Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Comment This is not really news just marketing. (Score 1) 182

by faulteh (#35073598) Attached to: DreamPlug ARM Box Brings Power To Plug Computing

This Dreamplug doesn't deserve it's top billing on slashdot - it's just a Guruplug in a new case.

5W you say?? I call BS.. The Guruplug said it was only 5W but when I plugged a wattmeter into it was pulling 7W when idle (old firewall P4 computer was pulling 70W constantly so that's a decent power save anyway). Running both ethernets at gigabit and having the wifi turned on was the major cause of heat problems in the guruplug (so they crippled it so only 1 could run gigabit. Now I see the Dreamplug has 2 gigabit ethernet ports again.

Then I had to install additional airflow elements (drilling holes in the case, replacing heatsinks, replace internal power supply with external one), to turn it into a decent box that could run as my firewall. Not that I mind doing it myself - I'm from the "if you can't open it you don't own it" crowd, but it means you can't recommend this device to other less technical people without voiding their warranty too.

There are no thermal sensors on the board so trying to use lm-sensors package on Linux to get things like CPU temp will fail. The Marvell ARM in the Guruplug is ARMv5 so no XN or No-Execute page protection - that comes with ARMv6. If they haven't been addressed in this new Dreamplug it could very easily turn into a Nightmareplug *groan* especially for it's price.
Java

Apache Resigns From the JCP Executive Committee 136

Posted by timothy from the I'll-resign-my-commission dept.
iammichael writes "The Apache Software Foundation has resigned its seat on the Java SE/EE Executive Committee due to a long dispute over the licensing restrictions placed on the TCK (test kit validating third-party Java implementations are compatible with the specification)."
Education

President Obama To Appear On Mythbusters 795

Posted by CmdrTaco from the busting-the-citizenship-myth-at-last dept.
Muondecay writes "President Obama will be featured in the December 8th MythBusters episode, 'Archimedes Solar Ray,' during which he will challenge Adam and Jamie to revisit an ancient and somewhat controversial myth: Did Greek scientist and polymath Archimedes set fire to an invading Roman fleet using only mirrors and the reflected rays of the sun during the Siege of Syracuse? This is part of a White House effort to highlight the importance of science education."
Handhelds

When You Really, Really Want to Upgrade a Tiny Notebook 104

Posted by timothy from the faint-of-heart-attack dept.
Benz145 writes "The famous Sony VAIO UX UMPC may have been cancelled a few years back by Sony, but the community at Micro PC Talk won't let it die. Modder Anh has carefully removed the relatively slow 1.33Ghz Core Solo CPU and installed a much faster Intel Core 2 Duo U7700 (a process which involves reballing the entire CPU). On top of this, he managed to install an incredibly small 4-port USB hub into the unit which allowed for the further instillation of a Huawei E172 modem for 3G data/voice/SMS, a GPS receiver, and a Pinnacle HD TV receiver. All of this was done without modifying the device's tiny external case. Great high-res pictures of the motherboard with the modded hardware can be seen through the link."
Bug

IRS Servers Down During Crucial Week 93

Posted by timothy from the get-in-line-citizen dept.
crimeandpunishment writes "A planned server outage turned into an unplanned glitch for the Internal Revenue Service, and it comes at a very bad time. The IRS planned the server outage for the holiday weekend ... but today they couldn't get the system back into operation. This week is the deadline for filing 2009 tax returns for taxpayers who got extensions. So far it's not having a huge impact since the shutdown only involves the updated version of the e-filing system, and most programs used by large tax companies like H&R Block will default to the older version. There's no estimate on when the system will be back up."
Space

Recently Discovered Habitable World May Not Exist 231

Posted by CmdrTaco from the that's-not-so-hot dept.
sciencehabit better let Greg Dean know that "Two weeks ago, U.S.-based astronomers announced the discovery of the first Goldilocks planet circling another star: just the right size and just the right temperature to harbor alien life. But yesterday at an exoplanet meeting in Turin, Italy, Switzerland-based astronomers announced that they could find no trace of the prized planet in their observations of the same planetary system."

Comment UK science cuts are good! (Score 2, Insightful) 315

by faulteh (#33850810) Attached to: UK Scientists Leave Labs To Protest Expected Cuts

For everyone not in the UK.

Our research and science in Australia will climb the rankings by default, making us look good, increasing investment and licensing opportunities. We'll be able to keep hiring local talent, as well as recruit from soon to be unemployed talent in the UK, at discount rates! Sure, we may have to be China's butt-buddy, but at least we won't be dumb, poor and stupid.

Egon, this reminds me of the time you tried to drill a hole in your head....
Classic Games (Games)

Lost Online Games From the Pre-Web Era 186

Posted by Soulskill from the you-are-no-match-for-my-imperial-starship dept.
harrymcc writes "Long before the Web came along, people were playing online games — on BBSes, on services such as Prodigy and CompuServe, and elsewhere. Gaming historian Benj Edwards has rounded up a dozen RPGs, MUDs, and other fascinating curiosities from the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s — and the cool part is: they're all playable on the Web today." What old games were good enough for you to watch them scroll by on your 300 baud modem?
Movies

Torrent-Only Movie Denied IMDb Listing 207

Posted by samzenpus from the no-list-for-you dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A film set to be released for free via BitTorrent has been denied a listing in the Internet Movie Database. The Tunnel is currently in production and despite pleas from the makers, IMDb won't allow it on their site. The creators of this horror movie believe that because they have shunned an official distributor and chosen a BitTorrent model instead, this has put them at a disadvantage with the Amazon-owned site."
Image

Former Military Personnel Claim Aliens Are Monitoring Our Nukes Screenshot-sm 498

Posted by samzenpus from the klaatu-barada-nikto dept.
An anonymous reader quotes Reuters "Witness testimony from more than 120 former or retired military personnel points to an ongoing and alarming intervention by unidentified aerial objects at nuclear weapons sites, as recently as 2003. In some cases, several nuclear missiles simultaneously and inexplicably malfunctioned while a disc-shaped object silently hovered nearby. Six former US Air Force officers and one former enlisted man will break their silence about these events at the National Press Club and urge the government to publicly confirm their reality." I won't worry until Gort shows up.
Iphone

The Surprising Statistics Behind Flash and Apple 630

Posted by CmdrTaco from the math-is-hard dept.
Barence writes "PC Pro's Tom Arah has dug up some statistics that cast severe doubt over Steve Jobs' assertion that Flash is the technology of the past, and Apple's iOS is the platform of the future. He quibbles with Net Applications' assertion that iOS growth is 'massive,' considering that mobile accounts for only 2.6% of web views, and the iOS share stands at only 1.1%. By comparison, Silverlight penetration now stands at 51% while 97% of web surfers have Flash installed, according to Stat Owl. 'At least when Bill Gates held the web to ransom he had the decency to first establish a dominant position,' Arah claims. 'In Steve Jobs' case, with only 1.1% market share, the would-be emperor isn't even wearing any clothes.'"

Comment Refrain from using the internet (Score 1) 165

by faulteh (#33649084) Attached to: Twitter Suffers Web Interface Exploit

until they fix twitter.

EVERYONE! Grab a shovel.. dig a hole in the sand and instruct the person next to you to put their head in the hole, now bury their heads in the sand. Everyone do the same! Wait... one person will have to be left behind.

This is a well orchestrated attack by twitter to highlight the need to move to their own in-house url shortener t.co instead of all those other pesky untrustworthy other url shorteners. However, on a funny note it's amazing how people will, nay, must click things, especially since it's been shortened into something meaningless. No way those links could be suspect, someone tweeted that... to me! it's ok, i'll just move my mouse over here... and exert some pressure on the left mouse button... oh cr*p what have i done? LOLCATS!

Keep the fear alive!
Sony

The PlayStation Move Arrives — a Hands-On Report 185

Posted by Soulskill from the movin'-on-up dept.
itwbennett writes "The PlayStation Move hit retail stores on Friday and blogger Peter Smith spent the weekend putting it (and his shoulder) through its paces. So how does this motion controller compare to the Wii? Smith says it 'felt a lot more precise' but that 'there were instances where the depth perception of the camera got lost for a moment.' The bottom line: 'If you have a Wii and the Wii Motion Plus accessory, there isn't a whole lot here right now to justify $100-$170 worth of gear for most gamers.'" CNET is similarly critical, complaining of the continual calibration requirements and the dearth of good launch titles. The Guardian's games blog agrees that quality games are currently lacking, but says the accuracy and responsiveness are a step up from the Wii, giving the Move a lot of potential. iFixit did a teardown, providing an interesting look at the hardware inside the device.
Image

Stewart and Colbert Plan Competing D.C. Rallies Screenshot-sm 696

Posted by samzenpus from the power-of-the-internet dept.
Lev13than writes "In a direct retort to Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have announced competing rallies on October 30th. Stewart plans to host a 'Rally To Restore Sanity' on Oct. 30 on the National Mall in D.C. for the Americans he says are too busy living normal, rational lives to attend other political demonstrations. Colbert, meantime, will shepherd his fans in a 'March To Keep Fear Alive.' 'Damn your reasonableness!' Colbert said. 'Now is not the time to take it down a notch. Now is the time for all good men to freak out for freedom!' Stewart, meanwhile, has promised to provide attendees with signs featuring slogans such as 'I Disagree With You But I'm Pretty Sure You're Not Hitler' and 'I'm Afraid of Spiders.'"

Slashdot Top Deals

Stellar rays prove fibbing never pays. Embezzlement is another matter.

Close