djones101 - Slashdot User

Submission + - U.S. Senators Threaten Canada Over Movie Piracy

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 05, 2007 @01:22PM

An anonymous reader writes: Michael Geist reports that U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and John Corwyn have written an angry letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to complain about alleged Canadian movie piracy. The Senators rehash discredited claims about the extent and impact of camcording, bizzarely taking credit for the elimination of camcording in the U.S. due to their legislation.

Submission + - Using the Web to Get the Boss to Pay More

Submitted by

Arun Jacob

on Monday March 05, 2007 @12:19PM

Arun Jacob writes: "The NYT has an interesting article — Using the Web to Get the Boss to Pay More — on online tools that can help in salary negotiations. Link here (Free registration required).

To summarise, the article talks about the websites that provide information on standard compensation packages for your position and role. Using this information, it should be easier to negotiate your pay with a fact-based approach rather than "feelings-based" approach. The sites profiled are —
Salary.com (Data available only for US)
Payscale.com (International)"

Submission + - Database test: 8-way Opteron - Sun X4200 and other

Submitted by

Robbedoeske

on Monday March 05, 2007 @09:31AM

Robbedoeske writes: "Computers with x86-processors come in many shapes and sizes, ranging from ultra-slim notebooks for business folks to neon-pimped desktops for gamers. One of the most excessive members of this family is the Sun Fire X4600, a server that can accommodate up to eight dualcore Opterons in its casing. Compared to this machine, all the gear that we tested earlier looks like a bunch of toys. But is it possible to use sixteen cores effectively? And if so, do things run smoothly enough to justify a price tag of more than 35,000 euros? These are the question we shall be trying to answer in this review."

Submission + - Microsoft Announces Alans to Update LIVE

Submitted by

Lassiter

on Monday March 05, 2007 @09:24AM

Lassiter writes: "A big announcement came from Microsoft camp today to increase the official size limit of Xbox LIVE Arcade games from 50MB to 150MB. To support the change, on April 3rd Microsoft will be releasing a 512MB Memory Unit worldwide for the Xbox 360, set to retail in the US for $49.99. Eight times larger than the current 64MB unit (which will simultaneously drop in price from $39.99 to $29.99), the 512MB unit will come with Bizzare Creations hit LIVE title Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved preloaded for a limited time. For the full story, go to http://www.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/11528/Microso ft_Announces_Plans_to_Upgrade_LIVE.html"

Submission + - add yourself to the free(er) computing worldmap

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 05, 2007 @08:41AM

An anonymous reader writes: As many people who now depend on someone nearby for their MS-only software don't dare to try something else cause they think it's difficult and will be 'on their own' a map was started to show you free help is near. Go add yourself to the map at http://homecomputerhelp.org/

Submission + - Microsoft Australia sells Office Ultimate for $75

Submitted by

miaDWZ

on Monday March 05, 2007 @08:16AM

miaDWZ writes: "Microsoft recently put up a website, "It's not cheating", offering Australian University students a chance to purchase Microsoft Office Ultimate Edition for either a one-time fee of AUD$75, or alternatively, as a one-year subscription for AUD$25 (it usually sells for over AUD$1000). Microsoft's website details the offer, and mentions that the subscription can be upgraded to a full license for the extra $50 at any point during the year. This offer differs from Microsoft Office Home & Student Edition, which allows installation on up to 3 computers. The Ultimate version does, however, include useful applications such as Outlook and Access, often used in University environments. It will be interesting to see if this offer is extended, or even expanded to include other countries."

Submission + - Why the RIAA is Bad - In a Nutshell

Submitted by

JeremyDuffy

on Monday March 05, 2007 @08:02AM

JeremyDuffy writes: "This is probably the best summary of who the RIAA is and what they stand for that I've ever heard:

The RIAA is like the Prohibitionists of old. In their view, the law cannot allow for something completely reasonable such as legal circumvention because it could be abused. Millions of people are thereby punished. Yet this is not how a civil society typically functions. Life is full of potentially dangerous products, services, and ideas. It's up to individuals to take responsibility for their actions, because we all know that catering to the lowest common denominator does not give birth to a free society, let alone an intelligent one. Yet the RIAA will stop at nothing to make sure that you and I never have the chance to make such decisions for ourselves.
By "legal circumvention", he refers to the the practice of circumventing Data Rights Management (DRM) for legal purposes such as making personal backup copies, educational uses, and other Fair Use practices. The RIAA is against it because they know that all it takes is one user with a DRM-free copy to post a song online for it to be shared everywhere in the world."

Feed Top Secret: We're Wiretapping You (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed on Monday March 05, 2007 @07:32AM

The feds accidentally give a D.C. attorney a classified document showing that the NSA intercepted his phone calls without a warrant. When they ask for it back, they get a $2 million lawsuit along with it. By Ryan Singel.

Submission + - Cell phone service in a bomb shelter

Submitted by hedgemage on Friday March 02, 2007 @05:36PM

hedgemage writes: I work at a retirement home and we have trouble with the cell phones that our nursing and maintenance staff use. The problem is that our nursing home area is built into a lower level that was originally constructed as a fallout shelter in 1960. There's a lot of solid concrete in the walls and ceiling. We have paid out tens of thousands to try and get an on-site mobile to work using NEC Dterm PSII phones, but they have proven absolutely unreliable (not just in the bomb shelter but throughout the campus) and the only solution our telecom provider has is to install several thousand dollars more in transcievers. If we could use ordinary cell phones, it would be ideal for everyone. Is there an off-the-shelf solution that could boost regular cellular signals in our bomb shelter?

Submission + - Best Buy Confirms 'secret' Website

Submitted by Iberian on Friday March 02, 2007 @05:10PM

Iberian writes: Courant.com confirms Best Buy does indeed maintain a second website for what one could only assume is for fraudulent purposes.

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal ordered the investigation into Best Buy's practices on Feb. 9 after my column 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.

Submission + - Scientist: Sun is Warming Both Earth and Mars

Submitted by

MCraigW

on Friday March 02, 2007 @05:05PM

MCraigW writes: "Simultaneous warming on Earth and Mars suggests that our planet's recent climate changes have a natural — and not a human-induced — cause. Earth is currently experiencing warming, which climate scientists say is due to humans pumping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Mars, too, appears to be enjoying more mild and balmy temperatures.

In 2005 data from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor and Odyssey missions revealed that the carbon dioxide "ice caps" near Mars's south pole had been diminishing for three summers in a row.

Habibullo Abdussamatov, head of the St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory in Russia, says the Mars data is evidence that the current global warming on Earth is being caused by changes in the sun."

Submission + - John Edwards Second Life HQ Flooded with Feces

Submitted by

silentounce

on Friday March 02, 2007 @04:23PM

silentounce writes: "The Table of Malcontents reports that late Monday, February 26, John Edwards Second Life Campaign HQ was attacked by cyber-vandalists. 'They plastered the area with Marxist/Lenninist posters and slogans, a feces spewing obsenity, and a photoshopped picture of John in blackface.' Related post on John Edwards blog.

Stories like the above and this make me almost want to visit Second Life."

Submission + - Why DRM Cannot Open Up New Business Models

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 02, 2007 @04:11PM

An anonymous reader writes: Techdirt has a cool post up that doesn't just explain why DRM is bad, but gives a really interesting economic explanation for why DRM cannot create successful new business models. Since the RIAA and MPAA keep insisting that DRM will create new business models, it's useful to see an argument for why that's basically impossible.

Submission + - Patent application for Godly Powers

Submitted by

Orleron

on Friday March 02, 2007 @04:07PM

Orleron writes: "Christopher Roller of Burnsville, MN is apparently trying to corner the market on deific abilities. He has submitted a patent application for "Godly Powers". It can be found here. In yet another example of how the US Patent system is broken, this submission actually made it through the entire process for application issuance. How much farther could it go?"

Submission + - Beer Launcher

Submitted by

wittmania

on Friday March 02, 2007 @03:51PM

wittmania writes: "John Cornwell has built a beer launcher that has a 10 can magazine and can launch a beer up to 13 feet. It is controlled by a keyless entry remote which allows the "user" to lift a beer out of the mini-fridge, loading it into the catapult. The user then uses the remote to aim and fire the launcher. Cornwell has a video showing the Beer Launcher in action."

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