Fifty Points - Slashdot User

Submission + - Drop Math to Make Your School Look Good

Submitted by

Coryoth

on Tuesday April 24, 2007 @07:15PM

Coryoth writes: "The BBC is reporting on accusations that UK students are being encouraged to drop mathematics and other "hard" courses so that schools can look better on league tables. Instead students are encouraged to take what are percieved to be easier courses in which they can earn better grades, and hence raise the school's standings. In response UK Universities are having to provide remedial math courses for the incoming science students who have not taken upper level math courses at high school."

Submission + - New Tom Clancy Franchise Announced

Submitted by

everything_X3N

on Tuesday April 24, 2007 @07:07PM

everything_X3N writes: "Gamasutra has announced EndWar, a new game in the Tom Clancy franchise. EndWar is set sometime in the future and is based on a World War III scenario. Interestingly, the game will not be a tactical shooter or stealth action game like the other Tom Clancy series Rainbow Six, Ghost Recon, and Splinter Cell. EndWar will be a strategy game, although it is uncertain whether it will be Real-Time Strategy. The creative designer of Rome: Total War, Michael de Plater, is leading the project. This might lead some gamers to wonder whether EndWar will be similar to a modern combat 'Total War' game?"

Submission + - Uk considering Cyber Crime Site

Submitted by Hennell on Tuesday April 24, 2007 @06:18PM

Hennell writes: Attempting to keep up with technology and technology related crimes is obviously a hard task, and whilst big companies can use the legal system if caught out, the average person doesn't always seem to have much methods for help. The UK's House of Lord's Science and Technology select committee, are considering a website where people can report incidents of cyber-crime.

From the article:
"One of the problems is that people who, for example, have been the victim of an eBay scam tend to think how stupid they were and that there is no point in going to police. If you were mugged you would be sure to go straight to the police," he said.
"In the UK, people are being told to go to their bank first. We are not sure that is right. These are crimes and the police should be equipped to deal with them," Lord Broers said.

Submission + - Recording Industry vs The People

Submitted by Dimentox on Tuesday April 24, 2007 @05:27PM

Dimentox writes: The RIAA and Ms. Andersen have finally squared off over the counterclaims in Atlantic v. Andersen in Oregon, with the RIAA moving to dismiss Ms. Andersen's counterclaims. Ms. Andersen has interposed counterclaims for Electronic Trespass, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Invasion of Privacy, Fraud, Negligent Misrepresentation, the tort of Outrage, Deceptive Business Practices under Oregon Trade Practices Act, and the Oregon RICO statute. The RIAA has moved to dismiss the counterclaims. Ms. Andersen opposes the RIAA's motion. More at http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/

Submission + - Patent Reform Legislation Hits The U.S. Congress

Submitted by mrneutron2004 on Thursday April 19, 2007 @02:41PM

mrneutron2004 writes: Finally, someone on Capital Hill woke up and noticed how utterly absurd modern patent law. Abuse of patent law has spiraled out of control in the digital age, with many companies being taken to the cleaners for significantly huge sums over what we feel are extremely vague patents. Two congressmen from both parties have begun forcing through legislation to significantly cap patent infringement awards. Let's hope that alongside this potentially positive development, the U.S. Judiciary will get involved in self-education. As large an issue is a judiciary that fundamentally doesn't understand technology, and the absurdly vague patents and suits thereof that cycle through our legal system. http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/patent-refo rm-legislation-hits-the-u.s.-congress.html?Itemid= 60

Submission + - NASA to Test Portable Robot Surgeon

Submitted by NasaBolt on Thursday April 19, 2007 @02:10PM

NasaBolt writes: Doctors and scientists from the University of Washington will get a glimpse of what it would be like to do remote surgery in space when a portable medical robot they created will be tested next month in an underwater environment designed by NASA to simulate zero gravity.

Submission + - SCO Chairman Fights to Ban Open Wireless Networks

Submitted by

cachedout

on Thursday April 19, 2007 @01:17PM

cachedout writes: "SCO's Ralph Yarro had the floor yesterday at the Utah Technology Commission meeting in front of Utah lawmakers. Yarro proposed that free wireless sites and subscribers should be held responsible should any porn be delivered to minors because hotspots are apparently where kids go to watch porn all day long. Yarro told lawmakers that open wireless access points should be made a crime because we have an Internet out of control."

Submission + - Canadian MP Calls For ISP Licenses, Content Blocks

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19, 2007 @12:50PM

An anonymous reader writes: A member of Canada's ruling Conservative party has pledged to "clean up" the Internet with new bill that would mandate ISP licensing, know-your-subscriber rules, and allow the government to order ISPs to block content. ISPs that fail to block would faces possible jail time for the company's directors and officers.

Submission + - Lyrid meteors no moon this weekend

Submitted by

mdsolar

on Thursday April 19, 2007 @12:42PM

mdsolar writes: "If you want to take a chance on the Lyrid Meteor Shower you should be looking this weekend. This shower is usually a quiet one but can result is spactacular displays from time to time. Sky and Telescope http://skytonight.com/observing/objects/meteors/33 05866.html has this to say:

In 1982 the rate unexpectedly reached 90 for a single hour, and 180 to 300 for a few minutes. A brief outburst of 100 per hour was also seen in 1922. And on April 20, 1803, residents of Richmond, Virginia, upon being rousted out of bed by a fire bell, were startled to see great numbers of meteors in all parts of the sky.

http://www.earthsky.org/article/49561/who-should-w atch-the-lyrid-meteor-shower gives viewing times as the very early hours of Sunday and Monday morning. The Moon will have set by then."

Submission + - Yahoo sued over jailing of Chinese dissident

Submitted by

David Gerard

on Thursday April 19, 2007 @12:34PM

David Gerard writes: "The World Organization for Human Rights USA has just filed a federal lawsuit against Yahoo over the company's decision to release dissident e-mails to the Chinese government. Alleging that Yahoo's actions were directly responsible for Wang Xiaoning's detention, abuse, and current 10-year prison sentence, the group claims that Yahoo is liable under both the Alien Tort Statue and the Torture Victim Protection Act."

Submission + - Microsoft/Samsung Ink Patent Deal

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19, 2007 @12:19PM

An anonymous reader writes: As part of an ongoing effort to secure more patent cross-licensing deals, Microsoft said Wednesday that it has signed a pact with Korea's Samsung Electronics. As with Microsoft's recent deal with Fuji Xerox, the software maker specifically notes that the deal will allow Samsung to offer products using Linux without concern that Microsoft will sue it or its customers. More info here

Submission + - Open Source Medical Journal

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19, 2007 @12:06PM

An anonymous reader writes: After the Canadian Medical Association Journal was embroiled in a series of editorial disputes, a number of their editors quit/were fired in protest to what they felt was excessive editorial control by the Canadian Medical Association and excessive influence of the Pharmaceutical industry. They've taken a new angle to providing the medical community with scientific medical information: they've started an open source medical journal.

Submission + - Linux on the TabletPC

Submitted by

n9uxu8

on Thursday April 19, 2007 @11:42AM

n9uxu8 writes: "The workplace just puchased a Toshiba (m400) TabletPC for training purposes. I liked it so much I bought a tablet (HP TC4400) for myself. While officially rescinding my previous rants against the TabletPC format, I'm still currently staring at a windows box. With the recent announcements of the Mandriva's and Ubuntu's latest releases, it seems an appropriate time to focus the usual my distro is better than your distro rants with the following question: which distro, in your experience, actually offers best tablet support out of the box? Key features include pen (and pressure) support, handwriting recognition, screen rotation and suspend to disk/ram.

Dave"

Submission + - Microsoft to offer $3 introductory suite

Submitted by

Red Flayer

on Thursday April 19, 2007 @11:38AM

Red Flayer writes: "PCWorld reports that Microsoft has announced its intentions to make a $3 suite of products available to students in developing nations.

More information about the Student Innovation Suite can be found on Microsoft's Web site. The low-priced software suite is part of Microsoft's Partners in Learning program, a five-year, $250 million plan to help educators distribute software and training to students.
Altruism, you might ask?

"You'll find that Microsoft would be fairly open if pushed that they don't go into a market for philanthropic reasons," said Clive Longbottom, founder and analyst of Quocirca, a technology research firm in London. He said Microsoft has to find more creative ways to distribute its software in emerging markets where open-source software and Linux have a foothold.
I guess this will help partly replace the wink-wink-nudge-nudge policy regarding piracy of Microsoft Products in developing nations."

Submission + - Wii and DS Turn Nintendo Into Juggernaut Again

Submitted by

David Kesmodel from WSJ

on Thursday April 19, 2007 @10:50AM

David Kesmodel from WSJ writes: "Against the odds, Nintendo has become the company to beat in the videogame business, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Wii is flying off store shelves nearly as quickly as the company can make them, overshadowing the even greater success of Nintendo DS, a portable game player that's still selling briskly more than two years after its launch. The Japanese company's unexpected strength is causing broader changes throughout the industry, the WSJ reports."

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