Comment It's actually a pity ... (Score 5, Funny) 629
... that after Return of the Jedi, no more Star Wars movies were ever made.
Comment sK1 (Score 2, Informative) 270
sK1 is an illustration program http://sk1project.org/ that supports CMYK and can import files from Corel Draw and Adobe Illustrator.
Comment Link changed? (Score 1) 108
The posted link didn't work for me, but http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/nyheter/ny-dom-paverkar-inte-ipredlagen-1.894500 did.
Submission + - Microsoft Shoots Own Foot in Iceland (yaxic.org) 1
David Gerard writes: "The Microsoft Certified Partner model is: an MCP buys contracts from Microsoft and sells them to businesses as a three-year timed contract, payable in annual instalments. Iceland's economy has collapsed, so 1500 businesses have gone bankrupt so aren't paying the fees any more. But Microsoft has told the MCPs: "Our deal was with you, not them. Pay up." The MCPs that don't go bankrupt in turn are moving headlong to Free Software. Taking most of the country with them. (Warning: link contains salty language and vivid imagery.)"
Comment Also changes User-Agent string (Score 5, Informative) 803
The
Submission + - First Programming Language for Kids? 1
Markus writes: "When I was nine or ten years old, I taught myself BASIC V1.2 — nothing else available — on my (way older) brother's Laser 210 from a book. Now, my son has started school last summer and can now sufficiently read and write to start programming. As in coding, that is, not as in script kiddies.
With the information age on the rise, conscious use of IT becomes a vital skill for following generations — and when I see how teachers over here use computers, I do certainly not want to trust schools with this. So as the days of 10 CLS:? "HELLO WORLD!" are over, what would be a good programming language for a six year old to start with? What concepts are most important to teach first to a kid? Is there something like "Eclipse Kids Edition"? And as our daughter is also due for school in two years — does it also come in pink? :o)
In addition, we want the kids to learn the social aspects of coding, so "free and open source" is a must."
With the information age on the rise, conscious use of IT becomes a vital skill for following generations — and when I see how teachers over here use computers, I do certainly not want to trust schools with this. So as the days of 10 CLS:? "HELLO WORLD!" are over, what would be a good programming language for a six year old to start with? What concepts are most important to teach first to a kid? Is there something like "Eclipse Kids Edition"? And as our daughter is also due for school in two years — does it also come in pink?
In addition, we want the kids to learn the social aspects of coding, so "free and open source" is a must."
Comment COBOL guys, make sure to get advance payment! (Score 1) 1139
As the financial problems of the state of California are quite obvious, any COBOL programmers who are capable and willing to do the job should make sure to get their money before they even look at the code or the documentation (if any).
And, by the way, can they contract programmers without having a budget?
Submission + - NXP RFID Cracked
kamlapati writes: The Chaos Computer Club (Hamburg, Germany) has cracked the encryption scheme of NXPs popular Mifare Classic RFID chip. The device is used in many contactless smartcard applications including fare collection, loyalty cards or access control cards. NXP downplays the significance of the hack.
So much for the security of RFID:
http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=YLPVK3WYXCTVEQSNDLSCKHA?articleID=207000946
Microsoft Hyper-V Leaves Linux Out In The Cold 212
whitehartstag writes to mention that Microsoft has announced their new Hyper-V as feature-complete. Unfortunately the list of supported systems is disappointingly short. "No offense to SUSE Enterprise Server crowd, but only providing SUSE support in Hyper-V is a huge mistake. By not supporting Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, and BSD, Microsoft is telling us Hyper-V is a Microsoft only technology. More Mt. Redmond, Microsoft center of the universe thinking. That's disappointing. Sure, if you are a Microsoft only shop, Hyper-V will be an option for virtualization. But so will VMware and XenServer. But if you run a mixed shop, Hyper-V won't solve your problems alone — you'll have to also add VMware or Xen to your virtualized data center portfolio. Or just go with VMware and Xen and forego Hyper-V."
Astronomers Discover New Class of Pulsating Star 35
KentuckyFC writes "It doesn't happen very often but astronomers have discovered a new class of pulsating white dwarf. The work began last year when the Sloan Digital Sky Survey found a few exotic white dwarf stars with carbon atmospheres. A mathematical model of these stars showed that in some circumstances the dwarfs could pulsate as the carbon was cycled through the atmosphere by convection. Now a few days observation of one of these stars has shown that it does actually pulsate as predicted."
Wireless Auction Ends With Mixed Feelings 62
Macworld is reporting that the conclusion of the wireless auction has ended with many participants having mixed feelings. While bigger companies hailed it as a success, including Google who didn't actually bid to win but was able to get open access rules introduced, many smaller companies were left feeling that they were doomed from the start. "A former mail carrier, McBride has been trying his luck at FCC auctions since 1996. He said new rules for the auction favored large companies with deep pockets. For example, the FCC shortened the amount of time that the winners would have to build their networks. "All that did was prevent small businesses from coming in. They were scared of the build-out requirements," he said."
Array-Based Memory May Put a Terabyte On a Chip 93
Lucas123 writes "A new type of flash memory, called array-based memory, could offer a terabyte of data on a single chip within the next decade by bypassing current NAND memory technology, which is limited by the miniaturization capability of lithography. According to the Computerworld story, start-up Nanochip Inc. is being backed by Intel and others, and over 11 years has made research breakthroughs that will enable it to deliver working prototypes to potential manufacturing partners next year. And by 2010, the first chips are expected to reach 100GB capacity."
In Soviet US, Comcast Watches YOU 404
cayenne8 sends us to Newteevee.com for a blog posting reporting from the Digital Living Room conference earlier this week. Gerard Kunkel, Comcast's senior VP of user experience, stated that the cable company is experimenting with different camera technologies built into its devices so it can know who's in your living room. Cameras in the set-top boxes, while apparently not using facial recognition software, can still somehow figure out who is in the room, and customize user preferences for cable (favorite channels, etc.). While this sounds 'handy,' it also sounds a bit like the TV sets in 1984. I am sure, of course, that Comcast wouldn't tap into this for any reason, nor let the authorities tap into this to watch inside your home in real time without a warrant or anything."
Lessig Bets On the Net To Clean Up Government 126
christian.einfeldt writes "Stanford Law Professor Larry Lessig really 'gets it' when it comes to the efficacy of distributed open source code production. Now he is attempting to use distributed production methods to expose corruption in the US Congress with the launch of another 'CC' organization — this time it's called 'Change Congress'. CC (as opposed to cc for Creative Commons) would invite users to track whether US legislators are willing to commit to Change Congress' four pledges. CC will rely on users to record and map the positions of candidates who are running for open seats in the US House and Senate. Change Congress will use a Google mash-up to create a map depicting which legislators have taken the CC pledge, which have declined, and which have signaled support for planks in the Change-Congress platform. The four pledges (which are not numbered 0 through 3) call for greater transparency in government, and less influence of private money in shaping legislation."
Sony Blu-ray Under Patent Infringement Probe 160
Lucas123 writes "The US International Trade Commission said it will launch an investigation into possible patent infringements involving Sony's Blu-ray players and other technologies using laser and light-emitting diodes, such as Motorola's Razr phone and Hitachi camcorders. The investigation was prompted by a complaint filed in February by a Columbia University professor emerita who says she invented a method of using gallium nitride-based semiconductor material for producing wide band-gap semiconductors for LEDs and laser diodes in the blue/ultraviolet end of the light spectrum. Her complaint asks the ITC to block imports of LED and laser diode technology from Asia and Europe. The total market for all types of gallium nitride devices has been forecast at $7.2 billion for 2009 alone."
