Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
The Courts

RIAA Gives Up In Atlantic Recording v. Brennan 230

Posted by timothy from the wasn't-one-of-the-ghostbusters-named-ray? dept.
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In Atlantic Recording v. Brennan, the landmark Connecticut case in which the first decision rejecting the RIAA's 'making available' theory was handed down, the RIAA has finally thrown in the towel and dismissed its own case. Mr. Brennan never appeared in the case at all. In February, 2008, the RIAA's motion for a default judgment was rejected for a number of reasons, including the Court's ruling (PDF) that there is no claim for 'making available for distribution' under the US Copyright Act. The RIAA moved for reconsideration; that motion was denied. Then, in December, the RIAA's second motion for default judgment was rejected. Finally the RIAA filed a 'notice of dismissal' ending the case."
User Journal

Journal Journal: Latest update

Journal by What'sInAName

Hmmm, I guess I haven't updated this since 2004. Oh well, not that anyone reads it anyway. I've been fortunate enough to get a position as Senior Unix/Linux Systems Administrator at a prestigious university in the Boston area. Given the financial climate, I hope that continues to be true!

Other than that, life moves along. I'll be 40 next year...

Comment Re:Just using VIM (Score 1) 702

by What'sInAName (#25675745) Attached to: (Useful) Stupid Vim Tricks?

You are close. on Ubuntu at least (I don't know about CentOS) vim-tiny is installed by default, and to get "real" vim, you just install "vim". I only say this because if you have an Ubuntu server install (i.e. bare-bones, without X), and you install vim-full, you will get, in addition to "real" vim, the GUI version of vim. That implies of course that you are going to get a whole boatload of packages (such as X), which you probably don't want (or you would have installed it in the first place).
Earth

Dispelling Myths About Geomagnetic Reversal 158

Posted by Soulskill from the exploring-our-polar-system dept.
UniverseToday has an interesting look at geomagnetic reversal, the process in which the Earth's magnetic poles trade places. The article cites known trends and recent studies to debunk doomsday myths and unsubstantiated claims about the process. One such study is attempting to model the earth's core with a 26-ton ball of molten metal. Another recently found evidence that the Earth has a second, weaker magnetic field. "We do know that this magnetic pole flip-flop has occurred many times in the last few million years; the last occurred 780,000 years ago according to ferromagnetic sediment. A few scaremongering articles have said geomagnetic reversal occurs with 'clockwork regularity' — this is simply not true."
Handhelds

Submission + - Amazon Introduces Wireless E-Book Reader 1

Submitted by What'sInAName
What'sInAName writes: As anticipated, Amazon has just released Kindle , their wireless e-book reader. The reader can apparently download books wirelessly (via Sprint's EVDO network). Utilizing electronic paper, Kindle is said to provide a crisp black-and-white screen that resembles the appearance and readability of printed paper. The screen works using ink, just like books and newspapers, but displays the ink particles electronically. It reflects light like ordinary paper and uses no backlighting, eliminating the glare associated with other electronic displays. The cost is $399, and some books seem to be going for $9.99. This would make a nice stocking stuffer!
Linux Business

Submission + - How many Slashdotters does it take to screw MS?

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: How many Slashdotters would actually buy Linux pre-installed on a desktop or laptop? Let's assume the price is comparable to Dell or a few $ cheaper and all or almost all the hardware is 100% supported by at least one distro. Out there in the real world away from noisy forums, would you really cough up the money? Or would you just go and buy the parts and download it yourself?
Patents

Submission + - Open Source Drugs

Submitted by citfor
citfor writes: An article by the BBC about the low availability of HIV drugs got me thinking, "We have open source software. Why couldn't we have open source drugs?" We've heard complaints about the drug companies being greedy. We've also heard celebrities say they want to commit resources to AIDS in Africa, Parkinsons, etc. I'd like to hear from the Slashdot community, greedy companies trying to interfere aside, is this technically feasible?
Unix

Define - /etc? 548

Posted by Cliff from the place-where-config-files-go dept.
ogar572 asks: "There has been an ongoing and heated debate around the office concerning the definition of what /etc means on *nix operating systems. One side says "et cetera" per Wikipedia. Another side says it means 'extended tool chest' per this gnome mailing list entry or per this Norwegian article. Yet another side says neither, but he doesn't remember exactly what he heard in the past. All he remembers is that he was flamed when he called it 'et cetera', but that 'extended tool chest' didn't sound right either. So, what does it really mean?"
Communications

Boosting Cell Phone Signals in Strange Places? 40

Posted by Cliff from the places-like-my-basement dept.
hedgemage asks: "I work at a retirement home and we have trouble with the cell phones that our nursing and maintenance staff use. The problem is that our nursing home area is built into a lower level that was originally constructed as a fallout shelter in 1960. There's a lot of solid concrete in the walls and ceiling. We have paid out tens of thousands to try and get an on-site mobile to work using NEC Dterm PSII phones, but they have proven absolutely unreliable (not just in the bomb shelter but throughout the campus) and the only solution our telecom provider has is to install several thousand dollars more in transceivers. If we could use ordinary cell phones, it would be ideal for everyone. Is there an off-the-shelf solution that could boost regular cellular signals in our bomb shelter?"
Windows

Submission + - Vista: More Installs or Uninstalls?

Submitted by
theStorminMormon
theStorminMormon writes: "I recently got a new computer at work. Since we're a small company (about 30 employees) we get our computers from Dell and HP and others so this one came pre-loaded with Vista. The first thing we did was uninstall Vista and install XP Pro because we're not interested in dealing with the hassles of a new OS. My parents bought a computer as well this week, and it ships with Vista even though it's really not fast enough to run it (even without Aero). XP Pro will be going on that too. This got me thinking: are there more people uninstalling OEM copies of Vista than buying retail copies. Will this reverse-adoption ever show up in the press or in market penetration numbers?"
Media

Submission + - Legal Home Media?

Submitted by
SuperCharlie
SuperCharlie writes: "I am in the process of setting up a home media center where all my movies, music, etc.. can be streamed throughout my house. I think there could be a real market for this where I live and would like to take the final solution on the road in my backwoods part of the world and try to sell it to house builders for doctors, lawyers and the likes. The sticking point I am running into is the media, specifically, movies. Sure, you can stick a DVD in, share it and be on your way, but most people have libraries of movies that even a decent sized jukebox can't hold. How can I provide a *legal* digital version of a users movie collection?"
Businesses

Submission + - JetBlue Blames Technology

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: CIO Insight has a short opinion piece about JetBlue's recent operations meltdown. From the article: "CEO David Neeleman pledged to "bring humanity back to air travel" through a combination of common sense with innovation and technology when he founded JetBlue Airways in 1999. So much for an old promise. Prices remain affordable, but the high quality of airline service vanished at JetBlue when a massive ice storm hit the eastern U.S. on Valentine's Day...its obstinance resulted in the stranding of thousands of passengers in terminals and hundreds sitting for hours on airplanes. Neeleman offers a new promise: a passenger's bill of rights. But he needs to do more, and take a hard look at how the company manages IT to help ensure that such a blunder doesn't occur again." The piece offers suggestions to improve JetBLue's IT operations.

I'm tired of companies always blaming technology for what really amounts to poor management. How can there be no repercussions for a $30 million loss?
User Journal

Journal Journal: Friends/Fans/Foes/Freaks

Journal by What'sInAName

Heh, I seem to have picked up a fan. (Hi grub!) Don't know why, and I guess I shouldn't feel too special, since grub has a lot of friends.

I'm sure I have some meatspace friends here as well, but I have no idea what their /. nicks are.

I still don't have a job. Anyone want to hire me to work in the Boston area as a Linux/UNIX sysadmin? See my previous journal entry, which also has my Yahoo mail id.
User Journal

Journal Journal: From Mathematician to System Administrator

Journal by What'sInAName

Well, after many years of being an "amateur" UNIX/Linux systems administrator, I have decided to quit and become a professional. (well, I did SA work in grad school in the form of a fellowship, but that was "part time" work. Those of you who have done SA work will know why I put the quotes. In this context, it means I only did SA work 40 hours a week.)

Slashdot Top Deals

Make sure your code does nothing gracefully.

Close