Submission + - ATT drops bid to buy tmobile (msn.com)
stazeii writes: "MSNBC, WSJ, and others are reporting that ATT has dropped (officially) it's bid to buy TMobile."
Submission + - Last Troops Exit Iraq. Did the US Win?
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "As the last American troops exit Iraq, two questions come to mind: Was the war worth it? And did the US, in any sense, win? "The two questions, of course, are related: The first concerns cost, the second benefits," writes Fred Kaplan. "However you do the calculation, it’s clear that the decision to invade Iraq was a major strategic blunder—and that the policies we pursued in the early months of the occupation tipped the blunder into a catastrophe." After Paul Bremer issued Order No. 1 barring members of the once-ruling Baathist party from holding any but the lowliest of government jobs and Order No. 2 disbanding the Iraqi army, tens of thousands of Iraqis, most of them young men with weapons were turned out into the streets, officially disenfranchised and, in many cases, eager to rebel against the agents of their fate. An insurgency arose and there were no Iraqi security forces to clamp it down. But Bush changed course dramatically at the end of 2006 ordering a “surge” of 20,000 extra troops in support of a new counterinsurgency strategy, a gamble that paid off as many Sunni leaders—beginning in Anbar province, which had been one of Iraq’s most violent sectors—suddenly realized that the foreign jihadists, with whom they’d struck an alliance, formed a bigger threat than the American occupiers, and so they turned to the US troops for help. The good news is that there is now a functioning Iraqi government. "The means and institutions do exist for resolving these problems mainly through politics," concludes Kaplan. "Whether we “won” the war in Iraq remains an unsettled question. It hinges, at this point, on which way the Iraqis turn.""
Submission + - Novell vs. Microsoft: Juror did the right thing... (ksl.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Corbyn Alvey, who has a two-year degree in criminal justice, and was the part of the 12 juror on the case of Novell vs. Microsoft did the right thing. He holdout his vote and hung the jury. Microsoft got safe for the moment, and the Lawyers still have work to do. We, the lawyers, want to thank Alvey to help us get more money on this case... I think I will get a new BMW before the year ends.
Submission + - FBI Warns Hacktivists: You're Breaking the Law (cio.com)
bdcny7927 writes: In an exclusive interview with CIO.com, the FBI official in charge of cybercrime speaks for the first time with the media specifically about hacktivism. Here, Assistant Executive Director Shawn Henry describes the threats hacktivists pose, the challenges associated with investigating them, and the FBI's success disrupting these groups. He also delivers a special message to hacktivists.
Submission + - AT&T cancels plans to acquire T-Mobile USA (bgr.com)
An anonymous reader writes: AT&T has officially announced that it no longer plans to purchase T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom
Submission + - Blizzard sues Pocket Gnome World of Warcraft bot c (geek.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Blizzard Entertainment does not like bots operating in World of Warcraft, and demonstrated that by taking the company behind WOWGlider to court a few years ago, winning damages, and shutting the bot down. Now a new bot has appeared, and Blizzard is attempting exactly the same thing with another lawsuit. This new bot is called Pocket Gnome and is offered by Ceiling Fan Software. It only runs on Intel-powered Macs, but Blizzard still wants it gone.
Submission + - Best open source license for guitar? (praxisguitars.com) 1
PraxisGuitars writes: "I am working on developing an open source electric guitar. I wish to make the basic structural system completely open and free, with a standardized interface allowing different body shapes and modules to be bolted on. I am having trouble figuring out the best way to release the files. There seem to be at least half a dozen open source licenses out there; The Thingiverse has some precedent for open source 3d data, but version control seems like it might be difficult. I have looked into sourceforge and github, but don't know enough to know if that would be the best choice. Are there other precedents out there? Is there a better way?"
Submission + - Bipartisan effort to repeal indefinite detention (senate.gov)
Beryllium Sphere(tm) writes: A Republican from Utah, a Democrat from California, and other cosponsors have introduced Senate bill S.2003, to forbid imprisoning people forever without trial or charges.
This would repeal the detention provisions of the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act.
Opencongress.org makes it easy to contact the people who represent you and tell them what you think.
This would repeal the detention provisions of the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act.
Opencongress.org makes it easy to contact the people who represent you and tell them what you think.
Submission + - NASA Considers Sending a Telescope to Outer Solar (universetoday.com)
Nancy_A writes: A mission that astronomers and cosmologists have only dreamed about .... until now. A team at JPL and Caltech has been looking into the possibility of hitching an optical telescope to a survey spacecraft on a mission to the outer solar system. Light pollution in our inner solar system, from both the nearby glow of the Sun and the hazy zodiacal glow from dust ground up in the asteroid belt, has long stymied cosmologists looking for a clearer take on the early Universe.
Submission + - Firefox 9 released, JS improved 20-30% by type inf (extremetech.com) 4
MrSeb writes: "Firefox 9 is now available — but unlike its previous rapid release forebears where not a lot changed, a huge feature has landed with the new version: the JavaScript engine now has type inference enabled. This simple switch has resulted in a 20-30% JS execution speed increase, putting JaegerMonkey back in line with Chrome's V8 engine, and even pulling ahead in some cases. If you switched away from Firefox to IE or Chrome for improved JS performance, now is probably the time to give Firefox another shot."
Submission + - Kim Jong-Il Was An "Internet Expert" (vice.com)
pigrabbitbear writes: "The late Kim Jong Il bestowed upon himself many extravagant titles during his bizarre, iron-clad rule over North Korea. But here’s one that’s particularly interesting in light of the recent SOPA debate – “Internet expert.”
The DPRK’s Dear Leader fancied himself as such during an international summit in 2007. Seven years prior, he had asked U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright for her email address, indicating that the North Korean internet black hole was perhaps not as thoroughly opaque as we made it out to be — at least not for those at the top.
For the rest of the world, surfing those scant blips of North Korean internet activity is still a very mysterious and weird experience: Of the 30 or so known North Korean websites, only one of them, belonging to its state-run news agency and run by a company called Star Joint Ventures, originates from inside North Korea itself. Bereft of the usual DNS handling, it can be accessed directly at 175.45.176.14, and seems to contain very little actual information beyond — you guessed it — a log of Kim Jong Il’s recent activities, which include attending giant performances in his honor and rejecting human rights bills."
The DPRK’s Dear Leader fancied himself as such during an international summit in 2007. Seven years prior, he had asked U.S. Secretary of State Madeline Albright for her email address, indicating that the North Korean internet black hole was perhaps not as thoroughly opaque as we made it out to be — at least not for those at the top.
For the rest of the world, surfing those scant blips of North Korean internet activity is still a very mysterious and weird experience: Of the 30 or so known North Korean websites, only one of them, belonging to its state-run news agency and run by a company called Star Joint Ventures, originates from inside North Korea itself. Bereft of the usual DNS handling, it can be accessed directly at 175.45.176.14, and seems to contain very little actual information beyond — you guessed it — a log of Kim Jong Il’s recent activities, which include attending giant performances in his honor and rejecting human rights bills."
Submission + - NFL: National Football Luddites? 1
theodp writes: The National Football League has been brainstorming with tech and communications companies on how to bring the NFL into the 21st century. Major-league sports are famously technophobic — the NFL outlaws computers and PDAs on the sidelines, in the locker room and in press-box coaching booths within 90 minutes of kickoff. But that may be about to change, which the WSJ's Matthew Futterman speculates could mean: 'Coaches selecting plays from tablet computers. Quarterbacks and defensive captains wired to every player on the field and calling plays without a huddle. Digital video on the sidelines so coaches can review plays instantly. Officials carrying hand-held screens for replays. Computer chips embedded in the ball and in the shoulder pads (or mouth guards) that track every move players make and measure their speed, the impact of their hits, even their rate of fatigue.' Part of the impetus for the changes is the chance for a windfall — the NFL's sponsorship deals with Motorola and IBM will expire after this season, and the NFL will be seeking more technology (and presumably cash) from its next technology partner(s). Hey, there are worse ways that Microsoft could spend its advertising bucks!
Comment Re:you can track your laptops (Score 1) 514
All of our laptops HDD's are encrypted (Good to have but the bane of IT's existance as it is a destructive process and more often than not it causes HDD's to fail eventually) HP and Dell put in seperate BiOS tools to make it harder for theives the flash the BiOS.
Comment Re:you can track your laptops (Score 5, Interesting) 514
I work for a Major Bank and we have BiOS "Magic" that will track the Wi-Fi Card MAC, HDD MAC and MB MAC regardless of how many times the HDD is wiped. We have made it so it would be more expensive to replace all of those parts than it would be buy a new laptop. It works as we have laptops stolen all the time and find them with the help of local law enforcement.
The Caveat is that it has to be on a the internet for us to track it. So if someone wants it to just be a local word processor to print to a local printer we will never know about it.
Comment Red Cross wants Publicity (Score 1) 516
This is just an attempt by the Red Cross to be put into Video Games in order to garner more publicity and donations. They want to be included in games to be the "Humanitarian Experience." When some kils 100+ People then the Red Cross swoops in, sets up tents and flies in much needed medical supplies. DO NOT SHOOT THEM IF THEY HAVE A RED CROSS ON THEIR TENT OR PERSON!!!!
LOL
