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Ubuntu

Submission + - The (Involuntary) Unification of Linux (lunduke.com) 1

Submitted by jbChrisLAS
jbChrisLAS writes: A look back over the last few years of Desktop Linux usage shows stunning trends that would seem to indicate a process of natural selection for desktop Linux, one that's leading to a unified Linux Desktop.

Submission + - HTML5 vs Flash (silicon.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Here's an article that provides a lowdown on whether HTML5 is going to smackdown Flash when it comes to mobile apps or whether the standard will be obsolete by the time that its specifications are finally ratified.

Comment use statistical analysis (Score 1) 483

by anomalous cohort (#31076932) Attached to: How Do You Accurately Estimate Programming Time?
Estimating requirements is very important and software engineers should attempt to improve their estimating skills. Overly optimistic estimates is the second highest cause for runaway projects. Consider a statistical approach such as FPA whose accuracy improves over time. Having to double your estimate is just a symptom of poor change management and other process immaturities. If you get push back on FPA because of its complexity, then consider rolling your own more simplified approach.

Submission + - What's holding back encryption?

Submitted by
nine-times
nine-times writes: "After many years in IT, I've been surprised to notice how much of my traffic is still unencrypted. A lot of businesses that I interact with (both business and personal) are still using unencrypted FTP, and very few people use any kind of encryption for email. Most websites are still using unencrypted HTTP. DNSSEC seems to be picking up some steam, but still doesn't seem to be widely used. I would have thought there would be a concerted effort to move toward encryption for the sake of security, but it doesn't seem to be happening.

I wanted to ask the Slashdot community, what do you think the hold up is? Are the existing protocols somehow not good enough? Are the protocols fine, but not supported well enough in software? Is it too complicated to manage the various encryption protocols and keys? Is it ignorance or apathy on the part of the IT community, and that we've failed to demand it from our vendors?

What challenges have you faced in trying to increase your use of encryption, and what do you think we can do about it?"
Businesses

Submission + - Where Do Old Space Shuttles Go When They Die?

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "Russia's Space Shuttle, Buran, ended it's days at a theme park in Moscow and was once offered for sale on the Internet for 3 million dollars. Now the NY Times reports that when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration put out the call in December, 2008 seeking buyers for US shuttles from museums, schools and elsewhere, the agency didn't get as much interest as expected, so now NASA has slashed the price of the 1970s-era spaceships, available for sale this fall once their flying days are over, from $42 million to just $28.8 million apiece. “We’re confident that we’ll get other takers,” says agency spokesman Mike Curie. The Discovery is already promised to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum but the Atlantis and the Endeavour are still up for grabs and it is possible that the Enterprise, a shuttle prototype that never made it to space, will also be available. The lower price is based on NASA’s estimate of the cost for transporting a shuttle from Kennedy Space Center to a major airport, and for displaying it indoors in a climate-controlled building. As for the space shuttle main engines, those are now free. NASA advertised them in December 2008 for $400,000 to $800,000 each, but no one expressed interest. So now the engines are available, along with other shuttle artifacts, for the cost of transportation and handling."

Comment Re:Pictures (Score 2, Informative) 121

by anomalous cohort (#29511825) Attached to: Dymaxion Car Being Restored
It isn't the car that makes the story news worthy. It is the inventor. Bucky Fuller was an extremely visionary and inspirational engineer. He predates software so don't hold it against him but he was an individual holder of about 50 patents of which the Dymaxion car was one. He had a bit of a post mortem come back last year with an exhibit at the Whitney.
Programming

Submission + - Why Do You Participate in Open Source? (dynamicalsoftware.com)

Submitted by
anomalous cohort
anomalous cohort writes: "We are in the early planning stages for an open source project that we believe will be of great interest and use to many people, both developers and non-developers alike. Not only is the project to be open source and that we would want developers to participate on the core but also we would like to foster a community where a large body of developers, with widely divergent skills and competence, could extend the core functionality. Think of it as a drupal or wordpress but for research purposes instead of publishing purposes.

We strongly believe that the success of this project will be very much dependent on the viability of the developer community that supports it. So, we are conducting some "market research" here. We want to do this right the first time.

What is "the good, the bad, and the ugly" when it comes to open source projects? What works for you and what doesn't? What open source projects blundered in the past and why? We're looking for tips and tricks as to how to do it right."

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Heard that the next Space Shuttle is supposed to carry several Guernsey cows? It's gonna be the herd shot 'round the world.

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