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Comment How to commit suicide, by Microsoft (Score 4, Funny) 169

by Progman3K (#44167607) Attached to: Microsoft To Add Ads To Smart Search

We visit a Microsoft boardroom, where execs are discussing their future plans

Exec 1: Hey, I've got an idea, you know how on that android-y thingy, you can download free apps but to make their money back on them, the developers serve ads? Why don't we do that?

Exec 2: You mean serve people ads with software they've already paid for???

Exec1: Yeah!

Exec 3: Genius! Let's break for lunch!

Comment Here's a thought (Score 2) 161

by Progman3K (#44080707) Attached to: The Men Trying To Save Us From the Machines

Instead of asking questions like that, why don't you build Skype and any other software you're working on to NOT have backdoors

That way, if ever the machines DO try to take over the world, they won't have a bunch of convenient control channels in all the important software to do so.
Internet Explorer

Microsoft Boasts of Tiny Energy Saving With IE 243

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the grasping-for-microwatts dept.
judgecorp writes "Microsoft has sponsored research that indicates that its Internet Explorer browser uses less power than the competition, Firefox and Google (there's no explanation of what causes the difference). However, the difference in power use is not really significant — it's about one Watt when browsing. Browsing for 20 hours at this rate, the IE user would save enough power to make a cup of tea, compared with Firefox and Chrome users. That Microsoft commissioned and published the report seems to indicate a certain desperation to Microsoft's IE marketing efforts."

Comment Re:I tell them I feel the same way! (Score 1) 597

by Progman3K (#43912947) Attached to: Why Your Users Hate Agile

From everything I'm hearing, Agile appears to encourage laziness on the part of the client.

It's not that I don't want to satisfy the client, of course I do, it's just that the client has to do his part in specifying clearly what s/he wants. You know, specs.

And yes, sometimes the developer DOES know what the client wants better than the client does. A seasoned developer with knowledge/experience in the target domain will typically understand lots of things more in-depth and realistically than a client who simply has a pie-in-the-sky vision of things.
Social Networks

French Police End Missing Persons Searches, Suggest Using Facebook 95

Posted by timothy from the hire-a-stalker dept.
itwbennett writes "According to an announcement on a French government website, police have stopped current searches for missing adults and will not accept new search requests. 'Such 'searches in the interests of the family' were conducted under an administrative procedure almost a century old, introduced to help families separated during the upheavals of World War I to find missing relatives,' according to the French Ministry of the Interior. In a letter to police chiefs announcing the changes, the Ministry advised them to instead 'direct people towards social networks on the Internet, which offer interesting possibilities.'"

Comment Re:That's great news! (Score 5, Insightful) 252

by Progman3K (#43800187) Attached to: Intel's Linux OpenGL Driver Faster Than Apple's OS X Driver

Honestly, I love the fact that linux is not mainstream on the desktop yet.

I live my (computing) life blissfully, untroubled by the rolling waves of forced upgrades and virus panics that everyone around is going through and I can just smile and say "sorry, I run linux, I have no idea how to fix that" when they ask me to help them with their mess.

I truly hope linux NEVER becomes mainstream.
Privacy

Thousands of Whistle Blowers Vulnerable After Anonymous Hacks SAPS 132

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the hacktivism-gone-wrong dept.
First time accepted submitter fezzzz writes "Anonymous performed a data dump of hundreds of whistle blowers' private details in an attempt to show their unhappiness with the SAPS (South African Police Service) for the Marikana shooting. In so doing, the identities of nearly 16,000 South Africans who lodged a complaint with police on their website, provided tip-offs, or reported crimes are now publicly available." Reader krunster also submitted a slightly more in depth article on the breach.
News

Interviews: McAfee Says House Fire Was No Accident 84

Posted by samzenpus from the burning-down-the-house dept.
According to reports a bush fire burned down John McAfee's home in Belize on Thursday. The local fire department was unable to to contain the blaze and the the two main buildings were completely destroyed. Property Manager Noel Codd (who was not there at the time) estimated the value of the buildings at $250,000 each. Despite the reported cause of the fire, McAfee says that the destruction of his compound was no accident. We caught up with him to talk about why he thinks the fire was set and what he plans to do now. Read below to see what he had to say.
Security

Ask Slashdot: Why Do Firms Leak Personal Details In Plain Text? 252

Posted by timothy from the more-exciting-that-way dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Having entered my personal details (full real name, home address) to websites with an 'https://' prefix in order to purchase goods, I am still being sent emails from companies (or their agents) which include, in plain text, those same details I have entered over a secure connection. These are often companies which are very keen to tell you how much they value your privacy and how they will not pass your details on to third parties. What recourse does one have to tell them to desist from such behaviour whilst still doing business with them if their products are otherwise desirable? I email the relevant IT team as a matter of course to tell them it's not appropriate (mostly to no avail), but is there any legislation — in any territory — which addresses this?"
Transportation

Florida DOT Cuts Yellow Light Delay Ignoring Federal Guidelines, Citations Soar 507

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the safety-is-our-last-concern dept.
New submitter zlives writes in with news that Florida's DOT changed some language in their yellow light timing regulations, leading to a decrease in the yellow delay. Especially at lights with red light cameras. "From the article: 'Red light cameras generated more than $100 million in revenue last year in approximately 70 Florida communities, with 52.5 percent of the revenue going to the state. The rest is divided by cities, counties, and the camera companies. In 2013, the cameras are on pace to generate $120 million.' I wonder what the camera company cut is?" At least one area has promised to undo the reduction now that they have been caught.
Windows

Windows Blue Is Officially Windows 8.1, Free For Existing Users 491

Posted by Soulskill from the getting-rid-of-the-blues dept.
Several readers sent word that Microsoft has officially dubbed the upcoming revision to its flagship operating system "Windows 8.1," retiring the code-name "Windows Blue." They also said the update would be freely available to anybody with Windows 8. It will be available through the Windows Store. "Reller declined to provide an exact release date for Windows 8.1, but said that Microsoft is 'very sensitive to the timing of the holidays.' Ideally, Microsoft will be able to provide devices with Windows 8.1 pre-loaded in time for the holiday 2013 season, Reller said, but those who purchase a Windows 8 device later this year will be able to easily upgrade to 8.1."
Microsoft

Microsoft Reads Your Skype Chat Messages 275

Posted by timothy from the but-they-don't-enjoy-them dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A Microsoft server accesses URLs sent in Skype chat messages, even if they are HTTPS URLs and contain account information. A reader of Heise publications notified Heise Security (link to German website, Google translation). They replicated the observation by sending links via Skype, including one to a private file storage account, and found that these URLs are shortly after accessed from a Microsoft IP address. When confronted, Microsoft claimed that this is part of an effort to detect and filter spam and phishing URLs."

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