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Comment Re:Apologies not accepted (Score 1) 64

If you want to use Privacy Ops, thats great; I just havent found an app where I would need it yet.

How about the built-in web browser?
According to PDroid Monitor (using CyanogenMod with P-droid patches), it can access:
    Network Location
    GPS Location
    Account Credentials
    Accounts (Listing of accounts registered with other apps on device: Dropbox, Twitter, etc. Includes name of the service, and the user ID)
    Contacts (For what?)
    Call Log (Why the hell would it ever need this?)
    Bookmarks and History (Duh)
    Wifi Info
    Network Info (
    Force Online State

Well, of course the built-in browser is gross. What about Firefox? That should be less invasive, right?
    Network Location
    GPS Location
    Account Credentials
    Accounts
    Record Audio
    Camera
    Start at Boot (That goes really well with the previous two)
    Network Info
    Force Online State

What could possibly go wrong?

Comment Re:It was not already? (Score 2) 99

by preflex (#46352591) Attached to: <em>Portal 2</em> Beta Released For Linux
This is obviously wrong as there are over 800 titles available for linux, but Valve hasn't published 800 source-engine games. Even limiting the scope to big-publisher FPS stuff you're still wrong on two fronts. CS:GO is still missing. Metro: Last Light (using the 4A engine) has been available since November.

Submission + - Microsoft Circles the Wagons to Defeat ODF in the UK (consortiuminfo.org)

Submitted by Andy Updegrove
Andy Updegrove writes: Three weeks ago, we heard that Francis Maude, a senior UK government minister, was predicting the conversion to open source office suites by UK government agencies. Lost in the translation in many stories was the fact that this was based not on an adopted policy, but on a proposal still open for public comment — and subject to change. It should be no surprise that Microsoft is trying to get the UK to add OOXML, its own format standard, to the UK policy. Why? According to a messaging sent to its UK partners, because it believes that a failure to include OOXML "will cause problems for citizens and businesses who use office suites which don’t support ODF, including many people who do not use a recent version of Microsoft Office or, for example, Pages on iOS and even Google Docs." Of course, that's because Microsoft pushed OOXML as an alternative to ODF a decade ago. If you don't want the same objection to be valid a decade from now, consider making your views known at the Cabinet Office Standards Hub. The deadline is February 26.

Submission + - An open letter to the management of Slashdot. 14

Submitted by onyxruby
onyxruby writes: I have been watch for some time now as Slashdot has started beta testing a new version of the website. As you are well aware the new site would constitute a complete change to the look, interface and functionality of Slashdot.org.

Change happens, and for those of us who work with technology for a living it is the only constant. Change is a process and in and of itself is not a bad thing when it offers improvement. Unfortunately the change that has been offered negatively impacts the look, interface and most importantly the functionality of Slashdot.
Many people have had trouble reverting back to the classic interface. The new interface simply does not offer the functionality of the old. Things like statistics, comments and layout are very difficult to find. You have a community that lives and breathes data and want to know their data. How is my comment ranked, how many people responded – it’s really all about the dialogue. Can I get the information that I want in a readily digestible format?

As you’re well aware the new site does not offer the very thing that people come here for. This in and of itself is not why your community has organized a boycott of Beta. The boycott was originated because the new version will be implemented whether the community wants it or not.

I want to explain why this change has gone down people’s throats about as well as Windows 8’s Metro interface. The reason has absolutely nothing to do with the interface and everything to do with the perception that the editors and management of Slashdot appear to have.

The message that has been consistently handed down is that we are “your audience”. We are not your “your audience” we are your product. People do not come to Slashdot for the news stories, there are untold other sites that provide those as well as professional and original writing about them. People come here for the community of insiders from across the industry.

Please respect the community and stop what you’re doing. You have commented that you don’t want to maintain two code bases. Your community works in the industry and understands this, which leads many to suggest you abandon the new code base entirely so that you are only maintaining once code base. Tell us what your trying to accomplish and I would imagine that a wide range of experts would be more than willing to help you meet your goals.

Comment Put the "classic" link in the "brand bar" (Score 1) 2219

by preflex (#46180249) Attached to: Slashdot Tries Something New; Audience Responds!
So the people that hate it (pretty much everyone) can quickly find their way out. I really hate the floating "brand bar", from the user's perspective, it's completely useless. On my android tablet, it's slow as hell and just wastes screen space. Putting the classic link there would at least give me a reason to click it (once).

Submission + - /. Goes down in flame war 5

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Slashdot users flame all site stories with comments about the sites forced switching over to Beta version. The comments are relentless, calling for a ban of the site from Feb 10 to Feb 17. The following post is being made in every story comment:
On February 5, 2014, Slashdot announced through a javascript popup that they are starting to "move in to" the new Slashdot Beta design.
Slashdot Beta is a trend-following attempt to give Slashdot a fresh look, an approach that has led to less space for text and an abandonment of the traditional Slashdot look. Much worse than that, Slashdot Beta fundamentally breaks the classic Slashdot discussion and moderation system.
If you haven't seen Slashdot Beta already, open this [slashdot.org] in a new tab. After seeing that, click here [slashdot.org] to return to classic Slashdot.
We should boycott stories and only discuss the abomination that is Slashdot Beta until Dice abandons the project.
We should boycott slashdot entirely during the week of Feb 10 to Feb 17 as part of the wider slashcott [slashdot.org]
Moderators — only spend mod points on comments that discuss Beta
Commentors — only discuss Beta
http://slashdot.org/recent [slashdot.org] — Vote up the Fuck Beta stories
Keep this up for a few days and we may finally get the PHBs attention.
Captcha: fuckbeta

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Why Can't Slashdot Classic and Slashdot Beta Continue to Co-Exist? 9

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Slashdot has been a big part of my life since I had my my first stories accepted over ten years ago. Some people my age do crossword puzzles to keep their mental agility, some do sudoko, or play bridge. I enjoy searching for and putting together a story a day for slashdot because it helps keep me on my toes to have readers find errors and logical fallacies in my submissions and I enjoy learning from the different points of view expressed on a story I have submitted. That's why I have been so discouraged in the past several years to see readership in slashdot drop off. As a close observer of this web site, I know that ten years ago it was unheard of for any accepted story to get less than 100 comments and there was at least a story a day that got over 1,000 comments. Those days are long gone. Not it's not uncommon to see some stories garner only a few dozen comments. That's how web sites die. If you slip below a critical level of readership, readers will abandon the site completely. I know from my own experience running a web site devoted to the Peace Corps that I used to have hundreds of comments to some of my stories but once comments slipped below a certain threshold, then they disappeared altogether. I think that slashdot is nearing that threshold and I fear that imposing Slashdot Beta on the site's readership will push it over the edge and I don't want to see that happen. I'd like to propose that slashdot continue running slashdot classic and slashdot beta in parallel. I'll stick with classic most of the time. One of the best features of slashdot classic is that comments can be displayed in four formats (threaded, nested, no comment, and flat) and in two directions (oldest first and newest first) providing a lot of flexibility in watching conversations develop. I switch between the formats several times a day depending on what I want to see. But slashdot beta also has its advantages in certain situations. Slashdot needs a blockbuster story or two every day where people can pile on and slashdot beta facilitates this by putting the most commented story at the top of the page and I think that is a good thing. Still I'll use slashdot beta occasionally when I'm on a mobile device but slashdot classic will be the format I use on my desktop. So don't deprecate slashdot classic. That would be like Microsoft disabling Windows 7 and forcing everyone to use Windows 8. And not even Microsoft is that stupid.

Comment Pointless stock photo. (Score 1) 457

by preflex (#46171193) Attached to: Judge Says You Can Warn Others About Speed Traps

Thanks for the pointless stock photo of a MP holding a radar gun.

WTF does this story have to do with MP's? Why are you wasting my bandwidth and screen space?

Just because you can attach an image to an article, doesn't mean you should. The slashdot beta is even worse than I first thought: it's encouraging editors to do even more stupid shit.

Comment Brandbar (Score 1) 237

by preflex (#46171133) Attached to: Update on the March of Progress: How Slashdot's New Look Is Shaping Up

I also couldn't find the reply button, so replying to first post...

The brandbar is pointless. It's a waste of space. It performs no function, other than reminding me I'm viewing slashdot. I don't need to be reminded of this.

It's also slow as hell on mobile browsers. No, I will not use mobile slashdot. That shit is even worse than this horrible fucking beta.

Slashdot isn't broken. Don't fix it.

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