rehabdoll - Slashdot User

Submission + - AMD/ATi to release graphics specs

Submitted by Ganesh999 on Thursday September 06, 2007 @06:59AM

Ganesh999 writes: A recent Phoronix article hinted that despite the large number of substantially improved AMD/ATi drivers just released, there was more exciting news in the pipeline.

This seems to have been confirmed at the Linux kernel summit yesterday. From LWN :

'AMD's representative at the summit has announced that the company has made a decision to enable the development of open source drivers for all of its (ATI) graphics processors from the R500 going forward. There will be specifications available and a skeleton driver as well; a free 2D driver is anticipated by the end of the year. The rest will have to be written; freeing of the existing binary-only driver is not in the cards, and "that is better for everybody." Things are looking good on this front. More in the kernel summit report to come.'

General reaction from the kernel developers seems to be positive :

'It's definitely not a 'you're on your own' kind of proposition: this is exactly what was asked for, giving the community all the information it needs to complete a proper driver.'

Submission + - IT Pros are Slackers!

Submitted by Anonymous on Thursday May 24, 2007 @09:34AM

Anonymous writes: In a recent editorial column, CIO Insight executive editor Eric Chabrow writes that despite the perception that IT pros are overworked, "all other professions, save one, work longer hours on average each week than IT workers." The typical full-time computer professional last year averaged 42 hours, 24 minutes per week on the job — at the office, on the road and at home, he says, citing figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"A few readers doubted the data's accuracy because they don't trust anything the government says. Others felt employers intentionally underreported the hours their IT pros worked. But that wasn't the case. The reported hours came from the employees themselves or a family member interviewed by trained government survey takers."
Chabrow believes the numbers "reflect reality, though they could be off a few hours a week."
And the one profession that works fewer hours than IT? "The category that includes educators, trainers and librarians averages the fewest hours on the job, at 41 hours, 18 minutes."

Submission + - The Islamic republic of New York

Submitted by ghoul on Thursday May 24, 2007 @09:26AM

ghoul writes: According to this article in New York city the police can arrest you and take away your handycam if you do not have a permit to shoot. Apparently it only happens to brown skinned people. Does this remind you of the Iranian morality police who go around confiscating cameras from white skinned Western visitors. Since when did New York become an Islamic Republic and what happened to freedom of the press? Is it even worth spending blood and money fighting Islamic terror abroad if our own cities are becoming just as fundamentalist?

Submission + - IPv4 unallocated address exhaustion by 2010

Submitted by on Thursday May 24, 2007 @09:24AM

An anonymous reader writes: Ars Technica is reporting on how the unallocated IPv4 address pool could run out as soon as 2010. The IPv4 Address Report gives details on just how fast the available pool of IPv4 addresses is diminishing. Will ISPs be moving towards IPv6 any time soon? Or will IPv4 exhaustion become the next Y2K?

Submission + - 10 Most Useless Firefox Extensions

Submitted by

CorinneI

on Thursday May 24, 2007 @09:12AM

CorinneI writes: "There's a lot to add on to Mozilla's popular browser; some of it's really useful, and the rest of it not so much. Last month, 10 of the most useless and ridiculous extensions were named; this month, there are 10 more. What's special now, though, is that this week Mozilla Technology Strategist (and "Add-ons Guru") Mike Shaver named the top 5, including a Mood Map and a PacMan clone. Sure, you may not use them, but they're a riot just the same."

Submission + - AMD Phenom Processors Debut, Single Chip Quad Core

Submitted by bigwophh on Monday May 14, 2007 @09:10AM

bigwophh writes: AMD has taken the wraps off their next generation quad-core CPU formerly code-named Barcelona, now known as the Phenom FX, Phenom X4 and Phenox X2 family of processors. Interesting notables are that the chip will have up to 4 HT links and 512KB of L2 cache per core, along with 2MB of shared L3 cache. In addition, word is that the memory controller has been tweaked for higher performance and support for 128-bit SSE instructions has been added as well. With a pair of Phenom quad cores, coupled with the just launched ATI 2000 series graphics, octa-core systems can be configured as well in what AMD is calling their FASN8 platform for enthusiasts.

Submission + - 'Sanctuary' Brings a New Reality for SciFi Fans

Submitted by

SataiCam

on Monday April 23, 2007 @09:54PM

SataiCam writes: "A group of the folks who helped to bring you Stargate have gotten together with folks in the gaming industry to pull together a project that stands to pull off an end-run around traditional media outlets. Sanctuary is an online sci-fi media project set to launch it's first 'webisode' on May 14th. The storyline focuses on 157 year old Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping, Stargate) and her study of various and sundry creatures of a mysterious/monsterous nature. More important than the plot, in this case, is the model that the production company, Stage 3 Media, is setting up: a high level of user interactivity and openness with content. Rather than locking up video under DRM, the project is promising to offer video in various unencumbered formats. More than this, they are encouraging user mashups — and actively enabling them. Already they are providing MP3s, images, and raw green-screen footage. Quite a change from the hostile approach most content owners take with users. It will be interesting to see how well this project fairs."

Submission + - Oracle says SAP "stole" documents

Submitted by Rob on Friday March 23, 2007 @07:13AM

Rob writes: Oracle, no stranger to publicly undercutting and courting rivals' customers, has sued SAP AG, claiming the German software vendor stole documents from its web site to help it poach Oracle's customers. In the complaint, filed yesterday, Oracle claims SAP downloaded "virtually all" the software and support documents on its Customer Connection web site without proper authorization. These were used, Oracle said, to help SAP offer support for PeopleSoft, JD Edwards and Siebel applications at half the price that Oracle charged. Oracle lost support customers to SAP as a result, according to the complaint. This, Oracle claims, is "corporate theft on a grand scale".

Feed Novell Spoofs 'Get a Mac' Ads (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed on Friday March 23, 2007 @05:53AM

The Linux vendor parodies the popular apple ads, adding a third character who represents the open-source alternative. In Cult of Mac.

Submission + - Software Bug Halts F-22 Flight

Submitted by mgh02114 on Sunday February 25, 2007 @03:20PM

mgh02114 writes: The new US stealth fighter, the F-22 Raptor, was deployed for the first time to Asia earlier this month. The first flight from Hawaii to Japan was forced to turn back when a software glitch crashed the F-22 on-board computers as they crossed the international date line. The delay in arrival in Japan was previously reported here and here, with rumors of problems with the software. CNN television, however, this morning reported that all every fighter completely lost all navigation and communications when they crossed the international date line. They reportedly had to turn around and follow their tankers by visual contact back to Hawaii. According to the CNN story, if they had not been with their tankers, or the weather had been bad, this would have been serious. CNN has not put up anything on their website yet. This follows previous reports that a software bug in the F-16, caught in simulation before the plane ever flew, that would have caused the fighter to flip upside down when flying over the equator.

Submission + - Yahoo! patent Web 2.0

Submitted by

MattSparkes

on Friday February 23, 2007 @11:11AM

MattSparkes writes: "Yahoo! have filed a patent that allows users to "Customise a webpage template to display data drawn from other sources." Needless to say, this covers almost every Web 2.0 sites out there, including our very own Slashdot. Yahoo! was granted the patent on the basis of work that took place in the late 1990's at the height of bubble 1.0. So could Yahoo! now ask for royalties from various Web 2.0 companies?"

Submission + - Student Newspaper Article Sparks Debate

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 23, 2007 @11:01AM

An anonymous reader writes: A Sophomore who wrote an her first editorial for a small school newspaper called the Woodlan Tomahawk about accepting homosexuals has ignited a strong debate about how much schools can censor and control student press. The advisor for the student newspaper, Amy Sorrel, was even warned for insubordination, and the school principal is demanding to approve every issue before it goes to print. Sorrel is fighting the decision. You can read about the entire mess on a local newspaper website including the student's original article that sparked this whole debate.

Submission + - the largest non-commercial rocket launch in Europe

Submitted by jaweekes on Thursday February 22, 2007 @09:34AM

jaweekes writes: The TV program "Top Gear" recently launched the "largest non-commercial rocket launch in European history" in the form of a rocket-propelled Reliant Robin. From the article http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/show/production_notes /shuttle.shtml "What could possibly be so difficult about building a space shuttle? Quite a lot, as it turns out. This was easily Top Gear's most ambitious film and, while everything didn't go quite according to plan, we're still very proud of the results. Here are just a few of the things that happened when we tried to put an ageing three-wheeler into space."

Submission + - DRM gives "unprecedented choice" to consum

Submitted by

Accommodate Students

on Thursday February 22, 2007 @06:45AM

Accommodate Students writes: "In response to one of the ever increasing number of online petitions to the Prime Minister, the UK Government has declared that

DRM does not only act as a policeman through technical protection measures, it also enables content companies to offer the consumer unprecedented choice in terms of how they consume content, and the corresponding price they wish to pay.
The original petition gained 1,414 signatures; the BBC is covering the story."

Submission + - The Perfect Desktop - Part 1: Fedora Core 6

Submitted by

hausmasta

on Thursday February 22, 2007 @06:20AM

hausmasta writes: "With the release of Microsoft's new Windows operating system (Vista), more and more people are looking for alternatives to Windows for various reasons. This tutorial is the first of a series of articles where I will show people who are willing to switch to Linux how they can set up a Linux desktop (Fedora Core 6 in this article) that fully replaces their Windows desktop, i.e. that has all software that people need to do the things they do on their Windows desktops. The advantages are clear: you get a secure system without DRM restrictions, and the best thing is: all software comes free of charge.

http://www.howtoforge.com/the_perfect_desktop_fedo ra_core6"

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