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Handhelds

Submission + - Dropbear SSH2 Server Ported to PSP

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Zx-81 a prolific homebrew coder for the PSP has released a port of Dropbear to the PSP under the name PSPSSH: SSH2 Client for PSP : " Dropbear is a relatively small SSH 2 server and client. It runs on a variety of POSIX-based platforms. Dropbear is open source software, distributed under a MIT-style license. Dropbear is particularly useful for "embedded"-type Linux (or other Unix) systems, such as wireless routers. It has been mainly developped by Matt Johnston "
Patents

Submission + - Small Businessman Feels Pinch of Software Patents

Submitted by Penguinisto
Penguinisto writes: A few days ago, Phil Cooke, a small-time hobbyist 3D/CG programmer, was sent a Cease and Desist notice from Reyes Infografica over a small 3D/CG clothes-generating program he had sold for years (it generated clothing mesh for a figures in a CG hobbyist program known as Poser). The program has since been pulled from the maker's site, as he cannot afford to retain counsel with which to fight back. Apparently, Phil's program had collided against a software patent that Reyes filed in 2001 (the patent was filed in the US and Spain). The C&D notice, and some of the discussion surrounding it can be found a PhilC's site discussion forums. While we usually see stories about small-time patent trolls raking in huge bucks from large companies, is this an indication of a disturbing trend by larger companies using software patents to intimidate and eliminate their smaller competition? And if so, then how on Earth is this supposed to foster innovation and creativity?
Software

Submission + - Mathematica vs Matlab

Submitted by
Ahmad J
Ahmad J writes: "I am doing petroleum reservoir simulation and to do so I have to solve highly nonlinear set of partial differential equations simultaneously. I have access to both matlab and mathematica. I am wondering which one is better to go with: matlab or mathematica?"
User Journal

Journal Journal: All story submissions should be journal entries! 6

Journal by drinkypoo

While perusing the Firehose I came to the realization that most of those stories are going to be lost to antiquity. Oh, they'll be discussed on other websites, but slashdot actually provides us journal functionality so that they can be discussed here even if your submission doesn't make it as a story.

United States

Submission + - Game Theory Computer Model Backs Tim Berners-Lee

Submitted by
Stu
Stu writes: "A world without net neutrality is one devoid of intellectual development...so said Sir Tim Berners Lee in a presentation to congress last week. Well, now there's a computer model that uses game theory to back that forecast up. Developed at the University of Florida (the same place that produced the peer-to-peer blocking software, Icarus...which congress might be pushing onto universities across the country), the model shows that everyone looses if the IPs get their way — even, eventually, the IPs. http://news.ufl.edu/2007/03/07/net-neutrality/"
Privacy

Submission + - FBI Admits Abuse of Patriot Act to Obtain Info

Submitted by SydShamino
SydShamino writes: CNN, the Associated Press and others are reporting that an independent audit of the FBI revealed "serious misuse" of power to acquire private information granted in the Patriot Act. FBI Director Robert Mueller has accepted responsibility for problems and says they are being corrected, but Congress has already called for hearings. There's no word yet on criminal charges against anyone in the FBI who might have broken the law.
Censorship

Submission + - Turkey Repeals YouTube Ban

Submitted by
Phooey42
Phooey42 writes: "Just days after Turkey censored YouTube, the Boston Herald is reporting that Turkey has already lifted the ban. From the article, "The Istanbul court that ordered the site blocked on Wednesday had said it would lift the ban as soon as it ascertained that videos insulting Turkey's founding father, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, were removed." The reason the ban was listed has not yet been given, but presumably the video was removed or they gave in to the immense pressure from the press."
United States

Submission + - Congressman: colleges are nests of piracy

Submitted by Prescott
Prescott writes: Hollywood's congressman, Rep. Howard Berman of California, has announced that his subcomittee will be accelerating its hearings on piracy at American colleges. More troubling, he is getting ready to go after what he is calling the 'hypocrisy' of American colleges and Universities. 'Unfortunately, many schools have turned a blind eye to piracy,' Berman said. 'I don't doubt that there are legitimate issues that universities must grapple with, including privacy and cost concerns. However, when a university such as Purdue tells the AP that it rarely even notifies students accused by the RIAA because it is too much trouble to track down alleged offenders — such inaction is unacceptable.'
Enlightenment

Submission + - Cattle Produce More Greenhouse Gases Than Cars

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: EARTHtimes.org has an article covering a letter that PETA sent to Al Gore. The letter points out that rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases that driving cars. PETA sites a U.N. report to support their case. Will Al Gore put his mouth where his mouth is and become vegetarian?
Linux Business

Submission + - Conservatives Urge Fair Play With Open Source

Submitted by
Scott Ainslie Sutton
Scott Ainslie Sutton writes: "According to Conservative MP for Tatton, George Osborne, Open Source Software isn't being given a fair chance. He has pledged that the Conservative Party will help create a level playing field for Open Source and allow it to mature alongside proprietory solutions. He himself is a Mozilla Firefox user, and a recent convertee at that; "Ever since I visited the Headquarters of Mozilla in Palo Alto I have become a user of its Open Source Firefox Web Browser. I am not alone. Almost 20 per cent of Online Europeans use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer." He also stated that Open Source software was not a given choice in the Government's Catalyst database, a list of approved IT suppliers and that he thinks Open Source software 'could save UK taxpayers over £600m a year.' More at source."
Supercomputing

Submission + - Supercomputing Cluster Built with PS3s

Submitted by
Saket
Saket writes: "The Sony Playstation 3, Xbox and Nintendo Wii have captivated a generation of computer gamers with bold graphics and rapid-fire animation. But these high-tech toys can do a lot more than just play games. At North Carolina State University, Dr. Frank Mueller imagined using the power of the new PS3 to create a high-powered computing environment for a fraction of the cost of the supercomputers on the market. Mueller, an associate professor of computer science, has built a supercomputing cluster capable of both high-performance computing and running the latest in computer gaming. His cluster of eight PS3 machines — the first such academic cluster in the world — packs the power of a small supercomputer, but at a total cost of about $5,000, it costs less than some desktop computers that have only a fraction of the computing power."
Censorship

Submission + - Mine industry uses copyright laws to close website

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Sydeny Morning Herald reports that the NSW Minerals Council has had an anti-coal group website closed by using copyright laws. Even when the group changed the website, a second complaint was lodged. The action group, Rising Tide ( http://www.risingtide.org.au/ ) has now 10 days to respond.
Article here : http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/industry-close s-anticoal-website/2007/03/04/1172943275688.html
Media

Submission + - BBC to provide Top Gear and Doctor Who on YouTube

Submitted by ATAMAH
ATAMAH writes: BBC has announced that some of their shows (previews) would be available for downloading on YouTube: "The BBC has started showing promotional trailers for new programmes and clips from old hits on Google's YouTube in a bid to reach new audiences and boost sales at its commercial arm. News clips will be added in the near future when the output will have three strands, the publicly funded broadcaster said. From the BBC itself there will be content based on current hits such as Life on Mars and Doctor Who, while from BBC Worldwide there will be clips from old favourites such as Spooks and Top Gear, which are sold globally." http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5 &objectid=10427063
Microsoft

Submission + - Bill Gates Technology Talk from 1989

Submitted by alphabetasigmagamma
alphabetasigmagamma writes: The Computer Science Club of the University of Waterloo hosted a talk in 1989 with Bill Gates as the speaker. Recently this audio tape of the talk has been discovered by the Computer Science Club office and has since been digitized and posted on the Computer Science Club website at http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/media/ In this talk you get to hear Bill Gates in an awkward position at Microsoft, promoting the then soon to fail OS/2 operating system product while at the same time downtalking slightly the significance of Windows. This rare glimpse into Microsoft in its early days shows some of the predictions that Microsoft got right as well as got wrong (such as the memory allocation issues in MS-DOS). In addition, Bill Gates discusses how he sees the computer industry in the coming years.

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