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Google

Google Chrome, Day 2 1016

Seems that almost every story submitted to Slashdot last night in some way involved Google's Chrome that we started talking about yesterday. Dotan Cohen noted that according to Clicky Chrome has hit 3% browser share. Since Google has decided to release Chrome only for Windows, I now share for you 3 reviews written by others: the first comes from alexy2k, the second from mildsiete, and the third from oli4uk. They all seem to feature various opinions, charts, and screenshots demonstrating various exciting points.
Education

Genetic Glitch May Prevent Kids From Learning From Their Mistakes 500

jamie pointed out an interesting piece being featured in Newsweek that claims a "genetic glitch" may prevent some kids from learning from their mistakes to the same degree as others. "If there is one thing experts on child development agree on, it is that kids learn best when they are allowed to make mistakes and feel the consequences. So Mom and Dad hold back as their toddler tries again and again to cram a round peg into a square hole. [...] But not, it seems, all kids. In about 30 percent, the coils of their DNA carry a glitch, one that leaves their brains with few dopamine receptors, molecules that act as docking ports for one of the neurochemicals that carry our thoughts and emotions. A paucity of dopamine receptors is linked to an inability to avoid self-destructive behavior such as illicit drug use. But the effects spill beyond such extremes. Children with the genetic variant are unable to learn from mistakes. No matter how many tests they blow by partying the night before, the lesson just doesn't sink in."
Bug

Dual Boot Not Trusted, Rejected By Vista SP1 525

Alsee writes "Welcome to our first real taste of Trusted Computing: With Vista Enterprise and Vista Ultimate, Service Pack 1 refuses to install on dual boot systems. Trusted Computing is one of the many things that got cut from Vista, but traces of it remain in BitLocker, and that is the problem. The Service Pack patch to your system will invalidate your Trust chain if you are not running the Microsoft-approved Microsoft-trusted boot loader, or if you make other similar unapproved modifications to your system. The Trust chip (the TPM) will then refuse to give you your key to unlock your own hard drive. If you are not running BitLocker then a workaround is available: Switch back to Microsoft's Vista-only boot mode, install the Service Pack, then reapply your dual boot loader. If you are running BitLocker, or if Microsoft resumes implementing Trusted Computing, then you are S.O.L."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft backs open source work

Axe4ever writes: "Microsoft has bolstered its credentials with advocates of open source software.

It has given cash to the Apache organisation which oversees development of open source web server software.

It has also pledged to open up some of its communications software and protocols so developers are free to study and use them.

The moves are seen as significant because of Microsoft's former opposition to the way open source software is written and maintained.

Software written under an open source ethic gives its developers free access to the inner workings of the code.

By contrast the source code of the software produced by Microsoft is hidden and only available to a limited number of people.

In the past this difference has led Microsoft to criticise the open source movement and its development methods.

Software written under an open source ethic gives its developers free access to the inner workings of the code.

By contrast the source code of the software produced by Microsoft is hidden and only available to a limited number of people.

In the past this difference has led Microsoft to criticise the open source movement and its development methods.

The announcements were made at the Open Source Convention in a keynote speech by Sam Ramji — a director of Microsoft's platform strategy.

Microsoft has also pledged to release details of some of its communication protocols under an open source promise. This lets developers use them for their own ends without fear of prosecution from Microsoft."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft sponsors Apache Software Foundation (pcauthority.com.au)

Slatterz writes: Microsoft has become a 'platinum' sponsor of the Apache Software Foundation (ASF). The surprise announcement was made during the Oscon open source convention in Portland, Oregon late last week. Microsoft has stressed that this is not a move away from its IIS platform, highlighting the recent addition of support for PHP. The company added that development of IIS 8 is currently under way.
Operating Systems

$50 to Get XP On a New Dell 616

CWmike writes "Dell will charge customers up to $50 for factory-installed Windows XP on some PCs after Wednesday, according to the company's Web site. Buyers of the low-priced Vostro line of desktops and notebooks will pay $20 to $50 more for Windows XP Professional installed as a 'downgrade' from Windows Vista Business or Vista Ultimate than they would for Vista only."
Microsoft

China Launches Antitrust Probe Vs. Microsoft 295

snydeq writes "China has launched an investigation into whether Microsoft unfairly dominates its software market, according to a state media report. A working committee of China's State Intellectual Property Office is investigating whether Microsoft engaged in discriminatory pricing and will also look at Microsoft's practice of bundling other software programs within its Windows operating system, according to the report. The probe is part of a greater sweep of operating systems and other software developed by multinational companies that cost much more in China than in the U.S. 'On the one hand, global software firms, taking advantage of their monopoly position, set unreasonably high prices for genuine software while on the other hand, they criticise Chinese for poor copyright awareness. This is abnormal,' a source said."
Software

EU Calls For Use of Open Standards 199

fondacio writes "In a speech that is being reported as taking a swipe at Microsoft, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes has called for businesses and governments to use software based on open standards. While not mentioning Microsoft by name, Ms. Kroes referred to the fact that '[t]he [European] Commission has never before had to issue two periodic penalty payments in a competition case' until this befell Microsoft. The things she told a conference in Brussels will not come as a surprise to Slashdot readers, but it's encouraging to hear the following quotes from someone in her position: 'Where interoperability information is protected as a trade secret, there may be a lot of truth in the saying that the information is valuable because it is secret, rather than being secret because it is valuable... we should only standardize when there are demonstrable benefits, and we should not rush to standardize on a particular technology too early... I fail to see the interest of customers in including proprietary technology in standards when there are no clear and demonstrable benefits over non-proprietary alternatives.'"
Wireless Networking

Group Wants Wi-Fi Banned, Citing Allergy 525

54mc writes "A small group in Santa Fe, New Mexico is claiming that the city is discriminating against them by having wireless networks in public buildings. How are these buildings discriminatory? Simple. These people are allergic to Wi-Fi. And they're suing the city." I've been trying to sue people for the streetlights that I'm allergic to as well.
Government

Bill Gates's Wish Is Homeland Security's Command 374

theodp writes "PC World reports that DHS has extended the time foreign graduates of US colleges can stay in the country and work to almost two-and-a-half years, an 'emergency' change that drew kudos from Microsoft and other H-1B visa stakeholders. Looks like when Bill Gates says 'Jump,' the government asks 'How high?' Bill Gates's Congressional Testimony, March 12, 2008: 'Extending OPT from 12 to 29 months would help to alleviate the crisis employers are facing due to the current H-1B visa shortage. This only requires action by the Executive Branch, and Congress and this Committee should strongly urge the Department of Homeland Security to take such action immediately.' DHS Press Release, April 4, 2008: 'The US Department of Homeland Security released today an interim final rule extending the period of Optional Practical Training (OPT) from 12 to 29 months for qualified F-1 non-immigrant students.'"
Microsoft

Submission + - Finally -- a real alternative to Outlook? (apcmag.com)

KrispyKnipshenshits writes: "Microsoft's release of protocol documentation for Exchange brings the possibility of a true alternative to Outlook for businesses using Linux and Macs one step closer, APC is reporting today. Among the 14,000 pages of protocol info Microsoft turned over is the key to interfacing with a Microsoft Exchange server in its proprietary encrypted MAPI mode — which has so far defied the decryption efforts of the open source community."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Publicly Posts More Protocol Documents (microsoft.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft today announced they have released protocol information for Exchange and Outlook. What does this mean for Exchange replacements (that usually run on linux) such as Scalix, OpenGroupWare, and PostPath. From the article: Microsoft today posted on MSDN more than 14,000 pages of preliminary versions of technical documentation for Microsoft protocols built into Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. With this action, Microsoft will have posted a cumulative total of more than 44,000 pages of protocol documentation that it committed in its interoperability principles. Anyone who wishes to do so can now access, for free, preliminary versions of the documentation for the "connection points" between these Microsoft products... .

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