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Social Networks

Submission + - Social networks will breed a new type of men? (tumblr.com)

Submitted by malbrech
malbrech writes: A blog article claims that modern social networking interaction with girls will forge more self-confident boys and therefore better men. Is that right? What is the experience of your regular slashdotter?

Comment The winner is: a book, then a USB stick (Score 1) 633

by malbrech (#29184479) Attached to: Thanks For the ... Eight-Track, Uncle Alex

Reading the comments so far, I can only agree with a book being the winner. It has the additional advantage that it will probably be a museum piece by the time she gets to open it -- wait, I forgot that at least another 1000 guys will be doing the same after this slashdot post ...

If it had to be digital because of video, I would bet for a USB stick. In fact, I would even bet that by 2025 we will be using USB 10.0 or something ridiculous like that. There are few technologies that have a long life, but those which make it to that status do tend to last very long. Examples: ethernet, cd-roms, HFS harddisks. I count USB in that camp because of its versatility.

Comment Re:Create a portable lab (Score 1) 411

by malbrech (#26605353) Attached to: Best IT Solution For a Brand-New School?

What problem are you actually trying to solve?

As happens quite often in IT, you are asking for a solution without knowing the requirements, e.g. what do teachers and kids need as IT support?

My kids go to a high-school where assignments, projects and virtually all school work is done on computers. Children send in their assignments per email, corrections are returned as replies. They produce documents, tables, videos (most of them land in YouTube), music files and presentations.

So how does the IT infrastructure looks like? There are computer zones, mostly in open spaces (Caffe-like) with a mixture of desktop batteries (on round tables) and table/seat space to work with laptops (wide WiFi coverage).

As you can imagine, this kind of school assumes that kids do have a computer at home. And, with time most of those computers will have been converted to laptops.

So, rather than adapting school practice to a given IT solution, the school has adapted IT to its needs.
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - iPhone Reverse Engineering Opens New Door to Hacks (gizmodo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The iPhone Dev Team keeps closing up on their total unlocking target: they just announced that they have reverse-engineered the software which controls the iPhone's radio communications, the low-level functions of Nucleus. This is the RTOS that powers the Infineon S-Gold2, an ARM-based secondary chip which also controls the JesusPhone's multimedia abilities. The team has now a new way to search for the key to make it work with other carriers.
Businesses

Submission + - Dell refuses to sell Ubuntu to business (ubuntuforums.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I had a surreal experience with Dell today. My boss asked me to order a new computer for our small, non-profit business. Wanting to support Dell in their decision to sell computers with Ubuntu installed, I decided to order one. First, I talked to a small business representative, who informed me that I could not order one of the Ubuntu-based computers through the small business department. I had to go through the "home and home office" department. I called the Home office department. I asked the representative if I could buy one of the ubuntu computers for my company. She said (and I quote), "these Dell computers are designed for personal use only, as long as you use it for personal use, you can purchase one." So I lied and said I would.... Next, I tried to buy it on our business credit card. They would have none of that. She told me that I had to buy it through a personal card. Now, as a non-proft, our business does not pay sales tax (10% in Tennessee). Had I bought it with my own card, I would have had to pay tax (~$90), which my company would not have reimbursed me for. So.....no Dell today. I really wanted to support Dell and I am just blown away that they would REFUSE MY MONEY because I was buying it to use for a business. What company goes around telling its customers how they can use their products? What business model does that fall under? More importantly, are they really supporting Ubuntu and Linux? They didn't seem too supportive to me.
Programming

Submission + - Accurate test for progamming ability (mdx.ac.uk)

Submitted by
acciaccatura
acciaccatura writes: "This test predicts ability to program with very high accuracy before the subjects have ever seen a program or a programming language.
    "All teachers of programming find that their results display a 'double hump'. It is as if there are two populations: those who can, and those who cannot, each with its own independent bell curve." They go on to say: "We can pick apart the double hump. You probably don't believe this, but you will after you hear the talk. We don't know exactly how/why it works, but we have some good theories.""
Quickies

Submission + - Source of Ancient Egypt's Gold Discovered? (livescience.com)

Submitted by TheProspector
TheProspector writes: Archaeologists at Chicago's Oriental Institute have discovered what seems to be an ancient gold-processing and panning camp along the Nile River. It is thought to have been operated by the Kushites, and to have been the source of ancient Egypt's gold.
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - How Not to Hire Americans H-1B Video Shocker

Submitted by
theodp
theodp writes: "A YouTube video of a law firm's how-not-to-hire-Americans advice is providing explosive material for H-1B critics. 'Our goal is clearly not to find a qualified U.S. worker ... our objective is to get this person a green card,' a lawyer from Cohen & Grigsby tells the audience. Among the law firm's satisfied customers is Pitt's Katz Graduate School of Business, who relies on the firm to grease the wheels for H-1B seeking MBA grads and prospective employers via the Katzport Program, which Pitt fully subsidizes to the tune of $4,000+ per student. Not too surprisingly, the firm's Hot Topics in Immigration Law videos have vanished from YouTube."
Robotics

Submission + - Autonomous Vehicles Coming to Car Lot Near You! (sfgate.com)

Submitted by saldate
saldate writes: I was surprised that this was overlooked by Slashdot posters, I found it to be pretty cool and somewhat inspiring. The DARPA Urban Challenge (think of it as DARPA Grand Challenge v2.0) is pushing autonomous automotive travel to the next stage of development, the urban zone. Obviously, the initial target of the project is aimed at military application, but simultaneously paves the way for commercial use. Have a look at the video and any of the articles below:

Video:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/ a/2007/06/15/BUROBOCARTEST15.DTL&o=0

Articles:
http://origin.mercurynews.com/news/ci_6147098?ncli ck_check=1
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/06/how_stanford s_r.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/technology/15rob ot.html?_r=1&em&ex=1182052800&en=5ff9a120cd2b0a2d& ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-6191180.html
http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/15/stanfords-junio r-volkswagen-passes-first-darpa-test/
http://news.com.com/2300-11394_3-6191150-1.html

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