LeadSongDog writes "The Globe and Mail is reporting that the 'Pebble' smartwatch has matched the $15M record for Kickstarter funding after initially being panned by the VC crowd." One advantage that the Pebble has over rumored watches from big names like Google and Apple is existing. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

From an article at the Houston Chronicle (not The Onion) comes a report of concern to anyone in a warm climate with, well, electronics. From the article: "According to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin, invasive 'crazy ants' are slowly displacing fire ants in the southeastern United States. These 'Tawny Crazy Ants' have a peculiar predilection toward electronics as well. 'They nest in electronics and create short circuits, as they create a contact bridge between two points when they get electrocuted they release an alarm pheromone,' says UT research assistant Edward LeBrun. 'The other ants are attracted to the chemicals that other ants give off,' he adds. At this point, more ants arrive and create a larger nest." The L.A. Times also has a report, which says "Thus far, the crazy ants are not falling for the traditional poisons used to eliminate fire ant mounds. And when local mounds are destroyed manually, they are quickly regenerated. 'They don't sting like fire ants do, ...

MojoKid writes "In an effort to coax developers to begin taking Atom seriously as an Android platform, Intel has just released a complete suite of tools that should help ease them into things — especially since it can be used for ARM development as well. It's called Beacon Mountain, named after the highest peak outside of Beacon, New York. As you'd expect, Beacon Mountain supports Jelly Bean (4.2) development, and with this suite, you're provided with a collection of important Intel tools: Hardware Accelerated Execution Manager, Integrated Performance Primitives, Graphics and System Performance Analyzers, Threaded Building Blocks and Software Manager. In addition, Android SDK and NDK, Eclipse and Cygwin third-party tools are included to complete the package." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader writes "In a decision that's almost certainly going to result in this issue heading up to the Supreme Court, the Federal 1st Circuit Court of Appeals [Friday] ruled that police can't search your phone when they arrest you without a warrant. That's contrary to most courts' previous findings in these kinds of cases where judges have allowed warrantless searches through cell phones." (But in line with the recently mentioned decision in Florida, and seemingly with common sense.) Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Xoopspoll 1.40 Beta 1 This is an BETA release, do not use it on a production site! Xoopspoll is a XOOPS module that allows an administrator to create polls to query site users. This completely refactored revision provides the ability for site administrators to create multiple poll types. This version adds the highly anticipated capability to allow anonymous voters, create blind poll types, create multiple selection polls, and introduces many additional new features. Minimum System Requirements: XOOPS 2.5.5 MySQL 5.07 PHP 5.3 Optional: Newbb 4.31 (irmtfan), or Newbb 4.00 (trunk) Xoopspoll Features: Create unlimited polls XOOPS 2.5.x Administration GUI Log all voters/votes Integrated with forum (newbb) - irmtfan v4.31 branch Limit votes by user Notify poll creator when poll finishes Multi-language support - no hard coded language strings Set poll end time/date Ability to restart an expired poll Set poll weight (order) to change order of display in module NEW Features in this version: NE ...

leathered writes "The BBC reports that some customers of UK retailer Marks and Spencer have reported that the store's contactless payment terminals have debited their cards despite being in their bags or pockets, sometimes paying twice when they have used another payment method. The cards are supposed to work only when the card comes within 4cm of the terminal. Customers of fast-food chain Pret a Manger have been reporting similar problems, and in both cases cited the customers weren't even aware they had been issued with NFC-enabled cards by their bank." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

gwiki , the geekwright wiki, is a XOOPS module which implements a wiki based on the WikiCreole 1.0 specification. In addition to the basics as defined in the WikiCreole spec, the wiki features several powerful extensions, giving it great flexibility as a content authoring and presentation tool. It also features an equally flexible permission capability, making a single instance suitable for multiple collaborative efforts, each with their own policies. Documentation is supplied as wiki pages which can be optionally loaded into the wiki by the module administrator, or you can view the manual online here. This is a Beta version Although nearing release, this is still a work in progress. Download is available here . Feedback and suggestions are always welcome.

Techmeology writes "In response to declining utility of CALEA mandated wiretapping backdoors due to more widespread use of cryptography, the FBI is considering a revamped version that would mandate wiretapping facilities in end users' computers and software. Critics have argued that this would be bad for security (PDF), as such systems must be more complex and thus harder to secure. CALEA has also enabled criminals to wiretap conversations by hacking the infrastructure used by the authorities. I wonder how this could ever be implemented in FOSS." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader writes "This being college graduation season, the insights provided by commencement speakers should be familiar by now: find work in a field you're passionate about, don't underestimate your own abilities, aim high, learn to communicate and collaborate with others, give something back to your community. Billionaire Mike Bloomberg, whose current job is Mayor of New York City, evidently decided to break the mold by advising less academically adept youngsters to consider a career in plumbing. High wages, constant demand, no offshore competition. 'Compare a plumber to going to Harvard College — being a plumber, actually for the average person, probably would be a better deal'. Ouch! And hey, like a lawyer, a plumber can always dabble in politics." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

An anonymous reader writes "In results that may signal some discomfort with the enormous DIY promise of 3D printing and similar home-manufacturing technologies, a new Reason-Rupe poll finds that an otherwise gun control-weary American public thinks owners of 3D printers ought not be allowed to make their own guns or gun parts. Of course, implementing such a restrictive policy might be tad more difficult than measuring popular preferences." This poll is of only 1000 people, though; your mileage may vary. Read more of this story at Slashdot.