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Comment Re:Linux is a Server OS (Score 1) 176

My experience with my parents is a bit different: my mom refused to have her Debian laptop converted to Windows, the reason being "Linux worked for so many years, why change and have the problems all my friends have?" And it's a lot easier to maintain a Linux system from a different continent than a Windows one.

Comment Re:Notice-and-Notice (Score 2) 122

by orient (#53187435) Attached to: 86-Year Old Grandma Accused of Pirating a Zombie Game
I have received once such a notice from my ISP. It started by saying that an entity claiming to be a copyright holder asked them to forward a notice to me and they are obliged by the law to do it. However, the ISP added that my information hasn't been disclosed to the entity and there is no guarantee that everything stated in the notice is true or legal. Then the notice followed, in quotation marks. Basically, my ISP told me to ignore the notice until I hear something from a court. They never tried again.

Submission + - Why Used Electric Car Batteries Could Be Crucial To A Clean Energy Future (thinkprogress.org)

Submitted by mspohr
mspohr writes: Interesting article in ThinkProgress about reuse of EV batteries. They point out that EV batteries removed from service have up to 80% of their capacity and that these have many years of life left for stationary storage.
They say that LG Chem is selling batteries for the Volt and Bolt for $145/kwh. Companies are buying used batteries for $100/kwh.
BMW and GM have pilot projects for used batteries combined with solar and wind and also used in cooperation with electric utilities for demand smoothing.
"Ultimately Tesla and GM and the other major EV companies are going to sell hundreds of thousands of vehicles over the next few years with battery packs that cost as little as $145/kWh. That means a staggering amount of low-cost used batteries will be available by the middle of the next decade.
When the trickle of second-life batteries turns into a flood, the business of electricity storage and demand response — both of which enable far deeper penetration of renewable power — will never be the same."

Submission + - FCC, FTC Demand Data From Carriers, Vendors on Security Updates

Submitted by Trailrunner7
Trailrunner7 writes: The FCC and FTC are demanding information from wireless carriers and device manufacturers on their processes for developing and deploying security updates, including whether carriers delay updates for operating systems with known vulnerabilities or stop offering patches for older versions of an OS.

The letter from the FCC went to all of the major United States mobile carriers. In it, FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Jon Wilkins expressed concern about the how quickly carriers develop and released security updates for devices on their network.

“Consumers may be left unprotected, for long periods of time or even indefinitely, by any delays in patching vulnerabilities once they are discovered. Therefore, we appreciate efforts made by operating system providers, original equipment manufacturers, and mobile service providers to respond quickly to address vulnerabilities as they arise. We are concerned, however, that there are significant delays in delivering patches to actual devices—and that older devices may never be patched,” the letter says.

The FTC's questions to vendors are similar and demand that the manufacturers respond in 45 days.

Submission + - Alleged 9/11 Plotters May Stand Trial Over Video Chat

Submitted by blottsie
blottsie writes: The Obama administration believes that Guantanamo Bay’s Internet can help save the slow-moving prosecution of the five alleged masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks—by having them virtually attend their trial. But lawyers watching the military commissions unfold worry that a dangerous precedent may be set, possibly endangering due process at home.

Submission + - Newspaper chain CEO is 'pleased' to announce IT plan, then fires tech staff (computerworld.com)

Submitted by dcblogs
dcblogs writes: The McClatchy Company, which operates a major chain of newspapers in the U.S., is moving IT work overseas. The number of affected jobs, based on employee estimates, range from 120 to 150. The chain owns about 30 newspapers, including The Sacramento Bee, where McClatchy is based; The Fresno Bee, The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., The State in Columbia, S.C. and the Miami Herald. In a letter sent to the chain’s IT employees in late March, McClatchy CEO Patrick Talamantes detailed all the improvements a contract with the outsourcing firm, India-based Wipro, will bring, but buries, well down in the letter what should have been in its lead paragraph: There will be cutbacks of U.S. staff. The letter received by McClatchy’s IT employees from Talamantes begins by telling them it is “pleased to unveil our new IT Transformational Program, a program designed to provide improved service to all technology users, accelerated development and delivery of technology solutions and products, variable demand-based technology resources and access to modern and cutting-edge skills and platforms.” Seven paragraphs down in the letter, he lowers the boom: "As we embark on the implementation phase, there will be a realignment of resources requiring a reduction in McClatchy technology staff." IT employees thought they were part of the solution to McClatchy's tech direction, not the problem. Said one IT employee: "This has taken us all by surprise. I'm not saying that we felt untouchable as they have been doing layoffs for the past 10 years, but being part of IT we felt that we had a big part in what happens" in the company. Employees are now training their replacements.

Comment Re:Question (Score 1) 127

Question how do we keep sites from scanning our PCs to see if we have an ad blocker installed? what can be done if anything to stop them from doing that. If they can scan for an ad blocker im guessing they are scanning for everything we have installed.

They do not scan your computer. Their scripts running in your browser just check for a cookie or a session parameter that should have been set by the ad-showing script. If that's missing, you have an ad blocker.

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