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

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:If it's within the rules, it's within the rules (Score 2, Interesting) 895

by Digi-John (#28601809) Attached to: Researcher Trolls MMO, Surprised When Players Hate Him
Of interest in the "players set the rules" topic is LambdaMOO, where players actually sent in petitions which became ballots which were voted on and implemented. Frequently, a ballot to permanently shut down the game was submitted; luckily, they never passed. Other ballots would include changes in quota policy, new user policy, etc.
Internet Explorer

Microsoft Launches New "Get the Facts" Campaign 524

Posted by timothy from the grease-monkey-vs.-redmond-rhinos dept.
ko9 writes that Microsoft has re-launched its "'Get the facts' campaign, in an attempt to promote Internet Explorer 8. It contains a chart that compares IE8 to Firefox and Chrome. Needless to say, IE8 comes out as the clear winner, with MS suggesting it is the only browser to provide features like 'privacy,' 'security,' 'reliability.' It even claims to have Firefox beat in 'customizability.'"

Comment Not particularly efficient... (Score 1) 88

by Digi-John (#28335021) Attached to: The Science of Folding@home

Compare the FAH systems to BlueGene/P. BlueGene is made up of System-on-Chip PowerPC computers, stuck on DIMM-like cards and then put into arrays, which go into racks, etc. Hugely power efficient, in part because each system doesn't maintain a disk and other crap.

On the other hand, your home computer is inefficient in terms of both heat, power, and space, because it has to run all the other hardware stuff you don't have in a proper supercomputer.

Comment Re:Low (Score 1) 674

by Digi-John (#28019529) Attached to: MS Word 2010 Takes On TeX

Real computer science students (and the computer engineering students who end up taking the classes too) are smart enough to pick up Unix as they work through the CS courses. It's a good idea to have one or two class sessions to talk about Unix, but having actual Unix courses seems rather silly.

So yeah, if they're teaching a full course on just using Unix, it's probably IT.

Having Your ID Stolen Leads to Job Loss, Prosecution 404

Posted by Zonk from the jobs-are-for-living-though dept.
ConfusedVorlon writes "The BBC reports on the sad case of Simon Bunce. Mr. Bunce had his identity stolen, and credit cards were made to capitalize on the theft. Some of those cards were used at sites offering child pornography, and as a result Mr. Bunce was swept up in Operation Ore. The poor man was prosecuted for his 'crime', and was eventually found innocent, but in the meantime he lost his job. It took him six months to find another at a quarter of the salary. 'The police's computer technicians take several months to examine [his computers and records], and Mr Bunce could not afford to wait to repair the damage done to his reputation. "I knew there'd been a fundamental mistake made and so I had to investigate it." Recent surveys suggest that as many as one in four Britons have been affected by it. In 2007 more than 185,000 cases of identity theft were identified by Cifas, the UK's fraud prevention service, an increase of almost 8% on 2006.'"
Cellphones

Cell Phones To Be Allowed On UK Planes 217

Posted by Zonk from the oh-great-this-will-make-the-trip-faster dept.
Matty the Monkey writes "The British regulator in charge of air travel has approved cellphones for use on airline flights, reports the BBC. Airlines will be allowed to activate base stations in the plane's tail after takeoff, creating a zone of mobile coverage around the plane. 'The services could stop working once aircraft leave European airspace. Initially, only second generation networks will be offered but growing interest would mean that third generation, or 3G, services would follow later, said Ofcom. The cost of making a mobile phone call from a plane will be higher than making one from the ground.'"
Spam

Long-Dead ORDB Begins Returning False Positives 265

Posted by kdawson from the waking-the-dead dept.
Chapter80 writes "At noon today (Eastern Standard Time), the long dead ORDB spam identification system began returning false positives as a way to get sleeping users to remove the ORDB query from their spam filters. The net effect: all mail is blocked on servers still configured to use the ORDB service, which was taken out of commission in December of 2006. So if you're not getting any mail, check your spam filter configuration!"
Privacy

The Myth of the "Transparent Society" 200

Posted by kdawson from the you-first dept.
palegray.net recommends a piece by Bruce Schneier up at Wired. Schneier addresses the central fallacy of the "transparent society" idea promoted by David Brin, and also takes on the flawed arguments that attempt to justify increased government monitoring of citizens. From the article: "If I disclose information to you, your power with respect to me increases. One way to address this power imbalance is for you to similarly disclose information to me. We both have less privacy, but the balance of power is maintained. But this mechanism fails utterly if you and I have different power levels to begin with."
Input Devices

Consumer-Level Haptics On the Way 41

Posted by kdawson from the can-you-touch-me-now dept.
longacre writes "Yesterday we discussed Carnegie Mellon's maglev haptics controller which, when it goes on sale, will be aimed mostly at laboratory applications, and therefore out of reach for most consumers. Today, roboticist/futurist Daniel Wilson reviews that controller in-depth as part of a larger look at the burgeoning world of tactile feedback devices. Several mobile phones now on the market use haptic touch screens as well as a number of gaming devices, such as the Novint Falcon controller. According to Wilson the applications are limitless, from making it easier to manipulate robots to allowing drivers to keep their eyes on the road when changing radio stations. Quoting: 'Haptics doesn't just close the gaps in our current computer interfaces — it can open up new possibilities. Blending haptics with recent advances in the field of robotics allows doctors to train for intricate procedures virtually, with increasingly accurate sensory feedback — and the technology can bring a new dimension to remotely controlled machines, helping negotiate obstacles in distant settings.'"
Education

Industry Group Sponsors College Course To Create Fake Blog 124

Posted by kdawson from the paid-me-to-do-it dept.
Scott Jaschik writes "At Hunter College, professors are debating the ethics of a course in which an industry group paid for a class to develop a fake student who would write a fake blog to discourage other students from buying knockoff products. The controversy involves both commercial interference with academic freedom and the ethics of 'guerilla marketing.'"

Cyber-Goggles Record and Identify Every Object You See 108

Posted by Zonk from the partially-sapient-ai-additional-charge dept.
RemyBR writes "Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed a smart video goggle system that records everything the wearer looks at, recognizes and assigns names to objects that appear in the video. Advanced programs then go back and create an easily searchable database of the recorded footage. Designed to function as a high-tech memory aid, these 'Cyber Goggles' promise to make the act of losing your keys a thing of the past, according to head researcher professor Tatsuya Harada. 'In a demonstration at the University of Tokyo last week, 60 everyday items -- including a potted begonia, CD, hammer and cellphone -- were programmed into the Cyber Goggle memory. As the demonstrator walked around the room viewing and recording the various objects, the names of the items appeared on the goggle screen. The demonstrator was then able to do a search for the various items and retrieve the corresponding video.'" Add in facial recognition technology and this would make for a great aid at conferences and family reunions.
Earth

Alaskan Village Sues Over Global Warming 670

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the quit-pissin-in-our-pool dept.
hightower_40 writes to mention that a small Alaskan village has sued two dozen oil, power, and coal companies, blaming them for contributing to global warming. "Sea ice traditionally protected the community, whose economy is based in part on salmon fishing plus subsistence hunting of whale, seal, walrus, and caribou. But sea ice that forms later and melts sooner because of higher temperatures has left the community unprotected from fall and winter storm waves and surges that lash coastal areas."

Slashdot Top Deals

I tell them to turn to the study of mathematics, for it is only there that they might escape the lusts of the flesh. -- Thomas Mann, "The Magic Mountain"

Close