Iraqi Teen Solves 300-Year-Old Math Puzzle

An Iraqi-born 16-year-old reportedly has cracked a math puzzle that has gone unsolved for over 300 years.

Mohamed Altoumaimi, who immigrated to Sweden six years ago, took only four months to find a formula that explains a sequence of calculations known as the Bernoulli numbers, a code that had stumped some of the best experts in the field, Agence France-Presse reported.

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Hulu releases Hulu Desktop!

Hulu Desktop is a lean-back viewing experience for your personal computer. It features a sleek new look that's optimized for use with standard Windows Media Center remote controls or Apple remote controls, allowing you to navigate Hulu's entire library with just six buttons. For users without remotes, the application is keyboard and mouse-enabled. Hulu Desktop is a downloadable application and will work on PCs and Macs. Sorry Guys Hulu uses Geo-Filtering and is a U.S. only service at this time.

Gumblar" Computer Virus A Growing Threat

Experts Say Web Site Compromise Attack Spreading To New Computers, Already Worse Than Conficker

"The Web site compromise attack known as Gumblar has added new domain names that are downloading malware onto unsuspecting computers, stealing FTP credentials to compromise more sites, and tampering with Web traffic, a security firm said on Thursday.

The Gumblar attack started in March with Web sites being compromised and attack code hidden on them. Originally, the malware downloaded onto computers accessing those sites came from the gumblar.cn domain, a Chinese domain associated with Russian and Latvian IP addresses that were delivering code from servers in the U.K."

"Gumblar" Computer Virus A Growing Threat - CBS News

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Darwinius: It delivers a pizza, and it lengthens, and it ...

Darwinius: It delivers a pizza, and it lengthens, and it strengthens, and it finds that slipper that’s been at large under the chaise lounge for several weeks. If the world goes crazy for a lovely fossil, that’s fine with me. But if that fossil releases some kind of mysterious brain ray that makes people say crazy things and write lazy articles, a serious swarm of flies ends up in my ointment.

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Further Reading
http://scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2009/05/poor_poor_ida_or_overselling_a.php

http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/05/darwinius_masillae.php

http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/05/everything_changes.php

Baiting Nigerian scammers for fun (not so much for profit)

When your hobby is baiting 419 scammers (also known as Nigerian scammers or advance-fee fraudsters), a death threat isn't cause for concern—it's a trophy worth bragging about to your friends.

Scam baiters are the vigilante enforcers who come together to waste hours, weeks, or months of 419 scammers' lives for nothing more than the satisfaction of knowing that they are distracting them from real victims. Though the world of 419 scams has existed since long before the Internet, people continue to fall for scammers in droves—certainly, scammers are making millions of dollars every year by promising money, goods, and romance that they never deliver on. That's part of why scam baiting has actually become a somewhat popular pastime online, with thousands of users flocking to scam baiting forums to share stories and ideas on how to string along more scammers. And hey, why not? Most of us end up spending too much time screwing around on the Internet anyway—these folks just use that time to make scammers miserable.

But when you hear stories like this, it makes you wonder. "I get death threats on regular basis," a student who goes by -C- told Ars. "Death threats are not uncommon and are actually considered achievements: they are a testament to the fact that the baiter managed to annoy his/her scammer nicely."

"After I joined 419eater, I realized that we actually do make an impact on the entire scamming business by running interference and wasting these scammer's time."

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220MPH Solar-Powered Bullet Train on Arizona Horizon

Travelers going from Tucson to Phoenix may soon be blazing across the desert in speeding solar bullet trains propelled by the sun’s rays. Hot on the heels of President Obama’s plan for High Speed Rail in the US comes the news that Arizona-based Solar Bullet LLC is proposing a new 220mph bullet train that will be entirely powered by the sun.

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Armageddon Energy's Plug n Play Solar Panels

Rooftop solar panel installation is often a time-consuming and complicated process, but Armageddon Energy's new prefab panels are practically roof-ready when they come out of the box.

A solar "clover"--enough to provide 400 watts of power--is made up of three 10 to 12 pound silicon hexagonal panels, a triangular frame and a micro-inverter. The panels can be easily connected with a series of uncomplicated tab and slots. Then all that's left is for a professional, or mechanically-inclined homeowner, to secure the clovers to the roof, angle them towards the sun, and plug them into the home power system. According to Armageddon, the process only takes a few minutes.

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New TSA rules for all air travelers

TSA issuing new rules for air travel

Security changes at airports could affect whether you even get on a plane starting next week.

The first part of getting where you're going is showing security your boarding pass and identification. But that's about to change.

"The TSA is requiring the full name by May 15, 2009," said Bethanne Harrison-Brown of The Travel Authority.

The TSA will require your full name, first, middle and last on your ticket starting next Friday. Until now, only your first and last name got you on a plane.

But come May 15, the name on your reservation must match the name on your driver's license or passport.

"Everything has to match," said Harrison-Brown. "If it doesn't match, if it's not in there, you cannot check in. You will be denied."

Read the full story at MSNBC

Green Eco "Bomb" That Plants Trees

"This title maybe misleading but the intention is pretty peaceful! Legend has it that after the World War II got over, American pilot Gale Halvorson airdropped candies in the name of hope, for the Berlin children. War equals devastation, so dropping candies instead of bombs was probably personal retribution. Inspired by this incident, designer Hwang Jin wook and pals have come up with a plan to combat deforestation and desertification of land in a similar fashion. Their mission is called “Seedbomb.”

Mission Seedbomb involves a bomber aircraft and charges full of the Seed Capsules. Essentially the project involves artificial dispersal of seeds over arid areas where natural vegetation has lapsed due to man-made follies like deforestation leading to desertification. Each capsule contains artificial soil and seeds, and are air-dropped over the selected regions.

Housed in biodegradable plastic, the artificial soil provides nourishment and moisture to the seed; till it grows out to be a strong enough plant to sustain itself. As the sapling matures, the plastic capsule melts away, leaving behind a brand new generation."

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Red Laser: The First Accurate iPhone Barcode Scanner

Red Laser, which has just hit the iTunes App Store, is the ultimate iPhone barcode scanner, which works just like one of those red-laser scanners at the checkout (hence the name.)

There already are a few barcode related applications in the app store, but they all have one thing in common - they don't really work. Red Laser actually does work!

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PC to MAC or MAC to MAC Data Transfer Cable NO Driver Needed!

Frequently helping friends switch over from the Windows dark side to the Macintosh is a time consuming task. However now there appears to be a neat solution to the problem.
The ThunderBird LINK-E2 is a  High-Speed USB File Transfer Adapter is the premier file and data sharing solution for PC and MAC users. The EasySuite or EasyMacCopy utility software is already embedded on the High-Speed USB File Transfer Adapter and will automatically load onto your system

USB 2.0 DRIVERLESS LINK-DATA TRANSFER CABLE for ME/2000/2003/XP and MAC OS X.xx

The Only MAC OS X to MAC or Vista to XP DriverLess Link on the Market, simple Drag and Drop Interface Built Right Into the Cable. No Drivers to Install.

Read more about the ThunderBird LINK-E2

New mushroom-based material may save the world

A pair of mechanical engineering students are developing a fungus-based material called Greensulate that may replace non biodegradable insulation and packaging. Greensulate, is a strong, low-cost biomaterial that replaces the expensive, non-biodegradable plastics and styrofoam used in modern packaging and wall insulation Pretty cool.

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Hubble telescope mission, Nasa's most dangerous endeavour

The Nasa Atlantis crew of seven astronauts will attempt to rescue the $7 billion Hubble Space Telescope from meltdown, while dodging deadly space-junk. The mission, which is costing Nasa $1.4 billion and is launched from Florida today, is considered so perilous that it was once cancelled by space agency chiefs who feared that it could cost the astronauts their lives. It was resurrected only after they agreed to place a second shuttle and crew on emergency standby, ready to blast into space to save their colleagues should a catastrophe occur. The move is unprecedented in the 28-year history of the shuttle fleet. Please come and have a look.

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US Fidelis: The warranty on your vehicle is about to expire!

More and more Americans are receiving calls with a computerized voice saying, "This is the final notice. The factory warranty on your vehicle is about to expire," several times a day on their cell or land lines. The calls come even if a person has signed up for the national "do not call" registry. "This is an annoying scam whose perpetrators have found a way around the do-not-call list," U.S. Senator Schumer says...

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7 Surprising uses for the iPhone’s camera

How to use your phone's built-in camera for more than just snapshots

These days, a 2-megapixel camera may not seem like much. But add Web access, a pocket-size Mac, and third-party apps to the mix, and presto! That humble camera is now a personal assistant and digital artist in one. Here are just a few of the ways you can extend your camera.

See in the dark

Take wider shots

Get a personal shopper

Find your mobile photos fast

Supercharge your photo browser

Track down a font

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