geemon - Slashdot User

Submission + - Framework for GUI development

Submitted by

rsuintila

on Tuesday April 10, 2007 @06:56PM

rsuintila writes: "The libraries and tools used to program the GUI are often an Achille's heal in the maintenance of long-term projects. In the case of multiplatform systems, the simplistic answer is Java, but, should I use Swing, AWT, SWT...? Are these alternatives well-suited for the development of GNU projects?
What framework/libraries/tools would you use in order to code a GUI for a long-term multiplatform GNU project?"

Submission + - Can F/OSS projects be killed by dormant patents?

Submitted by skelly33 on Tuesday April 10, 2007 @06:54PM

skelly33 writes: I am working on putting together an open source project that has commercial applications but am concerned that some day some random company with a thick patent portfolio is going to see it and try to stamp it out with a cease and desist claiming that they own the concept. The trouble is that many clever concepts have been conceived but lay dormant in patents that are just waiting around for a lawsuit where the patent holder has no intent of ever turning it into a product. Is this a legitimate concern for someone who would much rather avoid investing deep into a project so as not to be brought down by some idiotic/costly lawsuit, or is there any degree of protection afforded through original research and not-for-profit development of an otherwise patented concept under the banner of "Open Source"?

Submission + - Google Mail blocks a large amount of users!

Submitted by on Tuesday April 10, 2007 @06:44PM

An anonymous reader writes: Some Google Mail users are having a hard time. Some can't access their mail at all, some can't download nor send any attachments. Some even can't blog.

Google claims that the problems are due to the battle against Spammers but the fact that they have chosen to bury the issue and haven't notified the users (whom are blisfully unaware of the problem until they try the banned action), can it be possible that Google Mail is trying to bury the story? Since it was Easter holiday on most of the Christian World, not a lot of people have realised that they are affected. Especially since there are people running their businesses and personal lifes using Google Mail, how widely are the Google users being affected, it is not really known.

One theory is Google's servers are overloaded and they are trying to bump the heavy users of the service.

The problem has been affecting Google Mail users for 4 days now and counting.

Submission + - time.windows.com broken; Windows machines adrift?

Submitted by on Tuesday April 10, 2007 @05:57PM

An anonymous reader writes: It appears the widely-used time.windows.com Network Time Protocol server isn't working correctly. The host name is redirecting to unsynchronized Akamai NTP servers which are off by more than 100 seconds. This issue leaves millions of Windows XP and 2003 machines that still have the default configuration without a good source of network time. While most clients won't notice, there are certainly some important applications (such as kerberos authentication) that rely on accurate client time. This mis-configuration has been in place for at least several hours.

A bug report was submitted via Microsoft's website, but no response has been received in over 6 hours. This has apparently happened at least once before.

Submission + - Dumping .info TLD for good?

Submitted by

tulare

on Monday February 26, 2007 @12:15AM

tulare writes: "To the chagrin of postmasters and webmasters everywhere, the newish .info and .biz domains have become the realm of all that is seedy on the Internet, from popup-laden porn sites to every imaginable R)oleX and Herbal V14GrA advertising domain. From this writer's point of view, there is simply nothing on .info or .biz that is not at some level related to spam.

My question is this: at what point, and what sorts of efforts can be taken to simply drop the entire mess that has become .info and .biz? I'm sure ICANN would need to get involved, but perhaps a petition drive to convince DNS server admins to blackhole those TLDs would be a starting point to show public support for denying spammers the cheap safe haven they now have. Thoughts?"

Submission + - Carnegie Mellon To have Open Source in New Program

Submitted by

perlhacker14

on Sunday February 25, 2007 @11:01PM

perlhacker14 writes: "Carnegie Mellon is integrating Open Source components into its new MS Software Management Curriculum. This also includes a new elective on the Open Source world and software, under the idea that Open Source is the path of tomorrow. With outsourcing increasing, the idea is to go beyond software engineering to management, increasing security and value for graduates. Overall, it is a huge leap forward, with the combination of Software Management and Open Source.

Story: http://www.linuxinsider.com/story/KUgPOhhQdrmRJa/C arnegie-Mellon-Folds-Open-Source-Into-New-Degree-O ffering.xhtml"

Submission + - Creative Commons licence Version 3.0 released

Submitted by

liquidat

on Sunday February 25, 2007 @09:16PM

liquidat writes: "Creative Commons hast released the newest version of their licences, version 3.0. Among the changes you will find a new generic licence which is based on international laws instead of the US copyright like the former generic licence was. Also a by-sa compatibility list was created to make it possible to mix content under by-sa with content under another, but compatible licence. And last but not least, Debian and MIT should be happy now as well. You can find more detailed information at Creative Commons Version 3.0 Licenses A Brief Explanation."

Submission + - Are exclusive games GameStop's secret weapon?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 25, 2007 @06:23PM

An anonymous reader writes: It's one thing to try to muscle out the competition, but when you start to lock down the sales of certain games, consumers lose. This is how GameStop hopes to compete against the big box retailers.

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