Comment Re:Junk newspaper (Score 1) 337
Extremely well written. Thanks for following me up!
Comment Re:Junk newspaper (Score 1) 337
The funny thing about the nickname "Aftonhoran" is that Aftonbladet recognizes its validity. Try surfing to http://www.aftonhoran.se/ and see what happens.
Yeah, I know about the existence of that domain. Now I heard two stories about it, one which claims that it is owned by Aftonbladet itself, and the other which says that it is owned by a detractor who sometimes points it to his blog and sometimes to the original site. Not sure which one is true.
Anyhow, the domains point to different name servers, but then again it doesn't have to prove anything.
Comment Junk newspaper (Score 2, Interesting) 337
Aftonbladet, often nicknamed "Aftonhoran" ("The Evening Whore") is a miserable tabloid of nearly non-existent intellectual value. A typical issue looks more like a prop from the movie "Idiocracy" than a real newspaper from a civilized country.
Even a quick glance at its website clearly reveals its true values (or lack thereof), even to those who aren't native Swedish speakers.
Ted Stevens and Sean O'Keefe In Plane Crash 512
necro81 writes "The NY Times is reporting that former Senator Ted Stevens was aboard a small plane with eight others that crashed in remote southwest Alaska Monday night. Some news outlets are reporting that he died, along with at least four others. Meanwhile, the North American CEO of aerospace firm EADS and former NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe was was also reported in the crash. Rescue crews from the Alaska Air National Guard reached the site about ten hours after the initial crash."
BBC Builds Smartphone Malware For Testing Purposes 60
siliconbits writes "BBC News has shown how straightforward it is to create a malicious application for a smartphone. Over a few weeks, the BBC put together a crude game for a smartphone that also spied on the owner of the handset. The application was built using standard parts from the software toolkits that developers use to create programs for handsets. This makes malicious applications hard to spot, say experts, because useful programs will use the same functions."
Comment Re:Too late (Score 1) 293
Totally doesn't hold up. Back when MySpace was big, I don't think I knew more than 2 or 3 people with MySpace pages. It was pretty much exclusively a teen/college hangout.
These days the only people that I know who do NOT have Facebook pages are people without internet connections at all (lots of my family) and people who are security curmudgeons (like me). Even people who barely get on the internet use Facebook. Lots of people only even have an internet connection so that they CAN use Facebook.
You can barely buy a new mobile phone without a client for that shit pre-installed these days.
Comment Re:Too late (Score 1) 293
They're too late to join the game. The problem is that Facebook already has everyone you know, so everyone joins it because everyone else already is there.
Who modded up this drivel as insightful? Failbook has approx 500 million accounts, as in database entries, not necessarily real persons, because of duplicates and forgeries. Even if that (admittedly large) number consisted only of genuine active users, it still hardly represents "everybody".
Could we now please finally quit with the ad nauseam fallacy that "everybody is on Failbook"?
Some random mumblings about walled gardens and open source won't make normal people switch over.
And your definition of "normal people" is - what?
Wine 1.2 Released 427
David Gerard writes "Stuck with that one Windows app you can't get rid of? Rejoice — Wine 1.2 is officially released! Apart from running pretty much any Windows application on Unix better than 1.0 (from 2008), major new features include 64-bit support, bi-directional text, and translation into thirty languages. And, of course, DirectX 9 is well-supported and DirectX 10 is getting better. Packages should hit the distros over the weekend, or you can get the source now."
NASA Launches Moonbase Alpha 230
Several readers have sent word that today NASA launched Moonbase Alpha, an online game with single- and multi-player capability that "allows participants to step into the role of an exploration team member in a futuristic 3-D lunar settlement." The game is available now through Steam for free. Moonbase Alpha was built as a precursor to an upcoming NASA MMO called Astronaut: Moon, Mars & Beyond, and they hope it will be "a proof of concept to show how NASA content can be combined with a cutting-edge game engine to inspire, engage and educate students about agency technologies, job opportunities and the future of space exploration."
More Trouble In Apple's App Store 186
quickOnTheUptake writes in to update the story of foul play in Apple's App Store, which we talked over on Sunday. The Next Web, which broke the story, now provides evidence of rampant App Farms used for theft in the store. Here is a summary of the problems TNW has seen, which includes large-scale break-ins of the App Store accounts of users worldwide. Apple has responded to the initial reports, has disabled the account of the initially fingered rogue developer, and has called on those whose accounts were misused to change their password and credit card. Both TNW and Engadget, at least, believe the problems go far deeper than Apple is admitting.
US Shows Interest In Zombie Quarantine Code 195
bennyboy64 writes "Barack Obama's cyber-security coordinator has shown interest in an e-security code of practice developed in Australia that aims to quarantine Internet users infected by malware, also known as zombie computers. He reportedly said it would be a useful role model for the US to adopt. One suggestion within the code is to put infected users into a 'walled garden,' which limits Internet access to prevent further security problems until quarantined. Another is to throttle the speed of an infected users' Internet connection until their computer fixed. The code is also being considered by other Asia-Pacific countries, ZDNet reports."
Bionic Cat Gets World's First Implant Paws 225
Several readers send in the news of Oscar, the first bionic cat, whose hind paws got cut off in a harvester accident. In a world's-first operation, a neurosurgeon has now given him exoprosthetic paws that are implanted directly into his leg bones. The BBC artlcle has a video captured just after the operation, and PopSci has an apparently later one in which Oscar is walking and running almost completely normally.
Comment Wait, you mean somebody takes Twatter seriously? (Score 1) 460
I've never considered Twitter as anything more than a platform for deployment of retarded haiku. No matter how much I frowned upon Facebook, for instance, I can still clearly see its reason for existence. Not Twitter's though.
Venture Capitalists Lobby Against Software Patents 127
ciaran_o_riordan writes "No matter which side the US Supreme Court's Bilski decision pleases, it will be just the beginning of the software patent debate in the USA — the other side will start a legislative battle. The lobbying has already begun, with venture capitalist Brad Feld arguing against software patents, mailing a copy of Patent Absurdity to 200 patent policy setters. As Feld puts it, 'Specifically, I'm hoping the film will bring you to an understanding of why patents on software are a massive tax on and retardant of innovation in the US.' The patent lawyers and big patent holders often tell us that patents are needed to secure investment, so it's interesting to see now that venture capitalists are refuting that. And Brad Feld isn't the only vocal one; there's a growing list."
Comment Re:Gizmodo needs to grow up... (Score 1) 395
Gizmodo has shown in the past that they are too immature to be allowed attend these types of events.
Not only Gizmodo, I could argue that the same goes for the whole Gawker network. Take a look, for instance, at Jalopnik, the automotive sibling of Gizmodo. It is written by a bunch of immature imbeciles.
