Comment Re:Expensive cake, but you can eat it (Score 2, Informative) 193
Buy a copy of Visual Slick Edit for Linux.
Great piece of software. But yes, quite expensive cake. http://www.slickedit.com/
Aussie Scientists Find Coconut-Carrying Octopus 205
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from an AP report: "Australian scientists have discovered an octopus in Indonesia that collects coconut shells for shelter — unusually sophisticated behavior that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal. The scientists filmed the veined octopus, Amphioctopus marginatus, selecting halved coconut shells from the sea floor, emptying them out, carrying them under their bodies up to 65 feet (20 meters), and assembling two shells together to make a spherical hiding spot. ... 'I was gobsmacked,' said Finn, a research biologist at the museum who specializes in cephalopods. 'I mean, I've seen a lot of octopuses hiding in shells, but I've never seen one that grabs it up and jogs across the sea floor. I was trying hard not to laugh.'"
Comment I regret to inform you... (Score 1) 221
Sir, I regret to inform you that I already have a software patent on nifty applications that help run personal businesses and those that may be used to help run almost any business. You should look elsewhere for idea inspirations. Please note that I also hold patents on items that are useful around the house, training routines that make your dog less of a jerk and design patents on expensive machines that go "bing!"
Journal Journal: Slashdot has a journal system. Who knew?
Here I was, looking through the Slashdot Achievement system, thinking to myself, "Seriously? WTF?", when I noticed that there was an achievement for posting a journal entry.
This seemed reasonable enough. Until it struck me. "Slashdot has a journal system? Really?". So here I am. Filling out a basically useless entry all for that extra little achievement point.
Comment Evoluent Vertical Mouse (Score 2, Interesting) 569
Evoluent Vertical Mouse
If you have to use a mouse, it might as well be one that isn't going to destroy your wrist.
It might clash with your stereotypical clicky keyboard but it'll fit right in with that ergonomic keyboard that you actually use.
If you have to use a mouse, it might as well be one that isn't going to destroy your wrist.
It might clash with your stereotypical clicky keyboard but it'll fit right in with that ergonomic keyboard that you actually use.
Comment Really? (Score 2, Funny) 124
I can't believe that this has not been tagged as skynet yet.
Submission + - Federal District Court: TOS documents Illusionary (jdsupra.com)
Binestar writes: SUMMARY: On April 15, 2009, a Texas federal district court held that an arbitration provision in Blockbuster's online terms of service was "illusory" and unenforceable because Blockbuster had reserved the right to change the terms of service at any time. Harris v. Blockbuster Inc., No. 3:09-cv-217-M (N.D. Tex. April 15, 2009). If followed by other courts, the Harris decision could have significant implications not only for website operators, but also for any company that wishes to retain the right to modify its standard terms for existing customers.
Essentially, the rules for a TOS change require that a user is given notices of changes and an opportunity to accept or reject them. Websites that have unilateral wording in their Terms of Service have now had those documents struck down in court. This can have far reach consequences among the many many sites that have improperly worded Terms of Service.
The fix is easy though: Just change the wording to say that you will notify your users if the terms change and give them the ability to accept or reject the changes.
Essentially, the rules for a TOS change require that a user is given notices of changes and an opportunity to accept or reject them. Websites that have unilateral wording in their Terms of Service have now had those documents struck down in court. This can have far reach consequences among the many many sites that have improperly worded Terms of Service.
The fix is easy though: Just change the wording to say that you will notify your users if the terms change and give them the ability to accept or reject the changes.
The Real Reason For Microsoft's TomTom Lawsuit 408
Glyn Moody writes "We now know that Microsoft's lawsuit isn't just against TomTom, but against Linux too: but what exactly is Microsoft hoping to achieve? Samba's Jeremy Allison has a fascinating theory: 'What people are missing about this is the either/or choice that Microsoft is giving Tom Tom. It isn't a case of cross-license and everything is ok. If Tom Tom or any other company cross licenses patents then by section 7 of GPLv2 (for the Linux kernel) they lose the rights to redistribute the kernel *at all*. Make no mistake, this is intended to force Tom Tom to violate the GPL, or change to Microsoft embedded software.' Maybe embedded Linux is starting to get too popular."
