Comment Re:Kill them! (Score 1) 181
Actually, I've always said Lexus is like the Japanese Mercedes.
Comment Re:Bandwidth and Hosting (Score 1) 197
Some of that is true, but XML and the XMPP protocol are highly compressible.
XMPP uses a long-lived TCP connection between servers, so the continued exchange of <message from="foo@wavesandbox.com/Wave" to="bar@example.com/Wave"> will compress to substantially fewer bytes on the wire.
The XMPP Foundation has done a lot of work on this, and continues to work on scalability issues; particularly between federated servers. Indeed, XMPP has reached a point where it's a fairly mature, secure and speedy technology — clearly making it desirable for companies such as Google to use as a foundation for interesting applications such as Wave.
Comment Re:Google Analytics? (Score 1) 52
Ah, didn't realise only IE supported defer!
I never quite understood the HTTP/S detection, as I would have thought it'd be simpler to do "//google-analytics.com/..." (i.e. no explicit protocol). Though again I don't know what standard, if any, defines that behaviour. But if it is/was standard, then you could have a single script block. But of course, as you say, developers who call _gat from elsewhere (such as myself) would have to know when the content had loaded. So, er yeah.. forget all of that!
I guess inconsistent browser is also why they disabled gzip support? Though I would have thought it would be trivial to Vary by User-Agent.
Comment Re:Google Analytics? (Score 1) 52
Or they could probably just use the "defer" attribute on the script tag.
National Censorship Plan Offensive, Says Aussie Shadow Minister 116
downundarob writes "Senator Nick Minchin, the Australian Shadow Minister for broadband, communications and the digital economy, has written (or more likely a staffer has written) this interesting article on the Australian Federal Government's continued zeal to enforce ISP-level filtering in Australia. In the article he posits that 'Underlying the Rudd Government's plan to screen the internet is an offensive message: that parents cannot be trusted to mind their children online.' Meanwhile, we wait for filtering trials to start, trials that have been delayed and which have next-to-no support among the industry. Telstra BigPond — Australia's largest ISP — has refused to take part, comparing internet filtering to 'like trying to boil the ocean.' The third largest, iiNet, is prepared to participate to highlight flaws."
Hackers Clone Elvis' Passport 164
Barence writes "Hackers have released source code that allows the 'backup' of RFID-protected passports, although the tool can potentially be used to create fake or cloned documents. The Hacker's Choice, a non-commercial group of computer security experts, has released a video showing a cloned passport being approved by a security scanner at a Dutch airport. When the reader scans the passport, it is revealed to belong to one Elvis Aaron Presley, complete with picture. Reports of the hackers serenading security staff with 'Are You Clonesome Tonight' are unconfirmed."
Becoming a Famous Programmer 347
An anonymous reader writes "GrokCode analyzes more than 200 famous programmers to determine what types of projects made them famous. Inventing a programming language, game, or OS ranked among the top projects likely to lead to fame. Most programmers became famous through their work on only one project. The article also shows that among famous programmers, the ratio of males to females is much larger than among normal programmers."
Submission + - UK Media fall for crazy chilld locating claims (badscience.net)
Padraig writes: "Madeleine McCann is a young British girl who was abducted several months ago, and her story has produced mass media hysteria. They've hit an all time low today.
Both the Observer and the Mirror, huge UK newspapers, are reporting that an ex policeman called Danie Krugel has found DNA traces of her on a beach.
What they don't tell you is that in fact, Krugel has a magic box which works on a "secret energy source" using "quantum physics" to pinpoint the location of a missing person anywhere in the world on a map simply by using a sample of their DNA.
This has got to be the most inaccurate story of the year. Playing on people's hopes like that is just wrong."
Submission + - Office 2008 for Mac delayed until January 2008
thefickler writes: "Microsoft has announced that Office 2008 for Mac, originally slated for a 2007 release, will now be released in January 2008. No specific reasons were pinpointed in the announcement other than the software was not meeting its quality checkpoints in June and July of this year. Surprise, surprise."
Submission + - Point and click Gmail hacking at Black Hat (tgdaily.com)
not5150 writes: "Using Gmail or most other webmail programs over an unsecured access points just got a bit more dangerous. At Black Hat, Robert Graham, CEO of errata security, showed how to capture and clone session cookies. He even hijacked a shocked attendee's Gmail account in the middle of his Black Hat speech."
Submission + - Astronomer Offers New Theory Into 400-year-old Lun (astronomyreport.com)
webdoodle writes: "Astronomer thinks he has solved a 400-year-old mystery: the origin of strange optical flashes seen on the moon's surface"
Consumers Unlikely To Pay $500 for iPhone 412
narramissic writes "A survey by online market research firm Compete Inc. finds that of the 26% of those who said they're likely to buy an iPhone, only 1% said they'd pay $500 for it, while 42% said they'd likely buy the phone for $200 to $299. Sixty percent of likely iPhone buyers would be willing to make the switch to AT&T wireless to get it."
Submission + - Open Letter to Ballmer
RelliK writes: Hi,
I am tired of Ballmer's BS and I want to send a response. Somebody has to stand up and say something, and so far I have heard nothing from our "leaders". However, a response is necessary and must be circulated far and wide. I can't think of a better forum to place it on.
Mr Ballmer,
Lately you have made a lot of noise with your vague threats against Linux. Indeed you were quite livid in your assertions that Linux infringes on some of Microsoft's unspecified patents. However, no amount of yelling, dancing, or chair throwing can make up for one crucial deficiency in your claims: you have so far failed to specify what it is you are complaining about. So, Mr. Ballmer, if you want to be taken seriously, here is what we, the Linux community, want you to do:
Your assertion that Open Source has no respect for intellectual property rights is baseless. On the contrary, because the code is open for all to see, it is impossible to hide illicit proprietary code in Open Source software. The same cannot be said about proprietary developers who often "borrow" Open Source code. Indeed, Microsoft itself has time and again shown disdain for intellectual property rights of others. Most recent example of that is $1.5 billion judgment against Microsoft in a patent dispute with Alcatel-Lucent. Further, while purporting to assert patents against Linux, Microsoft is at the same time arguing before US Supreme Court that software cannot be patented.
In conclusion, Mr. Ballmer, the moment of truth has arrived: either specify your claims or stop your libelous accusations.
I am tired of Ballmer's BS and I want to send a response. Somebody has to stand up and say something, and so far I have heard nothing from our "leaders". However, a response is necessary and must be circulated far and wide. I can't think of a better forum to place it on.
Mr Ballmer,
Lately you have made a lot of noise with your vague threats against Linux. Indeed you were quite livid in your assertions that Linux infringes on some of Microsoft's unspecified patents. However, no amount of yelling, dancing, or chair throwing can make up for one crucial deficiency in your claims: you have so far failed to specify what it is you are complaining about. So, Mr. Ballmer, if you want to be taken seriously, here is what we, the Linux community, want you to do:
- Provide the list of all patents that you believe pertain to Linux.
- For each alleged patent, explain why you believe it applies to Linux.
- Provide the exact source code coordinates in Linux (file, version, lines of code) that you believe infringe on said patents.
Your assertion that Open Source has no respect for intellectual property rights is baseless. On the contrary, because the code is open for all to see, it is impossible to hide illicit proprietary code in Open Source software. The same cannot be said about proprietary developers who often "borrow" Open Source code. Indeed, Microsoft itself has time and again shown disdain for intellectual property rights of others. Most recent example of that is $1.5 billion judgment against Microsoft in a patent dispute with Alcatel-Lucent. Further, while purporting to assert patents against Linux, Microsoft is at the same time arguing before US Supreme Court that software cannot be patented.
In conclusion, Mr. Ballmer, the moment of truth has arrived: either specify your claims or stop your libelous accusations.
