Pynchon, Lahiri finalists for National Book Awards

NEW YORK (AP) — Thomas Pynchon, Jhumpa Lahiri and George Saunders are among the finalists for the National Book Awards.

A month after releasing long-lists of 10 in each of the four competitive categories, the National Book Foundation on Wednesday announced the five remaining writers for fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people's literature. Finalists for nonfiction include three New Yorker staff writers: Lawrence Wright, George Packer and Jill Lepore.

Winners will be announced Nov. 20 at a dinner ceremony in Manhattan. Each winner will receive $10,000.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-10-16-National%20Book%20Awards/id-5721faba4b23434eb046a2c630d9a528
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Intel CEO takes on Apple A7, cites 'Moore's Law advantage'

Responding to an analyst's question, Intel CEO waxes eloquent about the advantage of Intel's manufacturing technology compared with Apple's.

New Intel CEO Brian Krzanich

(Credit: Intel)

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich touted the merits of Intel's manufacturing process compared with that of Apple's new 64-bit A7 chip today after the company's earnings report.

During Intel's third-quarter earnings conference call on Tuesday, an analyst questioned Intel about the advantages of going to a 14-nanometer manufacturing process, compared with Apple's 28-nanometer A7 chip.

"[Apple] has been able to show very impressive benchmarks on 28-nanometer silicon," the analyst stated.

Generally, the smaller the chip geometries, the more advanced the chip manufacturing process and thus the faster and/or more power efficient the chip can be. Intel claims that it's jumped well ahead of the rest of the chip industry by moving to a cutting-edge 14-nanometer process first.

Here's what Krzanich said in response to the analyst's comment, citing, among other things, Moore's Law, which states that the number of transistors doubles approximately every two years.

All of our products are 64-bit. The products we're shipping today are already 64-bit. And if you take a look at things like transistor density. And if you compare, pardon the pun, apples to apples, and compare the A7 to our Bay Trail, which has a high-density 22-nanometer technology, then our transistor density is higher than the A7 is.

The A7 is a good product, but we do see the Moore's Law advantage from 28 [nanometer] to 22, when you compare dense technology to dense technology. And we believe 14 nanometers is just another extension of Moore's Law. That is, twice the density [of 22-nanometers].

Apple is the first to get a 64-bit chip into a consumer smartphone.

(Credit: iFixit)

The challenge for Intel is that Apple is proving to be a world-class designer of fast-yet-power-efficient smartphone and tablet silicon with its A series of processors, essentially obviating the need for Apple to look to Intel for silicon in those devices.

And Apple is dropping hints that its 64-bit processors may be destined for devices that more directly challenge the traditional laptop PC.

"When Apple announced the iPhone 5S, it called the processor 'desktop-class,' and I don't think that was an accident -- it was sending what we think is a very clear signal that it will converge the iPhone and the MacBook Air," Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth said recently in an interview, speculating on Apple's plans.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57607636-37/intel-ceo-takes-on-apple-a7-cites-moores-law-advantage/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple
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'Jump boxes' improve security, if you set them up right

With malicious hackers and malware infesting nearly every enterprise network these days, "jump boxes" have become very popular. A jump box is a specially secured computer that administrators must (or should) log on to in order to gain access to other computers and administrate them. The hope is that these jump boxes are specially secured -- and are less likely to get exploited by hackers or malware.

Jump boxes can decrease risk, but you need to implement their special protections properly. Many enterprises start with the best of intentions, but when I audit jump boxes, I often see a jumble of weak security policies and high-risk behaviors that make them just as insecure as a regular user's PC.

[ Take a tour of the latest threats and what you can do to stop them in InfoWorld's Malware Deep Dive Report. | Learn how to secure your systems with InfoWorld's Security Central newsletter. ]

In the computer security world, a basic premise underlies setting up a "secure environment": Systems of lower trust should never be able to modify or control systems of higher trust or importance. Most jump boxes tend to break this basic rule because the computers people use to connect to jump boxes are less trustworthy than the jump boxes themselves.

Often, PCs that connect to jump boxes are open to the Internet all day long and can be as infected and exploited as any other computer in your environment. What good is a jump box if the computer connecting to it has a keylogging Trojan copying every password or smartcard token you use? Your jump box and the computer linking to it -- let's call it the "originating computer" for this discussion -- should both be highly secure systems.

Here are the protective measures you should take for jump boxes and the systems that connect to them.

Security hardened
Most of today's operating systems and applications come fairly well secured. Don't mess it up. Consider configuring the originating computer and jump server with the "high security" settings if they exist. You want to enforce only the best and most secure protocols and options.

Strong authentication
If you use regular passwords, they should be long and complex (15 characters or more). Try to require smartcards or other two-factor authentication methods for all elevated users. If you're managing multiple environments (that is, different forests), make sure logon credentials are not shared among environments. If you use smartcards, key fobs, or other two-factor authentication, make sure those aren't shared, either. Yes, it'll be harder to administrate multiple environments. But if you share that stuff, why have different environments in the first place?

No browsing the Internet
If I check your jump box and see it has a browser installed or can browse to the Internet unhindered, then you've failed the audit. Browsing the Internet is a high-risk activity that should not be allowed either on the jump box or the originating computer. I know many of you probably use your regular workstation to connect to jump boxes. This is a bad idea. Use a separate computer (or VM) to connect to your jump box. That originating computer should not be able to browse the Internet to any site; if you allow it to connect only to vendor sites and legitimate driver download sites, that's OK.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/jump-boxes-improve-security-if-you-set-them-right-228742?source=rss_infoworld_blogs
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Pa. Caterpillars Predict Wet, Cold Winter

Over the weekend, people in Lewisburg, Pa., gathered for a weather forecast from caterpillars. Woolly bear caterpillars are black, with a brown stripe down the middle. Folklore says the larger the stripe, the milder the winter.

Copyright © 2013 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm David Greene. Sit down, Punxsutawney Phil. Over the weekend, people in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, gathered for a weather forecast from caterpillars. Woolly bear caterpillars are black, with a brown stripe down the middle and folklore says the larger the stripe, the milder the winter. At the 17th annual Woolly Worm Winter Weather Prognostication Festival - say that twice - several woolly bears predicted a wet, cold winter ahead. Of course, they were wrong last year. It's MORNING EDITION.

Copyright © 2013 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/15/234638758/pennsylvania-caterpillars-predict-wet-cold-winter?ft=1&f=3
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Chrome OS 30 stable build adds select, drag-and-drop features for touchscreens

Adventurous folks running Chrome OS beta have been enjoying the platform's new touchscreen functions since September, assuming they have a Pixel. Now, touchscreen text selection and drag and drop support is arriving to the operating system's stable build aboard the latest software update. While ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/gvx6sismuOw/
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Canadian Alice Munro Wins Nobel's Literature Prize

Alice Munro, "master of the contemporary short story," has won the Nobel Prize in Literature," the Royal Swedish Academy announced Thursday morning. In 2009, she won the Man Booker International Prize for her lifetime work.

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Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/10/231352197/canadian-alice-munro-wins-nobel-s-literature-prize?ft=1&f=1032
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Hajj pilgrims set for Eid al-Adha feast

Muzdalifah (Saudi Arabia) (AFP) - Throngs of Muslim pilgrims converged Monday on Muzdalifah to prepare for Eid al-Adha feast after a day of prayer on Mount Arafat for an end to disputes and bloodshed.

The faithful will spend the night in Muzdalifah to collect stones which they will use a symbolic ritual of stoning the devil in nearby Mina on Tuesday, the first day of the feast of sacrifice.

Most of the pilgrims taking part in the annual hajj to Islam's holiest sites in Saudi Arabia travelled from Arafat to Muzdalifah on foot, while others took buses and trains, some riding on the roofs.

Thousands of security men were deployed to organise the traffic flowing into Muzdalifah, which only comes to life during the five days of the hajj.

Earlier in the day men, women and children from across the Muslim world flooded the roads to Arafat chanting "Labaik Allahum Labaik" (I am responding to your call, God), as they observed the peak of the hajj.

Helicopters hovered overhead and thousands of Saudi troops stood guard.

Many pilgrims camped in small colourful tents or took shelter under trees to escape temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). Special sprinklers were set up to ward off the heat.

In his annual sermon, top Saudi cleric Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Sheikh urged Muslims to avoid divisions, chaos and sectarianism, without explicitly speaking of the turmoil unleashed by the Arab Spring.

"Your nation is a trust with you. You must safeguard its security, stability and resources," he said.

"You should know that you are targeted by your enemy... who wants to spread chaos among you... It's time to confront this."

The cleric did not speak specifically of the deadly war wracking Syria, where Sunni-led rebels backed by Saudi Arabia are at war with a regime led by Alawites -- an offshoot of Shiite Islam -- and closely allied with Shiite Iran and Hezbollah.

The cleric insisted that Islam prohibits killing and aggression and said there is "no salvation or happiness for the Muslim nation without adhering to the teachings of the religion."

Attendance is sharply down from last year, due to fears of the MERS virus which has killed 60 people worldwide, including 51 in Saudi Arabia, and to expansion work at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

Prince Khaled al-Faisal, the governor of Mecca province who heads the central hajj committee, said 1.38 million pilgrims had come from outside the kingdom while 117,000 permits were issued for locals.

This puts the total number of pilgrims at almost 1.5 million, less than half of last year's 3.2 million, after Riyadh slashed hajj quotas.

Prince Khaled said authorities had turned back 70,000 nationals and expatriates for not carrying legal permits and had arrested 38,000 others for performing the hajj without a permit.

Authorities have also seized as many as 138,000 vehicles for violating the hajj rules, and owners would be penalised, he said.

Saudi health authorities have stressed that no cases of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus have been detected so far this pilgrimage.

Prayers for peace in troubled times

Many pilgrims said they were praying for peace in Muslim nations mired in sectarian and political strife.

"I will pray the whole day for God to improve the situation for Muslims worldwide and for an end to disputes and bloodshed in Arab countries," said 61-year-old Algerian pensioner Saeed Dherari.

"I hope that God will grace all Muslims with security and stability," said 75-year-old Ahmad Khader, who hails from the southern Syrian province of Daraa, where the country's uprising began.

"The regime is tyrannical and I pray for God to help the oppressed people," he said, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's embattled government.

Egyptian Ahmad Ali, who is performing hajj for the first time, prayed for peace in his country where hundreds have been killed in fighting between security forces and Islamist supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

"I pray for Egypt to enjoy security and stability and for the people to reach understanding and reconciliation," Ali said.

The hajj, which officially ends on Friday, is one of the five pillars of Islam that every capable Muslim must perform at least once.

The pilgrims started the hajj journey on Sunday, moving out of the holy city of Mecca to nearby Mina, where most of them spent the night following the traditions of the Prophet Mohammed, who performed the rituals 14 centuries ago.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/muslim-pilgrims-throng-mount-arafat-hajj-climax-065848537.html
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