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Cloud

Gate One 0.9 Released, Brings SSH To the Web 151

Posted by timothy from the vewwy-vewwy-quiet dept.
Riskable writes "Dan McDougall (full disclosure: That's me) just publicly released the source code to Gate One, which is an HTML5-powered terminal emulator and SSH client. It is unique in that it doesn't require any browser plugins (it uses WebSockets) and supports multiple simultaneous terminals/SSH sessions in a single browser tab. It can resume users' sessions after being disconnected, and supports both client and server-side session recording/playback (view as a log or like a video). Gate One can also be embedded into other web-based applications such as administration interfaces, serial port concentrators, virtual appliances, or whatever."
Privacy

Florida School District Begins Fingerprinting Students 294

Posted by timothy from the mandatory-attendance-including-your-fingers dept.
First time accepted submitter Boogaroo writes "The Washington County school district in Florida has placed fingerprint scanners at the entrance to Chipley High School. They've also made a decision to run an alternate trial by placing the scanners on buses since most kids in the district ride buses every day. Since the beginning the fingerprinting, attendance is up, but not everyone is in agreement that the costs and risks are worth the attendance boost." Aren't there simpler and less-creepy ways to count kids, like looking at empty desks?

Comment Re:Me too! (Score 1) 172

by calmofthestorm (#37584538) Attached to: Google Opens First Retail Outlet In London

Most of those have merit, but I will say:

* Sun released Java for others to use. You [read: the courts] can argue about the terms of said release, but it was released for free use on computers if not phones [as if they were different...sigh...]. If Google had developed a language called Microsoft J++ that was similar and pushed it as their alternative, you would have a point. Google uses Linux too. That's what it's there for; use.

* Altavista, yahoo, etc did classical AI methods relying heavily on human labeling. Google used what we now call modern (read: statistical) AI, and did not offer paid placement [I don't recall if Yahoo/Altavista did paid placement but it was common practice back then] To a former AI researcher you might as well say that Google is unoriginal because they and Microsoft both use computers, or that the automobile is unoriginal because horse and buggy also has wheels.

* Hotmail had 2 MB quota when Gmail came out with a gig. Google's innovation was the archive, the UI, and not having to delete mail. Also not selling your email address and personal data to external spammers, keeping all their privacy invasion inside the company and being upfront about it with an [at the time] clear, easy to read privacy policy. (I once changed my language to French on the hotmail UI and suddenly most of my spam was in French...hmmm....)

Other than that, I can see your point.
Microsoft

Estimating Age With Kinect's 3D Camera To Filter Content 102

Posted by Soulskill from the can-i-choose-what's-objectionable dept.
theodp writes "Hal in 2001: 'I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that [open the pod bay doors].' Kinect in 2011: 'I'm sorry, Dave Jr. I'm afraid I can't do that [tune in to the Spice Channel].' A Microsoft patent filing made public this week proposes to restrict access to TV, movies and video games by using a 3D depth camera to estimate viewers' ages based upon the dimensions and proportions of a person's body, such as head width to shoulder width, and torso length to overall height. For adults with short arms or other seemingly childlike proportions, settings can be overridden by someone with an administrator password."
Microsoft

How Microsoft Can Lock Linux Off Windows 8 PCs 899

Posted by Soulskill from the if-only-penguins-were-secure-enough dept.
Julie188 writes "Windows 8 PCs will use the next-generation booting specification known as Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). In fact, Windows 8 logo devices will be required to use the secure boot portion of the new spec. Secure UEFI is intended to thwart rootkit infections by using PKI authentication before allowing executables or drivers to be loaded onto the device. Problem is, unless the device manufacturer gives a key to the device owner, it can also be used to keep the PC's owner from wiping out the current OS and installing another option, such as Linux."
Government

Seismologist Manslaughter Trial Begins Next Week 185

Posted by Soulskill from the defining-reasonable-prognostication dept.
El Puerco Loco writes with a followup to a story we discussed in May about the manslaughter charges facing six seismologists and one government official in Italy after an earthquake there killed 309 people and destroyed 20,000 buildings. The case is going to trial next week, and an article at Nature provides an update on how things stand: "The indictments have drawn global condemnation. The American Geophysical Union and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), both in Washington DC, issued statements in support of the Italian defendants. ... The view from L'Aquila, however, is quite different. Prosecutors and the families of victims alike say that the trial has nothing to do with the ability to predict earthquakes, and everything to do with the failure of government-appointed scientists serving on an advisory panel to adequately evaluate, and then communicate, the potential risk to the local population. ... [The charges allege that the defendants] provided 'incomplete, imprecise, and contradictory information' to a public that had been unnerved by months of persistent, low-level tremors. [Prosecutor Fabio Picuti] says that the commission was more interested in pacifying the local population than in giving clear advice about earthquake preparedness. 'I'm not crazy,' Picuti says. 'I know they can't predict earthquakes. The basis of the charges is not that they didn't predict the earthquake. As functionaries of the state, they had certain duties imposed by law: to evaluate and characterize the risks that were present in L'Aquila.'"
Cloud

Windows 8 Roundup 474

Posted by samzenpus from the whole-lot-of-new-going-on dept.
There has been no shortage of Windows 8 news today. MrSeb writes: "Earlier this morning, at the Build Windows conference in Anaheim, California, Microsoft made it patently clear that 'To the cloud!' is not merely a throwaway phrase: it is the entire future of the company. Every single one of Microsoft's services, platforms, and form factors will now begin its hasty, leave-no-prisoners-behind transition to the always-on, internet-connected cloud." netbuzz pointed out that even the famous Blue Screen of Death will get a new look. Lastly mikejuk writes: "While everyone else is looking at the surface detail of Windows 8 there are some deep changes going on. Perhaps the biggest is that Metro now provides an alternative environment that doesn't use the age old Win32 API. This means no more overlapping windows — yes Metro really does take the windows out of Windows."
The Internet

.UK Registrar Offers To Let Police Close Domain 141

Posted by samzenpus from the shut-it-down dept.
judgecorp writes "The .uk registrar, Nominet, has proposed rules that would give the police powers to demand Internet domains be shut down without a court order, in certain circumstances. The powers were requested by the Serious and Organized Crime Agency and have aroused concern that legitimate sites might be closed on suspicion of wrongdoing. Nominet's suggested implementation is online for public consultation."
AT&T

Justice Dept. Files Antitrust Complaint Against AT&T and T-Mobile Merger 301

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the but-ma-was-so-close-to-being-rebuilt dept.
Hitting the front page for the first time, AngryDeuce writes with a piece of exciting news hot off the news wire. From the article: "The Justice Department is blocking AT&T's $39 billion deal to buy T-Mobile USA, saying the acquisition of the No. 4 wireless carrier in the country by No. 2 AT&T would reduce competition and raise prices. The deal has faced tough opposition from consumer groups and No. 3 carrier Sprint since it was announced in March." The DOJ has released a full statement on their decision to file the antitrust suit, and AT&T has drafted a response. So much for AT&T's paltry promise of bringing 5000 unskilled call center jobs back to the U.S. if the merger were approved. Competition may yet live!
Security

Researchers Report Spike In Boot Time Malware 132

Posted by CmdrTaco from the can't-fight-the-fever dept.
wiredmikey writes "In their most recent intelligence report, Symantec researchers pointed out a massive increase in the amount of boot time malware striking users, noting there have already been as many new boot time malware threats detected in the first seven months of 2011 as there were in the previous three years. Also known as MBR (master boot record) threats, the malware infect an area of the hard disk that makes them one of the first things to be read and executed when a computer is turned on. This enables the threats to effectively dodge many security defenses."
The Gimp

The GIMP Now Has a Working Single-Window Mode 403

Posted by timothy from the how-long-were-the-contractions dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Phoronix is reporting that The GIMP now has a working single-window mode, a long desired feature by the open-source graphics community to be more competitive with Adobe Photoshop. There's also a number of other user highlights in the new GIMP 2.7.3 release. The GPLv3 graphics software can be downloaded at GIMP.org."

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