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Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Live book/academic search to close (msdn.com)

Submitted by
Chris_Keene
Chris_Keene writes: "The Live Search blog announces that the Live.com Book and Academic Search are to close. Book search in particular has had much coverage (such as these examples), and often seemed like a race with Google. The Live blog says "we are winding down our digitization initiatives, including our library scanning and our in-copyright book programs. We recognize that this decision comes as disappointing news to our partners, the publishing and academic communities, and Live Search users", and goes on "strategy to focus on verticals with high commercial intent, such as travel, and offer users cash back on their purchases from our advertisers"."
Data Storage

How To Move Your Linux Systems To ext4 304

Posted by timothy from the or-you-could-guess dept.
LinucksGirl writes "Ext4 is the latest in a long line of Linux file systems, and it's likely to be as important and popular as its predecessors. As a Linux system administrator, you should be aware of the advantages, disadvantages, and basic steps for migrating to ext4. This article explains when to adopt ext4, how to adapt traditional file system maintenance tool usage to ext4, and how to get the most out of the file system."
Education

For CS Majors, How Important Is the "Where?" 991

Posted by kdawson from the location-location-location dept.
An anonymous reader writes "I'm a high school senior who is trying to pick a college to attend. I've been accepted by two comparably selective schools. One is a highly regarded tech school, and the other is a highly regarded liberal arts institution. I prefer the liberal arts college, but the computer science program is small, graduating about a dozen students a year. The course load is heavily theory based; programming languages are taught in later years. How much would the tech school vs. non tech school matter? Are CS majors from non-tech school considered inferior? What would an HR department think? What would you think if you were hiring?"
Government

Bill Gates's Wish Is Homeland Security's Command 374

Posted by kdawson from the one-way-or-another dept.
theodp writes "PC World reports that DHS has extended the time foreign graduates of US colleges can stay in the country and work to almost two-and-a-half years, an 'emergency' change that drew kudos from Microsoft and other H-1B visa stakeholders. Looks like when Bill Gates says 'Jump,' the government asks 'How high?' Bill Gates's Congressional Testimony, March 12, 2008: 'Extending OPT from 12 to 29 months would help to alleviate the crisis employers are facing due to the current H-1B visa shortage. This only requires action by the Executive Branch, and Congress and this Committee should strongly urge the Department of Homeland Security to take such action immediately.' DHS Press Release, April 4, 2008: 'The US Department of Homeland Security released today an interim final rule extending the period of Optional Practical Training (OPT) from 12 to 29 months for qualified F-1 non-immigrant students.'"
Social Networks

Facebook Interviewer Heckled at Web Conference 179

Posted by CmdrTaco from the go-home-and-cry-in-your-billions dept.
jriding writes "Zuckerberg, the 23-year-old billionaire, was the keynote speaker at the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas. Business Week journalist Sarah Lacy took the stage to question Zuckerberg, but the audience quickly grew tired of the topics she focused on, claiming that the real issues were being ignored. "Never, ever have I seen such a train wreck of an interview," claimed audience member, Jason Pontin." The audience apparently wanted to know more about privacy and portability issues, which I guess shouldn't surprise anyone here.
Software

Mozilla Hitting 'Brick Walls' Getting Firefox on Phones 228

Posted by Zonk from the watch-dino-hit-brick-wall dept.
meteorit writes "Mozilla has been working on a mobile version of Firefox since last year, and is now looking to repeat the success of Firefox on the PC. Although development seems not to have been completed, it is known that informal negotiations have already started with mobile network operators. Firefox Mobile is scheduled to be launched by the end of the year and the inaugural version will be compatible with the Linux and Windows Mobile operating systems. Work is already underway to determine what the browser's UI will look like. In the meantime those negotiations seem to be hitting 'brick walls', as cellphone operators resist the intrusion of the open web onto their platforms."
Mozilla

Firefox 3 Beta 3 Officially Released 337

Posted by kdawson from the back-to-its-roots dept.
firefoxy writes "Mozilla has officially released Firefox 3 beta 3. This release includes new features, user interface enhancements, and theme improvements. Ars Technica has a review with screenshots. 'Firefox 3 is rapidly approaching completion and much of the work that remains to be done is primarily in the category of fit and finish. There will likely only be one more beta release after this one before Mozilla begins issuing final release candidates.'"
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Makes $44.6 Billion Bid for Yahoo

Submitted by
jimboindeutchland
jimboindeutchland writes: "CNBC are running one of the many stories about Microsoft's hostile takeover bid for Yahoo!

Microsoft said Friday it offered to buy Internet media giant Yahoo for $44.6 billion in stock and cash, in an attempt to boost Microsoft's presence in the online services market. Both Microsoft and Yahoo have been struggling to compete with Google, and have fallen behind in the race for online advertising dollars.
MS Exec Steve Balmer went on to say:

We have great respect for Yahoo, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market
I don't remember Microsoft having respect for any company it "embraced". Microsoft's press release has more details."
Media (Apple)

Submission + - Apple starts a fight for fair(er) prices in the UK 1

Submitted by
Ajehals
Ajehals writes: "It is being reported by various sources that Apple has announced that it will reduce the cost of its iTunes music downloads in the UK in line with prices in other EU countries, within the next six months. Apple currently charge 6.75% (79p compared to 74p or about $1.58 compared to $1.48) more per download in the UK, compared with the rest of Europe.

The planned changes come after European Union regulators began investigating iTunes last year about its pricing policies. Apple is now taking action against record labels that charge more to distribute music in the UK than in the rest of Europe. Although positive, this change will still make UK iTunes downloads almost 50% more expensive than in the US. The differences in price are allegedly a result of various Record label's offering different pricing structures in different EU states, under EU copyright law, agreements can be negotiated along national, rather than community-wide lines."
Mozilla

Weave... Mozilla Is Trying To Be More Social 156

Posted by CmdrTaco from the how-about-trying-to-leak-less dept.
Cassanova writes "Weave is the newest Mozilla Labs project. It allows the user to save browser settings on Mozilla servers (Favorites, sessions, passwords, etc.) and load them from anywhere. With this project, Mozilla is trying to be an online services provider, which is an important step. But can Mozilla labs get over the privacy issues?"
Digital

Submission + - What to do with your old computer? 1

Submitted by
nilstar
nilstar writes: "Just like many of you, I have way too many PCs cluttering my house. Some of them have pretty "reasonable" specs (e.g., Athlon XP 2200+). I've tried my hand at selling them on craigslist, ebay and kijiji. But it seems nobody wants them? I even looked at donating them. Charities accepting donated PCs are few and far between in Canada. I found one where I have to drive 100 clicks to their depot because they don't pickup.

What can I do with my old PC hardware?"
The Courts

Fark Seeks to Trademark NSFW 199

Posted by Zonk from the not-so-freaking-wise dept.
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The term NSFW is about to join the :( emoticon, going from a generic, oft-used internet abbreviation, to one company's exclusive trademark. Fark is seeking a trademark on the use of NSFW to describe naughty online content. Of course, they may face a bit of a battle because more than a few other people are already using the term NSFW to describe their products and services. Not that that's stopped anyone in the past." And, of course, the whole thing could be a big practical joke.
It's funny. Laugh.

Unusual Data Disaster Horror Stories 324

Posted by Zonk from the lolcats-can-has-hard-drives dept.
Lucas123 writes "Computerworld has posted stories from a disaster recovery company that include a scientist who drilled into his hard drive in order to pour oil into the mechanism to stop the squeaking. It worked. Of course a dead drive makes no noise. And, then a guy in Thailand who, after discovering ants in his external hard drive, took the cover off in order to spray the interior with insect repellent. Both the ants and the drive died."

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