Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Software

Submission + - Bad file naming (piksels.com)

Submitted by
dizzybastard
dizzybastard writes: "logo.jpg
logoEDITED.jpg
logoEDITED_pink.jpg
logoEDITED_pink2.jpg
etc...
etc...
logoedited_pink2b_real_final2b.jpg

We've all been there before, why does no one do anything about it?"
Microsoft

Submission + - Mac users' Internet experience to remain seamless 2

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: Mac users will continue to see the Internet as it was intended, thanks to the renewal of a font licensing agreement between Microsoft and Apple. At TypeCon2007 Microsoft and Apple announced they have renewed their font licensing agreement, giving Apple users ongoing use of the latest versions of Microsoft Windows core fonts.

Back in 1996 Microsoft started the "Core fonts for the Web" initiative. The idea of this initiative was to create a a standard pack of fonts that would be present on all or most computers, allowing web pages to be displayed consistently on different computers. While the project was terminated in 2002, some of the fonts defined as core fonts for the web have gone on to become known as "web safe fonts", and are therefore widely used by Internet developers.
Biotech

Submission + - Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Growing

Submitted by Bayoudegradeable
Bayoudegradeable writes: What are some of the costs of increased ethanol production? The Times Picayune in New Orleans is reporting on the massive, and growing Dead Zone that forms each summer in the Gulf of Mexico. Farm runoff, fertilizers and the such are the direct cause and the increased corn production to fuel the ethanol craze is making things worse. Sounds like more bad news for an area still struggling to rebound from Katrina.
The Internet

Submission + - Wikipedia admins run mad with power again?

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: It seems "Lou Proctor" wanted to fix a category on an article for convicted child murderer Craig Roger Gregerson and even provided a reference for why he changed it. How does Wikipedia react? By labeling the new user a "sockpuppet" of a banned user based on the flimsiest evidence this side of a kangaroo court. After multiple requests for unblock by the user, it's boiled down to "you are a sockpuppet because a few users think you are, and you can not defend yourself". With admins on Wikipedia becoming more of a hindrance than a help to the project, one must wonder if the entire process needs a serious review.
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft shareholders paid for upside surprise

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: According to Carl Howe at Seeking Alpha, "Microsoft achieved record breaking earnings during the Vista launch quarter by taking money out of its assets, not through amazing sales of Vista and Office."

The article says, "Microsoft's own numbers tell us the way it is making more and more each quarter is partly funded by making each share worth less and less in assets. At the very least, this fact that Microsoft is dipping into its assets to pay for its record earnings makes me question just how successful those Vista and Office launches really were. Judging from the reaction of Microsoft's stock price after those record earnings — and the fact that it remains lower than it was three months ago before the Vista launch — that fact hasn't been lost on Wall Street either."
Announcements

Submission + - Circuit City Honors America's Firefighters

Submitted by
Matt Navitsky
Matt Navitsky writes: "Hello,

My name is Matt Navitsky and I'm getting in touch with Slashdot on behalf of Circuit City's firedog services. The "firedog Across America" contest was launched by Circuit City this past winter to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to America's firefighters. Now we need help selecting the $100,000 grand prize winner. On top of that, every vote cast will result in a $1 donation to the voter's chosen firehouse. We'd be thrilled if you could let Slashdot readers know about the contest so they can help raise money for America's fire safety professionals.

Over 5,000 essays were submitted to www.firedog.com between December 6, 2006 and March 31, 2007, describing the ways in which these everyday heroes go above and beyond the call of duty. From helping communities recover after tragedies, to touching the hearts of those in need, these stories are truly inspiring. Circuit City recently visited the finalists and created a video story for each to help bring the essays to life. Videos for all finalists can be viewed here: http://web.firedog.com/acrossamerica/vote.aspx.

Now that the ten finalists have been selected, we need everyone's help deciding who the grand prize winner will be. Each of the ten finalist firehouses will receive $20,000 for much-needed equipment and the corresponding essay writer will receive a home "techover" worth $10,000, courtesy of Circuit City's firedog(SM) services team.

And as a firedog Across America finalist, these ten firehouses are now eligible to win additional funding during this final stage of the campaign when America votes for a $100,000 grand prize winner. Until May 13, Americans can visit www.firedog.com to view all ten firehouse finalists' stories (also pasted below this email) and vote for their favorite. Each vote will result in a donation of $1 to the voter's chosen firehouse. At the culmination of the voting stage, the firehouse with the most votes will win the grand prize. The winner will be announced the week of May 14, 2007.

Circuit City developed firedog across America to kick off its new service, firedog, a one-stop shop for consumers' technology needs: www.firedog.com. Circuit City's firedog technicians install, optimize, repair, and make technology purchases simple so consumers don't have to waste time with piles of manuals and tricky cables.

As part of the December launch, Circuit City and firedog also presented $100,000 donations to both the FDNY Foundation, which supports New York City Fire Department initiatives, and the National Law Enforcement and Firefighters Children's Foundation for its efforts in helping children of law enforcement and firefighting personnel. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta were on hand to receive the donations.

Again, we wanted to share information about the firedog Across America contest with Slashdot in hopes that you'd let your readers know about it and help us honor and generate donations for America's fire safety community. I've included the list of ten finalist firehouses below. Please let me know if you decide to encourage your readers to vote for their favorite at www.firedog.com or if I can provide you with further information.

If you do decide to share the contest with your readers, visit our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/circuitcityfiredog where you'll find the ten finalist videos available for embedding. There is also a banner available for your use. If you'd like me to send it, please let me know.

Best,

Matt

Matt Navitsky
Fleishman-Hillard
On behalf of firedog
202-659-5897

firedog Across America Finalists:

Chesapeake Fire Station #15 — Chesapeake, VA
A Virginia fire station guides troubled youths on the road to self-discovery with a unique outdoor adventure program that teaches important life skills, including coping, problem solving, trust, teamwork and communication.

Chickahominy Volunteer Fire Department Station 10 — Ashland, VA
A young man with Down syndrome sees his lifelong dream come true when a Virginia firehouse asks him to join its squad.

Contra Costa County Engine 83 — Antioch, CA
California firefighters risk their own safety to assist a local police officer shot in the line of duty, comforting the injured officer in his final moments of life even while the gunman is still at large.

Dover Fire & Rescue — Dover, NH
A New Hampshire firehouse exemplifies brotherhood when it reaches to support a squad member's family after he's deployed to Iraq with the National Guard.

Keeseville Volunteer Fire Department — Keeseville, NY
Despite limited financial resources, a local rescue squad leads a ten-day search to recover the body of a missing rafter lost on New York's Au Sable River long after federal, state and county rescue agencies had given up hope.

Newportville Fire Company No.1 — Levittown, PA
A firehouse brings joy to a local 4-year-old with terminal brain cancer by naming him Honorary Fire Chief, inspiring the squad and winning the affection of the entire Pennsylvania community.

Reminderville Fire Department — Reminderville, OH
An entire Ohio firehouse walks in the American Cancer Society's 24-hour-long Relay for Life and shocks bystanders by running — in full gear — the final 30 minutes of the course.

Rockaway Point Fire Department — Breezy Point, NY
New York station demonstrates unyielding commitment to public service with contributions to the 9-11 recovery efforts and annual participation in the "Wounded Warriors" event, which hosts injured Iraq War veterans from Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

San Diego Rural Fire Station #76 — El Cajon, CA
A firefighter turns his Harbison Canyon home into a temporary firehouse when Firestorm 2003 destroys everything in its path including his squad's station and equipment.

West Jackson County Volunteer Fire Department — Biloxi, MS
Concerned citizens-turned-firefighters lead a grassroots effort to bring fire safety to a small Mississippi town and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina become an integral part of the disaster recovery process."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft's new validation policy

Submitted by
fishyfool
fishyfool writes: "Microsoft has started a new policy of authenticating the Windows operating system. Previously when a user has installed Windows they had to activate the OS with Microsoft online or by phone. One could understand why Microsoft put the activation process into place, with all the pirating that was taking place with early verisons of Windows. Now Microsoft has taken authentication of the Microsoft Validation to a whole new level. Starting now, they will be checking your operating system every month. mypcpros.com"
Security

Submission + - Hard drive snafu has NBA star suing, fuming

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "All basketball player Bruce Bowen wanted was his hard drive fixed. What he got apparently is an invasion of privacy and a big mess. The Smoking Gun Website says the San Antonio Spurs forward hired a Texas company to fix but instead the repair company removed the machine's hard drive and sold the item — which contained confidential personal and financial information — to another customer. Bowen is now seeking over $2 million in damages from Computer Nerdz, the San Antonio company used to repair his Gateway computer. http://www.networkworld.com/community3/?q=node/147 53"
Encryption

Submission + - Phone taps in Italy boosts cellular encryption

Submitted by
morpheus83
morpheus83 writes: "A number of Italian politicians, businessmen, soccer players and coaches, showgirls and actors nailed due to their negligent use of the mobile phone as they have had their personal conversations recorded by official or nubile detectives and then leaked to the press. This has fueled a rush for cellular encryption which works like this — phones on both sides of the voice conversation have a software preloaded which once activated through a personal key code scrambles or encryptes the user's voice. The data is then send through a normal GSM cellphone network, received by the listener's phone and then decrypted back into decipherable language, all of which causes a slight delay."
Music

Submission + - New Royalty Rates to Bankrupt Webcasters

Submitted by
scifience
scifience writes: "Earlier today the new royalty rates for US-based webcasters were announced by the Copyright Royalty Board. Under the new system, a station with just 1000 listeners will be charged over $150,000 a year in royalties. The worst part? The rates are effective retroactively to the beginning of 2006. The royalties were proposed and will be collected by RIAA-backed SoundExchange. Luckily, the rates are still subject to appeal. More information on the changes and what can be done to stop the RIAA from destroying internet radio here."
Businesses

Best Buy Confirms 'Secret' Version of its Website 356

Posted by Zonk from the probably-should-have-kept-that-under-wraps dept.
Iberian writes "The Courant site confirms an oft-rumoured possibility: Best Buy does indeed maintain a second website for what one could assume is for the purpose of defrauding its customers. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal ordered the investigation into Best Buy's practices on Feb. 9 after columnist George Gombossy disclosed the website and showed how employees at two Connecticut stores used it to deny customers a $150 discount on a computer advertised on BestBuy.com. Says Gombossy, 'What is more troubling to me, and to some Best Buy customers, is that even when one informs a salesperson of the Internet price, customers have been shown the intranet site, which looks identical to the Internet site, but does not always show the lowest price. [State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal] said that because of the fuzzy responses from Best Buy, he has yet to figure out the real motivation behind the intranet site and whether sales people are encouraged to use it to cheat customers.'"

Slashdot Top Deals

He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him. -- Bion

Close