johnthuss - Slashdot User

Submission + - RIM PlayBook Email App Nowhere In Sight (eweekeurope.co.uk)

Submitted by

judgecorp

on Wednesday October 26, 2011 @02:29PM

judgecorp writes: "RIM has delayed the 2.0 release of its tablet's Playbook OS until 2012, and admitted it won't have the BlackBerry email app. PlayBook users will only be able to do BlackBerry email on their tablets by linking with a BlackBerry phone, for the foreseeable future."

Submission + - We have entered a post-PC era, report claims [info (bgr.com)

Submitted by hazytodd on Wednesday October 26, 2011 @01:31PM

hazytodd writes: North Americans have officially embraced the “post-PC era” according to a new report from broadband solutions provider Sandvine.”[We have] entered a post-PC era, in which the majority of Real-Time Entertainment traffic on North America’s fixed access networks is destined for devices other than a laptop or desktop computer,” Sandvine said in its report.

Submission + - US Government Requests for Google User Data Jumps (latimes.com)

Submitted by mrquagmire on Wednesday October 26, 2011 @11:46AM

mrquagmire writes: The U.S. government wants your information. It's flooding Google with requests for personal information about users for criminal investigations, according to a so-called transparency report the Internet search giant released Tuesday. The number of such requests jumped 29% in six months, Google reported.

U.S. government agencies sent Google 5,950 criminal investigation requests during the first half of 2011 compared with 4,601 requests during the last six months of 2010. Google complied in part or completely with 93% of those requests which can include court orders and subpoenas.

Submission + - Growl goes closed source (growl.info)

Submitted by para_droid on Thursday October 20, 2011 @01:47PM

para_droid writes: Version 1.3 of the popular open source notification system for Mac OS X, Growl has surprised its users by going closed-source and only available for purchase on the Mac App Store. Any users who provide links to bugfixes and source for the previous version 1.2 are being banned from the discussion group, and their messages deleted. Could it be time for the community to create an OpenGrowl fork?

Submission + - Twitter Implies Facebook Stole Its iOS App Design 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 08, 2011 @03:27PM

An anonymous reader writes: Facebook recently updated its iOS app. It turns out the new version looks a lot like Twitter’s iOS app. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Submission + - An Airing of Grievances With Apple's OS X Lion (discovery.com)

Submitted by disco_tracy on Thursday September 08, 2011 @03:06PM

disco_tracy writes: Apple's OS X Lion update may look great in a demo and at first, but according to tech guru Rob Pegoraro, three things need fixing.

Submission + - Google announces Dart programming language (extremetech.com) 1

Submitted by

MrSeb

on Thursday September 08, 2011 @02:29PM

MrSeb writes: "A few days after Google was caught registering a bunch of Dart-related domain names, and the inevitable storm of speculation, it has now emerged that Dart is a new programming language for "structured web programming." The language will be unveiled by Gilad Bracha (co-author of Java) and Lars Bak (creator of Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine) on October 10 at the Goto conference in Aarhus, Denmark.

We can only guess at the language's characteristics and feature set until then, but we can infer a few things: Google has already released one language in recent history — Go — so we can assume that Dart won't be a C-like system-oriented language. With the "structured web programming" moniker, it's also likely to be some kind of interpreted, in-the-browser language — so more like JavaScript or Python, and less like Java or other compiled languages. One of the biggest hints, though, is that both Bracha and Bak have worked extensively with Smalltalk in the past — and an interpreted Smalltalkesque language would fit right into the "structured web programming" mold, too."

Submission + - George Lucas messing with Star Wars again (badassdigest.com) 5

Submitted by FrankNFurter on Wednesday August 31, 2011 @04:11PM

FrankNFurter writes: Once more George Lucas has been caught messing with the original Star Wars trilogy — this time for the Blu-Ray release later this year. What changed? He added Darth Vader saying 'NOOOOOO' to the scene where the Emperor is electrocuting Luke.

Leave Star Wars alone, George!

Submission + - Project Daytona - Microsoft's Hadoop (i-programmer.info)

Submitted by mikejuk on Tuesday July 19, 2011 @11:47AM

mikejuk writes: Microsoft has developed an iterative MapReduce runtime for Windows Azure, code-named Daytona. This brings the MapReduce algorithm to the cloud and to a whole new set of users who don't have to become experts in parallel programming to apply it. The best known and used MapReduce implementation is Hadoop, which is open source. Microsoft has made the suggestion that Daytona may also go open source "pending community feedback".

Submission + - HP programs printers to streak photos

Submitted by

jerry-VA

on Wednesday June 08, 2011 @01:47PM

jerry-VA writes: "HP works hard to frustrate customers. Firmware in the HP Photosmart 8450 is programmed to streak 8x10 photos with a cartridge perfect in all ways but one: you refilled it. 4x5 prints are not affected. After LOI (Level of Ink) is dead-reckoned to zero, the USEd bit goes true and nozzles will be sequenced off to simulate cartridge failure. The streak start points are not yet randomized. Never removing a cartridge with power on postpones the firmware's decision to punish the customer. Once a cartridge is tagged "depleted" or "defective", at least 3 more cartridges must be cycled through installation to overflow the cartridge serial number log. IMHO, high profit margins for ink and low or negative ones for hardware have stalled printer development. Most inkjets have none of the feedbacks and sensors that have made Xerox technology nearly flawless since the first 914s went up in flames 50+ yrs ago (fire extinguisher beneath the cabinet doors)."

Submission + - MS getting $5 for every Android HTC sells (androidandme.com)

Submitted by ideaz on Friday May 27, 2011 @02:03PM

ideaz writes: As you might know, Microsoft has been claiming that Android infringes on the company’s intellectual property. As a result of this, HTC and Microsoft signed a deal last year that allowed HTC to keep making Android phones, but it’d have to pay Microsoft a royalty for every device sold.

Submission + - cell phone radiation damages DNA, brain, sperm (kurzweilai.net) 1

Submitted by Eric604 on Tuesday May 24, 2011 @11:24AM

Eric604 writes: New independent studies offer proof that confirms findings from the Council of Europe: pulsed digital signals from cell phones disrupt DNA, impair brain function, and lower sperm count, according to a statement by the Environmental Health Trust (EHT).

Submission + - Google Adds Possible TCP Replacement To Chrome (conceivablytech.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 24, 2011 @11:16AM

An anonymous reader writes: Google is first to integrate CurveCP to a web browser and address security concerns in the transmission control protocol (TCP) which runs on top of the Internet Protocol and is one of the two original building blocks of the Internet.

Submission + - Draft Horses Used to Lay Fiber-Optic Cable (vtdigger.org)

Submitted by

mysqlrocks

on Monday May 23, 2011 @02:29PM

mysqlrocks writes: "In Vermont, FairPoint Communications has enlisted draft horses to help lay fiber-optic cable in remote locations. Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has pledged to bring bring broadband to every last mile by 2013, including many remote areas that have been neglected in the past. Private companies have been unwilling to invest in the expensive infrastructure needed to reach these areas. However, Vermont's congressional delegation helped to secure $410 million in federal money earmarked for broadband development and Vermont has partnered with private companies, like FairPoint, to bring high-speed Internet access to all Vermonters.

From the article:
The difficulty of getting cable to "every last mile," is where Fred, the cable-carrying draft horse, comes in.

"Hopefully it pays off," says Hastings.

"We could maybe get a four-wheeler in here," he continues, gesturing to the cleared swath of boggy, fern-studded terrain that he's working in today. But definitely not a truck, and Fred's impact is nearly invisible. Residents rarely complain about a draft horse tromping through their yards.

"

Submission + - Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) is gearing up for (rhok.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 23, 2011 @01:47PM

An anonymous reader writes: “Hacking for Humanity” at Random Hacks of Kindness #3: Volunteers and Experts Around the World Collaborate to Solve Disaster and Climate Problems

Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) is gearing up for RHoK #3 in 18 cities globally on June 4th and 5th.

RHoK is a community of innovation focused on developing practical open source solutions to disaster risk management and climate change adaptation challenges. RHoK brings together experts in development with volunteer software developers to develop applications that can have an impact on the ground saving lives and alleviating suffering. Random Hacks of Kindness is a partnership between Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, NASA, HP and the World Bank.

RHoK took place in 26 cities around the globe in 2010, with over 2000 registrants, 120 distinct projects worked on, and keynote speeches given by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and “Father of the Internet” Vint Cerf.

Applications worked on at RHoK hackathons include: I’mOK, a mobile messaging application for disaster response that was used on the ground in Haiti and Chile; People Finder, a virtual message board developed by Google programmers, refined at successive RHoK events and effectively deployed in Haiti, Chile and Japan; and CHASM, a visual tool to map landslide risk currently being piloted by the World Bank in landslide affected areas in the Caribbean.

Join us for RHoK #3 – a global hackathon with Mainstage events in Seattle, WA, U.S.A, Melbourne, Australia and Lusaka, Zambia, and satellites in 15 cities around the globe. Participation in RHoK #3 is free and open to everyone so bring your laptop and get ready for an incredible experience. Sign up today and take part in an exciting collaboration that has the power to save lives and make a difference in the world.

For more details or to register for any of the global events, please visit http://www.rhok.org/

Slashdot Top Deals