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Comment Re:Mesh networks in Aviation (Score 3, Interesting) 131

by langedb (#29610967) Attached to: A Mobile Phone Mesh That Can Survive Carrier Network Failure
The HAM community already has this sort of thing. It's called APRS, and includes all the capabilities that you describe. All that would be needed is to put the necessary GPS and computer systems into the aircraft and wire them up to warn the pilot when another plane is getting too close.

Comment Re:Now? (Score 5, Informative) 477

by langedb (#28698435) Attached to: US Postal Service Moves To GNU/Linux

"Not only that, I just checked and according to fedex it costs $7.39 to mail that same letter from coast to coast for their cheapest option. That's only what, nearly 17 times more expensive?"

factor in how much of your tax dollars when into that and then get back to us with a valid point....

Umm, the USPS is self-funded. None of your tax dollars go towards supporting their operation source
The Internet

Submission + - What do you do with a personal domain? 2

Submitted by bmerr71
bmerr71 writes: I bought my own domain name to use as a self-promotion tool. I use a subdomain, "profile.mydomain.com", which I selectively put on my email signatures to link to my linkedin profile. I also loaded up Google Apps to use for email. But when you go directly to my domain name, there is nothing there. I didn't want GoDaddy getting ad revenue off my name (and it doesn't look very professional), so I killed the ad page, but it seems like I should be able to put something up on my main page. But, I am not interesting in blogging, I do not want too much personal information up there, and I do not want to spend a lot of money (none, if possible). Are there any free apps that I can load up on my domain to fill the blank space? What do non-bloggers do with their personal domains?
Security

Submission + - Should Auditors Be Liable for Certifications? (channelinsider.com)

Submitted by
dasButcher
dasButcher writes: "Enterprises and mid-size business rely on auditors and service providers to certify their systems as compliant with such security regs and standards as PCI-DSS or SOX. But, as Larry Walsh speculates, a lawsuit filed by a bank against an auditor/managed service provider could change that (http://blogs.channelinsider.com/secure_channel/content/data_security/breach_lawsuit_could_reset_security_liabilities_to_service_providers.html). The bank wants to hold the auditor liable for a breach at its credit card processor because the auditor certified the processor as PCI compliant. If the bank wins, it could change the standards and liabilities of auditors and service providers in the delivery of security services."
The Courts

Submission + - TiVo wishlist for patent finally recorded.

Submitted by zapatero
zapatero writes: TiVo's now 5 year patent dispute with E*Star/Dish has finally reached a near final point. Today the long awaited ruling from Judge Folsom on whether Echo Star's self-described patch to their DVR made their device compliant under the October 2008 verdict came in. Judge Folsom ruled in favor of TiVo again. He awarded TiVo yet another $100 Million. This ruling puts a serious bite in TiVo's DVR patent. The case has already been appealed and dismissed by the US Supreme Court. It appears that TiVo's Patent is now the real deal. Industry beware. Who will TiVo go after now? AT&T's Uverse? Time Warner?
Medicine

Cola Consumption Can Lead To Muscle Problems 420

Posted by timothy from the but-your-lifting-arm's-doing-fine dept.
wjousts writes "As I'm sure many Slashdot readers live almost exclusively on cola drinks, a new warning from doctors: 'Doctors have issued a warning about excessive cola consumption after noticing an increase in the number of patients suffering from muscle problems, according to the June issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice. ... 'Evidence is increasing to suggest that excessive cola consumption can also lead to hypokalaemia, in which the blood potassium levels fall, causing an adverse effect on vital muscle functions.' And sorry, diet colas aren't any better."
Mozilla

Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 Released 273

Posted by CmdrTaco from the i-love-daft-punk dept.
ink writes "Mozilla has released the third beta for Firefox 3.1 (which may become Firefox 3.5). This beta includes the new location bar, Mozilla's new JavaScript engine Tracemonkey, new HTML5 features and many other enhancements. It looks the same on the surface, but there are many changes under the hood."
Security

Malware Threat To GNOME and KDE 348

Posted by timothy from the turducken dept.
commandlinegamer writes "foobar posted on his blog recently about 'How to write a Linux virus in 5 easy steps,' detailing potential malware infection risks in the .desktop file format used by GNOME and KDE. This is not a new threat, and it appears to still be a risk, as discussions in 2006 did not seem to come to any firm conclusion on how to deal with the problem." There's a followup on LWN.
Businesses

Submission + - Dell begins their largest layoff ever. 3

Submitted by cyphercell
cyphercell writes: Dell has begun their largest series of layoffs ever. This morning at about 10:00am more than two hundred employees at Dell's Roseburg Oregon Call center found out that they no longer had jobs. Sparking what appears to be the beginning of year long run of layoffs for the company. http://www.newsreview.info/article/20070802/NEWS/7 0802014

Refuting local suspicions of malice Dell spokesman David Frink states:

... the closure has nothing to do with a lawsuit filed by employees of the Roseburg center in February, claiming Dell violated federal and state wage and hour laws.
http://www.newsreview.info/article/20070213/NEWS/7 0213020

and later says

...plans to reduce employment worldwide by 10 percent at the end of May.


Their plans to reduce employment can be found here:
http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business /stories/technology/06/01/1dell.html

Here are some highlights:

Dell set to shed 8,800 workers...

Dell has 82,200 permanent workers, including 18,000 in Central Texas, and 5,300 temporary workers worldwide. The layoffs are expected to affect both groups...

In its last large-scale layoffs, Dell cut more than 5,000 jobs in Austin after the high-tech bust in 2001.

...many of the layoffs could come in Central Texas, where Dell is headquartered. In a March 29 report to clients, Goldman Sachs analysts said Dell might reduce the work force at its test and assembly facilities in the U.S. and Malaysia.
The Internet

Submission + - Morality and Domain Ownership (holyjuan.com) 3

Submitted by
HolyJuan
HolyJuan writes: "I got laid off a few weeks ago. A year ago, when I still had a job, I mentioned to my boss that our company should buy its "actual" domain name. His current domain name was shortened version of the company name. He thought that was a great idea and would think about it. I sent him reminder e-mails. I talked to him again in person. Nothing came of it. So I bought it myself and politely forwarded the traffic to the company's webpage. Now they have laid me off and I'm wondering what I should do with the domain. http://www.holyjuan.com/2007/07/i-own-my-ex-compan ys-domain-name-what.html"
Programming

Submission + - Texts Rasterization Exposures

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Maxim Shemanarev (author of AGG) has written an interesting article about the different techniques used by different platforms/libraries for rendering fonts using different kind of hinting. He also has an idea on what should be the best way for rendering fonts and I have to say it looks really nice.

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