Wanker - Slashdot User

Submission + - Microsoft Applies to Patent BlueJ

Submitted by Vultan on Saturday January 27, 2007 @10:51AM

Vultan writes: Slashdot readers may be familiar with BlueJ, a popular free (as in beer) IDE used for teaching Java. One of BlueJ's key strengths is its object bench (see screen shot), which lets students interact with objects in a point-and-click manner. Microsoft has stolen this same idea, without attribution or citation, for inclusion in Visual Studio 2005. Screen shots of the new Visual Studio functionality show it to be nearly identical to that of BlueJ (compare with screen shots in pages 11 and 12 of this BlueJ tutorial. This is unethical on its own, but the matter is considerably worse: Microsoft has applied to patent this "object test bench" functionality. If this patent succeeds and Microsoft chooses to enforce it, BlueJ could be shut down. Of course, BlueJ counts as prior art, but the BlueJ project is a small academic operation and may not have the resources to challenge.

I've used BlueJ myself in educating students, and it is a wonderful tool. The team building it has spent many years working really hard on it. What can be done?

Submission + - Google admits China censorship damaging.

Submitted by

pilsner.urquell

on Saturday January 27, 2007 @10:25AM

pilsner.urquell writes: "Google founders admitted that allowing China to censor its search engine did harm to the company.

Asked whether he regretted the decision, Mr Brin admitted yesterday: "On a business level, that decision to censor... was a net negative."

Google launched in China in 2005."

Submission + - Intel, IBM make independent silicon breakthrough

Submitted by on Saturday January 27, 2007 @10:13AM

An anonymous reader writes: IBM, Intel independently announced they have made a breakthough in transistor design which allows futher shrinkage of silicon technologies. Intel said the 65nm process can be now reduced to 45nm, later this year. IBM made a same announcement, and its parnters including AMD may enjoy this new technology as well. This is considered the biggest breakthrough in transistor technology since the 60's, and one must wonder: how come two different companies announce the same thing on the same Friday??

Web Honeynet Project IDs Attackers 70

Posted by Zonk on Saturday January 27, 2007 @05:33AM from the they-can-see-youuuu dept.

narramissic writes "The Web Honeynet Project, an independent group of Honeynet researchers from Securiteam and the ITOSF, is putting a new twist on Web application honeynets by naming not only the attack details, but the IP addresses and other tracking information about the attackers as well. As security consultant Brent Huston notes, 'This approach is not unheard of, as lists of known high-volume attackers have been circulating through the Net for several years, but this is the first time someone has applied the honeynet concept to making attacker IP data publicly known.'"

Journal Journal: What to get your geeky girl for Valentine's Day 1

Journal by sortadigital on Friday January 26, 2007 @08:57PM

So you're one of the lucky few with a geek as a girlfriend, but your genius has failed you in regards to possible V-Day gifts. Why not get her a pair of Caffeine Earrings and matching necklace, a Diskette Handbag, or a

Submission + - Microsoft patents BlueJ

Submitted by

Yremogtnom

on Friday January 26, 2007 @07:30PM

Yremogtnom writes: "From Michael Kölling's Blog: "This is my attempt at catchy headline writing. But the truth isn't far off. It really should have said: Microsoft applies for patent for core BlueJ functionality. And that's really true. After blatantly copying BlueJ (without reference or attribution), Microsoft have now filed for patent for the functionality they knowingly copied from us. Why? To sue us out of the market? To make us pay? Who knows. Sad fact is that this could destroy BlueJ."

If you don't know, BlueJ is an Interactive Environment for teaching Java."

Slashdot Top Deals