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KDE

Submission + - KDE 4 uses 40% less memory despite 3D eye-candy

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Pro-Linux reports that KDE 4, scheduled to be released in January 2008, consumes almost 40% less memory than KDE 3.5, despite the fact that version 4 of the Free and Open Source desktop system includes a composited window manager and a revamped menu and applet interface. KDE developer Will Stephenson showcased KDE 4's 3D eye-candy on a 256Mb laptop with 1Ghz CPU and run-of-the-mill integrated graphics, pointing out that mini-optimizations haven't even yet been started. Will this combination of resource efficiency and consumer appeal make KDE 4 the leader in the booming Linux-based ultra mobile laptop and energy efficient desktop markets?
Censorship

The Register Exposes More Wikipedia Abuse 524

Posted by Zonk from the it's-the-internet-how-could-there-not-be-drama dept.
cyofee writes "The Register has up another article exposing abuse of Wikipedia's policies and processes. It tells a tale of a man, Gary Weiss, controlling the Wikipedia article about himself and his enemies (one of Wikipedia's biggest taboos) all under the blessing of the Wikipedia Cabal. A man who attempted to expose the affair on Wikipedia, along with his his entire IP range (some 1000 homes), was permanently blocked. This comes only days after the affair of the Secret Mailing list."
Censorship

Submission + - The Register exposes more Wikipedia abuse

Submitted by cyofee
cyofee writes: The Register writes another great article exposing the abuse Wikipedia's policies and processes. It tells a tale of a man, Gary Weiss, controlling the Wikipedia article about himself and his enemies, one of the most important things Wikipedia prohibits, all under the blessing of the Wikipedia Cabal, among them the ex-spy-turned-wikipedian Linda Mack, better known as SlimVirgin. A man who attempted to expose the affair on Wikipedia was not only immideately blocked but also had his entire IP range (which covers more then 1000 homes) permanently blocked. This comes only days after the affair of the Secret Mailing list
Security

Submission + - Installing a game patch, CCP removes c:\boot.ini 1

Submitted by
egnop
egnop writes: "So there are about 300k subscribers that play the EVE-online game, at 5 december they had a large patch/upgrade for the game, imagine installing it, reboot your computer and it says, boot.ini missing can't start :-/ From their website: http://www.eve-online.com/ Posted — 2007.12.06 06:19:00 — [1] Please do not reboot your computer without reading this information and determining if your system might be affected. If you upgraded from the Classic client to the Premium client, using the content upgrade, then please read on. Check the root directory of your hard drive and see if you have a boot.ini file, if so then you are not affected. The file is normally hidden so you need to click Tools : Folder Options : View and select "Show hidden files and folders" and uncheck "Hide protected operating system files" to be able to see it. You can also check for the presence of this file by clicking Start : Control Panel : System : Advanced : Startup and Recovery : Settings (third button down). Windows will alert you if the boot.ini file is missing. ... Now that is like sending out a virus to your paying customers, firing the QA departement and going bankrupped?"
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Old Boys Network:: Is it at work on SLASHDOT? 2

Submitted by
raptorialis
raptorialis writes: "I posted an article entitled "British Hacker Cell invents worlds first totally secure laptop computer", which is a sensational story by anybody's standards only to be upended later by a similar, but much less positive story by Bruce Steneier, entitled "IT: Security in Ten Years". I have seen similar patterns, which look to me like Slashdot are taking peoples ideas and attributing them to other people. Also, i see hundreds of interesting articles on Slashdot, but the ones that make centre stage seem to come from a small monopoly of people — such as Zonk, CmdrTaco and ScuttleMonkey. Lets start being a bit more liberal with the centre stage Slashdot — and please publish my article on the worlds first totally secure laptop — because it will save industry billions every year. www.innovationwarfare.com."
Security

Submission + - Vista tougher than XP on piracy (efluxmedia.com)

Submitted by
Josh Fink
Josh Fink writes: "The folks over at efluxmedia have an intersting, if one sided piece on how Vista's piracy rates are half that of XP. From the article: "Microsoft announced yesterday that piracy rates for Windows Vista are half those of XP and this proves that the giant software maker really created its toughest operating system up to date....Additionally, Microsoft announced on Monday that it plans to offer an update for WGA that will run the piracy check regularly, without the computer users initiating the process." I do not believe that Vista is 'tougher' I just believe that it has not been accepted yet by the IT/user world yet. As for WGA being updated and running without consent, I think Microsoft might be called out in the world of privacy, just like how it was when WGA was released."
Security

Submission + - WGA anti-piracy mode for Vista softened thanks to (itwire.com)

Submitted by
WirePosted
WirePosted writes: "Microsoft's new WGA anti-piracy mode in the upcoming Vista SP1 lets users continue using their newly detected non-genuine copies of Vista, albeit with Aero disabled and hourly reminders, in a major backflip. Will pirates give in and pay for a legal copy of Vista Home Premium at less than half price, or consider moving to Linux or Mac OS X instead?"
Science

Dinosaur Fossil Found With Preserved Soft Tissue 248

Posted by CmdrTaco from the begun-the-clone-wars-have dept.
damn_registrars writes "A fossilized hadrosaur has been uncovered in South Dakota that has preserved soft tissue. This is described as a "mummified" dinosaur, and allows for a look at the skin and musculature of some parts of this animal. The find was reported by a 24 year old Yale graduate student of paleontology."
Mozilla

Submission + - Scientists Get Rare Look at Dinosaur Soft Tissue (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by mlimber
mlimber writes: "A high school student hunting fossils in the badlands of his native North Dakota discovered an extremely rare mummified dinosaur that includes not just bones but also seldom seen fossilized soft tissue such as skin and muscles.... The 25-foot-long hadrosaur found by Tyler Lyson in an ancient river flood plain in the dinosaur-rich Hell Creek Formation is apparently the most complete and best preserved of the half-dozen mummified dinosaurs unearthed since early in the last century...."
Government

Submission + - Australia ratifies Kyoto Protocol

Submitted by GroeFaZ
GroeFaZ writes: As the BBC reports, the first political act of the new PM of Australia, Rudd, was to start ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. He was quoted as saying "[Signing the Kyoto Protocol is] a significant step forward in our country's efforts to fight climate change domestically — and with the international community,". That is, the international community without the USA — Australia's ratification made the USA the only industrialized nation to not have signed the Kyoto Protocol.
OS X

Submission + - Java 6 available on OSX thanks to port of OpenJDK (bikemonkey.org)

Submitted by LarsWestergren
LarsWestergren writes: Many Mac users have been upset that Apple has not made Java 6 available on the platform. Landon Fuller posts that there is a developer preview release available of Java JDK6 on Mac OSX, Tiger and Leopard. It is based on the BSD port of Sun's Java 6 and is made available under the Java Research License. Charles Nutter posts about impressive JRuby performance gains using Java 6 on his Mac.
Editorial

Submission + - eBuyer Scam - overcharged a penny every order

Submitted by
Nigel Barker
Nigel Barker writes: "With Christmas coming, I'm sure many of us will be shopping for presents online, but how many will actually check the automated invoice created? The VAT always seems a lot, but sometimes maybe it is more than it should be!

Have a look at eBuyer. When I placed an order recently, it worked out the VAT, and quite happily rounded £22.8777 up to £22.89!

Thinking this must be a quirk, I went off and started another order for a different amount — exactly the same rounding error occurred.

Now, what's a penny, I hear you cry, but how many orders do eBuyer process every day...

I wonder if this is a corporate scam, or if there's a programmer somewhere who built in a nice little nestegg for his retirement.

A couple of examples :-

Samsung printer code 103045 order subtotal £47.32, vat charged £8.30, should be £8.281
Toshiba laptop code 132669 order subtotal £264.27, vat charged £46.26, should be £46.24725

Wonder how many other online retailers are also fleecing us?

Nige

(available for hire for website integrity testing)"
Security

Submission + - By receiving this email you accept our T&Cs 2

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I recently started getting junk email and snail mail from headphoneworld.com, from whom I'd bought some headphones earlier in the year. I'm scrupulous about my privacy so this surprised me. I checked the confirmation email on the order and it contained the following phrase: "By receiving this email from HeadphoneWorld.com you are accepting our terms and conditions". Of course, the t&cs state they can do more or less anythign they like with my details. This can't be legal, can it?
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - BSA, software giants most often target little guys

Submitted by
netbuzz
netbuzz writes: "Actually, 90% of the Business Software Alliance's revenue is squeezed from small businesses accused of using unlicensed software. A lawyer who represents some of them says his clients often suspect that it was the IT guy who just left — and was responsible for the maintaining the licenses — who ratted them out for a big BSA reward.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/22242"

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