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Linux Business

Submission + - SCO, Linux and Rob Enderle

Submitted by Peter Kern
Peter Kern writes: With SCO laying flat on the floor, there are lots of open stories surrounding the Linux lawsuit story are also finding their conclusions. One of the more interesting side aspects of the whole SCO debacle was an article and a keynote of analyst Rob Enderle that put him in the midst of a firestorm and according to him, brought several death threats. The recent events prompted Enderle, just like Forbes' Dan Lyons, to recall the events from a few years ago and reflect on them from today's view. As Lyons, he also said that he was misled by SCO, but has some words for the Linux community as well. It's interesting read and teaches not just Enderle, but us all a lesson to step back and take a deep breath before making hasty judgments based on our emotions.
Linux Business

Submission + - PWC migrates to OpenBSD after crippling by Windows (computerworld.com.au) 1

Submitted by
Renegade88
Renegade88 writes: "After months of network failures and depleted IT budget, newly hired IT manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Japan was "forced" to migrate half of the company's Windows servers to OpenBSD to stabilize and secure their network. After eliminating the frequent downtime and data loss PWC had experienced for months, Mark Uemura was ordered to reinstate their Checkpoint firewall for political reasons. The Checkpoint server was later overwhelmed by a network virus so rather than taking it offline again, PWC placed an OpenBSD firewall in front of the Checkpoint Firewall! Mark's advice: "My experience is that if something has to be done, just do it — don't ask! [Management] will thank you later.""
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft struggling to gain endorsement for OOXML (computerworld.com.au)

Submitted by Tri
Tri writes: The Open Source Industry of Australia (OSIA) has formally contacted Standards Australia, requesting that Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML) format not be endorsed by the body as an ISO standard.

  "Quite apart from the technical problems with OOXML, the main problem from OSIA's point of view is a substantive one — the 'standard' is designed so that it can only be implemented by a single vendor", said Brendan Scott, Director of Open Source Industry Australia. "So, while in theory a third party could create an independent implementation, in practice it is very unlikely", he said.
Software

Submission + - Another wave of Apple Software/Firmware updates (macscoop.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It appears that Apple's software development team is not taking holidays this summer as updates are still to raining. Among them, Aperture, Front Row, iPhoto, iMac Software and Mac Pro Firmware.
XBox (Games)

Submission + - Xbox 360 Hardware Downfall (theweeklypixel.com)

Submitted by
fusiongt
fusiongt writes: "Microsoft recently announced that the Xbox 360 will be getting price cuts in North America. Effective August 8th, the Xbox 360 price cuts will be the following: Xbox 360 Elite Model: $449 Xbox 360 Standard: $349 Xbox 360 Core: $279. These price cuts have been rumored over the past few weeks so Im glad its finally out and officially announced. The price cuts are good news but instead of just announcing that, I wanted to inform people about what kind of product the 360 really is. I have some serious issues with the Xbox 360. My biggest problem with the 360 is that it isnt built very good and Microsoft seems extremely reluctant to do anything about it.

Read more here: http://www.theweeklypixel.com/editorials/xbox360/3 60-hardware-downfall.html"
Microsoft

Submission + - Top 5 Things About Vista That Still Suck

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Assessing the operating system 9 months after is release, InfoWeek has come up with what it thinks are the Top 5 Things About Windows Vista That Still Suck. The list ranges from the User Account Controls, which it says provide a false sense of security, to Microsoft's claims that 512-MB of memory is enough for adequate performance of Vista Home. Also on the list is poor performance of IE7, automated Windows Update, which pushes unwanted patches to unsuspecting users, and Vista's "Not Responding" messages when apps lock up. Do you think this is a fair list, and also what issues do you see as the big remaining Vista problems?
Communications

Submission + - Mot Finally Ships Linux Mobile Phones in the U.S.

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: At long last, Motorola has finally shipped its first Linux-based mobile phone 'bound for North America.' The RAZR2 V8, which quietly became available last month, is a highly multimedia-oriented quad-band GSM/GPRS phone, with features such as Windows Media Player 11 codec, a USB 2.0 interface supporting 480Mbps file transfers, and a 'music touchscreen' on the external display. The company is also going to supplying a development toolsuite aimed at encouraging the development of third-party native Linux apps. Motorola announced plans to adopt Linux more than four years ago, but has shipped Linux phones in volume only in Asia and Latin America, to date.
Slashback

Submission + - How eBay doesnt collapse. Scientific American

Submitted by David Greenspan
David Greenspan writes: Ever wonder why sellers on eBay aren't more dishonest? Scientific American did. In an article titled "Is Greed Good?" they discuses how it is possible for eBay to function since many scientists believe in the concept of "Homo economicus (economic man)" that a man is "a rational, selfish person who single-mindedly strives for maximum profit." According to that concept every seller should simply flee with the buyers' money yet this is clearly not the case, Scientific American discusses why. Scientific American
Movies

Submission + - NVIDIA Premieres "The Plush Life" (hothardware.com)

Submitted by
bigwophh
bigwophh writes: "To showcase the advanced rendering features of NVIDIA's Gelato GPU-accelerated rendering software, Timothy Heath and his team from the NVIDIA Digital Film Group put together a short film dubbed "The Plush Life" featuring Lundo and Flint, two plush characters with a penchant for joyriding in their 1969 Buick Electra. The Plush Life is the first release in a planned series of animated short films created with Gelato using some of its more advanced features like subsurface scattering, depth-of-shadows, and a new shader technology used to create the velvety appearance of the "Flint" character. HotHardware has more information regarding the short film and an array of impressive screenshots that are as good as any animated feature film released to date."
Books

Submission + - New Explanation for the Industrial Revolution (hughpickens.com)

Submitted by
Pcol
Pcol writes: "The New York Times is running a story on Dr. Gregory Clark's book "A Farewell to Alms" with a new explanation for the Industrial Revolution and the affluence it created. Dr. Clark, an economic historian at the University of California Davis, postulates that the surge in economic growth that occurred first in England around 1800 came about because of the strange new behaviors of nonviolence, literacy, long working hours and a willingness to save. Clark's research shows that between 1200 and 1800, the rich had more surviving children than the poor and that this caused constant downward social mobility as the poor failed to reproduce themselves and the progeny of the rich took over their occupations. "The modern population of the English is largely descended from the economic upper classes of the Middle Ages," Clark concludes. Work hours increased, literacy and numeracy rose, and the level of interpersonal violence dropped. Around 1790, a steady upward trend in production efficiency caused a significant acceleration in the rate of productivity growth that at last made possible England's escape from the Malthusian trap. Why did the Industrial Revolution first occur in England instead of the much larger populations of China or Japan. Clark has found data showing that their richer classes, the Samurai in Japan and the Qing dynasty in China, were surprisingly unfertile and failed to generate the downward social mobility that spread production-oriented values."
Security

Submission + - Administrators watch out: "Chaos" about to (heise-security.co.uk)

Submitted by
juct
juct writes: "The CCC summer camp is about to start and administrators are advised to check their web pages more often than usual to check whether geeks have wreaked havoc there. The number of web page manipulation incidents always increases during CCC events. During the 21st Chaos Communication Congress in 2004, about 18,000 web sites suffered intrusions, this year there are already three sites listed as being hacked before the event even started."
PC Games (Games)

Submission + - Too old to game? 1

Submitted by Jeek Elemental
Jeek Elemental writes: Ive been gaming for pretty much my whole life, starting on the venerable Vic-20. Other interests around computers have waxed and waned, though gaming has always had its hooks deeply embedded.
Lately, at 32 years old, I just cant seem to get into any games at all. Every one I try is a disappointment and quickly put away.
I should note I speak of straight-pc games, not them new-fangled Sousaphone-hero or what have you on the consoles. My all-time favorites would have to be UT2k4 and Neverwinter Nights, both online.

Am I just gamed-out? Are new games crap? Should I let Wii woo mee? When did you stop gaming and if you didnt what do you play?

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