Comment Re:FUD filled.... (Score 1) 212
In March 1989 much of Quebec lost power for the same thing.
They lost power because the common-mode breakers tripped, not because their system was actually damaged.
The Army Is 3D Printing Warheads 140
Jason Koebler writes: In its latest bid to kill more people, more efficiently, and at less cost, the army is planning to print warhead components, according to the latest issue of Army Technology (PDF). "3D printing of warheads will allow us to have better design control and utilize geometries and patterns that previously could not be produced or manufactured," James Zunino, a researcher at the Armament Research, Engineering and Design Center said. "Warheads could be designed to meet specific mission requirements whether it is to improve safety to meet an Insensitive Munitions requirement, or it could have tailorable effects, better control, and be scalable to achieve desired lethality."
Comment Re:Good to hear (Score 1) 296
From your first link, with emphasis addd:
Five years and at least $600,000 on, with unhappy staff complaining of interoperability problems with Microsoft Office documents, city administrators called in a consultant from a Microsoft partner to support the city council in fixing the problem. The solution proposed: a complete reversal of course, switching back to Microsoft Office for a sum of at least $500,000, with a $360-per-seat cost for licensing Microsoft Office and no firm estimates for undoing the earlier migration.
There are no details on what the "interoperability" problems were. Was it features lacking in LibreOffice? Was it bugs in LibreOffice? The article doesn't say.
If businesses actually pooled their resources they could actually get LibreOffice "fixed" -- but they would rather piss money away on licensing costs.
The NSA's New Partner In Spying: Saudi Arabia's Brutal State Police 125
Advocatus Diaboli sends this news from The Intercept: The National Security Agency last year significantly expanded its cooperative relationship with the Saudi Ministry of Interior, one of the world's most repressive and abusive government agencies. An April 2013 top secret memo provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden details the agency's plans "to provide direct analytic and technical support" to the Saudis on "internal security" matters. The Saudi Ministry of Interior—referred to in the document as MOI— has been condemned for years as one of the most brutal human rights violators in the world. In 2013, the U.S. State Department reported that "Ministry of Interior officials sometimes subjected prisoners and detainees to torture and other physical abuse," specifically mentioning a 2011 episode in which MOI agents allegedly "poured an antiseptic cleaning liquid down [the] throat" of one human rights activist. The report also notes the MOI's use of invasive surveillance targeted at political and religious dissidents.
Submission + - Compromise struck on cellphone unlocking bill (gpo.gov)
NotSanguine writes: The US Senate has passed a bill (S.517) today allowing users to unlock their phones when moving to another provider.
From a recent article at thehill.com:
From a recent article at thehill.com:
“Consumers should be able to use their existing cell phones when they move their service to a new wireless provider,” Leahy said in a statement. “Our laws should not prohibit consumers from carrying their cell phones to a new network, and we should promote and protect competition in the wireless marketplace,” he said. Grassley called the bipartisan compromise “an important step forward in ensuring that there is competition in the industry and in safeguarding options for consumers as they look at new cell phone contracts.” “Empowering people with the freedom to use the carrier of their choice after complying with their original terms of service is the right thing to do,” he said. The House in February passed a companion bill sponsored on cellphone unlocking from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.).
Submission + - Congress finally legalizes cell phone unlocking
Comment Re:Whelp. (Score 2) 139
Imagine a 15 foot tall, 40 foot long bird of prey with a 4 foot jaw and 9 inch long teeth.
You wanna watch how you talk about my wife.
Russia Posts $110,000 Bounty For Cracking Tor's Privacy 98
hypnosec writes: The government of Russia has announced a ~$110,000 bounty to anyone who develops technology to identify users of Tor, an anonymising network capable of encrypting user data and hiding the identity of its users. The public description (in Russian) of the project has been removed now and it only reads "cipher 'TOR' (Navy)." The ministry said it is looking for experts and researchers to "study the possibility of obtaining technical information about users and users' equipment on the Tor anonymous network."
Comment Re:call them (Score 1) 354
I don't have kids, but when I was one my parents were spending most weekends taking us somewhere to do something. Watching movies was not on the agenda, at least not at home (maybe the occasional trip tot he movie theater). Why would you waste prime family time on movies? You do those on the weekdays because there's fewer entertainment options and most of them are closed by the time you get home from work.
Switching From Microsoft Office To LibreOffice Saves Toulouse 1 Million Euros 296
jrepin sends this EU report:
The French city of Toulouse saved 1 million euro by migrating all its desktops from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice. This project was rooted in a global digital policy which positions free software as a driver of local economic development and employment. Former IT policy-maker Erwane Monthubert said, "Software licenses for productivity suites cost Toulouse 1.8 million euro every three years. Migration cost us about 800,000 euro, due partly to some developments. One million euro has actually been saved in the first three years. It is a compelling proof in the actual context of local public finance. ... France has a high value in free software at the international level. Every decision-maker should know this."
Comment Re:Yeah and people watch "reality TV" too! (Score 1) 116
I prefer the more accurate term ePenis over eSport.
--
"Once money is involved, the art & activity is almost always corrupted. Politics, Sports, Movies, Games, etc."
Comment Re:SLS and comparing to spacex (Score 1) 132
The SLS is not a deep space vehicle. It's a vehicle to divert tax payer money into the pocket of private enterprises that give a share to politicians. Assuming it ever takes off, it'll be an outdated overpriced piece of shit.
Understanding this provides predictive capability - that there's basically zero chance that the project will be canceled or defunded, for the reasons you stated.
Comment Re:The finding (Score 2) 125
Slightly related: My older brother cut the tip of his thumb off when working on a shop project. The piece of wood he just cut was falling off the table saw and he reached over the blade to stop if from falling. This was a week before he was supposed to leave for the Naval Academy (he wanted to be a Marine pilot.) To get into the Naval Academy took a Congressional (or Presidential) nomination which are limited per year and he had received one of the few. After getting his the top re-attached, it had died due to lack of blood flow and had to be re-removed. He had delayed his admission because of the accident and after healing up they figured he didn't have the dexterity and control needed to fly a jet.
Comment So, split DNS then? (Score 1) 92
What a junk article - no explanation of what's actually going on and no link to a standard.
It sounds like what they're inferring is that you need server.example.com, not server.local or server.somemadeupcrap.
I think most of us cleaned up that cruft when BIND 9 came out with views support.
This shouldn't impact anybody who hasn't been dragging their heels on fixing their infrastructure for more than a decade.
Comment The finding (Score 5, Funny) 125
The baseline healthy person is of mixed race, has 1.93 arms and 2.1 children, and is a hermaphrodite.
