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Comment The problem with the Abrams Star Trek .. (Score 4, Informative) 233

by lippydude (#49162983) Attached to: Spock and the Legacy of Star Trek
"Star Trek used a futuristic, nearly utopian world to explore our own moral battles and failings, and yet somehow always managed to weave in an optimism about humanity and our future. This is something, the author argues, that is sorely missing from the new J.J. Abrams movies."

The problem with the Abrams Star Trek movies, is they're not really Star Trek movies. They do contain a Starship called Enterprise and the crew are called Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Bones, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov. But the core has been excised and they've been rendered for a generic audience. You can tell Abrams doesn't trust his audience to engage with the characters, hence the reason the plot races at breakneck speed from one spectular effects/action sequence to the next. Take 'Star Trek Into Darkness' for instance. This just from the opening sequence, Enterprise underwater, volcano exploding, natives attacking and so on.

Submission + - Facebook Explains When Employees Can Access Your Account Without Your Password

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Earlier this week, Paavo Siljamäki, director at the record label Anjunabeats, told a very interesting story about an interaction with a Facebook engineer logging into his account without entering his account credentials. We got in touch with Facebook to learn when exactly the company’s employees can perform such actions. In short, Siljamäki says he was asked if a Facebook employee could “look” at his profile, to which he gave permission. The engineer then accessed the account without entering Siljamäki’s password.

Submission + - Under US pressure, Paypal cuts off MEGA

Submitted by Lenbok
Lenbok writes: It seems that the end-to-end encryption offered by cloud storage provider Mega is a thorn in the side of US based influences, as MEGA posted on their blog that Paypal has been pressured to shut Mega off (a move reminiscent of the financial blocade of Wikileaks a few years back). Kim Dotcom hinted on twitter that bitcoins are in MEGAs future. (More reporting on techdirt, torrentfreak and insidebitcoins)

Submission + - Ask SD: How do you handle the discovery of a web site disclosing private data?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I recently discovered that a partner web site of a financial institution I do business with makes it trivially easy to view documents that do not belong to me. As in, change the document ID in a URL and view someone else's financial documents. This requires no authentication, only a document URL. (Think along the lines of an online rebate center where you upload documents including credit card statements.) I immediately called customer service and spoke with a perplexed agent who unsurprisingly didn't know what to do with my call. I asked to speak with a supervisor who took good notes and promised a follow-up internally. I asked for a return call but have not yet heard back. In the meantime, I still have private financial information I consider to be publicly available. I'm trying to be responsible and patient in my handling of this, but I am second guessing how to move forward if not quickly resolved. So, Slashdot, how would you handle this situation?

Submission + - Uber hauls GitHub into court to find who hacked database (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by SwampApe
SwampApe writes: Uber has subpoenaed GitHub to unmask netizens suspected of hacking its database of taxi drivers.

The ride-booking app maker is trying to force GitHub to hand over the IP addresses of anyone who visited a particular gist post between March and September last year.

That gist is believed to have contained a login key used by a hacker to access an internal Uber database of 50,000 drivers. Github refused to hand over the information, leading to Friday's subpoena filing.

Submission + - The Programmers That Want To Get Rid of Software Estimates (medium.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A look inside the #NoEstimates movement, which wants to rid the software world of time estimates for projects. Programmers argue that estimates are wrong too often and a waste of time. Other stakeholders believe they need those estimates to plan and to keep programmers accountable. Is there a middle ground?

Software project estimates are too often wrong, and the more time we throw at making them, the more we steal from the real work of building software. Also: Managers have a habit of treating developers’ back-of-the-envelope estimates as contractual deadlines, then freaking out when they’re missed. And wait, there’s more: Developers, terrified by that prospect, put more and more energy into obsessive trips down estimation rabbit-holes. Estimation becomes a form of “yak-shaving”—a ritual enacted to put off actual work.

Comment Developers have had decades to get Linux? (Score 1) 199

by lippydude (#49139519) Attached to: The State of Linux Gaming In the SteamOS Era
"Developers have had decades to get Linux right on the desktop, and they've failed at every turn."

NO, the main reason is because the OEMs have been prevented from marketing a Linux Desktop. Mainly by having to pay Microsoft 'Per-system' for every machine shipped, regardless of whether it ships with Linux or without. Microsoft haven't been able to get the same deal in mobile space, which is why they are reduced to charging the phone makers for an 'Android Licence'.

Comment The Age of Spiritual Machines .. (Score 1) 531

by lippydude (#49139333) Attached to: Machine Intelligence and Religion
"Earlier this month Reverend Dr. Christopher J. Benek raised eyebrows on the Internet by stating his belief that Christians should seek to convert Artificial Intelligences to Christianity if and when they become autonomous."

They won't waste time on Christianity but expend much effort in discovering the true nature of the supreme AI .. [Ray_Kurzweil]_The_Age_of_Spiritual_Machines.pdf

Submission + - Who's Afraid of Android Fragmentation? (dice.com)

Submitted by Nerval's Lobster
Nerval's Lobster writes: The dreaded term “fragmentation” has been applied to Android more times than anyone can count over the past half-decade. That’s part of the reason why game developers often build for iOS before Android, even though Android offers a bigger potential customer base worldwide, and more types of gaming experiences. Fortunately, new sets of tools allow game developers to build for one platform and port their work (fairly) easily to another. “We’ve done simultaneously because it is such a simple case of swapping out the textures and also hooking up different APIs for scores and achievements,” London-based indie developer Tom Vian told Dice. “I’ve heard that iOS is a better platform to launch on first, but there’s no sense for us in waiting when we can spend half a day and get it up and running.” So is fragmentation an overhyped roadblock, or is it a genuine problem for developers who work in mobile?

Submission + - Schneier: Everyone Wants You To Have Security, But Not from Them (schneier.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Bruce Schneier has written another insightful piece about the how modern tech companies treat security. He points out that most organizations will tell you to secure your data while at the same time asking to be exempt from that security. Google and Facebook want your data to be safe — on their servers so they can analyze it. The government wants you to encrypt your communications — as long as they have the keys. Schneier says, "... we give lots of companies access to our data because it makes our lives easier. ... The reason the Internet is a worldwide mass-market phenomenon is that all the technological details are hidden from view. Someone else is taking care of it. We want strong security, but we also want companies to have access to our computers, smart devices, and data. We want someone else to manage our computers and smart phones, organize our e-mail and photos, and help us move data between our various devices. ... We want our data to be secure, but we want someone to be able to recover it all when we forget our password. We'll never solve these security problems as long as we're our own worst enemy.

Submission + - Tim Cook to give commencement address at GW (networkworld.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Students in the graduating class of 2015 from George Washington University will hear insights from Apple CEO Tim Cook during their commencement ceremony this May.

Cook has had a busy year guiding Apple to record highs as a company – it is the largest publicly traded company in the world and in November was the first company to surpass a market valuation of $700 billion. He’s had a momentous year personally as well. In October, Cook wrote in Bloomberg BusinessWeek that he is gay.

Cook attended Auburn University for his bachelor in science degree and received an MBA from Duke University. He took over as CEO of Apple in 2011, succeeding Steve Jobs.

Cook will not be the only techie addressing graduates this year: MIT announced in December that US CTO Megan Smith, who is an alum of the school, would address its graduates at a June 5 event. Elon Musk will be one of a handful of speakers to address Stanford University graduates this spring.

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