dalutong - Slashdot User

Submission + - Nasa unveils Hubble's successor

Submitted by

dalutong

on Thursday May 10, 2007 @09:14PM

dalutong writes: "BBC News has an article detailing NASA's replacement for the much-loved Hubble telescope. The $4.5 billion telescope will be placed in orbit 1.5 million km from Earth and will be almost three times the size of the Hubble. It is set to launch in 2013. They plan to service the Hubble in 2008."

Submission + - Why pirated software is a problem in the 3rd world

Submitted by RockDoctor on Sunday February 11, 2007 @07:17AM

RockDoctor writes: Dark Reading, the security-related online journal, carries an article by one Nathan Spande who works in Cambodia. Locally he finds that OpenOffice.Org and MS Office are the same price ($2), or $7-20 by downloading. He discusses why the economics of OpenSource don't work in this environment, and how it contributes to global computer security issues through the "little extras" (trojans, spambots and other malware) that typically accompany such "local editions" of software. Spande's analysis strikes me as being solid. I still remember my suspiscion of buying software in Russia (a 5-language dictionary-thesaurus-pronunciation assistant) for $10, and my utter astonishment when it's on-line activation routine actually worked and left me (well, my wife) with a computer that is still working 2½ years later. Hmm, 4 new versions of Lingvo since we got her copy — maybe we should upgrade next time one of us is in Russia.
The economics of software outside the west are very different to what most people are used to.

Journal SPAM: 'NYT' Reporter Who Got Iraqi WMDs Wrong Now Highlights Iran 3

Journal by Jeremiah Cornelius on Sunday February 11, 2007 @03:24AM

Saturday's New York Times features an article, posted at the top of its Web site late Friday, that suggests very strongly that Iran is supplying the "deadliest weapon aimed at American troops" in Iraq. The author notes, "Any assertion of an Iranian contribution to attacks on Americans in Iraq is both politically and diplomatically volatile."

What is the source of this volatile information? Nothing less than "civilian and military officials from a broad range of government agencies."

MS Seeks Patent For Repossessing School Computers 299

Posted by kdawson on Saturday February 10, 2007 @11:10PM from the what-were-they-thinking dept.

theodp writes "Microsoft has applied for a patent for 'securely providing advertising subsidized computer usage.' The application describes how face-recognition webcams and CAPTCHAs can be used in schools to ensure that computer users are paying attention to ads, and the recourse of 'disabling or even repossessing the computer' if they are not."

Submission + - Google Search goes AJAX!

Submitted by

Anonymous Coward

on Saturday February 10, 2007 @11:01PM

Anonymous Coward writes: "ReadWriteWeb reports that Google's main property, Google Search got AJAXified. This was Google's most conservative property, so this is a very interesting development and is signaling that Google may start implementing SearchMash innovations into its core product very soon. One more step towards semantic web..."

Submission + - Return of the Cold War?

Submitted by HistoryRepeatsItself on Saturday February 10, 2007 @10:27PM

HistoryRepeatsItself writes: Do you think US foreign policy has made the world less safe? Looks like Vladimir Putin thinks so. Some quotes: "witnessing the almost uncontained, hyper use of force in international relations." and "One state, the United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way. This is very dangerous. Nobody feels secure anymore because nobody can hide behind international law," and "It is a world of one master, one sovereign.... It has nothing to do with democracy," and "Unilateral, illegitimate actions have not solved a single problem: they have become a hotbed of further conflicts."
As if Global Warming isn't enough to worry about.

Two Ways Not To Handle Free Speech 686

Posted by kdawson on Saturday February 10, 2007 @09:32PM from the hang-up-or-takedown dept.

Two stories in the news offer contrasting approaches by Web companies to questions of free speech. First YouTube: reader skraps notes that the Google property has recently banned the popular atheist commentator Nick Gisburne. Gisburne had been posting videos with logical arguments against Christian beliefs; but when he turned his attention to Islam (mirror of Gisburne's video by another user), YouTube pulled the plug, saying: 'After being flagged by members of the YouTube community, and reviewed by YouTube staff, the video below has been removed due to its inappropriate nature. Due to your repeated attempts to upload inappropriate videos, your account now been permanently disabled, and your videos have been taken down.' Amazon.com provides a second example of how to react to questions of free speech. Reader theodp sends along a story in TheStreet.com about how Amazon hung up on customers wanting to comment on its continuing practice of selling animal-fighting magazines. The article notes that issues of free speech are rarely cut-and-dried, and that Amazon is doing itself no favors by going up against the Humane Society.
Update: 02/11 04:25 GMT by KD : updated Nick Gisburne link to new account.

Journal Journal: The Onion on Vista

Journal by P(0)(!P(k)+P(k+1)) on Saturday February 10, 2007 @09:15PM

Highlights from the article:

Microsoft Word's helpful paper-clip icon now blinks at rate of normal humans
Five new card-back designs for Solitaire
Something that Apple would never, ever dream up in a billion years

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