jesup - Slashdot User

The Importance of OS Backwards Compatibility 380

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @12:24PM from the keeping-the-past-alive dept.

gbjbaanb writes "Raymond Chen (of ancient Microsoft heritage) has a blog where he describes some of the things he's worked on, as well as oddments of obscure code and design decisions in Windows. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Windows, it is informative and often thought-provoking. Recently, Raymond posted an entry about backwards compatibility, and why it is such a big deal for large corporations. Something that I have read about on Slashdot regularly (where Windows is criticized for bothering with it at all), I thought readers would be interested in exactly why Microsoft spends so much effort on backwards compatibility, and by inference, why it is an important topic for getting Linux adopted by big business."

Submission + - Talking porn: Is 1% of all Web pages a lot or not?

Submitted by

netbuzz

on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @12:23PM

netbuzz writes: "About 1% of Web pages "contain sexually explicit material," according to a "confidential" analysis of Google and Microsoft data done at the behest of the Department of Justice, which wants to reactivate the Children's Online Protection Act, reports the San Jose Mercury News this morning. The government says that's a lot. The ACLU says it's not. ... It's a silly question, all right.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/9224 "

Submission + - SecondLife "CopyBot" Violates Copyright

Submitted by

Saeger

on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @12:08PM

Saeger writes: "A new "CopyBot" hack, which allows user to make unauthorized copies of any object, has found its way into the virtual world of SecondLife, and it's got content creators worried about the implications for their businesses and creative incentives in general. The CopyBot is based on a slightly modified libsecondlife tool intended to give content developers a way to import & export their own content. Despite this news, the SL currency exchange seems to be doing just fine."

Submission + - Babylon 5 direct to DVD project in production

Submitted by

ajs

on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @12:05PM

ajs writes: "As previously announced, "Babylon 5: The Lost Tales" is a direct-to-DVD project based on the popular series from the mid-1990s. Lost Tales first DVD, titled "Voices of the Dark" has now begun production. As usual, J. Michael Straczynski and Doug Netter will be running the show with Straczynski directing. The characters, President John Sheridan (Boxleitner), Captain Elizabeth Lochley (Scoggins) and the technomage Galen (Woodward) are returning. The Lost Tales is an anthology series of sorts with two movies (previously three) per DVD starting in 2007. Straczynski has commented on Usenet that a more CG-intensive installment is coming in the next batch, featuring the character of Michael Garibaldi (Doyle)."

Submission + - Exclusive Greg Bear Interview

Submitted by

Joe Dickerson

on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @12:03PM

Joe Dickerson writes: "Aberrant Dreams, an Atlanta based online magazine, has posted an exclusive interview with science fiction great, Greg Bear. The interview discussed several different points from what it was like being the son-in-law of a legend like Poul Anderson; to his newest book, Quantico; to plans for upcoming books. Additionally, their archives have other exclusive interviews with science fiction writers like Alastair Reynolds, Stephen Baxter, and Gerald W. Page."

Firefox 2.0 Wins Phishfight Against IE7 181

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @11:47AM from the hi-ya dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A new study that pitted the anti-phishing technology in Firefox 2.0 against that of IE7 generated some interesting results. From the Washingtonpost.com story: 'Firefox blocked 243 phishing sites that IE7 overlooked, while IE7 locked 117 sites that Firefox did not.' Microsoft responded by pointing to its own supposed comparison study that put it in front of Mozilla and others in phish fighting, but the story notes: '3Sharp, the company that authored the Microsoft study, clearly state on their site that their goal in creating 3Sharp was "to use the robustness, flexibility, and sheer native capabilities of the Microsoft communication and collaboration technologies to enhance the business of our customers."'"

Submission + - What are Effective Methods for Developer Testing?

Submitted by N!x0r on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @11:05AM

N!x0r writes: I am an embedded programmer for a medium-sized telecommunications company. Our division wants to focus on developing quality software but can't afford to increase our test engineer head count (doh). My boss has asked me to research ways that developers can help increase initial code stability to offset the testing shortage. The articles on developer testing are slim. That's why I'm asking the Slashdot community, what tips can you give that would help test our code better before we actually hand it off to a test engineer? We already do preliminary design documentation & basic unit testing, but it seems like there should be other ways that developers could help out.

Submission + - The Moon's Magnetic Umbrellas

Submitted by

eldavojohn

on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @11:04AM

eldavojohn writes: "When it comes to space exploration, there are things that are good for humans (water) and things that are bad for humans (radiation). In order for exploration of the moon to occur, its lack of a global magnetic shield to block solar radiation must be addressed. Luckily, scientists have discovered that there are highly magnatized areas of the moon's crust that could shield settlements. From the article, "Current evidence suggests that impact-basin ejecta materials [material blasted out by huge asteroid or comet impacts] are the most likely sources of many or all of the magnetic fields," Hood said "These ejecta contain microscopic metallic iron particles that are the carriers of the magnetization." Looks like my investments in lead (Pb) futures won't be paying off anytime soon."

Submission + - New Babylon 5 DVD Film Begins

Submitted by

pdawerks

on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @10:52AM

pdawerks writes: "Warner Home Video and Warner Brothers Television announced the start of production on Babylon 5: The Lost Tales, a made-for-video movie that will tell two new stories set in the B5 universe. WHV will be the home-entertainment distributor for the made-for-DVD release, which will include two new stories under the collective subtitle "Voices of the Dark" in one film, plus exclusive behind-the-scenes content.

The Lost Tales picks up several years after the events of the original Babylon 5 TV series and follows several of its major characters in new adventures set against the backdrop of the B5 universe. The movie will be released sometime in 2007.

You can read the full article here http://www.pdalive.com/forums/showthread.php?posti d=53419"

Submission + - The PS3's Open Platform Claim

Submitted by

eldavojohn

on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @09:44AM

eldavojohn writes: "Everyone knows that Yellow Dog Linux is already available for the PS3 even though the console has only recently been launched in Japan & is set to come out Friday here in the United States. What's interesting is that Sony has a page entitled "Open Platform for PLAYSTATION®3" with the following text, "PLAYSTATION®3 allows any desired third-party system software to be installed on it besides its system software provided by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Details will be posted on this site soon." Does this mean that we will be able to install any flavor of Linux or any operating system so long as the developers support it? I guess the real question should be how actively Sony supports the third-party system software and whether or not it voids your warranty."

Submission + - The importance of backwards compatibility

Submitted by

gbjbaanb

on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @09:14AM

gbjbaanb writes: "Raymond Chen (of ancient Microsoft heritage) has a blog where he describes some of th etings he's worked on and some oddments of obscure code and design decisions in Windows. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Windows, it is informative and often thought-provoking.

Recently, Raymond posted an entry about backwards compatibility, and why it is such a big deal for large corporations — something that I read about on slashdot regularly (where Windows is criticised for bothering with it at all), I thought readers would be interested in exactly why Microsoft spends so much effort on backwards compatibility, and by inference, why it is an important topic for getting Linux adopted by big business."

Submission + - Diary of a Complete Linux Migration

Submitted by Diashto on Tuesday November 14, 2006 @09:07AM

Diashto writes: This is the story of an average Linux user (read: NOT an admin) who convinced a company to completely throw off the shroud of Microsoft, after the shady practices of the previous IT people landed them in deep trouble with the BSA.

From the blog:
By Monday at 8 AM, all desktop units would be Linux, as would be the server(s). No one had been told of the switch. This was not a democratic process and to get this done in such a short time, we had no time for the bickering that would surely take place upon the news that the system would be switched. This would be the first "Monday Morning Surprise". There would be at least 8 more in 8 different cities if this worked out.

Submission + - My reply to Bradley Kuhn's Open Letter

Submitted by petrus4 on Saturday November 11, 2006 @11:43PM

petrus4 writes: I've written a reply to Bradley Kuhn's open letter to developers about Microsoft's patent pledge. As Mr Kuhn says here in his own words, I believe that he has expressed that the GPL is the only open source license with the right to exist. As such, I also feel that his own motivation is therefore no less potentially repressive than that of Microsoft itself. I've believed for a while now that if the FSF had its' way, it would see the BSD operating system/s and all non-copyleft licenses destroyed entirely, so as to remove any possible alternative to the FSF's dominance of FOSS. The FSF desire a monoculture to the same degree as do Microsoft themselves; merely one of a slightly different kind. They have thus become just as much a potential threat to the future of free and open source software as Microsoft have ever been.

I wish to invite Mr Kuhn to challenge these assertions if he feels they are inaccurate.

Justin Long No Longer A Mac 333

Posted by Zonk on Saturday November 11, 2006 @11:40PM from the maybe-now-he's-beos dept.

david.emery writes "Wired is reporting that Apple will be replacing Justin Long as its 'Mac' in their 'I'm a Mac/I'm a PC' ad campaign. John Hodgman, the personification of the PC, is reportedly shooting new commercials." From the article: "Even people who hate the campaign find their core idea compelling enough to endlessly satirize the series on YouTube. The one enduring criticism of the ads is that John Hodgman's PC is funnier and more likable than Justin Long's sleazy hipster doofus Mac. (just what was he saying to that hot new camera from Japan?) Hodgman is a riot (just read "The Areas of My Expertise" if you don't believe me), but I'm not sure how the new series of ads goes on from here. Is there a new Mac? Does Hodgman become the Mac?"

Submission + - Code Execution Bug in Broadcom Wi-Fi Driver

Submitted by 2U*U2 on Saturday November 11, 2006 @11:28PM

2U*U2 writes: Computer security analysts are raising the alarm for a critical vulnerability in the Broadcom wireless driver embedded in PCs from HP, Dell, Gateway and eMachines. The vulnerability, which exposed as part of the MoKB (Month of Kernel Bugs) project, is a stack-based buffer overflow in the Broadcom BCMWL5.SYS wireless device driver that could be exploited by attackers to take complete control of a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop. It is caused by improper handling of 802.11 probe responses containing a long SSID field and can lead to arbitrary kernel-mode code execution.

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