Lumpy - Slashdot User

Submission + - Satellite collision might cause problems in space.

Submitted by

Lumpy

on Thursday February 12, 2009 @10:17AM

Lumpy writes: "reading my morning RSS feeds I saw this article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090212/ap_on_sc/satellite_collision about a Russian and American satellite collision in space that has debris that is worrying the ESA and NASA. From the Article — "Scientists are keeping a close eye on orbital debris created when two communications satellites — one American, the other Russian — smashed into each other hundreds of miles above the Earth. NASA said it will take weeks to determine the full magnitude of the unprecedented crash and whether any other satellites or even the Hubble Space Telescope are threatened. The collision, which occurred nearly 500 miles over Siberia on Tuesday, was the first high-speed impact between two intact spacecraft, NASA officials said." Is this a precursor of the fabled "cascade" that everyone has been worrying about might happen in orbit? Granted it was in higher orbit than the ISS and where the shuttle operates, but it may have a HUGE impact on communications if the debris cloud rips apart other satellites."

Submission + - Great games to put on a Free PC. 6

Submitted by Lumpy on Monday December 15, 2008 @09:14AM

Lumpy writes: I am giving several new Pc's to a local charity that will be giving them to needy kids this Xmas. They are not powerful, basically baseline Dells that have intel graphics and Celeron, but more than enough to do homework and other studies on. They are going out with XP on them, and a Ubuntu CD. as well as a bunch of OSS software like OO.o and the others.. But I would like to include some games for the kids. Strategy, fun, etc... Great freeware games that are fun to play. Anyone have a list of the best games that a 13-16 year old will like to play that are free and legal to give away?

Submission + - Comcast loses lawsuit over moving analog channels

Submitted by Lumpy on Tuesday January 29, 2008 @09:11PM

Lumpy writes: Comcast Lost their lawsuit to move analog channels to the digital tier. http://blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2008/01/lawsuit_seeks_to_block_comcast.html#preview Comcast has been trying to move channels around in Michigan claiming they need to move analog channels to the Encrypted digital channels. Their latest attempt was to move the community access channels in the detroit area. Comcast keeps claiming they NEED to do this, but in fact can simply move channels to Unencrypted QAM channels giving them the space they need while eliminating the required Comcast cable box. Almost all TV's sold in the past 5 years can receive unencrypted QAM channels over cable-tv.

Submission + - Best USB thumb drive for keychain

Submitted by

Lumpy

on Friday August 24, 2007 @01:31PM

Lumpy writes: "After having to replace my 8th USB thumbdrive I have had attached to my key chain in 2 years because of failures I was starting to wonder,What have other slashdotters found as their best choice in a USB thumb drive?

I love having one on my key chain, but 95% of these things have a port cover that gets lost in the first 10 minutes, have a really bad design for attaching to the key chain so you lose the drive completely, or are incredibly bad quality, my last designer leather on with leather cover strap comes to mind.

What do you use for your always with you most important usb thumb drive? What is the most durable that will take getting dropped in a puddle or survive living on a key chain?"

Submission + - Is Open Source Insecure?

Submitted by

Lumpy

on Thursday November 30, 2006 @11:03AM

Lumpy writes: "Lately there has been a HUGE push by Certified Microsoft Professionals and their companies to call clients and warn them of the dangers of open source. This week I received calls from 4 different customers that they were warned that they are dangerously insecure because they run Open Source Operating systems or Software because "anyone can read the code and hack you with ease" they are being told. Other colleagues in the area also have noticed this about 3 Microsoft Partners or so they claim have been going out of their way to strike fear of OSS in companies that respond with "yes we use Open source or Linux" when the sales call comes in. I know this is simply a sales tactic by these companies that will remain nameless, but how do I fix the damage caused by these sales tactics? I have several customers that now want more than my word about the security of the systems that have worked for them flawlessly for over 5-6 years now with minimal expense outside of upgrades and patching for security. Does anyone have a good plan or sources of reliable information that can be used to inform the customer?"

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