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Submission + - GUI: Linux stumbling block 2

Submitted by aunt edna
aunt edna writes: There are 2 GUIs available for Linux: KDE & Gnome. I know of no other operating system (widely adopted) that suffers from such riches. 'Suffers'? — yes, because I think it's a bad idea, in that it introduces confusion for the end user & divides coding effort. I've not understood why there are 2 GUIs; presumably it's from some idealistic split. I don't even know the difference between them & I care less.
Having 2 GUIs puts a brake on the up-take of Linux.
I've used Gnome & I don't think it's anything to write home about. If Linux is going to become popular, as things stand there needs to ba a major uplift in the GUI quality.
Why 2 and not 1 good one? Do you see a good GUI as key to Linux uptake? Do you think, as I do, that the present offering is below par?
Lets hope for no flame wars.
Linux

Submission + - Ubuntu: More bugs than ever? (cheesemedia.net)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: With many users suggesting that Ubuntu has become unstable. We take a look at precisely how buggy Ubuntu has become with its recent releases using statistics provided by Launchpad.
Technology

Submission + - Electrical, software engineers leaving workforce (computerworld.com) 1

Submitted by dcblogs
dcblogs writes: The IEEE-USA says an increasing number of unemployed engineers have moved to other fields, retired, "or giving up on their job searches." The engineering group believes engineering employment is a bellwether of national economic vitality. If companies are to create new products and systems, then they will need to hire engineers do the work.
Apple

Submission + - McGraw-Hill CEO lets slip Apple tablet info (macrumors.com)

Submitted by grouchyDude
grouchyDude writes: In a CNBC interview, the CEO of McGraw-Hill, the publishing conglomerate, let slip a bunch of details about the imminent Apple tablet. The mentions they have been working closely with Apple, and that is runs the iPhone OS (which is, of course, a UNIX variant not so different from OS X). The interview has been picked up by several sites and provoked some chatter.
Apple

Submission + - The Long Fail: A History of Unsuccessful Tablets (technologizer.com)

Submitted by harrymcc
harrymcc writes: If the tablet device that Apple announces turns out to be a hit, it'll reverse more than two decades of disappointment for tablet computers. I've rounded up some prime examples, some of which were launched with Apple-like hype and then died within months. (Anyone remember Momenta and Eo?)

Submission + - Phish-prone on-line security add-in (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by aunt edna
aunt edna writes: The Register reports today that "Cambridge University researchers are saying secondary credit card security systems for online transactions such as Verified by Visa are all about shifting blame rather then curtailing fraud."
Verified-by-Visa & MasterCard Secure Code are thought open to exploit by an abuser re-setting the user's password, if they're armed with the customer's card number & date of birth.
Just what are the cardcos up to here? Customer security or their own? Hmm, that's a tough one.
Microsoft

Has a Decade of .NET Delivered On Microsoft's Promises? 558

Posted by timothy from the full-of-holes dept.
cyclocommuter writes with this snippet from The Register's assessment of whether Microsoft's .NET framework has been a success: "If the goal of .NET was to see off Java, it was at least partially successful. Java did not die, but enterprise Java became mired in complexity, making .NET an easy sell as a more productive alternative. C# has steadily grown in popularity, and is now the first choice for most Windows development. ASP.NET has been a popular business web framework. The common language runtime has proved robust and flexible. ... Job trend figures here show steadily increasing demand for C#, which is now mentioned in around 32 per cent of UK IT programming vacancies, ahead of Java at 26 per cent."

Submission + - "Mozilla man sends Firefoxers to Microsoft Bing" (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by aunt edna
aunt edna writes: The Register reports that:
"Mozilla director of community development Asa Dotzler — co-founder of the original Firefox project — has encouraged Firefox users to switch their search engine from Google to Microsoft Bing in the wake of Eric Schmidt's now infamous words on net privacy.In an interview aired by CNBC on Sunday, the Google boss insisted that anyone who worries about Mountain View retaining personal data must be guilty of improper behavior. "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place," he said.

"If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines — including Google — do retain this information for some time and it's important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities."

In a post to his personal blog Thursday morning, ten-year Mozilla vet Asa Dotzler quoted Schmidt in full before indicating that he's not too happy with the Googler's haughty take on data retention."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft 'Acknowledged Enterprise Role Of Linux (eweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by eWEEK Europe
eWEEK Europe writes: Three years on from Microsoft's deal with Novell, the real importance is coming through, says Novell's OpenSUSE community manager, Joe Brockmeier.
When Novell and Microsoft signed a deal to support Windows and Linux in the enterprise, it caused a furore. Three years on, the deal shows that Microsoft really does acknowledge the value of Linux in the enterprise — at least that's the view from the OpenSUSE community.
Space

Submission + - 'Space barley' used to make Japanese beer (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by tugfoigel
tugfoigel writes: A Japanese brewery has created a beer using barley grown from seeds which spent five months on board the International Space Station.

At 10,000 yen, or £68, for just six bottles, the limited edition brew tastes no different from standard beer.

Scientists involved in the joint Japanese-Russian project say this bodes well for attempts to grow other edible plants in space.

Submission + - Court says Fair Use May Hold in Some RIAA Cases (blogspot.com)

Submitted by NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: In SONY BMG Music Entertainment v. Tenenbaum, the Boston RIAA case in which the defendant, represented by Charles Nesson of Harvard Law School, admitted liability at his trial, the Court has entered judgment in favor of the RIAA for the monetary award of $625,000 fixed by the jury. However, the Court left open the questions of whether the amount is excessive, and whether attorneys fees and/or sanctions should be awarded, and has scheduled further briefing of those issues. The Court granted the RIAA much, but not all, of the injunctive relief it rquested. In an unusual step, the Court issued a 38-page decision (PDF) explaining in some detail the Court's views of the Fair Use defense in the context of cases like this, and indicating that there are some factual scenarios — not applicable in this particular case — in which it might have concluded that the claims were barred by Fair Use. E.g. it declined to rule out the possibility that creation of mp3 files exclusively for space-shifting purposes from audio CDs a defendant had previously purchased might constitute fair use.

Submission + - Ambassador Claims ACTA Secrecy Necessary (keionline.org)

Submitted by
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes: "According to the Ambassador Ron Kirk, the head of US Trade Representatives, the secrecy around the ACTA copyright treaty because without that secrecy, people would be 'walking away from the table.' If you don't remember, that treaty is the one where leaks indicate that it may contain all sorts of provisions for online copyright enforcement, like a global DMCA with takedown and anti-circumvention restrictions, three-strikes laws to terminate offending internet connections, and copyright cops. FOIA requests for the treaty text have been rebuffed over alleged 'national security' concerns. One can only hope that what he has said is true and that sites like Wikileaks will help tear down the veil of secrecy behind which they're negotiating our future."
Apple

Submission + - Copenhagen police turn to Macs (itpro.co.uk)

Submitted by nk497
nk497 writes: Copenhagen police are managing this week's global climate change summit — with protestors and presidents expected to show up — with a bunch of Mac Minis. When it needed to replace its previous system, the Danish Police Department travelled Europe to see other systems, and decided those Windows based systems weren't good enough, or fast enough. Now, it runs off of Xserves, Minis and Pros. Its call centre has just eight employees each shift to take as many as 1,200 calls from the city of 1.2 million, while cities like Glasgow have dozens of staff. Intriguingly, it didn't cost more — as Mac's usually do. “It was just about the same price, that’s the funny thing,” said police inspector Karsten Højgaard.

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