Smartphone makers’ custom software is responsible for a slew of Android security issues, researchers at North Carolina State University say.

The open nature of Google’s Android operating system means manufacturers can add their own software layer to the phone—helping them stand out from the pack with a different look and features. Yet new research shows such tailoring may also be responsible for a host of security weaknesses that could make phones more vulnerable to hackers.

by Zach Kosinski

Attention Mechanical, Chemical, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science Majors:

Advising appointments for Spring 2014 registration have already started. All students must meet with an academic advisor for pre-registration advising. If you have not already met with an academic advisor, please come to ITE 202-206 to sign up for an advising appointment.

This year, you will see that both individual and group advising appointments are available.

Individual appointments require approximately 30 minutes of your time and give you the opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns individually with your advisor. Students who attend an individual appointment will be cleared to register during their appointment.

Group advising appointments require approximately 30 minutes of your time and give you the opportunity to review your registration plans with multiple advisors. Students who attend group advising will be cleared to register during the group advising session.

In order for this process to go as smoothly as possible, we ask all students to come to the hallway outside ITE 202-206 to sign up for group advising or for an individual advising appointment. 

Please note: Students who have completed the gateway requirements for their major and are not in their first semester at UMBC generally have faculty advisors. If you are assigned to a faculty advisor, you should contact your advisor to schedule an appointment. If you are unsure whether you have a faculty advisor or not, you may come to the hallway outside ITE 202-206 to review the list of students with faculty advisors.

In public, Presidents of the United States tend to describe their predessors with some dignity and respect.

In private, however…

A new book reveals some of the true sentiments that Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have towards each other.

Obama on Clinton: “I like him… in doses.”

Apparently these words came after the two couldn’t finish an 18 hole game of golf back in 2011.

And Clinton supposedly remarked during the 2012 election (and in true Clinton fashion) that Obama was

“luckier than a dog with two dicks.”

This isn’t the first time Presidents have taken some jabs at each other…

John Quincy Adams called Andrew Jackson 

“a barbarian who cannot write a sentence of grammar and can hardly spell his own name.”

Theodore Roosevelt referred to Woodrow Wilson as 

“that infernal skunk in the White House.”

It seems Teddy was an avid smack-talker. He has also been credited to saying,

“McKinley has no more backbone than a chocolate éclair.

Then there’s Lyndon Johnson remark about the brain of Gerald Ford (a college athlete):

“that’s what happens when you play football too long without a helmet.”

Do we need a way for Presidents to sort out their differences? A Presidential fight club perhaps?

"You've been through it more times than you'd care to count: As you're trying to manage your growing stress throughout the chaos of a busy work day, there's (always!) at least one person who is keeping their cool. Don't they notice the crises you've been rushing between?

And have you ever wondered how those de-stressed, ever-calm people keep it all together on a daily basis? The truth is, they're neither superhuman nor oblivious -- they just practice daily habits that keep their stress levels under control. And the good news is that you can learn from them. According to Michelle Carlstrom, the senior director of the Office of Work, Life and Engagement at Johns Hopkins University, it's all about tailoring tricks to fit your needs.

"My number one recommendation is you have to find the strategies that work for you and work to make those strategies a habit," Carlstrom told The Huffington Post. "I think people feel less stressed -- even when they're really busy -- if they're able to live out personal values that matter to their life. Whatever your values are, if you don't get to practice them its hard to feel calm."

By adopting your own personal stress-busters, the chaos of life can become a lot more manageable. But how to start? Carlstrom says relaxed people take an inventory of how they deal with stress and then figure out healthy strategies to balance out coping mechanisms that aren't beneficial. Below find seven simple strategies calm people make an effort to integrate into their lives on a daily basis"

Read more...