WidescreenFreak - Slashdot User

Submission + - 25 Complaints For Sprint

Submitted by

on Wednesday July 11, 2007 @01:10PM

An anonymous reader writes: Last week, we read about Sprint's new policy to cancel accounts of burdensome customers; about 25 CS calls a month is the threshold. With the iPhone out, I couldn't wish for a better opportunity to weasel out of my early termination fee! I'd like to challenge like-minded Sprint-ing Slashdotters to join in, but we need the community's help: we need to put together a list of 25 or more unique complaints to throw at customer service. Any ideas?

Submission + - RIAA claims CD Burners are illegal (riaa.com) 2

Submitted by MrM on Wednesday July 11, 2007 @12:12PM

MrM writes: The RIAA's website was updated recently to include the following tips to "avoid piracy". Among them, under the section "Examples of easy ways you could violate the law", is the following: "You have a computer with a CD burner, which you use to burn copies of music you have downloaded onto writable CDs for all of your friends." Wow. Can we expect the militias with screwdrivers anytime soon?

Submission + - Microsoft has no plans to cut Xbox 360 price (canada.com) 2

Submitted by

warpwhistle

on Wednesday July 11, 2007 @11:38AM

warpwhistle writes: "Microsoft says they have no current plans to drop the Xbox 360's price, despite that the company would follow the lead of Sony, who dropped the Playstation 3's price by $100 this week.
"We have no announcements to make on pricing at this time. While price matters, content is king," said a Microsoft spokesman today."

Submission + - Googling "how to crack a safe" pays off (arstechnica.com) 1

Submitted by

athloi

on Wednesday July 11, 2007 @11:35AM

athloi writes: "A couple of burglars broke into an indoor amusement center in Colorado called Bigg City armed with the knowledge they thought they needed in order to get into a couple of safes. The burglars knew the passcodes to the safes in question but were still unable to open them after several tries, so they eventually resorted to their good friend Google to tell them how. The Google search proved fruitful for the two burglars, as they were able to get the information they needed and walk away with $12,000 in cash as well as a PlayStation and a laptop. And despite their inept attempts to outwit the security cameras, they have not yet been arrested. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070710-crim inals-confused-about-how-to-get-the-job-done-googl e-to-the-rescue.html"

Submission + - Popcorn insanity, spaghetti shock -- blame ethanol (networkworld.com) 2

Submitted by

coondoggie

on Wednesday July 11, 2007 @11:09AM

coondoggie writes: "Kicked up demand for ethanol is significantly kicking up the price of popcorn — to the tune of over 40% since last year in some places across the country. And pasta, tortillas and other grain-based products are feeling the pinch too. The blame for the increase is placed squarely on the move to use Ethanol as a more environmentally friendly fuel, experts say. And the increase is only going to get worse as the U.S. Senate recently passed legislation that would overhaul car fuel economy standards and quadruple the use of alternative fuels. And it's not just popcprn, biofuels are causing prices to go up on a variety of items across the globe. A barley shortage in 2006 will raise the wholesale price of German beer this May. http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1741 4"

Submission + - Vista Security Claims Debunked (seclists.org)

Submitted by

[Send Bug Reports Here]

on Thursday June 28, 2007 @03:38PM

[Send Bug Reports Here] writes: "Apparently Microsoft still hasn't learned that counting vendor acknowledged vulnerabilities isn't a good way to establish the security of an OS. As an analysis of Microsoft's claims on Full Disclosure shows, we see that the methodology used was badly flawed. A bug in Firefox (not to mention emacs), counts as a flaw for Linux, while IE bugs get ignored on Vista's chart. Then we see that vulnerabilities aren't vulnerabilities when they're security-challenged features such as Vista's Teredo. Also, there's far too little consideration given to severity, given that it stoops to counting even extra access restrictions on a file in OSX to have something to show. In short, the original Microsoft analysis was good PR and poor research."

Submission + - Supreme Court Ruling May Hurt Internet Sales

Submitted by i_like_spam on Thursday June 28, 2007 @03:19PM

i_like_spam writes: Without the costs associated with brick-and-mortar establishments, Internet retailers have been able to offer deep discounts to on-line consumers. But this may change. In a 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court today overruled a 96-year-old antitrust law that prevented the setting of 'price floors' by manufacturers. Under the ruling, manufacturers will be allowed to force price minimums upon distributers and retailers. This may make Internet discounts a thing of the past.

From Atty. Pete Barile:

Importantly, this case points a dagger at the heart of the most consumer-friendly aspects of the Internet. The Internet has shifted power to the consumer in two ways. First, it allows consumers to search for and gather information in a cost-effective, efficient manner. Second, it provides a low-cost means of retailing, making it easy for discounters to offer products to the public. This combination squeezes excess profits and inefficiencies out of product prices. Retail price maintenance seeks to short circuit this extremely consumer friendly process. By setting minimum prices, manufacturers can build in excess margins for themselves and for their favored retailers — prices that consumers have no choice but to pay.

Submission + - Apple didn't pick a fight w/ Safari on Windows... (applegazette.com)

Submitted by ChestertheThief on Tuesday June 19, 2007 @03:18PM

ChestertheThief writes: After reading Mike Elgan's reasoning behind why Apple is "picking a fight it can't win" with Safari on Windows, Apple-fan blog Apple Gazette responds with a surprisingly objective point of view.

"If Apple was truly looking to run in and take over the browser business on Windows, there is no way that Apple could dethrone Internet Explorer, or even Firefox. It's not going to happen. Not now...not ever....but seriously, I want everyone reading this to raise your hand if you think that's what Apple is doing.

The article goes on to point out exactly why Apple released Safari on Windows, and why the "browser war" is completely irrelevant to the success or failure of Safari....one word...iPhone.

Submission + - Father of scientific climatology says "hooey&#

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 19, 2007 @03:03PM

An anonymous reader writes: "Reid Bryson, known as the father of scientific climatology, considers global warming a bunch of hooey.

The UW-Madison professor emeritus, who stands against the scientific consensus on this issue, is referred to as a global warming skeptic. But he is not skeptical that global warming exists, he is just doubtful that humans are the cause of it."

Bryson didn't see Al Gore's movie about global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth."

"Don't make me throw up," he said. "It is not science. It is not true."

http://www.madison.com/tct/mad/topstories/197613

Submission + - T.I.E. Fighter tracking the Space Shuttle Atlantis

Submitted by

farrellj

on Tuesday June 19, 2007 @02:56PM

farrellj writes: "The NY Times has a photo of the space shuttle Atlantis here which seems to show a Star Wars T.I.E. Fighter behind the shuttle. You can see it in the picture just above the right OMS pod. Has the Empire found our planet?!?!?"

Submission + - T-Mobile UK blocking mobile VoIP start-up

Submitted by

wjamesau

on Friday June 15, 2007 @03:05PM

wjamesau writes: "The war between telecoms and VOIP heats up: according to Om Malik, T-Mobile UK is refusing to interconnect with mobile VoIP provider Truphone, a UK start-up with a mobile VoIP client that enables calls cheaper than mobile. Can mobile companies successfully crush VOIP competitors like this?"

Submission + - Bail Denied for Spam King (lawbean.com)

Submitted by Spamicles on Friday June 15, 2007 @02:23PM

Spamicles writes: The man accused of defrauding people with millions of spam emails has been denied bail today. Judge James P. Donohue said Robert Soloway, 27, of Seattle, should remain in jail until his trial scheduled for Aug. 6 because he has minimal ties to Washington state and has family in Sweden. Spamhaus has listed Soloway as one of the 135 spammers that were responsible for up to 80 percent of all spam sent.

Submission + - Nintendo Wii being sued by Lonestar Inventions (gamespot.com)

Submitted by losman on Thursday June 14, 2007 @03:05PM

losman writes: Texas based Lonestar Inventions is suing Nintendo on a patent it holds that is described as a "high capacitance structure in a semiconductor device". They issed suits and settled on this patent before. Everyone seems to want in on Wii's success! The full story is at Gamespot: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6172456.html?om_act=c onvert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;title;2

Submission + - It was a nightmare, Tanya Andersen

Submitted by

newtley

on Thursday June 14, 2007 @02:36PM

newtley writes: "The worst part is over for Oregon mother Tanya Andersen and her 10-year-old daughter, Kylee. Their ordeal with Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG's RIAA is now over, bar the shouting, but the memory will linger on. Forever. "It was a living nightmare," she says."

Submission + - PC calls centers garner lowest satisfaction score (computerworld.com)

Submitted by

Lucas123

on Thursday June 14, 2007 @02:34PM

Lucas123 writes: "The University of Michigan took its first American Customer Satisfaction survey and found that of six industries measured for the Customers' Call Center Satisfaction Index, the PC industry received the lowest score, according to a Computerworld story. 'According to the survey, nearly 73% of the people who have bad experiences with their PC companies' call centers said they will consider purchasing their next PCs from another company, while 85% of customers who had their problems resolved by calling a PC call center said they would continue doing business with the company. Other calls centers included in the survey included banking, cell phone service, cable and satellite television, and insurance."

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