A database that knows what time it is

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Google has made public the details of its Spanner database technology, which allows a database to store data across multiple data centers, millions of machines and trillions of rows. But it’s not just larger than the average database, Spanner also allows applications that use the database to dictate where specific data is stored so as to reduce latency when retrieving it.

via Google’s Spanner: A database that knows what time it is — Data | GigaOM.

Spanner is cool as a database tool for the current era of real-time data, but it also indicates how Google is thinking about building a compute infrastructure that is designed to run amid a dynamic environment where the hardware, the software and the data itself being processed is constantly changing.

Tandem satellites probe the Moon’s interior

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GRAIL’s two probes, named Ebb and Flow by schoolchildren in a NASA competition, were launched in September 2011 (see ‘Twins to Probe Moon’s Heart’). The first probe began orbiting the Moon on 31 December 2011, with the second joining the next day. By March, they had begun detailed mapping. The two spacecraft exchange radio signals, recording fluctuations in their relative positions that are then used to reveal tiny accelerations and decelerations caused by variations in the Moon’s gravitational field. The average altitude of the primary mission was 55 kilometres —  much lower than the orbit used by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), a similar gravity-mapping mission for Earth that has to fly higher to avoid atmospheric friction. Occasionally, the GRAIL operations team brought the craft lower than 20 kilometres to further improve the resolution of the data. “Nothing beats flying low,” says Zuber.

via Tandem satellites probe the Moon’s interior : Nature News & Comment.

Phonetic attack commands crash bank phone lines

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The attacks targeted the DTMF algorithms, which converted user commands into actions, such as pulling customer bank records from databases.

Vulnerabilities in those databases could be exploited by speaking attack commands down the phone. In one instance, Sasi trigged a buffer overflow against a demonstration system.

via Phonetic attack commands crash bank phone lines – Networks – SC Magazine Australia – Secure Business Intelligence.

More information on this from:  DTMF Telephony Denial of Service (TDoS) Issues for IVRs

Since most of these attacks simply involves transmission of DTMF, they are very easy to execute and automate. These vulnerabilities could impact any IVR, whether it is TDM, VoIP, the latest UC, etc.

Russia reveals shiny state secret: It’s awash in diamonds

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They claim the Popigai site is unique in the world, thus making Russia the monopoly proprietor of a resource that’s likely to become increasingly important in high-precision scientific and industrial processes

via Russia reveals shiny state secret: It’s awash in diamonds – CSMonitor.com.

Russian scientists say the news is likely to change the shape of global diamond markets, although the main customers for the super-hard gems will probably be big corporations and scientific institutes.

Moving plane exchanges quantum keys with Earth

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Quantum key distribution (QKD) uses photons polarised in two different ways to encode the 0s and 1s of an encryption key. The laws of quantum mechanics ensure the transmission is secure, as any attempt to intercept the key disturbs the polarisation – a tip-off to the receiver that the key has been seen and should be discarded.

via Moving plane exchanges quantum keys with Earth – tech – 16 September 2012 – New Scientist.

The researchers kept the laser on track using moving mirrors both in the aircraft and on the ground. Performing the experiment shortly after sunset avoided interference from sunlight. The transmission lasted for 10 minutes, amounting to a key long enough to encrypt 10 kilobytes of data. The team presented the work at the QCrypt conference in Singapore on 12 September.

Atomic bond types discernible in single-molecule images

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The new work opens up the prospect of studying imperfections in the “wonder material” graphene or plotting where electrons go during chemical reactions.

The images are published in Science.

via BBC News – Atomic bond types discernible in single-molecule images.

They are carried out at a scale so small that room temperature induces wigglings of the AFM’s constituent molecules that would blur the images, so the apparatus is kept at a cool -268C.

While some improvements have been made since that first image of pentacene, lead author of the Science study, Leo Gross, told BBC News that the new work was mostly down to a choice of subject.

It’s Official: The Era of the Personal Computer Is Over.

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As of this year, personal computers no longer consume the majority of the world’s memory chip supply.

via It’s Official: The Era of the Personal Computer Is Over. – Arik Hesseldahl – News – AllThingsD.

During that period, PCs accounted for the consumption of 49 percent of DRAM produced around the world, down from 50.2 percent in the first quarter of the year. The share of these chips going into PCs — both desktop and notebooks — has been hovering at or near 55 percent since early 2008, IHS says.

The Benefits & Importance of Compatibility

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Goggle’s response.

While Android remains free for anyone to use as they would like, only Android compatible devices benefit from the full Android ecosystem. By joining the Open Handset Alliance, each member contributes to and builds one Android platform — not a bunch of incompatible versions. We’re grateful to the over 85 Open Handset Alliance members who have helped us build the Android ecosystem and continue to drive innovation at an incredible pace. Thanks to their support the Android ecosystem now has over 500 million Android-compatible devices and counting!

via The Benefits & Importance of Compatibility | Official Android Blog.

From: Google has dropped an Android-shaped bomb on China’s mobile market

Baidu, for one, is in negotiation with a number of companies to develop smartphones using Baidu Cloud, a system that sits on top of Android and strips out Google’s services, replacing them with its own, Chinese versions. Given Google’s statement and the fact that it directly rivals Baidu, the Chinese search giant would be justified to feel Google may have scared existing Open Handset Alliance partners away from working with Baidu Cloud.

It’s worth noting though that Baidu has steered clear of calling Baidu Cloud an OS, likely in order to position its offering as one that supplements Android rather than supplanting it.

Google Objects to Acer-Alibaba Phone

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Google said it objected to the Acer device because Aliyun was a “non-compatible” version of Android, meaning that Alibaba allegedly created Aliyun by taking Google’s Android software and making changes to it.

via Google Objects to Acer-Alibaba Phone – WSJ.com.

After Acer postponed the phone’s launch this week, Alibaba issued a statement saying Google had told Acer that it would “terminate its Android-related cooperation and other technology licensing” if the phone was launched. An Acer official confirmed that Google had expressed concerns about the device.