A high-tech NASA telescope in orbit escaped a potentially disastrous collision with a Soviet-era Russian spy satellite this month in a close call that highlights the growing threat of orbital debris around Earth. NASA’s $ 690 million Fermi
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Tag Archives: Russian
Russian space junk almost destroys NASA telescope
Posted by Gsurface
on May 2, 2013
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Damaged Russian cargo ship docks with International Space Station
Posted by Gsurface
on April 26, 2013
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A Russian cargo spacecraft with a malfunctioning antenna has docked with the International Space Station, and officials say the problem isn’t expected to prevent unloading the food, fuel, oxygen and equipment aboard.
FOX News
Russian becomes world’s oldest spacewalker at 59
Posted by Gsurface
on April 20, 2013
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Russian arms dealers go big at massive LAAD defense show in Rio
Posted by Gsurface
on April 12, 2013
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Russian Wikipedia’s ‘smoking pot’ page goes bong-less
Posted by Gsurface
on April 9, 2013
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After a threat by government censors leads to the removal of almost all references to “smoking devices,” it has been deemed safe for public consumption… the page, that is, not the pot. [Read more]
CNET News
Russian government selectively blocks site access
Posted by Gsurface
on April 1, 2013
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The country is taking advantage of a new law signed last year that requires major Web sites to restrict material officials find objectionable. [Read more]
CNET News
Russian government blocking some Internet content
Posted by Gsurface
on April 1, 2013
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There are number of places around the world where the government blocks all sorts of Internet content to prevent citizens from accessing things deemed inappropriate. While no one would be particularly surprised that Internet content is being filtered in the Middle East or in some parts of Asia, you might be surprised to learn that
Russian spaceship docks with orbiting International Space Station
Posted by Gsurface
on March 29, 2013
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Twitter archive service expands into 12 more languages, includes Chinese, Russian and Japanese
Posted by Gsurface
on March 22, 2013
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Twitter users looking to permanently house their missives in Russian, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and eight other languages have now been given the go-ahead. This third language expansion focuses on the east, although it does add Italian, Turkish and Danish support too. In short, it’s another excuse to celebrate the microblogging network’s seventh compleanno.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Via: Techcrunch
Source: Twitter
Russian FSB Can Reportedly Tap Skype Calls
Posted by Gsurface
on March 15, 2013
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An anonymous reader writes “Previous reports of a Microsoft provided backdoor to Skype has been unconfirmed. However, there are now reports that Russian federal security service FSB is able to tap call and locate users. ‘FSB and the Internal Affairs Ministry (MVD) have been capable to wiretap and locate Skype users for some years already, reported Vedomosti on Thursday [Google translation of Russian original]. The newspaper is citing experts on information security. “Special services have been capable for several years not only to wiretap but also to locate a Skype user. That’s why, for instance, employees of our company are forbidden to discuss business-related topics on Skype,” General Director of Group-IB, Ilya Sachkov, says to Vedomosti. “After Microsoft acquired Skype in May 2011, it updated the software with technology allowing legitimate wiretapping,” says Maksim Emm, Director of Peak Systems.’”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Google Street View reveals Bulgarian imagery, expands Russian and UK sites
Posted by Gsurface
on March 7, 2013
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Though Bulgaria mightn’t be your first choice for a relaxing holiday, fresh imagery from Google may change your tune — or at least give you a chance to experience it vicariously. Mountain View just added that nation for the first time to its Street View rolls, bringing major cities like Sofia and Varna along with attractions like the Black Sea coastline, the Architectural Museum Reserve Tsarevets and the Borovets ski resort, to name a few. In addition, Google added over 200 new Russian locales like 2014 Winter Olympics site Sochi and the Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamun in the Republic of Kalmykia. Lastly, virtual travelers will get to enjoy new photos from the Scottish coastline, East Anglia and parts of South Wales along with refreshed imagery from major cities like Manchester, Glasgow and London. For more, grab a spot of Earl Grey (or Russian) tea and hit the source.
Source: Google Lat Long Blog
Russian Meteor Likely an Apollo Asteroid Chunk
Posted by Gsurface
on February 27, 2013
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astroengine writes “Helped by the extensive coverage of eyewitness cameras, CCTV footage and a fortuitous observation made by the Meteosat-9 weather satellite, Jorge Zuluaga and Ignacio Ferrin of the University of Antioquia in Medellin, Colombia, have been able to reconstruct the most likely orbit of the meteoroid that slammed into the atmosphere over the Russian Urals region on Feb. 15. What’s more, they know what type of space rock it was — the Chelyabinsk-bound meteoroid originated from an Apollo-class asteroid (PDF). Apollo asteroids are well-known near-Earth asteroids that cross the orbit of Earth. Around 5,200 Apollo asteroids are currently known, the largest being 1866 Sisyphus — a 10 kilometer-wide monster that was discovered in 1972.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Russian meteorite 1,000 times bigger than originally thought
Posted by Gsurface
on February 19, 2013
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Russian meteor was largest in a century
Posted by Gsurface
on February 19, 2013
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‘Stratospheric’ prices for Russian meteor fragments
Posted by Gsurface
on February 19, 2013
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Russian Meteor Largest In a Century
Posted by Gsurface
on February 17, 2013
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gbrumfiel writes “A meteor that exploded over Russia’s Chelyabinsk region this morning was the largest recorded object to strike the earth in more than a century, Nature reports. Infrasound data collected by a network designed to watch for nuclear weapons testing suggests that today’s blast released hundreds of kilotons of energy. That would make it far more powerful than the nuclear weapon tested by North Korea just days ago, and the largest rock to strike the earth since a meteor broke up over Siberia’s Tunguska river in 1908. Despite its incredible power, the rock evaded detection by astronomers. Estimates show it was likely only 15 meters across — too small to be seen by networks searching for near earth asteroids.” Today’s meteor event came a day after California scientists proposed a system to vaporize asteroids that threaten Earth. Of course, the process needs to be started when the asteroid is still tens of millions of kilometers away; there’s no chance to shoot down something that’s already arrived.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Russian meteorite: The conspiracy theories
Posted by Gsurface
on February 16, 2013
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It might well be that Bill Nye has explained fully about the meteorite that showered a Russian city, but others have darker explanations. [Read more]
CNET News
Russian region begins recovery after meteor fall
Posted by Gsurface
on February 16, 2013
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Unintentional Interfaces: Why Russian Dashcams Saw That Meteor
Posted by Gsurface
on February 16, 2013
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How Russia’s social and legal culture combined with technology to capture a once-in-a-lifetime event on video.
Earlier today I was wondering why Russia gets all the good meteor strikes–like this one, which looks like a viral promo for a sci-fi movie, captured from a dashboard-mounted video camera. What I should have been asking – and Wired did – was “why do Russian motorists have video cameras on their dashboards in the first place?”
Russian meteorite: Why didn’t scientists see it coming?
Posted by Gsurface
on February 15, 2013
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Meteor Video Footage Goes Large On YouTube, Thanks To Bad Russian Drivers, Corruption And The Use Of Dash Cams
Posted by Gsurface
on February 15, 2013
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Today’s incident involving a falling meteor in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia has resulted in an estimated 500 injuries, and while people are scrambling to figure out exactly what has happened in this remote area of the country, 900 miles from Moscow and near the Ural mountains, some of the more remarkable footage so far has been video shot by ordinary people, specifically with dashboard cameras.
Russian dashboard cameras, YouTube beam meteor explosion worldwide
Posted by Gsurface
on February 15, 2013
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As jumbled news reports of what appeared to be a meteor shower over Russia trickled out of the country, some of the best views of what happened were from the dashboards of Russian cars.
Computerworld News
Russian Search Engine Yandex Beats Bing
Posted by Gsurface
on February 9, 2013
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judgecorp writes “The Russian search engine Yandex has beaten Microsoft in the search engine rankings, taking fourth place behind Google, China’s Baidu and Yahoo, according to ComScore. The result won’t be encouraging for Microsoft, which will also be disappointed to see Bing behind its partner Yahoo.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Russian EBookseller LitRes Gets Competing EBook Apps Booted From Google Play
Posted by Gsurface
on February 5, 2013
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Nate the greatest writes “The developer of the popular Android app Moon+ Reader was surprised to discover this weekend that he is a filthy stinking pirate. Google informed him via an automated email that Moon+ Reader had been removed from Google Play because the app had switched to using pirate sites as the main sources of ebooks. Or at least, that’s what LitRes claims, but when they complained to Google LitRes didn’t tell the whole truth. What was really happening is that users of the app are enabling piracy, not the app itself. Thanks to the way Moon+ Reader is designed to let users share links to ebook sources some of the sources are indeed pirate sites (less than your average Google Search). In reality the app was no more a source of pirated content than your average web browser. What do you say when an ebook distributor’s anti-piracy plan involves going after app developers rather than pirate sites? Something printable, IMO.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Russian Space Industry To Receive $69 Billion Through 2020
Posted by Gsurface
on January 1, 2013
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An anonymous reader sends word that the Russian Space industry will be getting a big boost over the next eight years. Prime Minister Medvedev has approved $ 68.71 billion in space-related funding from 2013 to 2020. That’s a huge increase from the $ 3.3 billion spent annually in 2010 and 2011. The increased funding is one of several efforts to restoring Russia’s slowly fading spaceflight capabilities. “The failure of a workhorse Proton rocket after launch in August caused the multimillion-dollar loss of an Indonesian and a Russian satellite. A similar problem caused the loss of a $ 265 million communications satellite last year. Medvedev criticized the state of the industry in August, saying problems were costing Russia prestige and money.” Medvedev said, “The program will enable our country to effectively participate in forward-looking projects, such as the International Space Station, the study of the Moon, Mars and other celestial bodies in the solar system.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Russian rocket docks at space station with fresh crew
Posted by Gsurface
on December 22, 2012
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Polaroid IM1836 Android-based mirrorless camera appears on Russian site ahead of CES
Posted by Gsurface
on December 18, 2012
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It looks like Polaroid’s betting big on Android. Judging by a product image and description leaked on a Russian social media site, the company is gearing up to launch an Android-based mirrorless ILC, perhaps as soon as CES. Specs are fairly light, but the compact camera does appear to include an 18-megapixel sensor, a 3.5-inch touchscreen, 10-30mm lens, a pop-up flash, HDMI output and built-in WiFi. As TechRadar points out, the camera looks very similar to the Nikon J1 and J2, and it also features a kit lens with the same zoom range. That’s not to suggest that this shooter will share components with its pint-sized counterpart, but we wouldn’t rule it out entirely, especially considering that Polaroid doesn’t have its own inventory of interchangeable lenses. There’s no release schedule suggested, but the timing is curious, especially considering that the company made its first Android announcement at last year’s CES. Will your next mirrorless ILC be a Polaroid?
Filed under: Cameras
Via: TechRadar
Source: Photo Rumors
Russian iTunes Store shows porn images by mistake
Posted by Gsurface
on December 8, 2012
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Russian technology firms agree to avoid poaching each other, keep salaries in check
Posted by Gsurface
on November 23, 2012
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American companies that reach no-poaching agreements do so behind closed doors, as it’s considered illegal and anti-competitive. No such reservations appear to exist in Russia, as several of the country’s top technology giants have openly admitted to reaching an unprecedented verbal deal: Acronis, Epam, Kaspersky Labs, Parallels and Yandex have all promised not to actively recruit each other’s staff. They contend to CNews that it’s a way to prevent salaries from getting out of control as staff are lured away, and that fear isn’t entirely without justification — there’s a well-known salary war between Facebook and Google in Silicon Valley, for example, that makes it tough for smaller companies to attract the same talent. Whether or not the pact stands may be another matter. There’s no history of Russian court action versus anti-poaching deals, but concern exists that the truce may not be strictly above-board.
[Image credit: Jennifer Boyer, Flickr]
Filed under: Internet, Software
Via: The Next Web
Source: CNews (translated)
Russian cargo ship launches on Halloween mission to space station
Posted by Gsurface
on November 1, 2012
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Russian Officials Consider Ban On W-iFi Use For Kids
Posted by Gsurface
on October 9, 2012
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dsinc writes that Russia’s “Communications and Press Ministry has proposed banning children from using Wi-Fi networks in public, potentially making cafes, restaurants and other locations providing the service responsible for enforcing the law. An official with the ministry’s Federal Mass Media Inspection Service, known as Roskomnadzor, said the ban should apply to people under 18 years old. Locations providing Wi-Fi access would be held legally responsible for implementing the rule, and failing to meet the proposed measure would result in a fine ranging from 20,000 rubles to 50,000 rubles ($ 640 to $ 1,600), Vedomosti reported Thursday.” The law, ostensibly to “shield” children, would apply to a fairly broad definition of child — anyone under 18.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
US and Russian space agencies to launch first year-long mission on the ISS
Posted by Gsurface
on October 7, 2012
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If you thought that year out around Europe was an eye opener, how about 12 months on the International Space Station? That’s what’s in store for two unnamed astronauts. Currently, the maximum stay on the ISS is six months, but in 2015, one Russian, and one American will work their way through the whole calendar, in a trip that could help pave the way for deep space travel. Plenty of data has already been collected about the effect microgravity has on the body, but less is known of the longer-term implications. NASA is already considering sending manned expeditions to near-Earth asteroids and Mars in the coming decades — but the results from this excursion could prove invaluable. The names of the chosen two haven’t been revealed, and the Soyuz capsule‘s (currently unaccounted for) third-seat has also sparked talk of another person possibly coming along for the ride. Time to re-plan that gap year?
Filed under: Misc, Science, Alt
US and Russian space agencies to launch first year-long mission on the ISS originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Oct 2012 06:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Sorry, Leno: Mark Zuckerberg Makes First Late-Night Talk Show Appearance — On Russian TV
Posted by Gsurface
on October 2, 2012
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Mark Zuckerberg is really going whole hog on this Russia thing.
The Facebook CEO is currently on a visit to Russia as part of a campaign to expand his super-popular social network there. As part of his visit, he’s checked out Red Square, met with prime minister Dmitry Medvedev.
And, in a remarkable show of “being a good sport,” Zuckerberg also appeared as a guest on Evening Urgant, a late-night show that is comparable to the United States’ Late Show With David Letterman or The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.
TechCrunch
DNC Salute to Vets Featured Backdrop Of Russian Warships
Posted by Gsurface
on September 26, 2012
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An anonymous reader writes “Our politicians, and their henchmen, at their finest! In an apparent error, the Democratic National Convention’s primary backdrop for its salute to veterans, by a 4-star admiral, featured a composite warship backdrop, in parade review, as a sign of U.S. strength and force projection; unfortunately, all of the naval ships in the image were Russian warships.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
German prosecution charges HP staff with bribing Russian officials to clinch PC contract
Posted by Gsurface
on September 20, 2012
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The legal system’s engines can take awhile to get churning, but there’s no questioning the impact when they’re at full bore. German prosecutors have wrapped up an almost three-year investigation into allegations of HP managers’ bribery by charging the executives involved. Hilmar Lorenz, Päivi Tiippana and Ken Willett, along with claimed accomplice Ralf Krippner, have all been indicted for supposedly funneling €7.5 million ($ 9.7 million) in bribes through a German subsidiary and far-flung shell accounts to land a €35 million ($ 45.3 million) PC supply deal with Russia’s Prosecutor General Office early in the previous decade. While only the people directly attached to the scandal currently face any consequences if found guilty, German lawyers are motioning to have the PC builder attached to the case, and there’s a chance the formal charges could fuel an ongoing US investigation. HP is cooperating even as it’s trying to distance itself from the indictments as much as possible — these are for old allegations and a “former HP company,” it says. While we don’t yet know the whole story, it may be a protracted tale knowing that at least Tiippana and Willett plan to fight the accusations.
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
German prosecution charges HP staff with bribing Russian officials to clinch PC contract originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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US, Russian trio lands in Kazakhstan after time in the space station
Posted by Gsurface
on September 17, 2012
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Rocket Internet’s ‘Blitzkrieg’: JP Morgan Invests Big In Russian Fashion Site Lamoda
Posted by Gsurface
on September 3, 2012
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Less than a month after JP Morgan put investments into two Rocket Internet-baked fashion sites modelled on Zappos — an undisclosed investment into Zalando and $ 45 million in Brazil’s Dafiti, the bank is taking an equity stake in a third Rocket Internet fashion business. Lamoda.ru in Russia, a site with 5 million unique users and 500,000 “loyal customers,” is apparently raising between $ 40 million and $ 80 million from the bank. The news was announced by Lamoda itself, although the terms of the investment are only being reported by third parties.
Lamoda, you might recall, played an infamous part in an embarrassing email last year from Oliver Samwer, one of the founders of Rocket Internet: in a letter to employees, he made detailed references to the mistakes Lamoda had made, as a cautionary tale for those not to be repeated in other markets. Calling the new, aggressive strategy a “blitzkrieg”, it was a revealing and damaging email for a company that likes to play its cards close to its chest.
Kasparov Arrested By Russian Police
Posted by Gsurface
on August 18, 2012
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New submitter perdelucena writes “Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov was arrested outside a Moscow court, where the verdict in the trial of the Pussy Riot group members was being announced on Friday, Russian police said.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
In the Olympics of Algorithms, a Russian Keeps Winning Gold
Posted by Gsurface
on August 6, 2012
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Google’s Petr Mitrichev is the all-time champion of competitive programming, a little-known sport where tech giants scout for talent.
If Vladimir Putin glances out the Kremlin window at just the right moment, he has a chance of glimpsing the world’s best computer programmer in Google’s Moscow office across the river.
Russian supply ship fails to dock at space station
Posted by Gsurface
on July 25, 2012
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US Charges Russian With Launching 2008 Amazon DoS Attack
Posted by Gsurface
on July 21, 2012
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The Seattle Times reports that Dmitry Olegovick Zubakha, “A Russian man believed to be behind cyberattacks on Seattle-based Amazon.com and other online retailers in June, 2008 has been arrested in Cyprus, says U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan.” Along with a partner, Sergey Vioktorovich Logashov (still at large), Zubakha apparently also undertook, and later bragged about, attacks on Priceline and Ebay. After extradition, he’s expected to face trial in the U.S. for possession of illegal access devices, conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Russian Soyuz rocket launches American, Russian, Japanese to space station
Posted by Gsurface
on July 16, 2012
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A NASA astronaut is on her way to the International Space Station. But the craft didn’t launch from the US. Obviously. Now that the organization’s shuttle program has been shut down, Sunita Williams had to go into space on a Russian rocket. And she was joined by fellow space travelers from Russia as well as
Russian Soyuz rocket blasts off on mission to space station
Posted by Gsurface
on July 15, 2012
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Russian Soyuz ferry craft prepped for station flight
Posted by Gsurface
on July 14, 2012
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An all-veteran crew is making final preparations for launch this weekend to the International Space Station, kicking off a busy six weeks highlighted by multiple dockings, undockings, and a pair of spacewalks.
[Read more]
CNET News
Russian Hacker Sidesteps Apple iOS In-App Purchases
Posted by Gsurface
on July 13, 2012
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An anonymous reader tips news that a Russian developer has posted a video showing how in-app purchases for some iOS software can be acquired without payment. The hack does’t require the device to be jailbroken, and can be accomplished even by users who aren’t technically proficient. The method involves three steps: “The installation of CA certificate, the installation of in-appstore.com certificate, and the changing of DNS record in Wi-Fi settings. After the quick process, users are presented with the message pictured above when installing in-app purchases, opposed to Apple’s usual purchase confirmation dialog.” 9to5mac notes that this doesn’t affect all apps, since some of them make use of Apple’s method for validating receipts.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Russian Wikipedia Shutters In Protest of Internet Blacklist Plans
Posted by Gsurface
on July 10, 2012
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decora writes “If you visit Russian Wikipedia today you will be forgiven for thinking the entire site has crashed. It is not a crash, but a protest of the Russian State Duma’s Bill 89417-6 According to Ria Novosti, the bill is ‘proposing a unified digital blacklist of all websites containing pornography, drug ads and promoting suicide or extremist ideas.’ Russian Wikipedia’s main page has been replaced with a redacted logo and a protest text, part of which says ‘The Wikipedia community protests against censorship, dangerous to free knowledge, open to all mankind. We ask you to support us in opposing this bill.’ (translation by Google Translate)”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Chinese missiles and Russian tanks: Non-Western countries surge at military tech event
Posted by Gsurface
on June 21, 2012
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Chinese missiles and Russian tanks: Inside Eurosatory 2012
Posted by Gsurface
on June 21, 2012
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Military supply companies from Russia, China, UAE, Indonesia, Korea, and Libya showed off tanks, missiles and other weapons in Paris at Eurosatory 2012, the largest international military technology show focused on land warfare. The U.S. had the most exhibitors, with 158. But a surprising trend was evident: This year, the number of companies from non-Western countries that showed off new weaponry boomed — especially Russia and China. Read more
Mozilla dumps Yandex as default search for Russian Firefox
Posted by Gsurface
on June 10, 2012
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Mozilla will drop Russian search giant Yandex as the default search engine for Russian-language versions of Firefox beginning with next month’s Firefox 14.
Computerworld News
Google to become default search choice in Russian Firefox
Posted by Gsurface
on June 10, 2012
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When Firefox v.14 touches down in Russia, Google will take the place of Russia’s own Yandex as the default search engine, says a report.
[Read more]
CNET News
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