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Debian

Debian Gets FreeBSD Kernel Support 425

Posted by timothy from the types-like-this-kept-me-out-of-good-schools dept.
mu22le writes "Today Debian gets one step closer to really becoming 'the universal operating system' by adding two architectures based on the FreeBSD kernel to the unstable archive. This does not mean that the Debian project is ditching the Linux kernel; Debian users will be able to choose which kernel they want to install (at least on on the i386 and amd64 architectures) and get more or less the same Debian operating system they are used to. This makes Debian the first distribution, and probably the first large OS, to support two completely different kernels at the same time."

OLPC Set To Dump x86 For Arm Chips In XO 2 274

Posted by timothy from the just-make-it-faster dept.
angry tapir writes with this excerpt from Good Gear Guide: "One Laptop Per Child is set to dump x86 processors, instead opting to put low-power Arm-based processors in its next-generation XO-2 laptop with the aim of improving battery life. The nonprofit is 'almost' committed to putting the Arm-based chip in the next-generation XO-2 laptop, which is due for release in 18 months, according to Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of OLPC. The XO-1 laptop currently ships with Advanced Micro Devices' aging Geode chip, which is based on an x86 design."

Comment Re:Yes there is (Score 1) 55

by SilentTristero (#27168415) Attached to: Google Straightens Out Its Stance On Paid Apps
  • there are hardly any Palm OS users left anymore, they all left for iPhone or WM
  • Palm squandered their market leadership and consumer confidence years ago
  • Pre is a completely new untested OS
  • the market is already crowded
  • Apple owns the "Custom-designed" smartphone market, WM6 and Google will own the "Commodity hardware" smartphone market, what's left for Pre?
  • Pre's claim to fame is integrated calendaring, which is just an app on the other phones -- should not be an OS feature.

Comment Re:Yes there is (Score 1) 55

by SilentTristero (#27164647) Attached to: Google Straightens Out Its Stance On Paid Apps

I agree with you, and as a would-be Android dev and ADP owner I want them to succeed too. They had to do something, knowing it would be broken. They could have done a little bit more than install into a private dir. But it wouldn't have taken any longer than it has to break it, and the results would be pretty identical from a user's perspective. I think the Pre is DOA though

Comment Re:Bullshit spin, keeps many producers out of mark (Score 2, Informative) 55

by SilentTristero (#27156577) Attached to: Google Straightens Out Its Stance On Paid Apps

From a technical perspective this comes about from the app DRM just being about protected folders which developers can access, Google needs a more solid solution.

There is no more solid solution. ADP phones got root, and the OS is fully open source (no HDMI-like "protected path").

End of story.

Comment Re:Using an iPhone makes you look pretty lame? (Score 2, Interesting) 884

by SilentTristero (#27020323) Attached to: Why Japan Hates the iPhone

What about folded optics? Minolta had a camera like this with a 45 degree mirror behind the lens and the sensor down one side a few years ago. Gives longer focal length in a slim body. Don't know if any of the camphone companies are doing this though, there's probably not enough empty space in the case.
Upgrades

BASH 4.0 Released 459

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the tools-that-matter dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The widely used Bourne-Again Shell (BASH) version 4.0 is out. The new major release fixes several remaining bugs in the 3.x releases, and introduces a bunch of new features. The most notable new features are associative arrays, improvements to the programmable completion functionality, case-modifying word expansions, co-processes, support for the `**' special glob pattern, and additions to the shell syntax and redirections. The shell has been changed to be more rigorous about parsing commands inside command substitutions, fixing one piece of POSIX non-compliance. Most of us will probably wait for the distros to test the new version and upgrade gradually, but you always have the option of grabbing the source and compiling it yourself. Enjoy."
Privacy

Linked In Or Out? 474

Posted by timothy from the won't-you-be-my-neighbor-today dept.
Mr_Whoopass writes "I am the IT Administrator for a regional restaurant chain, and as of late I am noticing more and more people sending me invitations to sites like LinkedIn, FaceBook, etc. Mother always taught me to be a skeptic, and, knowing more than the average Joe about how information can be used in this digital era, I am reticent to say the least about posting such personal details as my full name and where I work on the net for all to see. I have thus far managed to stay completely below the radar, and a search on Google has nothing on my real persona. However, now times are tough, and I see sales dropping in the industry I work in as it is a discretionary spending market to be sure. I wonder if I should loosen up on the paranoia a bit and start networking with some of these folks in case of the all too common layoff scenario that seems to be happening lately. What do other folks here think about this? I am specifically interested in what people who work in IT think (since I know that just about every moron who has 'Vice President' or sits on the 'Executive Team' is already on LinkedIn and has no clue about why they should be trying to protect their identity)."
Government

Trying To Find White House Missing E-mails 437

Posted by samzenpus from the they-were-right-here dept.
Gov IT writes "On Wednesday a federal court ordered all employees working in the Bush White House to surrender media that might contain e-mails sent or received during a two and a half year period in hope of locating missing messages before President-elect Barack Obama takes over next week."
Education

Computer For a Child? 556

Posted by samzenpus from the start-them-young dept.
jameswing writes "I am thinking of buying a UMPC, such as an Eee PC or a Wind for my son, and wanted to get input from Slashdot. He is almost 2 and really curious about our computers, and anything electronic. I want to foster this in him, without having him on my desktop or laptop. I also don't really like the idea of getting one of those cheap 'Learning Laptops' that have a tiny screen and are really limited. Does anybody have one that they use with their children? How sturdy is it? Will it stand up to a 2-year-old? If not, what are good alternatives? What are your thoughts? Suggestions?"
Patents

Startup Seeks To Preempt Patent Trolls 117

Posted by CmdrTaco from the wonder-how-long-that'll-last dept.
anaesthetica writes "The WSJ reports that a San Francisco startup is buying up patents with the promise never to assert them in order to help large corporations hedge against patent trolling firms. The company, RPX Corp, receives an annual fee in exchange for licensing the patents it has purchased. Cisco and IBM have already signed up for this service of 'defense patent aggregation.'"
Education

Philosophy and Computer Science Revisited 204

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the philosophy-goes-nicely-with-many-things dept.
Soren Kierkegaard writes "While reading the two-and-a-half-year-old Slashdot post on Does Philosophy have a role in Computer Science, it occurred to me that over these past few years Philosophy has a more prominent role in Computer Science then ever before. Cognitive Science and Computer Ethics are more established disciplines in universities, and the numbers of philosophy graduates double majoring in computer science and information systems are climbing. Is a merger of Philosophy, a discipline steeped in history and intelligent thought, and Computer Science, a discipline that looks to the future, the best of both worlds?"
United States

Bill Joy For New National CTO Post? 393

Posted by CmdrTaco from the yeah-that'll-happen dept.
jddeluxe writes "In an article in today's NY Times, John Doerr of Kleiner-Perkins proffered up Bill Joy's name when queried by Barack Obama for a recommendation for the position of Chief Technology Officer of the Unites States which Obama has promised to create and that the country is overdue to have. I think that's a brilliant idea, and while you're at it, have the FCC report to him as well, why don't you?" If Bill is unavailable, I'll throw my hat in the ring, although I'm holding out for Secretary of Tubes.

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