Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Power

First Nuclear Power Plant Planned In Jordan 148

Posted by samzenpus from the power-up dept.
jones_supa writes Jordan has signed an agreement with Russia's state-owned nuclear power giant Rosatom, that sets the legal basis for building the kingdom's first nuclear power plant with a total capacity of 2,000 MW. The agreement is worth $10 billion and it envisages the construction of a two-unit power plant at Amra in the north of the kingdom by 2022. The deal provides for a feasibility study, site evaluation process and an environmental impact assessment. Currently Jordan imports nearly 98% of its energy from oil products and crude and is struggling to meet electricity demand, which is growing by more than 7% annually due to a rising population and industrial expansion. The kingdom hopes that eventually nuclear power could provide almost 40% of its total electricity generating capacity.
Government

To Avoid NSA Interception, Cisco Will Ship To Decoy Addresses 296

Posted by timothy from the name-is-smith-john-smith dept.
An anonymous reader writes with this news snipped from The Register: Cisco will ship boxes to vacant addresses in a bid to foil the NSA, security chief John Stewart says. The dead drop shipments help to foil a Snowden-revealed operation whereby the NSA would intercept networking kit and install backdoors before boxen reached customers. The interception campaign was revealed last May. Speaking at a Cisco Live press panel in Melbourne today, Stewart says the Borg will ship to fake identities for its most sensitive customers, in the hope that the NSA's interceptions are targeted. 'We ship [boxes] to an address that has nothing to do with the customer, and then you have no idea who, ultimately, it is going to,' Stewart says.

Comment First work on a decent TV box (Score 2) 87

by iamacat (#49280971) Attached to: Apple Reportedly Working On an Online TV Service

Current one is 5 years old. No stick form factor, no 4K or 3D, no Siri, no Facetime, no HDMI-CEC, no apps/games, AirPlay drains mobile device battery life. To really generate excitement Apple would need to release something ahead of the times to makes us forget they churned out the same lame box for last 5 years.

Comment Switching is not integration (Score 1) 240

by iamacat (#49264035) Attached to: Windows 10 Enables Switching Between Desktop and Tablet Modes

I understand the logic of having apps run in full screen for small tablets by default. But this does not justify having two kinds of apps, none of which run in both modes. Either it's a classic desktop app without multitouch/orientation switch support, or a metro app that can not open multiple windows (can it even be tiled with other apps these days?).

What Microsoft should have done in Windows 8 is provide a framework for creating tablet-friendly apps which are ALSO usable desktop apps without any handicaps. In fact, they should have required 1st class experience on both tablet and desktop to be included in Windows Store.

Comment Choice is good, but I will pass personally (Score 1) 328

by iamacat (#49246683) Attached to: New Crop of LED Filament Bulbs Look Almost Exactly Like Incandescents

That's like a LED TV inside a bulky CRT box. The enclosure is not necessary and adds to price and environmental impact unnecessarily. Also an extra hazard if it's glass. I would rather have modern minimalistic look and creative shapes enabled by technology. Is it really necessary for bulbs to be changeable now that they last for lifetime of the fixture? And why not have one central transformer for the whole chandelier (if not low voltage outlets in the room)? Got to be more efficient.
Music

$7.4 Million Blurred Lines Verdict Likely To Alter Music Business 386

Posted by samzenpus from the my-notes-I-take-them dept.
HughPickens.com writes The Washington Post reports that the $7.4 million verdict that Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke copied Marvin Gaye's music to create their hit song "Blurred Lines" could ripple across the music industry, potentially changing how artists work and opening the door to new copyright claims. Howard King, lead attorney for Thicke and Williams, said in closing arguments that a verdict for the Gaye family would have a chilling effect on musicians trying to evoke an era or create an homage to the sound of earlier artists. Williams contended during the trial that he was only trying to mimic the "feel" of Gaye's late 1970s music but insisted he did not use elements of his idol's work. "Today's successful verdict, with the odds more than stacked against the Marvin Gaye estate, could redefine what copyright infringement means for recording artists," says Glen Rothstein, an intellectual property attorney. King says record labels are going to become more reluctant to release music that's similar to other works — an assertion disputed by Richard Busch, the lead attorney for the Gaye family. "While Mr. Williams' lawyer suggested in his closing argument that the world would come to an end, and music would cease to exist if they were found liable, I still see the sun shining," says Busch. "The music industry will go on."

Music copyright trials are rare, but allegations that a song copies another artist's work are common. Singers Sam Smith and Tom Petty recently reached an agreement that conferred songwriting credit to Petty on Smith's song, "Stay With Me," which resembled Petty's hit "I Won't Back Down." Other music copyright cases include Former Beatle George Harrison's 1970 solo song "My Sweet Lord" which had a melody heavy with echoes of "He's So Fine," the 1962 hit from The Chiffons. The copyright owner sued Harrison. A judge said that while the tunes were nearly identical, Harrison was guilty only of "subconscious plagiarism." Harrison would eventually pay out $587,000. Probably the most bizarre case of musical infringement was when John Fogerty was accused of stealing from John Fogerty. The Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman was sued for his 1985 solo song "The Old Man Down the Road" because his former label thought it sounded too much like the 1970 Fogerty-penned "Run Through the Jungle," a song it owned the rights to.

Comment This time things are different (Score 1) 389

If Apple watch was released before Pebble, it would rule the market. But this time there is ample competition from Pebble, Android Wear and Tizen, with many watches competitive in style for under $1K models and superior in features. You have choices that range from weeklong battery life to independent phone service. Apple has undeniable marketing muscle but, without groundbreaking unique features, people who get interested in smartwatches will also check out other offerings. Swiss watchmakers will massively benefit if they license one of open technologies and provide continuity of style.

Comment Would be still doable if you were 60 (Score 1) 205

by iamacat (#49238179) Attached to: Ask Slashdot - Breaking Into Penetration Testing At 30

If you are passionate about the subject, it shouldn't take more than half a year to come up to speed. You will not be doing original research, just using existing tools. Your scripting background should come handy here. Furthermore, satisfying legal regulations may be more about ensuring patches are installed and best practices are followed. Again, not too far from system administrations. Relax and go for it.

Comment C++ on Linux (Score 1) 407

by iamacat (#49186531) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Which Classic OOP Compiled Language: Objective-C Or C++?

Honestly it's not the best language to learn OOP concepts. It's too complicated and makes too many compromises to be compatible with C. But if you are sticking to Linux, it will be the only choice for significant development involving UI or system level programming. On OSX, Objective C would be much easier to learn coming from C and on Android Java would be a good choice. If you wanted to just learn current best practices without regard for practicality, there are interesting newer languages like Scala.

Slashdot Top Deals

I program, therefore I am.

Close