optical scientist physicist /