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Comment Re:Java / JVM Wins Again ... (Score 3, Funny) 157

by codepunk (#31251566) Attached to: How Twitter Is Moving To the Cassandra Database

Until recently I thought the same way, I would never endorse a solution that involves java. However
a recently came to the same realization that sun did when they created it. Java is a fantastic
way to over sell gobs of expensive hardware. I am a system administrator so the more hardware it takes to
run a solution the better off I am, more machines, more money and better job security. So I have now
fully jumped on the java bandwagon, java makes me smile.
Education

Looking Back From the 1980s At Computers In Education 269

Posted by timothy from the gee-whiz dept.
xzvf writes "As someone who went to high school in the '80s, this newsletter from 1980 (PDF) is a blast from the past. An interview with Microsoft talks up its BASIC language product and predicts voice control of computers in five years. Advertisements for Compute magazine, which was about to go monthly, and an article about a computer 'network' in Minnesota that connects some fax machine-looking terminal to a central computer over telephone lines. Lots of Atari, TI and RadioShack news too. It's a reminder from 30 years ago that we are still not using technology effectively in education."
Science

Interstellar Hydrogen Prevents Light-Speed Travel? 546

Posted by CmdrTaco from the einstein-brought-in-backup dept.
garg0yle writes "As if relativity wasn't enough to prevent us traveling at light speed, Professor William Edelstein of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is now claiming that the interstellar hydrogen, compressed in front of the ship, would bring the journey to a shocking end. 'As the spaceship reached 99.999998 per cent of the speed of light, "hydrogen atoms would seem to reach a staggering 7 teraelectron volts," which for the crew "would be like standing in front of the Large Hadron Collider beam."'"
Communications

Police In Britain Arrest Man For Bomb-Threat Joke On Twitter 577

Posted by timothy from the credibility-gap-looms dept.
An anonymous reader writes "A British man was arrested under anti-terrorism legislation for making a bomb joke on Twitter. Paul Chambers, 26, was arrested under the provisions of the Terrorism Act (2006). His crime? Frustrated at grounded flights over inclement weather, he made a joke bomb threat on the social networking site Twitter."
Microsoft

Mainstream Press "Cringes" At Win7 Launch Parties 830

Posted by kdawson from the tone-deaf-and-two-left-hands dept.
lurking_giant writes "Well, Microsoft has done it again with the YouTube Windows 7 launch party video that is turning the stomachs of even the mainstream press with its clueless and campy marketing style. A Washington Post reader was quoted as saying 'If Microsoft had been put in charge of marketing sex, the human race would have ended long ago, because no one would be caught dead doing something that uncool.'" Even the Guardian's resident die-hard Apple hater calls it "the most nauseating advert in history."
IT

Has the Glory Gone Out of Working In IT? 623

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the good-old-days dept.
An anonymous reader writes to wonder if the glory has gone out of IT. One blogger remembered his first impression upon entering a profession in IT that made it seem like the place to be, with a new shiny around every corner. What experiences have others had? Has a more pervasive technical culture forced our IT gurus into obsolescence?
Security

New Standard For EU-Compliant Electronic Signatures 42

Posted by timothy from the ja-das-war-ich dept.
An anonymous reader writes "ETSI has published a multi-part standard that will facilitate secure paperless business transactions throughout Europe, in conformance with European legislation. The standard defines a series of profiles for PAdES — Advanced Electronic Signatures for PDF documents — that meet the requirements of the European Directive on a Community framework for electronic signatures (Directive 1999/93/EC)."
Microsoft

Microsoft Pushes For Single Global Patent System 495

Posted by timothy from the what-about-ecosystems dept.
Xerolooper writes "What would the world be like if everyone could enjoy the same patent system we use in the USA? From the article: 'A senior lawyer at Microsoft is calling for the creation of a global patent system to make it easier and faster for corporations to enforce their intellectual property rights around the world.' They have already attracted opposition from the open-source community and the Pirate Party. According to the article, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will be meeting in Geneva on the 17th and 18th of September."
Google

Sony To Put Chrome On Laptops 278

Posted by CmdrTaco from the what-happened-to-firefox dept.
consonant writes "FT is reporting that Google has reached a deal with Sony to ship Chrome on the Vaio line of PCs. Google confirmed that Sony PCs carrying Chrome had started to go on sale and said it was in talks for similar deals with other computer makers. It said the arrangement was 'experimental' and part of wider efforts to boost distribution, including a deal to make Chrome available to internet users who download the RealPlayer software and the company's first use of television advertising. While mainstream media coverage and financial details were very sparse, El Reg terms it a 'Microsoft-snubbing deal.' Google also mentioned it was pushing for similar deals with other vendors. Could this spell the beginning of the end for IE?"

Comment Has been being researched for a while (Score 2, Interesting) 61

by tomalpha (#28231629) Attached to: New Display Keeps an Eye On the Viewer

I remember doing work experience at Philips Research Labs back in the mid nineties and they were working on a similar concept back then - a monitor that doubled as a flatbed scanner. It was based on an lcd monitor, with small gaps between pixels to allow light to pass through to the scanner at the back. The big challenges were getting the focal depth right, and avoiding refraction(?) patterns after the light had passed through the screen portion.

They seemed to have gotten roung that problem by placing the photoreceptors and lcd pixels at the same level. Can't wait to see a monitor sized one.
Music

MediaDefender Buys MediaSentry For $136,000 (Not $20M) 141

Posted by timothy from the sneaking-aboard dept.
newtley writes "SafeNet paid $20 million for MediaSentry in 2005, but has just sold it to rival MediaDefender for a paltry $136,000, with a promise of more later. MediaSentry's new owner says the combination will allow it to 'dramatically expand its effectiveness.' Is it time for an official government inquiry into MediaSentry and the RIAA? A Chicago student said she was planning on killing herself because the RIAA promised her she'd land in court unless she paid almost $10,000 to 'settle' an alleged copyright infringement. She 'couldn't sleep, couldn't study, couldn't live a normal life because of the worry.' The RIAA 'evidence' came from MediaSentry, accused of operating illegally."
It's funny. Laugh.

Spammers Say the Darndest Things 115

Posted by timothy from the missing-the-target-audience dept.
The Narrative Fallacy writes "Bill Sweetman has a tongue-in-cheek post about how a few years ago he started collecting some of the more outlandish and amusing email subject lines from the many thousands of spam emails he received promoting various 'solutions' related to his private parts. Sweetman, a Canadian internet marketeer now working for Tucows gets a guilty pleasure from the copywriting 'skills' of the spammers. 'Sometimes the writing is clever. Sometimes it is accidentally funny. And sometimes it's just plain bizarre.' Sweetman writes that it takes a certain twisted creative genius to make your spam message stand out from the rest. and gives us ten of his favorite spam subject lines as well as his would-be replies to the messages. Favorites spam subject lines include 'Small friend is for hiding, big friend is for showing off' and Sweetman's reply: 'Even if the product they are pitching works as promised, I still don't think I would be walking around the neighborhood showing off the results.'"

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