New approach to determining human impact on climate gives same answer

New approach to determining human impact on climate gives same answer
Published December 5, 2011 12:28 PM - by | Posted in: Nobel Intent

A new study tries to balance the books on the Earth's energy budget, and finds that greenhouse gasses and aerosols have large effects, but largely offset each other.

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Microsoft's bid to rule your living room with the Xbox 360 begins tomorrow

Microsoft's bid to rule your living room with the Xbox 360 begins tomorrow
Published December 5, 2011 12:17 PM - by | Posted in: Opposable Thumbs

Microsoft's latest Xbox 360 update goes live tomorrow, bringing with it expanded options for live and streaming television and movies.

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Apple, Motorola, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile latest to be sued over Carrier IQ tracking

Published December 5, 2011 12:01 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

Apple, Motorola, and three major wireless carriers are the latest to face a class-action lawsuit over a smartphone privacy scandal, with Carrier IQ, HTC, and Samsung are also facing allegations that they spy on users with software installed on smartphones.

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DRM-free gaming distributor GOG.com trades convenience for safety

DRM-free gaming distributor GOG.com trades convenience for safety
Published December 5, 2011 9:44 AM - by | Posted in: Opposable Thumbs

What's the worth of a fast checkout process for digital retailers? GOG.com recently ased its users that, and the data came back showing customers would rather deal with a longer checkout process if that meant their data wasn't kept on the company's servers. What's surprising is that the company is listening.

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Why Microsoft should, and shouldn't, support legacy Windows desktop on ARM

Why Microsoft should, and shouldn't, support legacy Windows desktop on ARM
Published December 5, 2011 9:28 AM - by | Posted in: One Microsoft Way

Will Windows 8 on ARM include support for the traditional Windows desktop? Last week it was been rumored first that it won't, and then that it will after all. We think that Microsoft should do both.

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Suspension of Disbelief: magicians' friends targeted by new phishing scam

Suspension of Disbelief: magicians' friends targeted by new phishing scam
Published December 5, 2011 7:00 AM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

The well-worn friends-in-trouble-on-vacation scam that has plagued Facebook for years has evolved, as a husband-and-wife magic act found out the hard way.

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The Shard's bleeding edge: anatomy of a 21st century skyscraper

The Shard's bleeding edge: anatomy of a 21st century skyscraper
Published December 4, 2011 8:00 PM - by | Posted in: Gear & Gadgets
feature

As the tallest skyscraper in the EU goes up in London, we talk to the engineers behind it about the technology that makes the Shard possible.

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Gallery: how the surveillance industry markets spyware to governments

Gallery: how the surveillance industry markets spyware to governments
Published December 4, 2011 6:00 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

The latest Wikileaks dump offers a look at the slide presentations and brochures used by security companies to market malware and other spy tools to governments and law enforcement agencies.

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RIM's troubles continue: BlackBerry Playbook costing company $485 million

RIM's troubles continue: BlackBerry Playbook costing company $485 million
Published December 4, 2011 4:00 PM - by | Posted in: Gear & Gadgets

RIM can't catch a break. Not only is the company coping with dismal PlayBook tablet sales, it's also taking a near half-billion dollar hit for sitting inventory that must now be sold at rock-bottom prices.

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Researchers short-circuit the immune system to block HIV

Published December 4, 2011 2:00 PM - by | Posted in: Nobel Intent

Researchers give mice lifelong protection against HIV, without the need for a vaccine.

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Week on the Web: Kindle vs. Nook, AT&T vs. the FCC, IE10 vs. Windows 7

Week on the Web: Kindle vs. Nook, AT&T vs. the FCC, IE10 vs. Windows 7
Published December 3, 2011 3:00 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

A look back at the biggest stories of the week across Ars.

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Week in IT: the end of internal e-mail and tracking cell phone signals

Week in IT: the end of internal e-mail and tracking cell phone signals
Published December 3, 2011 12:00 PM - by | Posted in: Uptime

Ars recaps the week's biggest stories from Uptime, our section devoted to IT topics.

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Week in science: collapsing ideas and long-distance Voyagers

Week in science: collapsing ideas and long-distance Voyagers
Published December 3, 2011 9:00 AM - by | Posted in: Nobel Intent

The Universe may not be so constant, the Voyager spacecraft continue to be reliable, and, closer to home, researchers have built a squishy robot.

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Thai flooding leaves Apple with 2TB drive shortage

Published December 2, 2011 4:58 PM - by | Posted in: Infinite Loop

Drive shortages caused by massive flooding in Thailand have left Apple without 2TB hard drives to install in build-to-order iMacs. At least one of Western Digital's plants is back up and running.

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Carrier IQ hit with privacy lawsuits as more security researchers weigh in

Carrier IQ hit with privacy lawsuits as more security researchers weigh in
Published December 2, 2011 4:49 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

Carrier IQ has been hit with two class-action lawsuits from users worried about how the company's software tracks their smartphone activity.

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Mobile operator turns flagship store into Androidland

Mobile operator turns flagship store into Androidland
Published December 2, 2011 4:20 PM - by | Posted in: Gear & Gadgets

Australian mobile network operator Telstra has set up a mini Android theme park inside of its flagship Melbourne store.

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Setting smart Internet policy requires data we don't have, aren't getting

Setting smart Internet policy requires data we don't have, aren't getting
Published December 2, 2011 2:31 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

It would be nice to think that we could develop regulations for the Internet based on how people are actually using it. Unfortunately, according to some Harvard researchers, we're not doing enough to gather that data.

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FCC to probe San Francisco subway cell phone "interruption" policy

FCC to probe San Francisco subway cell phone "interruption" policy
Published December 2, 2011 2:14 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

The FCC says it wants to take a look at the legal and First Amendment implications of the new cell phone interruption policy employed by San Francisco and Oakland's Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART).

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Data caps a "crude and unfair tool" for easing online congestion

Data caps a "crude and unfair tool" for easing online congestion
Published December 2, 2011 12:29 PM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

Two European Internet experts argue that monthly data caps don't actually help with "congestion"—and they have some data to prove it.

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Verizon snags $3.6B worth of spectrum licenses as AT&T hits FCC roadbloack

Published December 2, 2011 11:22 AM - by | Posted in: Law & Disorder

Verizon Wireless has struck a $3.6 billion deal to buy wireless spectrum covering 259 million Americans from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks.

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Markus "Notch" Persson steps down as lead Minecraft developer

Published December 2, 2011 11:15 AM - by | Posted in: Opposable Thumbs

Markus "Notch" Persson has long been the lead developer and face of the game Minecraft, but has announced he will scale back his involvement on the project to get started on something new.

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Bill would end overtime pay requirement for many more IT workers

Published December 2, 2011 10:16 AM - by | Posted in: Uptime

A bill recently introduced in Congress would greatly expand the exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act for IT employees, ending overtime benefits for many more types of workers, including network, database and security specialists.

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Transparent crab shell holds the secret to bendable screens

Transparent crab shell holds the secret to bendable screens
Published December 2, 2011 9:25 AM - by | Posted in: Nobel Intent

Researchers turn a crab shell transparent, an advance that could lead to thin, bendable displays.

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iPhone battery life issues may continue to vex users—even post iOS 5.1

iPhone battery life issues may continue to vex users—even post iOS 5.1
Published December 1, 2011 9:17 PM - by | Posted in: Infinite Loop

iPhone 4S users still complain that a software fix for battery life problems hasn't addressed the issue fully, and the first beta of iOS 5.1 reportedly offers no help. What little is known about the problem outside of Apple is that the issue is software, and not hardware, but any fix won't be easy.

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With WP7 Mango available for all, Microsoft pushes ahead with new updates

Published December 1, 2011 8:49 PM - by | Posted in: One Microsoft Way

With Mango now available for the last few unpatched handsets, Microsoft is using its streamlined and improved update process to push out other fixes and features. The result is an almost Apple-like update process that's a clear improvement on what Android offers users.

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