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Businesses

Submission + - ATT/Cingular block Google411 1

Submitted by
mcraig88
mcraig88 writes: "Hello everyone...

In case any of you didn't know this, Google has a voice operated directory assistance service. I have been trying to use this from my Cell phone and have been receiving a "Network is busy" message, instead of getting through. I have been able to call from Work, home, and other non-cingular cell phones just fine.

On a whim, I called Cingular's customer service, and they confirmed that they are blocking Google's service. "Google is a competitor, so we have blocked their phone number"

This is absolutely ridiculous. I can't think of another time that a Phone/Cell company has ticked me off so bad.

And people complain about Microsoft's anti-competitive practices!

Try it for your self if you have a Cingular cell phone.

Google's web page about new service: http://labs.google.com/goog411/

To try this service, just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-466-4411) from any phone. (Except ATT/Cingular)"
Censorship

Submission + - Government Approved Baby Names (cnn.com)

Submitted by
soapthgr8
soapthgr8 writes: "In an attempt to provide a meaningful name for their newborn, a New Zealand couple has encountered resistance from the Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. It seems that "numerals are not allowed" in names, although, the Registrar-General indicates that the "name has not at this stage been rejected." How far is too far for governmental prevention of the crime of possible "offense"? This appears to cross that line."
Communications

Submission + - Would swap your cell phone for 2m dollars?

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: According to a CNet article, an incredible one in three people aged 16 to 24 in the UK would not give up their mobile phone for a million pounds. "The phone-centric survey, called Mobile Life, was carried out across the UK and questioned 1,256 people aged 16 to 64 on a variety of topics, including whether or not they would sacrifice being able to own or use a mobile phone ever again for a whopping £1m."
Portables (Apple)

Submission + - iPhone may launch on Sprint as well?

Submitted by
Dan
Dan writes: "My friend got had this email conversation with a Sprint representative. The rep claims that the Apple iPhone is coming to Sprint in the next 2-3 months (despite being tied to AT&T for the next few years). Is this at all possible? Email Below:

From: Sprint Customer Solutions
To: *email removed*
Sent: Monday, June 18, 2007 12:35:32 PM
Subject: Re: ID# 20070614104801 (KMM34076778I123L0KM)

Dear *name removed*,

Thank you for your reply.

a.) Yes, we are planning to launch Apple iPhones within next 2 to 3 months. As of now we do not have the details about the phones as there are provided by the manufacture and we are still in the process of launching.

I hope that you can understand our limitation in this matter.

b.) The account would be charged $150.00 cancellation fee, if the services on the #*number removed* are cancelled before 10/23/2007.

Thank you for contacting us, and we look forward to serving you.

Damien S.
Business E-Care
Sprint
"Where our customers come first!"

Original Message Follows:
—
Are you saying that you will also be offering the Apple iphone within the next 2 to 3 months? I was under the impression that AT&T has exclusiviety for the next 2 to 5 years. Please provide me with more information concerning these phones you are going to offer within the next few months.

One additional question, what would the cost be for the *number removed* number to end the contract prior to the 10/23 date?

Thanks in advance,
*name removed*

— Original Message —
From: Sprint Customer Solutions
To: *email removed*
Sent: Sunday, June 17, 2007 10:52:03 AM
Subject: Re: ID# 20070614104801 (KMM34032828I123L0KM)

Dear *name removed*,

Thank you for contacting Sprint. I will be happy to assist you regarding the Subscriber Agreement (contract).

Here are the details of the Subscriber Agreement (contract) on the account:

Number Contract satisfaction date

#*removed* 03/15/2005 (already satisfied)
#*removed* 10/23/2007.

I also glad to inform you that we are planning to launch iPhones. As soon as the handset will be launched, we will inform our customers with high profile promotions an you can expect this within next 2 to 3 months.

Thank you for contacting Sprint, we were happy to assist you. Please feel free to write back if you have any other questions.

Have a great day!

Damien S.
Business E-Care
Sprint
"Where our customers come first!"

Original Message Follows:
—
================================================== ===========
Customer Name: *name removed*
Sprint PCS Phone Number: *number removed*
Account Number: *number removed*
Form: Ask A Question-Manage
Topic: Other
================================================== ===========
Question: I was wondering when my contract is up so that i can jump over to AT&T for the iphone? Thanks,
*name removed*
================================================== ==========="
Communications

Submission + - The proper care and watering of your CIO (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "So, you have this CIO and you want to make better use of him or her. IBM released a study today of 170 CIOs that takes a look at the CIO role and how companies could better utilize them. First off, according to the IBM CIO Leadership Forum Survey, 84% of CIOs believe that technology is significantly or profoundly transforming their industries, but only 16% feel their companies are taking full advantage of IT's potential. IBM said that the state of business and technology points to the need for change in how technology is integrated into the core business. Research also indicates the relationships required between the CIO and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), to ensure that the IT organization continues to drive business innovation and growth."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Gaming the H-1B process (computerworld.com)

Submitted by MonkMonk
MonkMonk writes: Lawrence Lebowitz, an attorney at Cohen & Grigsby, explains a method that can be used for hiring foreign workers under the U.S. government's Program Electronic Review Management process. PERM stipulates requirements for placing help wanted ads to fill job vacancies, with the intent of either hiring U.S. workers or showing that no qualified Americans are available.

According to Lebowitz "Our goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker."

To help employers not find a qualified employee Lawrence and company explain how to disqualify employees using such techniques as:

- Listing many job requirements — If a resume does not list ALL requirements it can be dismissed
- Not listing the Salary — If the candidates salary request is higher than the hidden salary it can be dismissed

If any resumes make it this far they explain how the hiring manager can be used to dismiss them.
The Courts

Submission + - Court Rejects RIAA Motion against U. of New Mexico

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The federal court in New Mexico has rejected the RIAA's ex parte attempt to get information about University of New Mexico students suspected of copyright infringement through P2P filesharing. In his 3-page decision (pdf), Judge Lorenzo F. Garcia held that there was no reason that the proceeding had to be made ex parte rather than on notice to the affected students, and rejected the RIAA's claim that it would suffer "irreparable harm" if the motion were not granted immediately, saying that "it requires a Coleridgian "suspension of disbelief" to accept that the harm is irreparable, especially when monetary damages can cure any alleged violation. On the other hand, the harm related to disclosure of confidential information in a student or faculty member's Internet files can be equally harmful." He ordered the RIAA to meet and confer with the University of New Mexico's lawyers to work out a procedure for giving prior notice both to the university and to the affected students. He further pointed out that under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, "ex parte proceedings should be the exception, not the rule"."
Operating Systems

Submission + - Mandriva rules out patent agreement with Microsoft

Submitted by Robert
Robert writes: Franco-Brazilian Linux distributor Mandriva is the latest Linux distributor to rule out the potential of a patent-related interoperability deal with Microsoft, following similar rejections by Red Hat and Ubuntu. While Microsoft has signed up Novell, Xandros, and Linspire to interoperability and patent agreements, Mandriva's chief executive, Francois Bancilhon, has denied that the company he leads will be next. "We don't believe it is necessary for us to get protection from Microsoft to do our job or to pay protection money to anyone," he wrote on the company's corporate blog, adding that while the company was in favor of interoperability, it was not convinced by Microsoft's claims that Linux and open source software infringes 235 of its patents.
Announcements

Submission + - China planning to create disaster in Mt. Everest

Submitted by
rooo12
rooo12 writes: "The times of india reports the major disaster in Mount Everest. The article reports China is creation of 110 km highway from Tibet to Mt Everest and will not also rule out building hotels in future in the fragile Himalayan region and will be complete by August 2008. Also organizers of the Beijing Olympics Games are planning to take the Olympic torch to the summit."
Sony

Submission + - Cathedral row over video game

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The BBC reports that the Church of England is considering legal action against Sony for featuring Manchester Cathedral in a violent PlayStation video game. The bishop of Manchester has stated that violence shouldn't be associated with the church, a view which may come as a shock to history students and those who've actually read the bible. Those protesting consider the game especially inappropriate because "it is well known that Manchester has a gun crime problem".

Sony describe the game as featuring "strange looking alien invaders seeking to destroy humanity". Speaking of which; MEP Arlene McCarthy is apparently writing to Sony to express her concerns.
Patents

Submission + - Company aims to patent security patches (eweek.com)

Submitted by
Jonas Maebe
Jonas Maebe writes: "Someone thought up another way to profiteer from the software patent system: when a security hole is discovered, they'll try to patent the fix in order to collect money when the affected vendors close the hole in their product.. The company in question is not shy about its intentions: Intellectual Weapons will only consider vulnerabilities in high profile products from vendors with deep pockets. Let's be thankful for yet another way software patents are used to promote science and the useful arts."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft sued on Vista name

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Philippe Gildas, a French journalist and TV moderator, is suing Microsoft for trade mark infringement. Philippe Gildas had reserved the tradename Vista in 2003 to use it for a new TV channel. The TV channel will be lauched in next November but the name has been used by Microsoft in between. The links are in French so use your preferred translation tool...
Linux Business

Submission + - How Much Do You Save Buying a Dell with Linux?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The answer: Less than you'd expect. Dell today will start selling its first three models preloaded with Ubuntu Linux: the Inspiron E1505n, a 15-inch notebook; the Dimension E520n, a middle of the line desktop; and the XPS 410n, a desktop that starts out with virtually identical specs to the Dimension, but can be customized with more gaming-centric hardware (though you hardly need hardcore gear to play the games available for Linux).

I did my best to customize comparable Vista machines with the same equipment that Dell lists for their Linux equipment and here's what I found: Dimension E520 — Vista Version $729 / Linux Version $599 XPS 410 — Vista Version $899 / Linux Version $849 Inspiron E1505 — Vista Version $728 / Linux Version $599

So the average price savings for choosing Linux over Vista: $103. A full copy of Home Basic will set you back $199, while Home Premium costs about $239. Obviously, though, Dell doesn't buy Windows at retail prices, so perhaps this average savings is in line with their actual costs.

http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/004474 .html

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