Comment Re:Why? (Score 1) 309
The point of the web is not so that resources are dynamically loaded from servers every time you access them. The point of the web is that you have a decentralised set of resources that are linked together.
Comment Re:Run a completely new OS? (Score 1) 257
There was work done on single address space operating systems but retaining multiple protection domains - the Nemesis research OS did this. It sounds mad at first but every process can still have separate pagetables, they just happen to all agree on the virtual addresses of shared libraries, shared memory areas, etc. This means you can still make the OS secure (though admittedly it would not be compatible with modern address space randomisation strategies).
Honestly, I can't quite remember what the main benefits actually were!
L1 caches are indexed using virtual addresses, so I suppose it may improve the extent to which shared lib code remains cached across process switches. I can't see that it would avoid TLB flushes as such because you'd still want to clear out mappings that the process you're switching too shouldn't have access to... Does mean that data structures in shared memory can contain pointers that actually work but that doesn't sound *that* important.
I'm sure there was some other, more compelling reason but on commodity hardware I can't remember what it would be. Hurm.
Tech Worker Groups Boycott IBM, Infosys, Manpower 234
itwbennett writes: "Three U.S. tech worker groups have launched a labor boycott of IBM, Infosys and Manpower, saying the companies have engaged in a pattern that discourages U.S. workers from applying for U.S. IT jobs by tailoring employment ads toward overseas workers. For its part, Infosys disputed the charges, saying that 'it is incorrect to allude that we exclude or discourage U.S. workers. Today, we are recruiting for over 440 active openings across 20 states in the U.S.' Representatives from IBM and Manpower didn't respond to requests for comment on the boycott."
Comment Did none of you watch the keynote? (Score 1) 711
This was clearly a tongue in cheek remark. He put a bit of mild ribbing in to get a laugh out of the audience. Calling it "berating" is a complete mischaracterisation. See for yourself, it's 45 minutes into the keynote video.
Comment The truth! (Score 2) 211
The truth is that the brain region is used for lying, it is smaller in men who admit to watching porn and larger for men who lie about it.
In women it is about the size of a coconut.
Comment Re:But... (Score 1) 490
When you start comparing crime rates, violent crime rates, gun deaths, or any other socially important data, you really need to pay careful attention to terminology. It matters little that the UK may experience only 1% of our gun deaths, if they also experience 800% of our violent crime rate. After you are mutilated or dead, is it really going to matter to you that you were killed with a gun, or a knife, or a stone, or you were choked to death? Violent crime is violent crime.
You're half right. You are right in that you really need to pay attention to terminology. You are wrong when you say "violent crime is violent crime". Why? Terminology.
"Violent crime" in UK stats is a very wide term that covers a lot of things. "Violent crime" in USA stats is a very narrow term that doesn't cover a lot of things. The terminology means different things in the two countries, so what is being measured is different.
Read this for more details, including links to the definitions being used. The fact is that the UK is less violent than the USA once you look at what's being measured instead of assuming "violent crime" means the same thing in both cases.
Comment Re:What is the point of this story? (Score 1) 147
What on earth is the point of publishing the story days before we know for sure what will happen?
That's nothing. In previous years, Slashdot has quite happily published stories about Apple products while the presenters were still on stage announcing them. Hence the discussion is useless because everybody is talking about things that are shown to be irrelevant five minutes later and the stories invariably leave a bunch of things out, necessitating updates and subsequent articles. It's a real clusterfuck sometimes.
Ford's Bringing Adaptive Steering To the Masses 128
cartechboy writes: "Most automakers have made the jump from hydraulic power steering to electronic power steering to help conserve fuel. By using an electric motor instead of a hydraulic system, less energy is drawn from the engine. Many luxury automakers have also introduced adaptive steering with the electronic power steering systems, but now Ford is looking to bring this feature to the masses. Adaptive steering builds on the existing speed-sensitive function of the electronic power steering system by altering the steering ratio and effort based on driver inputs and settings. The system uses a precision-controlled actuator placed inside the steering wheel. It's an electric motor and gearing system that can essentially add or subtract from the driver's steering inputs. This will make the vehicle easier to maneuver at low speeds, and make a vehicle feel more stable at high speeds. The system (video) will be offered on certain Ford vehicles within the next 12 months."
The Light Might Make You Heavy 138
Rambo Tribble writes: "Writing in the American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers have found that sleeping with high ambient light levels may contribute to obesity (abstract). In a survey of 113,000 women, a high correlation was found between higher bedroom light levels and increased propensity to be overweight or obese. Excess light in the sleeping environment has long been known to adversely affect melatonin production and circadian rhythms. It is posited that such an interference with the 'body clock' may be behind these results. Although there is not yet enough evidence to call this a smoking gun, as one researcher put it, 'Overall this study points to the importance of darkness.'"
Comment Re:Style over substance (Score 1) 188
The $649 iPhone 5S costs Apple about $199 to build. And of course, that doesn't account for things like the cost of developing the software, or operating the servers that supply service to these devices.
Also unaccounted for: royalties of around $120-$150. So in total, an iPhone doesn't cost Apple about $100, it costs them upwards of $350.
Comment Re:Style over substance (Score 2) 188
Apple sells phones with cheap hardware worth about $100 for $600.
The $649 iPhone 5S costs Apple about $199 to build. And of course, that doesn't account for things like the cost of developing the software, or operating the servers that supply service to these devices.
Comment C-x C-s (Score 1) 521
I'm used to just randomly hitting Ctrl+X then Ctrl+S in emacs when I pause and my fingers have nothing better to do. Semi-frequently, I do this in other applications without even realising I just did it, with various mildly weird results...
You've Got Male: Amazon's Growth Impacting Seattle Dating Scene 315
reifman (786887) writes "San Francisco's gender imbalance is so bad that a startup recently proposed flying women in from New York City for dates. But, if you're a straight male thinking of moving to Seattle to work in technology, think again. Seattle's gender ratio is even more imbalanced and it's about to get much worse for men. Amazon is building out enough space to employ 5% of the city population and its workforce is 75 percent male. By the end of 2014, Seattle will have 130 single men for every 100 single women."
Your Old CD Collection Is Dying 329
Hugh Pickens DOT Com (2995471) writes "Adrienne LaFrance reports at the Atlantic that if you've tried listening to any of the old CDs lately from your carefully assembled collection from the 1980's or 1990's you may have noticed that many of them won't play. 'While most of the studio-manufactured albums I bought still play, there's really no telling how much longer they will. My once-treasured CD collection — so carefully assembled over the course of about a decade beginning in 1994 — isn't just aging; it's dying. And so is yours.'
Fenella France, chief of preservation research and testing at the Library of Congress is trying to figure out how CDs age so that we can better understand how to save them. But it's a tricky business, in large part because manufacturers have changed their processes over the years and even CDs made by the same company in the same year and wrapped in identical packaging might have totally different lifespans. 'We're trying to predict, in terms of collections, which of the types of CDs are the discs most at risk,' says France. 'The problem is, different manufacturers have different formulations so it's quite complex in trying to figure out what exactly is happening because they've changed the formulation along the way and it's proprietary information.' There are all kinds of forces that accelerate CD aging in real time. Eventually, many discs show signs of edge rot, which happens as oxygen seeps through a disc's layers. Some CDs begin a deterioration process called bronzing, which is corrosion that worsens with exposure to various pollutants. The lasers in devices used to burn or even play a CD can also affect its longevity. 'The ubiquity of a once dominant media is again receding. Like most of the technology we leave behind, CDs are are being forgotten slowly,' concludes LaFrance. 'We stop using old formats little by little. They stop working. We stop replacing them. And, before long, they're gone.'" You can donate CDs to be tested for aging characteristics by emailing the Center for the Library's Analytical Science Samples. I haven't had much trouble ripping discs that were pressed in the 80s (and acquired from used CD stores with who knows how many previous owners), but I'm starting to get nervous about not having flac rips of most of my discs.
Fenella France, chief of preservation research and testing at the Library of Congress is trying to figure out how CDs age so that we can better understand how to save them. But it's a tricky business, in large part because manufacturers have changed their processes over the years and even CDs made by the same company in the same year and wrapped in identical packaging might have totally different lifespans. 'We're trying to predict, in terms of collections, which of the types of CDs are the discs most at risk,' says France. 'The problem is, different manufacturers have different formulations so it's quite complex in trying to figure out what exactly is happening because they've changed the formulation along the way and it's proprietary information.' There are all kinds of forces that accelerate CD aging in real time. Eventually, many discs show signs of edge rot, which happens as oxygen seeps through a disc's layers. Some CDs begin a deterioration process called bronzing, which is corrosion that worsens with exposure to various pollutants. The lasers in devices used to burn or even play a CD can also affect its longevity. 'The ubiquity of a once dominant media is again receding. Like most of the technology we leave behind, CDs are are being forgotten slowly,' concludes LaFrance. 'We stop using old formats little by little. They stop working. We stop replacing them. And, before long, they're gone.'" You can donate CDs to be tested for aging characteristics by emailing the Center for the Library's Analytical Science Samples. I haven't had much trouble ripping discs that were pressed in the 80s (and acquired from used CD stores with who knows how many previous owners), but I'm starting to get nervous about not having flac rips of most of my discs.
RFC 7258: Pervasive Monitoring Is an Attack 67
An anonymous reader writes with news that the IETF has adopted a policy of designing new protocols taking into account the need to mitigate pervasive monitoring of all traffic. From the article: "...RFC 7258, also known as BCP 188 (where BCP stands for 'Best Common Practice'); it represents Internet Engineering Task Force consensus on the fact that many powerful well-funded entities feel it is appropriate to monitor people's use of the Net, without telling those people. The consensus is: This monitoring is an attack and designers of Internet protocols must work to mitigate it."
