desenz - Slashdot User

Submission + - Dangerous Java flaw threatens virtually everything

Submitted by Marc Nathoni on Friday July 13, 2007 @06:12AM

Marc Nathoni writes: Google's Security team has discovered vulnerabilities in the Sun Java Runtime Environment that threatens the security of all platforms, browsers and even mobile devices. "This is as bad as it gets," said Chris Gatford, a security expert from penetration testing firm Pure Hacking. "It's a pretty significant weakness, which will have a considerable impact if the exploit codes come to fruition quickly. It could affect a lot of organizations and users," Gatford told ZDNet Australia.

Submission + - Possible gap in human evolution filled

Submitted by databeam on Friday July 13, 2007 @03:59AM

databeam writes: According to an article on CNN, Ethiopian scientists have found the remains of hominids estimated to be between 3.5-3.8 million years old. The scientists say this could possibly fill a hole in the evolution of humans.

Submission + - CEO used pseudonym to post on stock bboard (wsj.com)

Submitted by jpallas on Friday July 13, 2007 @02:36AM

jpallas writes: The Wall Street Journal reports that court filings by the FTC about Whole Foods' plan to acquire Wild Oats reveal an unusual detail: The CEO of Whole Foods regularly posted to a Yahoo! stock bulletin board under a pseudonym. His alter ego was feisty, to say the least, and regularly disparaged the company that he later decided to acquire. A former SEC chairman called the behavior "bizarre and ill-advised, even if it isn't illegal." This certainly raises questions about online rights to free speech and anonymity, especially when the line between free speech and regulated speech depends on who is speaking as much as what they are saying.

Submission + - Robot unravels mystery of walking (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by manchineel on Thursday July 12, 2007 @12:36PM

manchineel writes: Roboticists are using the lessons of a 1930s human physiologist to build the world's fastest walking robot.

Runbot is a self-learning, dynamic robot, which has been built around the theories of Nikolai Bernstein.

"Getting a robot to walk like a human requires a dynamic machine," said Professor Florentin Woergoetter.

Runbot is a small, biped robot which can move at speeds of more than three leg lengths per second, slightly slower than the fastest walking human.

Bernstein said that animal movement was not under the total control of the brain but rather, "local circuits" did most of the command and control work.

Submission + - Problems with the "Paperless Voting" bill (obsidianrook.com)

Submitted by

doom

on Sunday July 08, 2007 @09:08PM

doom writes: "Are you excited to hear that Congress is going to vote on a bill to ban paperless voting? Well I was, and Move On clearly is, but if there are election reform advocates that tell a different story: Bev Harris: Is a flawed bill better than no bill?: "the Holt Bill provides for a paper trail (toilet paper roll-style records affixed to DRE voting machines) in 2008, requires more durable ballots in 2010, and requires a complex set of audits. It also cements and further empowers a concentration of power over elections under the White House, gives explicit federal sanction to trade secrets in vote counting, mandates an expensive 'text conversion' device that does not yet exist which is not fully funded, and removes 'safe harbor' for states in a way that opens them up to unlimited, expensive, and destabilizing litigation. " Steve Freeman: Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory "Today, the Holt bill faces a 'fast track' vote in Congress. Essentially this means an up or down vote on a terrible bill, rather than an opportunity to speak in the nation's most important forum about what may well be the greatest threat to democracy in the history of the republic.""

Submission + - Dell spreads freedom to end-users outside the USA

Submitted by

JohnTeddy

on Sunday July 08, 2007 @09:02PM

JohnTeddy writes: "Dell plans to roll out GNU/Linux to other countries besides USA. And to remedy what was previously reported on slashdot it will also "offer Ubuntu to small business customers in the future." Let me remind everyone Ubuntu from dell is $50 USD cheaper than Vista Dell, so to those who have been whining for decades about OEM support for Dell, now is the time to show your support. Dell also seems to have decent nerdy sense of humor with this youtube video they made. What is going on over there, is Michael Dell shaking things up? It's good to see Microsoft doesn't control all the OEMs."

Submission + - Barak Obama's Iowa Campaign Office Burglarized

Submitted by vic-traill on Sunday July 08, 2007 @08:17PM

vic-traill writes: News outlets are reporting the news that Barak Obama's Iowa Campaign headquarters have been broken into. An event sure to evoke memories of Watergate and accusations and suspicions of Dirty Tricks. So, is it a random event intended to scoop two laptops, or is the Presidential race getting uglier?

Submission + - Order your OpenMoko open mobile phone

Submitted by kliese on Sunday July 08, 2007 @07:01PM

kliese writes: You can now order your OpenMoko open mobile phone. "OpenMoko is a GNU / Linux based open software development platform. Developers have full access to OpenMoko source and they can tailor their implementations to underlying hardware platforms."

According to a mass mailing received today, "Today is the day that we've all been waiting for: We can finally take your order for the world's first freed phone."

http://www.openmoko.com

Submission + - HCI blogger discusses the widspread misuse of mice

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 08, 2007 @05:58PM

An anonymous reader writes: Recently launched blog "The New Interface Advocate," has an entry about how mice are being applied to situations they are intrinsically poorly suited for. It also has an interesting proposal for how to keep most of the current paradigm of GUIs and still take advantage of the other control devices, such as the keyboard.

Submission + - Open Source Linux Phone Released (openmoko.com) 1

Submitted by

andyfrommk

on Sunday July 08, 2007 @04:29PM

andyfrommk writes: "The worlds first truly open phone has been released. the Neo 1973 has been designed for the open source hacker.
From the website

The Neo 1973 boasts the following hardware specifications

* 2.8" VGA TFT color display
* Touchscreen, usable with stylus or fingers
* 266HZ Samsung System on a Chip (SOC)
* USB 1.1, switchable between Client and Host (unpowered)
* Integrated AGPS
* 2.5G GSM — quad band, voice, CSD, GPRS
* Bluetooth 2.0
* Micro SD slot
* High Quality audio codec
"

Submission + - Norton ate my Half-Life

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 08, 2007 @03:57PM

An anonymous reader writes: Norton Anti-virus has disabled some of the older Steam games (at least) from playing, including titles like CS, Half-life and Natural Selection. Currently there is no fix apart from turning off Norton protection. http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.p hp?t=575061 This seems to be either a real virus that Norton has detected, or Symantec just didn't test Steam against their new pattern definitions.

Submission + - Videogame Unites Republicans and Democrats (gamepolitics.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18, 2007 @11:50PM

An anonymous reader writes: This is a cool game that was launched out of the capitol building in Washington DC last week. It was created by the USC Game Innovation Lab and has been getting lots of press. It's about time someone took on a tough issue like redistricting reform using the power of the internet. The game is fun and well made.

Submission + - New DNF screenshots (3drealms.com)

Submitted by comm2k on Monday June 18, 2007 @06:39PM

comm2k writes: A new DNF shot is in Game Informer. 3DR has confirmed them to be real.

Submission + - Is cash no longer legal tender? (uic.edu)

Submitted by on Monday June 18, 2007 @05:57PM

An anonymous reader writes: I attend the University of Illinois at Chicago. Last semester my housing arrangements went smoothly. I put down my application fee, and my deposit just fine, got a room for the semester and life went on. This semester, because there was supposedly a large number of students who did not check into their rooms last semester, we were required to make a $100 prepayment, in addition to the application fee and deposit. No problem, I think, I see the university is trying to make a quick buck off people who don't follow through with their plans. Now I do NOT have a checking account, a credit card, or anything. I am one of the few people who do EVERYTHING in cash. I don't trust the banks, I don't trust credit card companies. I also had a trip planned for out of the country, so I get my cash, and on my way to the airport, I stop by the housing office to make my prepayment. They refuse to take cash. They will not charge my university account (so I can pay the bursar or whoever I need to) in cash, and they want a check or money order. Nowhere in their letter did they say that. I fear out of technicality I am going to loose my housing since I cannot get them their money on time because they do not take cash. Is it legal for a state-owned university, let alone any business to not take legal tender?

Submission + - AT&T's new hidden broadband plans

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 18, 2007 @05:15PM

An anonymous reader writes: AT&T Inc. has started offering a broadband Internet service for $10 a month, the plan was introduced Saturday and is part of the concessions made by AT&T to the Federal Communications Commission to get its $86 billion acquisition of BellSouth Corp. approved last December. The $10 offer is available to customers in the 22-state AT&T service region, which includes former BellSouth areas, who have never had AT&T or BellSouth broadband, spokesman Michael Coe confirmed Monday. Local phone service and a one-year contract are required. The modem is free. The plan is slightly hidden on the AT&T Web site but clicking the link for "Term contract plans" reveals it. The service provides download speeds of up to 768 kilobits per second and upload speeds of up to 128 kbps, matching the speeds of the cheapest advertised AT&T plan, which costs $19.95 per month in the nine-state former BellSouth area and $14.99 in the 13 states covered by AT&T before the acquisition. BellSouth generally had higher prices for DSL before it was acquired, and the price difference persists, though AT&T did cut the price of the cheapest advertised plan in the Southeast region by $5 from $24.95 on Saturday. The agreement with the FCC required the company to offer the plan for at least 2 1/2 years. Coe said he could not comment on future advertising plans for the offer. Another concession to the FCC is yet to come: a plan for DSL that doesn't require local phone service. AT&T has another six months to introduce that option, which should cost at most $19.95 per month.

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