j3p0 - Slashdot User

Submission + - What is the state of Linux security DVR Software?

Submitted by StonyCreekBare on Friday December 11, 2009 @07:43PM

StonyCreekBare writes: I am wondering what slashdotters have to offer on the idea of Linux based security systems, especially DVR software. I am aware of Zoneminder, but wonder what else is out there? Are there applications that will not only monitor video cameras, but motion sensors and contact closure alarms? What is state of the art in this area, and how do the various Linux platforms stack up in comparison to dedicated embedded solutions? Will these "play nice" with other software, such as Asterisk, and Misterhouse? Can one server host three or four services applications of this nature, assuming CPU/memory/disk resources are sufficient?

Modern Warfare 2 Not Recalled In Russia After All 94

Posted by Soulskill on Friday November 20, 2009 @04:14AM from the it's-the-thought-that-counts dept.

thief21 writes "After claims that console versions Modern Warfare 2 had been recalled in Russia due to complaints from politicians and the gaming public over the infamous airport slaughter scene, it turns out the stories were completely untrue. Activision never released a console version of the game in Russia." Instead, they simply edited the notorious scene out of the PC version. They did this of their own volition, since Russia doesn't have a formal ratings committee.

Submission + - Low Power Monochrome LCD screens

Submitted by evilviper on Sunday July 05, 2009 @08:38PM

evilviper writes: Ever since I picked up my Psion 5mx handheld many years ago, I was impressed all-around with the clarity and amazingly low power requirements of simple monochrome LCD screens. I didn't even find myself missing color. Now, I find myself tasked with replacing hundreds of dumb terminals with surplus PCs, doing nothing at all but running a simple terminal emulator, and wasting power. With the majority of power being drawn by the monitor, and requirements so modest that switching to a grayscale display would go practically unnoticed, naturally, my mind goes back to those inexpensive and power-sipping monochrome LCD screens. Sadly, all I've found in my searches are old CRTs, and very expensive high-end LCDs for medical imaging.

So where can decent-sized monochrome LCD screens (preferably with VGA connectors) for PC output be found? Even a text-only screen, ala. digital watches, might be acceptable. I'm sure I'm the only person to ever have this need. What do others in similar situations do to reduce the power consumption of largely idle PCs that are needed merely as a small upgrade from dumb terminals?

Submission + - CompUSA Gives Customer 4+ Month Run-around

Submitted by

Andy

on Monday February 19, 2007 @01:29AM

Andy writes: "I've had an ongoing...adventure...with CompUSA's repair and customer service departments for the last four months, the short version of which is that — two years in a row — they damaged my laptop while repairing it (this second time more than once!) and are dragging their feet in responding to me and replacing the computer their service center damaged. I've tried to handle it privately for four months, but at this point, I'm running out of options and hope that Slashdot can help bring some attention to my troubles and turn the heat up on CompUSA a bit so they'll do the right thing!

In October 2005 I brought my Sony laptop to them for service, and it came back with all the case screws in the wrong places, causing physical damage to the case and a big loose gap in the front edge. Then, a year later, they again returned my laptop to me with incorrect screws, and with a wad of tape wedged between the keyboard and the cooling fan!

That started a saga, still ongoing, with more missing screws, a heat-related video problem, a damaged hinge cover, missing protective covers for the LCD's screws, and four months of broken promises, abysmal customer disservice, and lack of returned calls on all levels from the local store's tech services manager, operations manager, and GM up to the corporate manager of customer service and chief of escalation.

I've posted my story on my blog at http://www.onefromtheroad.com/index.php?cat=11 (posts are in reverse order, since it's a blog!)

Please help me spread my story, and hold CompUSA responsible for mistreating their customers like this!

— Andy

P.S.-For futher episodes of CompUSA being involved in grossly mishandling repairs, see http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=28004 5"

Submission + - Journalist arrested for taking photo of CT Governo

Submitted by reub2000 on Monday February 19, 2007 @12:38AM

reub2000 writes: Journalist Ken Krayeske was arrested for taking a photograph of Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell during a parade. Krayeske a pacifist, was on a list of "potential troublemakers" and his photo had been sent to cops on the parade route.

Submission + - Robert Adler, co-inventor of TV remote, dead at 93

Submitted by

yroJJory

on Sunday February 18, 2007 @11:34PM

yroJJory writes: "Hit the mute button for a moment of silence: The co-inventor of the TV remote, Robert Adler, has died. Adler, who won an Emmy Award along with fellow engineer Eugene Polley for the device that made the couch potato possible, died Thursday of heart failure at a Boise nursing home at 93, Zenith Electronics Corp. said Friday.

In his six-decade career with Zenith, Adler was a prolific inventor, earning more than 180 U.S. patents. He was best known for his 1956 Zenith Space Command remote control, which helped make TV a truly sedentary pastime.

In a May 2004 interview with The Associated Press, Adler recalled being among two dozen engineers at Zenith given the mission to find a new way for television viewers to change channels without getting out of their chairs or tripping over a cable.

Adler also was considered a pioneer in SAW technology, or surface acoustic waves, in color television sets and touch screens. The technology has also been used in cellular telephones.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published his most recent patent application, for advances in touch screen technology, on Feb. 1."

Journal Journal: Geeks race in the 2007 Round-The-World Flight Simulator Race

Journal by gizmateer on Sunday February 18, 2007 @09:25PM

Several Flight Simulator geeks are flying around the world in the 2007 Round-The-World Flight Simulator Race. The race pits teams from AVSim, FlightSim and Sim-Outhouse against each other in a race around the world with special rules, conditions and bonuses.

Submission + - How much storage do you "control"?

Submitted by linkedlinked on Sunday February 18, 2007 @07:26PM

linkedlinked writes: While looking for some old backups with a friend, we started talking about storage space, and how so many of our random files wind up in obscure places. We realized that each of us has "access" to a pretty sizable heap of storage (for college kids). I would guess that, between ftp accounts on friends' servers, random school storage space, root access to a few work servers, and my own half-dozen computers and servers, I probably have near 5-6 TB of usable storage. Out of curiosity, we decided to ask Slashdot- legality aside, how much storage space could you feasibly dominate on a whim?

Journal Journal: Plagiarized by Newspaper - What Should I Ask For? 6

Journal by gbulmash on Sunday February 18, 2007 @06:56PM

I recently discovered that The New York Daily News sports columnist, the Mighty Quinn, used one of my online humor columns from 1996 ("Dating Don'ts") as his February 13th, 2007 column, crediting it to some bartender in New Jersey. I didn't register it way back when, so six-figure statutory damages are out, but I can prov

Journal Journal: France is getting ready for Fiber to Home Internet Access

Journal by neutrino38 on Sunday February 18, 2007 @05:18PM

Orange (Ex France Telecom) will launch [fr] Fiber to Home Internet access

Journal Journal: SIP over TCP - using it in NAT friendly way

Journal by neutrino38 on Sunday February 18, 2007 @04:49PM

I have recently browsed through the latest SIP RFC looking for ways to be more NAT friendly for VoIP.

What I found is not very conclusive: The latest RFC indeed tries to push TCP as default transport for SIP (Yessss signalling links are making a come back) but the use of TCP connection is left to a lot of ambiguities.

Slashdot Top Deals