gchaix - Slashdot User

Submission + - What We Know For Sure on Linux's 20th Anniversary (linux.com)

Submitted by jennifercloer on Thursday August 25, 2011 @02:22PM

jennifercloer writes: Jim Zemlin writes: Linux continues to prevail and today is the largest collaborative development project in the history of computing. This is because of one fundamental principle: Freedom. Richard Stallman helped us understand long ago what freedom means as it relates to software: the freedom to use the software for any purpose, to change the software to suit your needs, to share the software with friends and neighbors, to share the changes you make to the software. These ideas today are the fundamental building blocks for making the world’s best software and enabling innovation across industries and around the globe.

So what do we know for sure today, on the 20th anniversary of Linux? That we are on the right side of history. That products and technologies come and go but freedom endures. And because of that, we know that Linux will be the fabric of computing for decades to come.

Submission + - Imaging the Molecular Orbitals of Pentacene (aps.org)

Submitted by eparker05 on Thursday August 25, 2011 @12:55PM

eparker05 writes: Researchers at University of Liverpool have used a scanning tunneling microscope to image the aromatic molecule pentacene. Not unexpectedly, the resulting images showed an astonishingly close correlation to the theoretically predicted molecular orbitals. This incredible set of images reminds me of the group that imaged a single carbon atom in 2009.

Submission + - More Schools Go to 4 Day Week to Cut Costs 1

Submitted by

Hugh Pickens writes

on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @08:54PM

Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Time Magazine reports that as schools return to session in South Dakota, more than one-fourth of students in the state will only be in class from Monday through Thursday as budget constraints lead school districts to hack off a day from the school week. Larry Johnke, superintendant of the Irene-Wakonda school district, says the change will save his schools more than $50,000 per year and in order to make up for the missing day, schools will add 30 minutes to each of the other four days and shorten the daily lunch break. “In this financial crisis, we wanted to maintain our core content and vocational program, so we were forced to do this,” says Johnke. Experts say research is scant on the effect of a four-day school week on student performance but many of the 120 districts that have the shortened schedule nationwide say they've seen students who are less tired and more focused, which has helped raise test scores and attendance while others say that not only did they not save a substantial amount of money by being off an extra day, they also saw students struggle because they weren't in class enough and didn't have enough contact with teachers. "Teachers tell me they are much more focused because they've had time to prepare. They don't have kids sleeping in class on Tuesday," says LaKeisha Johnson, a parent in Peach County Georgia, who sends her fourth-grade daughter to the Boys & Girls Club on Mondays. "Everything has taken on a laser-light focus.""

Submission + - What happens when Google+ cuts you off? (cnet.com)

Submitted by

n1ywb

on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @07:51PM

n1ywb writes: "On Friday, Google tangled with the wrong Google+ user with an unusual name: Violet Blue.

Blue is a high-profile writer--at least in sex and technology blogging circles--who's even given two talks at Google. And she detailed her weekend-long Google+ ordeal at our sister ZDNet site today. She kept her account once she proved she really is Violet Blue, but Google lost an ally for some of its services when she found she was "guilty until proven innocent.""

Submission + - Samsung cites Kubrick film in Apple patent case (cnet.com)

Submitted by suraj.sun on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @07:00PM

suraj.sun writes: In its ongoing legal battle with Apple, Samsung has returned fire against Apple's motion for a preliminary injunction that aims to bar some of its phones and Galaxy Tab in the US.

In a new filing, picked up by intellectual-property tracking blog Foss Patents, Samsung has opposed the preliminary injunction Apple filed for in early July. While the document is sealed at the moment, Foss points to one of the non-sealed exhibits Samsung is using to go up against Apple, which cites Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey" as clear evidence that tablets were an idea long before Apple's 2004 patent design filing:

Attached hereto as Exhibit D is a true and correct copy of a still image taken from Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film "2001: A Space Odyssey." In a clip from that film lasting about one minute, two astronauts are eating and at the same time using personal tablet computers. The clip can be downloaded online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ8pQVDyaLo. As with the design claimed by the D'889 Patent, the tablet disclosed in the clip has an overall rectangular shape with a dominant display screen, narrow borders, a predominately flat front surface, a flat back surface (which is evident because the tablets are lying flat on the table's surface), and a thin form factor.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ8pQVDyaLo

CNET News: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20096061-248/samsung-cites-kubrick-film-in-apple-patent-spat/

Submission + - Verizon Makes It Easy To Go Over Your Data Cap (itworld.com) 1

Submitted by

jfruhlinger

on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @06:21PM

jfruhlinger writes: "Verizon Wireless has revamped its video service; many Android phones can now stream a full episodes from a number of current TV shows. You can even choose to just buy access for a day if you don't see yourself using the service often. Sounds great, right? Well, except for the part where all of Verizon's current smartphone plans have data caps — and the new service makes it awfully easy to go over them and incur overage charges."

Submission + - Judge Nixes Warrantless Cell Phone Loc Data (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by poena.dare on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @04:50PM

poena.dare writes: The government sought warrantless access to 113 days of location data for a Verizon Wireless customer. On Monday, a judge refused the request, ruling that cell phone users have an expectation of privacy in location information. "There is no meaningful Fourth Amendment distinction between content and other forms of information, the disclosure of which to the Government would be equally intrusive and reveal information society values as private," said Judge Nicholas Garaufis. Privacy advocates in DC will be cheering as soon as they climb out from under their desks!

Submission + - Facebook Tweaks Site To Clarify Who Can See What (computerworld.com)

Submitted by

CWmike

on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @04:07PM

CWmike writes: "Facebook is making a series of design changes to the site to make it clearer to users who can see the content that they post, an issue Google has been criticizing Facebook about since it launched its own social network, Google+, in June. 'You have told us that 'who can see this?' could be clearer across Facebook, so we have made changes to make this more visual and straightforward," Facebook said in a blog post on Tuesday. The main change is that Facebook will now display the intended audience for a photo, a text post, a tag or any other piece of content right next to it, or 'inline.' Until now, those controls have been on a separate Settings section of the profile. 'Your profile should feel like your home on the web — you should never feel like stuff appears there that you don't want, and you should never wonder who sees what's there.' Another change Facebook is introducing is allowing users to modify the audience of a post after it's published, which they couldn't do before."

Comment Re:So... hosting? (Score 1) 55

by gchaix on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @03:29PM (#37182876) Attached to: Inside Oregon State University's Open Source Lab

(keep in mind, they have a mirror in the midwest provided by (I think) TDS)

That is correct. We have two FTP mirrors hosted by TDS (Chicago and New York) in addition to the systems we have on campus in Crovallis.

Submission + - China Becomes Largest PC Market in the World in Q2 (securityweek.com)

Submitted by wiredmikey on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @02:18PM

wiredmikey writes: According to fresh data coming from the IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker, PC shipments in the China market exceeded those of the United States in the second quarter of 2011. According to IDC’s estimates, approximately 18.5 million units worth US$11.9 billion shipped in China during the quarter, compared to 17.7 million units worth US$11.7 billion in the U.S.

Based on those metrics, China now represents 22% of the global PC market's unit shipments compared to the U.S. at 21%.

On a full year basis, IDC still expects the U.S. to remain the largest market in 2011, with 73.5 million units forecast to be shipped in the U.S. versus 72.4 million in China. Similarly, holiday season buying in the U.S. will likely keep it ahead of China in the fourth quarter, especially as China's market contracts after its third quarter summer promotions. IDC does not expect China to exceed the U.S. in full year shipments until 2012, when 85.2 million units are forecast to be shipped in China and 76.6 million units in the U.S.

Submission + - Earthquake Hits East Coast of the US

Submitted by

Unknown Lamer

on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @02:07PM

Unknown Lamer writes: "At 1:58 p.m. EDT a 5.8 magnitude earth quake hit Northern Virgnia. Initial reports indicate it was felt from Virgnia to MassaMassachusetts. My monitor and floor definitely wobbled a bit down here in Raleigh NC."

Submission + - Earthquake Rattles Washington, East Coast (usgs.gov)

Submitted by jaysunn on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @02:05PM

jaysunn writes: Reports are coming in that an earthquake just hit Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Cleveland. The U.S. Geological Survey said an earthquake of a 5.8 magnitude hit Virginia near the town of Mineral. We’ll have more soon.

Comment Re:Huskies Rule! (Score 1) 55

by gchaix on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @01:55PM (#37181360) Attached to: Inside Oregon State University's Open Source Lab

Quack like the open source ducks you are, Oregon! ;->~

Umm. Wrong school. OSU Beavers, not those silly Ducks down the valley. :-)

Submission + - Russia Approves $65 Billion Siberia-Alaska Railway (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @01:39PM

An anonymous reader writes: In what could easily be one of the boldest infrastructure developments ever announced, the Russian Government has given the go-ahead to build a transcontinental railway linking Siberia with North America. The massive undertaking would traverse the Bering Strait with the world’s longest tunnel – a project twice the length of the Chunnel between England and France. The $65 billion project aims to feed North America with raw goods from the Siberian interior and beyond, but it could also provide a key link to developing a robust renewable energy transmission corridor that feeds wind and tidal power across vast distances while linking a railway network across 3/4 of the Northern Hemisphere.

Submission + - Libyan Rebels Are Flying Their Own Mini-Drone (wired.com)

Submitted by suasfan22 on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @01:18PM

suasfan22 writes: The Libyan revolutionaries are more of a band of enthusiastic amateurs than experienced soldiers. But it turns out the rebels have the kind of weaponry usually possessed by advanced militaries: their very own drone.

Aeryon Labs, a Canadian defense firm, revealed on Tuesday that it had quietly provided the rebel forces with a teeny, tiny surveillance drone, called the Aeryon Scout. Small enough to fit into a backpack, the three-pound, four-rotor robot gave Libyan forces eyes in the sky independent of the Predators, Fire Scout surveillance copters and manned spy planes that NATO flew overhead. Don't worry, it's not armed.

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