beadwindow - Slashdot User

Submission + - Microsoft to open up Outlook .PST data format

Submitted by Greg on Monday October 26, 2009 @04:28PM

Greg writes: Ars Technica reports:

Microsoft today announced that it will be releasing documentation for the .PST file format, which is used for storing data ranging from e-mail to calendar to contacts in Outlook Personal Folders, but did not provide a deadline for itself. Microsoft is currently engaging directly with industry experts and interested customers to gather feedback on the quality of the technical documentation to ensure that it is clear and useful.

When it is complete, the documentation will be released under in the company's Open Specification Promise (OPS), a program under which Microsoft promises not to sue developers who use specifications included in the program. The technical documentation will detail how the data is stored, will include guidance for accessing that data from other software applications, will highlight the structure of the .PST file, will show details like how to navigate the folder hierarchy, and explain how to access the individual data objects and properties.

Submission + - Vista users report Windows 7 upgrade woes (pcadvisor.co.uk)

Submitted by beadwindow on Monday October 26, 2009 @04:28PM

beadwindow writes: Some Windows Vista users that have tried to upgrade to Microsoft's latest OS, Windows 7, have been plagued with problems.

According to reports on Microsoft's support forum, some users have seen their PCs crippled by an endless series of reboots.

Submission + - What's in Java 7? (four-bits.com)

Submitted by cypris87 on Monday October 26, 2009 @04:14PM

cypris87 writes: Java 7 isn't out yet. It's not scheduled for release either, until sometime in 2010. But, little did any of us know, Java 7 has been under development for over 3 years now, since 2006. What's in version 7? Check out Java 7 at four-bits.com to find out some of the juicy details, or the full details at OpenJDK.

Submission + - Barack Obama's website hacked by SQL injection (sophos.com)

Submitted by xsee on Monday October 26, 2009 @04:09PM

xsee writes: Barack Obama's website was hacked by SQL injection attack hackers claimed today. The database included plain text passwords of all the administrative accounts to the site. It is unclear whether Obama's web team has responded to the hack, although barackobama.com still appears to be online. Aside from the admin passwords, what other data might have been leaked is unknown.

Submission + - MagniWork FREE Energy Generator (youtube.com)

Submitted by beadwindow on Monday October 26, 2009 @03:56PM

beadwindow writes: yet another perpetual motion machine that allegedly does not break the laws of phsics
reported by looks like sky media Australia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGsKxTFaNtY
tutorial and testimony of building a magnetic free energy device that generates free electric energy for home use, to find out how this has been done visit http://www.magniwork.com/

Submission + - Linux powers today's most exciting smartphones (zdnet.com)

Submitted by palmsolo on Monday October 26, 2009 @03:36PM

palmsolo writes: In the past Linux has been relegated to the geek crowd, but the most exciting smartphones today have Linux powering their mobile operating systems. The phones have fluid interfaces, highly customizable views, and power seen previously in computers. Palm now has two WebOS devices, several Google Android devices are available with many more coming soon, and the Nokia N900 running Maemo has the most powerful web browser available on a mobile phone.

Submission + - Salem Witch Trial Podcast from Gilderlehrman.org (gilderlehrman.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 26, 2009 @03:36PM

An anonymous reader writes: The voices of today's leading historians are ready to download and travel wherever you go through the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History's podcast series, a growing treasure trove of over fifty lectures in the Institute's archives, available for free at www.gilderlehrman.org/historians/podcasts.

Just in time for Halloween, visitors to Gilderlehrman.org can download and experience historian Mary Beth Norton's lecture on the Salem Witch Trials, then join an online discussion on whether the trials were an isolated wave of hysteria or a reflection of larger currents in late seventeenth century New England culture. Each Gilder Lehrman podcast page includes a discussion area for students, scholars, and history enthusiasts alike to share their thoughts on issues in American history.

By visiting www.gilderlehrman.org/historians/podcasts, users have free access to lectures by today's preeminent historians on the Founding Era, the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, the early twentieth century, and beyond. Podcasts include "John Brown, Abolitionist"with David Reynolds, "Benjamin Franklin" with Gordon Wood, "The Significance of Reconstruction" with Eric Foner, "FDR's First 100 Days" with Jonathan Alter and David Brinkley, and many more. New podcasts are added frequently. Visitors may sign up for Gilder Lehrman podcast updates via RSS feed at www.gilderlehrman.org/feeds/podcasts.php.

Founded in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History actively promotes the study and love of American history. The Institute serves teachers, students, scholars, and the general public in creating history-centered schools, organizing seminars and programs for educators, producing print and electronic publications and traveling exhibitions, sponsoring lectures by eminent historians, and administering a History Teacher of the Year Award in every state. The Institute awards the Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and George Washington Book Prizes, and offers fellowships for scholars to work in the Gilder Lehrman Collection. The Institute maintains two award-winning websites, www.gilderlehrman.org and the quarterly online journal www.historynow.org.

Submission + - Colonizing the Secret Shadow Space of the Web (deepnet.us)

Submitted by Leonard.Apeltsin on Monday October 26, 2009 @03:26PM

Leonard.Apeltsin writes: I’m fascinated by browser augmentation and believe it is the future of the web. In particular, I’m interested in the “Shadow Web”, where content owners are not in control, the users are. Where any user can modify the content on any page, and there’s nothing the publishers can do. Tools like SideWiki are just beginning to make a splash (http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?art_aid=115400&fa=Articles.showArticle) but I there is much more that can (and will) be done to wrestle control of the net away from the marketers and media moguls, and back into our hands.

I just finished work on a tool my own; DEEPNET. I wrote DEEPNET as a greasemonkey script, and then transformed it into a firefox plugin. DEEPNET allows its users to insert “shadow objects” into each and every page. A “Shadow” is like a secret ad; a box containing an image and a few short lines of text, that links to a different url. Anyone running my plugin can view, insert, and manipulate the shadows on any page they like (this includes Google Search results). You can search DEEPNET for existing shadows and create new custom shadows of your own.

The plugin, as well as a short demo video of its use, is available at http://deepnet.us./ (Readers might be interested to know that the webpage manipulated in the video is a Slashdot article). My aim is to set-off a discussion on browser augmentation, and how it will alter the web from here on out.

Submission + - Microsoft opens Outlook's PST format (msdn.com)

Submitted by protosage on Monday October 26, 2009 @03:09PM

protosage writes: From Microsoft's Interoperability blog: This documentation is still in its early stages and work is ongoing. We are engaging directly with industry experts and interested customers to gather feedback on the quality of the technical documentation to ensure that it is clear and useful. When it is complete, it will be released under our Open Specification Promise, which will allow anyone to implement the .pst file format on any platform and in any tool, without concerns about patents, and without the need to contact Microsoft in any way.

Submission + - Microsoft blames Windows 7 upgrade mess on users (computerworld.com) 1

Submitted by CWmike on Monday October 26, 2009 @03:00PM

CWmike writes: Microsoft has blamed user confusion for the problems many have encountered trying to move from Vista to Windows 7 after buying a discounted upgrade offered to college students. "Digital River and Microsoft are aware that some customers from the Windows 7 Academic Store had difficulties completing the download or installation of the product," said a Microsoft support engineer identified as "Michael" in a message posted Sunday to the company's support forum. Several hundred users have said that they were unable to upgrade from Vista to the new OS after purchasing, then downloading, a Windows 7 upgrade, from Digital River. "We are aware that consumers are encountering difficulties installing Windows 7 where the customer is currently running a 32-bit version of Windows such as Windows Vista, but purchased the 64-bit version of Windows 7," Michael said. Students who mistakenly downloaded the 64-bit edition of Windows 7 from Digital River should request a refund, Microsoft's Michael continued, then pay for and download the 32-bit version instead. He pointed customers to a page on Digital River's site where they could request a refund. His advice runs counter to the policy listed on the Digital River support site, which says that there are no refunds for the student discount Windows 7 upgrade.

Submission + - Ubuntu Linux 9.10 (Karmic Koala) Review (desktoplinuxreviews.com)

Submitted by JimLynch on Monday October 26, 2009 @02:45PM

JimLynch writes: Since the launch of Desktop Linux Reviews, I've covered a number of different remastered versions of Ubuntu Linux. But I haven't done a review of Ubuntu itself. I wanted to wait until there was a significant enough release as I'd done a review for ExtremeTech back when I was a full-time employee there.

I'm happy to note that Ubuntu Linux has hit version 9.10 and has some nifty new features that make it worth reviewing here.

Submission + - The Last Stand for Net Neutrality? (infoworld.com)

Submitted by

snydeq

on Monday October 26, 2009 @02:13PM

snydeq writes: "Deep End's Paul Venezia finds the 'level of idiocy surrounding' Net neutrality breathtaking in its combination of stupidity and seriousness. 'John McCain, arguably the most nontechnical of all U.S. Senators, has officially thrown his hat into the anti-Net neutrality ring and introduced a bill similar to the amendment sponsored by Senator Kay Bailey-Hutchinson a few weeks ago. This bill would essentially remove the FCC's control over network carriers and ISPs, preventing any form of Net neutrality regulation, and in keeping with the trend of titling bills the exact opposite of their intent, it's called the Internet Freedom Act.' Venezia also points to a clip of Glenn Beck telling us Net neutrality is the work of the evil socialist empire. 'Not a single statement in that clip has any factual basis whatsoever. In fact, he's arguing in favor of Net neutrality without even realizing it,' Venezia writes. But as funny as such arguments may be, they are also dead serious. 'It's time to pick up the phone, send an e-mail, or even snail mail a letter,' writes Venezia, who has posted an open letter to the enemies of Net neutrality. 'If lawmakers don't hear from you, they'll simply listen to the big ISPs and repeat their drivel. And we'll wake up to a pale reflection of the Internet we once knew.'"

Submission + - Hasta la Vista, baby: Ars reviews Windows 7 (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by iamhassi on Monday October 26, 2009 @12:13PM

iamhassi writes: With much fanfare and even a few parties, Windows 7 has arrived. In this extensive review, Peter Bright of Arstechnica.com dives deep into Microsoft's new OS offering to see what's new, what's still the same, and whether it's worth upgrading.

Submission + - Canonical halts Ubuntu CD free-for-all (pcpro.co.uk) 1

Submitted by Barence on Monday October 26, 2009 @10:48AM

Barence writes: Canonical has announced that it's to begin limiting the number of free Ubuntu CDs people can order. The ShipIt scheme has proved so popular that Ubuntu will now only ship one free CD to users who haven't ordered a disc before. Users will now be required to upgrade to new versions through online upgrades, or by downloading the latest version as an ISO and burning it to CD themselves."While these CDs are often referred to as 'free CDs', they are of course not free of cost to Canonical," says Canonical's chief operating office Jane Silber. "We want to continue this programme, but Ubuntu’s growth means that some changes are necessary."

Submission + - Ukrainian goverment pushing to internet censorship (blogspot.com)

Submitted by cedr1ck on Monday October 26, 2009 @10:13AM

cedr1ck writes: Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada made the first step towards restriction of rights for free information due to the project of the law 327 with an additional edition for the Ukrainian law about telecommunications. According to this changes, now police, state courts and government will have an opportunity to control telecom providers and can make then to restrict access for a certain type of content and information due to the decision of the court.

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