News.com Extra

Mendacious machines controlled by hackers that reroute Internet traffic from infected computers to fraudulent Web sites are increasingly being used to launch attacks, according to a paper published this week by researchers with the Georgia Institute of Technology and Google.

Read the full story on SFGate: "Use of Rogue DNS Servers on Rise"

The Chevrolet Volt has some high standards to live up to: In conversations with Wired News at this week's North American International Auto Show (aka the Detroit auto show), General Motors Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said that a successful launch of Chevy's plug-in hybrid could have "the same sort of symbolism" for GM and the U.S. auto industry as the Apollo missions and the moon landings did for NASA and American scientific endeavors. (He also talks price, batteries, and looks.)

For the full article, see Wired News: "Bob Lutz: Volt Is U.S. Car Industry's Moon Shot"

Almost by definition, concept gadgets are some of the coolest things going. They're fun to look at, and probably fun to play with, assuming you and they were ever in the same room. But that's the other thing about concept gadgets--they may never venture far beyond the lab or the press release. Consider for the moment the apple-shaped remote control from Sony, the Toast Messenger, and Rinspeed's Squba Diving Car.

They're all here--with lots more eye candy to boot--in Smashing Magazine: "Monday Inspiration: Innovative Designs and Devices"

Fighter pilots might not be an endangered species just yet, but the Defense Department has been yanking some out of cockpits and putting them behind the joystick of unmanned aerial vehicles. UAV use has seen a dramatic rise in recent months, particularly in (or over) Iraq--in October, there were more than twice as many in service with the Air Force as there had been in January 2007, the Associated Press is reporting. And that's just a precursor of things to come.

Read the full AP story, "Military Use of Unmanned Aircraft Soars"

Michael Stonebraker may have already secured his place in database history, but that doesn't mean he's used up all his ideas. The man behind the Postgres database, database specialist Ingres, and more is puttering away at not one, but two start-ups: StreamBase Systems, founded in 2003, and more so Vertica Systems, which is younger still. And he's reportedly brainstorming about his next concept. Venture capitalists and Wall Street CIOs alike are keen to hear what he has to say.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe: "Software pioneer is 'Johnny Appleseed' of start-ups"

On Thursday, Ars Technica reported that game retailer Slackers had been ordering Nintendo Wiis, claiming to have run out of stock when customers came into the stores, and subsequently selling the Wiis at a high markup on eBay.

After their original story ran, employees of the retail chain have written in to give Ars more detail about the alleged practice.

Read more at Ars Technica

Travel search engine Kayak.com says it has raised $196 million in a round of venture funding. At least $150 million of that will go toward the purchase of rival SideStep. The company will use some of those funds to expand internationally, and hopes to take on Expedia as the No. 1 travel site online.

Read more at Red Herring

Memory makers expect big changes in the DRAM market when top notebook vendors start rolling out laptops with significantly more memory. Vendors such as Dell, HP, and Toshiba are expected to start pushing laptops with 4GB of RAM next year, four times the current mainstream spec of 1GB. Memory module makers say even with that boost, falling memory prices mean that memory will account for even less of the cost of a laptop than before.

Read more at DigiTimes.

Your car may already be able to tell you if the tire pressure is too low. Now researchers at Purdue University say they can make a tire into one big sensor that will also tell you things like how the treads are wearing, whether the tires are balanced, and where that little nail has slipped into the rubber. It works because of the materials used throughout the tire, as well as a chip that monitors the status and relays the information to the driver. But before you go looking for this at your local Sears auto center, you might first see it in action in an upcoming Nascar event.

Read the full Reuters story here: "'Smart' tires can warn of impending flat"

In the world of robot makers--specifically, those making small, versatile, ground-hugging bots--for quite some time there were just two main contenders for Pentagon dollars: Foster-Miller and iRobot. Then along came an upstart named Robotic FX, which a few months back up-ended things by winning a $286 million deal from the Army to supply some 3,000 robots. And then, wouldn't you know it, iRobot took Robotic FX to court. The upshot? Today, that $286 million is headed iRobot's way.

Read about it on Wired's Danger Room blog: "'Unmanned Surge' Deal Reversed"