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Submission + - Java Will No Longer Be Free For Developers Or Commercial Users (java.com) 3

Submitted by EmagGeek
EmagGeek writes: This morning's Java update spash screen warns of a bleak future for corporate and development users of the Java SE runtime.

"Changes are coming which will impact your access to future releases of Java SE from Oracle. Corporate users will be impacted as soon as January 2019."

Following the link to "more information" gives the following:

Public updates for Oracle Java SE 8 will remain available for individual, personal use through at least the end of 2020.

Public updates for Oracle Java SE 8 released after January 2019 will not be available for business, commercial or production use without a commercial license.

If you are a CONSUMER using Java for individual, personal use, you will continue to have the same access to Oracle Java SE 8 updates as you do today through at least the end of 2020. In most instances, the Java-based applications you run are licensed separately by a company other than Oracle (for example, games you play on your PC are likely developed by a gaming company). These applications may run on the Java platform and be dependent on Oracle Java SE 8 updates beyond 2020. Accordingly, Oracle recommends you contact your application provider for details on how they plan to continue to provide application support to you.

If you are a DEVELOPER, Oracle recommends you review the roadmap information for Java SE 8 and beyond and take appropriate action depending on the type of application you develop and your distribution model.

If you are acting on behalf of an ENTERPRISE, Oracle recommends you review the roadmap information for Java SE 8 and beyond and begin to assess your ongoing Java support requirements in order to migrate to a later release or obtain a Java SE Subscription, as appropriate, on a timely basis.

If you are an ORACLE CUSTOMER who is licensed to use Java SE as part of another Oracle product, you continue to have access to Oracle Java SE 8 updates beyond 2019 for use with those Oracle products, see this My Oracle Support (MOS) note for more information.

I guess it was only a matter of time before Oracle decided to start squeezing.

Submission + - Stuck between Total Wireless and Verizon

Submitted by NetAlien
NetAlien writes: Over a week ago, I spotted a huge crane working at the cell tower my phone connects to. Since then, I've been experiencing random "You are roaming" messages when trying to make calls. Using the app "Network Cell Info Lite", this is confirmed and the phone keeps switching towers, occasionally allowing text messages to come in. My service is with Total Wireless which uses Verizon Wireless towers. Neither company can help me. TW don't have towers, and VW can't access my account.
My current suspicion is that whatever was done at the tower failed to ensure the setup included the TW config. I can find phone numbers for each company's support; but the phone no longer works at home.
Does anyone have email addresses for Verizon and Total Wireless executive resolution departments?

Submission + - Five-Eyes nations to force backdoors in encryption (itnews.com.au) 1

Submitted by Bismillah
Bismillah writes: Last week, officials from the Five-Eyes countries (US, Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand) issued a statement saying tech providers will have to come up with a way to provide lawful access to encrypted data, or else. How tech companies do it is up to them, but they will have to do it. Plus, uploads of illicit content must be prevented. If it can't be prevented, providers have to take such content with all haste.

Submission + - Guido throws in the towel (python.org)

Submitted by slashdice
slashdice writes:

Now that PEP 572 is done, I don't ever want to have to fight so hard for a PEP and find that so many people despise my decisions. I would like to remove myself entirely from the decision process. I'll still be there for a while as an ordinary core dev, and I'll still be available to mentor people — possibly more available. But I'm basically giving myself a permanent vacation from being BDFL, and you all will be on your own.

Submission + - Jonathan Blow: "C++ is a weird mess" (gamesindustry.biz) 2

Submitted by slack_justyb
slack_justyb writes: Jonathan Blow, an independent video game developer, indicated to gamesindustry.biz that while working on a recent project he stopped and considered how miserable programming can be. After some reflection Blow came to the realization as to why. [C++ is a] "really terrible, terrible language."

The main flaw with C++, in Blow's opinion, is that it's a fiendishly complex and layered ecosystem that has becoming increasingly convoluted in its effort to solve different problems; the more layers, the higher the stack, the more wobbly it becomes, and the harder it is to understand.

Blow is the developer of two games so far. Braid and The Witness and developed a new programming language known as Jai in hopes to help C++ game developers become more productive.

With Jai, Blow hopes to achieve three things: improve the quality of life for the programmer because "we shouldn't be miserable like many of us are"; simplify the systems; and increase expressive power by allowing programmers to build a large amount of functionality with a small amount of code.

Is Blow correct? Has C++ become a horrific mess that we should ultimately relegate to the bins of COBOL and Pascal? Are there redeeming qualities of C++ that justify the tangle it has become? Is Jai a solution or just yet another programming language?

Submission + - Companies Are Annoyed By "Ghosting" 3

Submitted by NormalVisual
NormalVisual writes: This LinkedIn article talks about the rise of the phenomenon of "ghosting", where candidates drop all contact with the hiring company, leaving them to wonder what's going on. It'd be interesting to hear Slashdotters' experience with this — have you ever ghosted a potential employer, or perhaps more relevant, have you ever been ghosted by a potential employer during the hiring process? Do you feel it's unprofessional, or simple justice for the behavior of some companies when the balance of power was more on their side?

Submission + - How Chromebooks became the go-to laptops for security experts (cnet.com)

Submitted by mspohr
mspohr writes: "Heading to my first security conference last year, I expected to see a tricked-out laptop running on a virtual machine with a private network and security USB keys sticking out — perhaps something out of a scene from "Mr. Robot."

That's not what I got.

Everywhere I went I'd see small groups of people carrying Chromebooks, and they'd tell me that when heading into unknown territory it was their travel device.
  "Drewry and Liu focused on four key features for the Chromebook that have been available ever since the first iteration in 2010: sandboxing, verified boots, power washing and quick updates."

Submission + - Coping with Spectre and Meltdown: What sysadmins are doing

Submitted by Esther Schindler
Esther Schindler writes: In technical terms, Spectre and Meltdown are a security pain in the butt. In day-to-day terms, though, they're a serious distraction. Before you left on the holiday break, after all, you had a nice sensible To Do list for the projects you wanted to tackle after the new year.

Ha ha ha.

Instead, sysadmins have spent their time trying to keep up with the nature of the problem and its fixes (will it REALLY slow down computers that much? how can you tell that to the users?), and apply patches. Or, more specifically:

Ron, an IT admin, summarizes the situation succinctly: “More like applied, applied another, removed, I think re-applied, I give up, and have no clue where I am anymore.”

Feel like you're alone? Here's what other sysadmins have done so far, as well as their current plans and long-term strategy, not to mention how to communicate progress to management.

Submission + - SPAM: Learning to Program is Getting Harder

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: While Google suggests that parents and educators are to blame for why kids can't code, Allen Downey argues that learning to program is getting harder. Downey writes: "The fundamental problem is that the barrier between using a computer and programming a computer is getting higher. When I got a Commodore 64 (in 1982, I think) this barrier was non-existent. When you turned on the computer, it loaded and ran a software development environment (SDE). In order to do anything, you had to type at least one line of code, even if all it did was another program (like Archon). Since then, three changes have made it incrementally harder for users to become programmers: 1) Computer retailers stopped installing development environments by default. As a result, anyone learning to program has to start by installing an SDE — and that's a bigger barrier than you might expect. Many users have never installed anything, don't know how to, or might not be allowed to. Installing software is easier now than it used to be, but it is still error prone and can be frustrating. If someone just wants to learn to program, they shouldn't have to learn system administration first. 2) User interfaces shifted from command-line interfaces (CLIs) to graphical user interfaces (GUIs). GUIs are generally easier to use, but they hide information from users about what's really happening. When users really don't need to know, hiding information can be a good thing. The problem is that GUIs hide a lot of information programmers need to know. So when a user decides to become a programmer, they are suddenly confronted with all the information that's been hidden from them. If someone just wants to learn to program, they shouldn't have to learn operating system concepts first. 3) Cloud computing has taken information hiding to a whole new level. People using web applications often have only a vague idea of where their data is stored and what applications they can use to access it. Many users, especially on mobile devices, don't distinguish between operating systems, applications, web browsers, and web applications. When they upload and download data, they are often confused about where is it coming from and where it is going. When they install something, they are often confused about what is being installed where. For someone who grew up with a Commodore 64, learning to program was hard enough. For someone growing up with a cloud-connected mobile device, it is much harder." So, with the Feds budgeting $200 million a year for K-12 CS at the behest of U.S. tech leaders, can't the tech giants at least put a BASIC on every phone/tablet/laptop for kids?

Submission + - Apple Rerouting Employee Shuttle Buses in San Franisco Due To Attacks (mashable.com)

Submitted by sqorbit
sqorbit writes: Apple runs shuttle buses for it's employees in San Francisco. It seems someone who is not happy with Apple has decided to take out their anger on these buses. In an email obtained by Mashable Apple states "Due to recent incidents of broken windows along the commute route, specifically on highway 280, we’re re-routing coaches for the time being. This change in routes could mean an additional 30-45 minutes of commute time in each direction for some riders." It has been reported that at least 4 buses have had windows broken, some speculating that it might caused by rubber bullets. This is not the first time Apple has had an issue with these shuttles. In 2014 activist blamed Apple for driving up rent costs in areas that Apple used city buses as employee transport.

Submission + - CES 2018: Tech Industry Leaders Talk DACA, H1-B (ieee.org)

Submitted by Tekla Perry
Tekla Perry writes: Panelists at CES 2018 last week were encouraged by President Trump's short-lived indication of support for any DACA deal. But even with the subsequent turmoil, it's clear something will happen soon, because “from the Senate Republican staffers I’ve talked to, their bosses think we have hit a point of no return," said one panelist.

The group also discussed H-1B visas, and the pressure the bottleneck in moving green card applications forward is having on H-1B's. Said a representative from Microsoft, Microsoft immediately sponsors anyone the company hires on an H-1B visa for a green card, and considers them permanent workers.

The panelists also debated whether a point-based merit system represents a reasonable path forward, and other potential solutions to the tech-worker immigration mess.

Submission + - SPAM: Why is liberal California the poverty capital of America? 1

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: The generous spending has not only failed to decrease poverty; it actually seems to have made it worse.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, some states — principally Wisconsin, Michigan, and Virginia — initiated welfare reform, as did the federal government under President Clinton and a Republican Congress. Tied together by a common thread of strong work requirements, these overhauls were a big success: Welfare rolls plummeted and millions of former aid recipients entered the labor force.

The state and local bureaucracies that implement California’s antipoverty programs, however, resisted pro-work reforms. In fact, California recipients of state aid receive a disproportionately large share of it in no-strings-attached cash disbursements. It’s as though welfare reform passed California by, leaving a dependency trap in place. Immigrants are falling into it: 55% of immigrant families in the state get some kind of means-tested benefits, compared with just 30% of natives.
Link to Original Source

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