Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Security

Submission + - Botnet Tricks iPhone Buyers (net-security.org)

Submitted by Ollie K.
Ollie K. writes: As expected, the launch of iPhone is being exploited by cyber-crooks for financial gain. PandaLabs has uncovered a tool that controls a botnet made up of over 7,500 zombie computers infected by the Aifone.A bot Trojan. If the user of an infected PC tries to buy an iPhone online, their confidential data might end up in the hands of cyber-criminals. The tool has a series of features that allow cyber-crooks to take users of infected computers to a false page that appears to be the iPhone official page.
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Oregonian repeats the feat of Lawn Chair Larry

Submitted by ChristTrekker
ChristTrekker writes: The Bulletin of Bend, Oregon is reporting that 47-year-old Kent Couch has duplicated the stunt that made Larry Walters famous: flying to over 10,000 feet on a lawn chair with the help of helium balloons. Couch says he was inspired by a Mythbusters episode addressing the 1982 event.
Media

Games Workshop Forbids Warhammer Fan Films 251

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the wont-last-after-WAR-is-released dept.
EikeHein writes "Made by dozens of fans over a period of several years and featuring impressive special effects, the feature-length Warhammer 40.000 epic DAMNATUS ranks among the most elaborate fan productions ever made — and yet may never see the light of day. Despite initially giving a go-ahead to the project, UK-based Warhammer franchise owner Games Workshop has come around to forbid distribution of the film just as it was being readied for release. What's more, they've amended their IP Policy to forbid any such projects in the future. At the heart of the matter appears to be Continental European copyright law, which grants the German film makers certain irrevocable rights to their creation which they cannot sign away. Given that the owners of the other two SF mega-franchises, Star Trek and Star Wars, have been able to come to terms with such issues and arguably benefit greatly from the media attention paid to popular fan productions, it would seem that Games Workshop still has to learn a thing or two about how to capture fan enthusiasm for their benefit."
The Media

Submission + - An invasion of privacy? Public "oversight" (dcphonelist.com)

Submitted by
yfarren
yfarren writes: "Well, here is a site aiming to make the DC Madame's phone list searchable. Other than it just being funny, what do people think about this, given our mood for discussing privacy, and holding politicians accountable. Are politicians entiteled to any privacy? Is a site like this an invasion of their privacy? Are their visits with a sex workers really related to their Job Performance? Should that change the way we think about them, when they make laws about Iraq, or the internet? What about their stands on things like gay marriage?"
Sci-Fi

Submission + - Giant Squid washed ashore in Australia (yahoo.com)

Submitted by twofish
twofish writes: Yahoo News is reporting that the carcass of a giant squid, nearly 8 meters in length, has washed ashore in Australia.

"It's a whopper," Tasmanian Museum senior curator Genefor Walker-Smith told local media on Wednesday. "The main mantle is about one meter across and its total length is about eight meters."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Googling "how to crack a safe" pays off (arstechnica.com) 1

Submitted by
athloi
athloi writes: "A couple of burglars broke into an indoor amusement center in Colorado called Bigg City armed with the knowledge they thought they needed in order to get into a couple of safes. The burglars knew the passcodes to the safes in question but were still unable to open them after several tries, so they eventually resorted to their good friend Google to tell them how. The Google search proved fruitful for the two burglars, as they were able to get the information they needed and walk away with $12,000 in cash as well as a PlayStation and a laptop. And despite their inept attempts to outwit the security cameras, they have not yet been arrested. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070710-crim inals-confused-about-how-to-get-the-job-done-googl e-to-the-rescue.html"
Media

Submission + - The history of videogame genres

Submitted by TobyToadstool
TobyToadstool writes: Over the last few months, CNET have been quietly running a series of free video documentaries that take a look back at the history of different videogame genres. The Space Bubble show has covered everything from the history of Platformers to the origins of the Beat em up. There's loads of footage from ancient arcade machines, and bizarre trivia, like the fact that some schools are using the Dance Dance Revolution videogame in place of traditional physical education. It's presented by an eccentric British guy floating in a little bubbleship in Space — odd but good.

Killzone 2 Back in Action 113

Posted by Zonk from the love-the-helmets dept.
After a bout of radio silence, yesterday Sony unveiled Killzone 2 as it stands today. Those attending the event seem duly impressed. Eurogamer's Tom Bramwell points out that the level of cynicism has been set quite high, after the pre-rendered 2005 trailer prompted a lot of hard feelings among journalists. Just the same, Susan Arendt of Game|Life is of the opinion that the wait was worth it: "Most of the action we saw was basic run-and gun--working your way up and down, through the buildings of the city to reach various checkpoints. We saw a fight with a mini-boss that was relatively unremarkable, but it did at least end with a fairly satisfying 'boom.' The level culminated with the destruction of an arc weapon--basically an antenna that draws electricity from lightning and releases it to destroy troops ... Killzone 2 is loud, dirty, and violently elegant. If you have a PS3, you're going to want this game. If you don't have a PS3 you might have to figure out how you're going to get one." For more details, check out the Killzone 2 trailer Sony has released as well as the quick Q&A on the game at PS3 Fanboy.
Programming

Submission + - Why software updates don't work (spikesource.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Every developer at some point needs to work out how to apply updates to their program. The larger the user base, the greater potential for failure. But why do software updates fail? Why are there IT standards for managing the risk of change but no standards for change itself? This new white paper Intelligent updates to configuration files analyses the existing technology such as MSI and RPM and why they let developers down and proposes a new approach.
Desktops (Apple)

Submission + - Mac desktops are 'smarter money,' says CIO

Submitted by Mykes
Mykes writes: A U.K. company has about 700 PC users and currently runs Windows XP Pro and Office XP Pro, Chief Information Officer Richard Snooks has criticized Microsoft's aggressive licensing policies. "We are feeling the pinch of the aggressive revenue targets of Microsoft," Snooks said. "We are asking ourselves, 'Are they (Microsoft) fit for our business?'" "I feel we are being railroaded, and the market generally forced (us) into a corner or even a cul-de-sac. In a free market, we have made Microsoft dominant, and now we have the collective responsibility to reverse this situation to re-establish balance and competition. If I am being driven down the Vista route, then an Apple Mac is smarter money and cheaper."
Programming

Submission + - Infinite progress bar with transparency support (openwinforms.com)

Submitted by
rsoni
rsoni writes: "Lots of time we need to show infinite progress in our application where we are not sure of total time to be taken by the process for which we are showing the progress. For this we need infinite progress bar control. There are very few available on internet so I made one. This is really very stylish and cool."
Transmeta

Submission + - Intel lags on energy efficiency (tomshardware.com)

Submitted by
athloi
athloi writes: "Although they've won the business battle, Intel is lagging behind on something that might be important to all of us who are afraid of global warming: energy efficiency. In fact, the entire line of Intel's desktop processors still lag far behind AMD's offerings in this respect. http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/07/11/energy-effi ciency-intel-left-out-in-the-cold/"
Media

Submission + - Games Workshop Forbids Warhammer Fan Films (damnatus.com)

Submitted by
EikeHein
EikeHein writes: "Made by dozens of fans over a period of several years and featuring impressive special effects, the feature-length Warhammer 40.000 epic DAMNATUS ranks among the most elaborate fan productions ever made — and yet may never see the light of day. Despite initially giving a go-ahead to the project, UK-based Warhammer franchise owner Games Workshop has come around to forbid distibution of the film just as it was being readied for release. What's more, they've amended their IP Policy to forbid any such projects in the future. At the heart of the matter appears to be Continental European copyright law, which grants the German film makers certain irrevocable rights to their creation which they cannot sign away. Given that the owners of the other two SF mega-franchises, Star Trek and Star Wars, have been able to come to terms with such issues and arguably benefit greatly from the media attention paid to popular fan productions, it would seem that Games Workshop still has to learn a thing or two about how to capture fan enthusiasm for their benefit."

Slashdot Top Deals

Cobol programmers are down in the dumps.

Close