Comment Re:Favorite Comic (Score 1) 321
Definitely XKCD!
+1 agree
Submission + - WW2 pigeon code decrypted by Canadian? (bbc.co.uk)
Albanach writes: At the start of November Slashdot reported the discovery of a code, thought to be from the second world war, found attached to the leg of a pigeon skeleton located in an English chimney. Now a Canadian by the name of Gord Young claims to have deciphered the message in less than 20 minutes. He believes that the message is comprised mostly of acronyms.
Submission + - Ask Slashdot: How to convince a bank to use FOSS in non-critical mission stuff?
Uthark writes: We are a small software company that develops applications for customer service. From our beginning we've always used free software to build our products, making sure to contribute with donations, translations (we are a Latin American company) and support contracts from projects that offer them.
We understand how reluctant some companies can be to use free software, so our approach has always been to offer trial periods before purchase. However, we found a bank (non-US) that, despite the trial periods, demands that we remove all free software and replace them with products from Microsoft and Oracle, arguing regulatory compliance.
We have other banks among our customers that never asked for that change, so we suspect it may be a whim or a deal under the table with these suppliers. Since this client can be a very good business opportunity for our company, how I should address the issue, while keeping our product as it is, since changing it to use Microsoft / Oracle products would be time consuming, very expensive, requires helpdesk training and does not add significant value to our products?.
We understand how reluctant some companies can be to use free software, so our approach has always been to offer trial periods before purchase. However, we found a bank (non-US) that, despite the trial periods, demands that we remove all free software and replace them with products from Microsoft and Oracle, arguing regulatory compliance.
We have other banks among our customers that never asked for that change, so we suspect it may be a whim or a deal under the table with these suppliers. Since this client can be a very good business opportunity for our company, how I should address the issue, while keeping our product as it is, since changing it to use Microsoft / Oracle products would be time consuming, very expensive, requires helpdesk training and does not add significant value to our products?.
Submission + - Infant Solar System Observed by Astronomers
An anonymous reader writes: A nascent solar system has been detected by astronomers. They noticed an infant star in the constellation Tauraus surrounded by a swirling disk of dust and gas that is more than 450 light years from Earth.
Comment Re:Let me be the first to say... (Score 4, Funny) 170
Being born in 1996, I missed out on most of computer history. Thank you, Casio and TI for allowing me to experience the growth of the computer -again.
Comment Re:Let me be the first to say... (Score 0) 170
It's like re-living history.
Someone please mod this up.
Comment Re:Black (Score 1) 4
I second that, but it could also be transparent to all wavelengths but the Long One, in which case it will be transparent.
Or semitransparent.
Submission + - Bitcoin mining reward about to half (mineforeman.com)
ASDFnz writes: The reward for succesfuly completing a block (also called mining) is about to half from 50 bitcoins to 25. http://mineforeman.com/2012/11/23/halving-day-is-almost-upon-us/ is an explination of why this will happen and if you go to http://bitcoinclock.com/ you can watch the countdown.
Submission + - Island on Google Maps does NOT exist (theage.com.au)
Thorfinn.au writes: An island marked on Google Maps and weather charts does not exist there is only deep ocean there.
Most explorers dream of discovering uncharted territory, but a team of Australian scientists have done the exact opposite.
They have found an island that doesn't exist.
Even onboard the ship, the weather maps the captain had showed an island in this location.
Dr Maria Seton, University of Sydney
The island, named Sandy Island on Google Earth, also exists on marine charts and world maps and allegedly sits between Australia and New Caledonia in the south Pacific.
The story is big news and appearing on other news sites
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20442487
Most explorers dream of discovering uncharted territory, but a team of Australian scientists have done the exact opposite.
They have found an island that doesn't exist.
Even onboard the ship, the weather maps the captain had showed an island in this location.
Dr Maria Seton, University of Sydney
The island, named Sandy Island on Google Earth, also exists on marine charts and world maps and allegedly sits between Australia and New Caledonia in the south Pacific.
The story is big news and appearing on other news sites
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20442487
Submission + - Police raid home of 9-year-old Pirate Bay user, seize 'Winnie the Pooh' laptop (bgr.com) 1
zacharye writes: Copyright enforcement might be getting out of hand in Scandinavia. As anti-piracy groups and copyright owners continue to work with authorities to curtail piracy in the region, police this week raided the home of a 9-year-old suspect and confiscated her “Winnie the Pooh” laptop. TorrentFreak reports that the girl’s home was raided after local anti-piracy group CIAPC determined copyrighted files had been downloaded illegally at her residence. Her father, the Internet service account holder, was contacted by CIAPC, which demanded that he pay a 600 euro fine and sign a non-disclosure agreement to settle the matter. When the man did not comply, authorities raided his home and collected evidence, including his 9-year-old daughter’s notebook computer...
Comment Re:Privacy issue: DNA dragnets (Score 1) 513
People were concerned about this, but the desire to get this case solved was stronger than any worry about the DNA.
Comment Re:Privacy issue: DNA dragnets (Score 2) 513
Actually, the local chief of police said they wouldn't (on a show on national television). The chance of one of your relatives submitting DNA is so large that they'll be able to arrest you if you are guilty, even if you didn't give them anything.
Submission + - Anti-virus pioneer John McAfee wanted for murder (usatoday.com)
dsinc writes: John McAfee, the eccentric 67-year-old founder of the antivirus software company McAfee Inc., is wanted for murder in Belize, police said Monday.
McAfee is the prime suspect in the murder of an American expatriate, Gregory Faull, who was shot and killed Saturday night at his home on the island of Ambergris Caye.
The tech gadget site Gizmodo published an official police statement issued Monday that said the body of the well-liked 52-year-old builder from Florida was found Sunday in a pool of blood from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.
McAfee is the prime suspect in the murder of an American expatriate, Gregory Faull, who was shot and killed Saturday night at his home on the island of Ambergris Caye.
The tech gadget site Gizmodo published an official police statement issued Monday that said the body of the well-liked 52-year-old builder from Florida was found Sunday in a pool of blood from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.
Submission + - Idiocracy has begun (livescience.com) 1
barefoot_professor writes: Are Humans Becoming Less Intelligent?
As reported by LiveScience, "The study, published today (Nov. 12) in the journal Trends in Genetics, argues that humans lost the evolutionary pressure to be smart once we started living in dense agricultural settlements several thousand years ago."
As reported by LiveScience, "The study, published today (Nov. 12) in the journal Trends in Genetics, argues that humans lost the evolutionary pressure to be smart once we started living in dense agricultural settlements several thousand years ago."
Submission + - Zelda: Dad flips pronouns, makes Link the girl (playerattack.com)
dotarray writes: While the character was little more than an aesthetic change and a new voice actor, Mass Effect's FemShep is held up as one of the best examples of strong female characters in video games. But now, thanks to a thoroughly awesome dad, the female Commander Shepard has some competition: Link. ...yes, that Link. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker era, to be precise.
