blandcramration - Slashdot User

Comment There just isn't the bandwidth yet (Score 1) 349

by blandcramration on Wednesday January 09, 2013 @12:37PM (#42533319) Attached to: The Tiny Console Killers Taking On the PS4 and Xbox 720

Maybe when the standard has become 10mb/sec download/uploads this could be a reality. Until that point, I'm going to go ahead and say the XBOX 720 and PS4 will come out and have a traditional console life. The following iteration of consoles will probably have something to fear.

Submission + - Google Wiring New York City's Chelsea for Free Wi-Fi (slashdot.org)

Submitted by

Nerval's Lobster

on Tuesday January 08, 2013 @02:27PM

Nerval's Lobster writes: "On the heels of rolling out high-speed broadband to Kansas City, Google is bringing more connectivity to another American municipality: New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, which will receive Wi-Fi in outdoor areas courtesy of the search-engine giant. The free Internet zone will encompass an area between 8th Avenue and the West Side Highway on the East-West access, and 19th Street and Gansevoort Street on the North-South. It will cost $115,000 to build and $45,000 a year to maintain, according to Bloomberg, with costs split between Google and a nonprofit neighborhood development group. Internet access will come free of advertising, aside from a provider message from Google, and not require any sort of password. Under mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City has encouraged the development of a sizable tech sector; in addition to dozens of startups, Google and other behemoths have opened headquarters in Manhattan. In theory, this “Silicon Alley” will contribute mightily to the city’s tax base and diversify the local economy."

Submission + - Valve's SteamBox codenamed 'Piston', early specs detailed at CES (polygon.com)

Submitted by xynopsis on Tuesday January 08, 2013 @09:21AM

xynopsis writes: Looks like the final version of the Linux based Steam Gaming Console has been made public at CES. The result of combined efforts of small-form-factor maker Xi3 and Valve, the gaming box named 'Piston' is a potential game changer in transforming the Linux desktop and gaming market. The pretty device looks like a shrunk Tezro from Silicon Graphics when SGI used to be cool.

Comment VMware is very easy (Score 5, Informative) 361

by blandcramration on Friday November 09, 2012 @07:29PM (#41937253) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Which Virtual Machine Software For a Beginner?

I honestly just used VMware for the first time today but it was very easy to use and booted up in seconds. You can add virtual drives with a click and if you are anywhere familiar with the operating system you are attempting to emulate, I'd say it's a safe bet. Maybe the community can offer a few free options for you to try out as well.

Comment Re:Could be a honeypot (Score 1) 157

by blandcramration on Wednesday October 31, 2012 @02:38AM (#41827573) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Is TSA's PreCheck System Easy To Game?

Please don't give them any ideas to increase their budget

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Is going to a technical college worth it?

Submitted by blandcramration on Wednesday October 24, 2012 @01:33AM

blandcramration writes: I have recently decided to further my education with a technical school associates degree. I am a first quarter student in my third week as an IT student. I have taught myself Python and have been working with computers for over 10 years. We've been learning C++ and though my instructor appears to know how to program, he doesn't really understand the procedure behind the veil, so to speak. In a traditional learning environment, I would rather learn everything about the computer process rather than fiddle around with something until I figure out how it works. I can do that on my own. I think the real issue is I'm not feeling challenged enough and I'm paying through the nose to go to school here. Am I even going to be able to land a decent job, or should I just take a few classes here and move on to a traditional college and get a computer science degree? I'm much more interested in an approach to computer science like http://www.nand2tetris.org/ but I feel as if I should get a degree in something. What are your thoughts?

Submission + - PS3 security compromised again (playstationlifestyle.net)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @04:15PM

An anonymous reader writes: PS3 security has compromised again! The holy grail of the PS3 security encryption keys, LV0 keys, has found and already leaked on the wild. For the homebrew community this means deeper access to the PS3: the possibility of custom (or modified) firmware up to the most recent and future coming ones, possibility of bypassing PS3 hypervisor for installing GNU Linux with full hardware access, dual firmware booting, homebrew advanced recovery (on the molds of Bootmii on Wii), and more. It might lead to more rampant piracy too, because the LV0 keys could facilitate the discovering of the newer games encryption keys, the ones that require newer firmwares. But mostly of that’s features will only work on old models, because on newer ones (after the fail0verflow fiasco) Sony have put differently LV0 keys.

Submission + - Hotel Room Locks Picked in Seconds (yahoo.com)

Submitted by who_stole_my_kidneys on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @02:07PM

who_stole_my_kidneys writes: Onity is being exposed for having insecure locks, sold to many hotel chains including Hilton Worldwide. After the exposure, several youtube videos have hit the internet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMw7LkMJOBQ, showing how easy it is. A spokesperson for Hilton Worldwide said, "The safety and security of our guests is always our highest priority, and we are working with Onity to investigate and address this issue."
Security experts say it is important for guests who are concerned about safety to increase their use of in room safes, deadbolts and chains.

Submission + - Researcher Develops Patch For Java Zero Day in 30 Minutes (threatpost.com)

Submitted by Trailrunner7 on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @11:17AM

Trailrunner7 writes: A security researcher has submitted to Oracle a patch he said took him 30 minutes to produce that would repair a zero-day vulnerability currently exposed in Java SE. He hopes his actions will spur Oracle to issue an out-of-band patch for the sandbox-escape vulnerability, rather than wait for the February 2013 Critical Patch Update as Oracle earlier said it would.

Adam Gowdiak of Polish security consultancy Security Explorations reported the vulnerability to Oracle on Sept. 25, as well as proof-of-concept exploit code his team produced. The vulnerability is present in Java versions 5, 6 and 7 and would allow an attacker to remotely control an infected machine once a user landed on a malicious website hosting the exploit.

Gowdiak said his proof-of-concept exploit was successfully used against a fully patched Windows 7 machine using Firefox 15.0.1, Chrome 21, IE 9, Opera 12, and Safari 5.1.7.

Submission + - Cassette tapes are the future of big data storage (newscientist.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @07:29AM

An anonymous reader writes: THE cassette tape is about to make a comeback, in a big way. From the updates posted by Facebook's 1 billion users to the medical images shared by healthcare organisations worldwide and the rise of high-definition video streaming, the need for something to store huge tranches of data is greater than ever. And while hard drives have traditionally been the workhorse of large storage operations, a new wave of ultra-dense tape drives that pack in information at much higher densities, while using less energy, is set to replace them.

Researchers at Fuji Film in Japan and IBM in Zurich, Switzerland, have already built prototypes that can store 35 terabytes of data — or about 35 million books' worth of information — on a cartridge that measures just 10 centimetres by 10 cm by 2 cm. This is achieved using magnetic tape coated in particles of barium ferrite.

Comment Makes perfect sense to me (Score 3) 713

by blandcramration on Sunday May 13, 2012 @02:58AM (#39983821) Attached to: Icons That Don't Make Sense Anymore

The person that wrote this acts as if no one under 30 has ever seen any of these objects; to say so is completely ludicrous. I'm 28 and I have used floppy discs since I was 7, I've spoken on a telephone (over a cellphone) for most of my life, I've driven an older car with radio buttons, and I read books and like to keep my place. To assume anyone under 30 doesn't use tools, remember when polaroid went out of business, or owned a calendar is completely ignorant. Does everyone over 30 automatically have specific knowledge of these things? Does this make everyone under 30 completely ignorant to anything produced prior to the 1990s? Fuck off.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Need a gaming laptop that can run OSX for $1000

Submitted by

blandcramration

on Thursday May 10, 2012 @10:29PM

blandcramration writes: "With the advent of Diablo III's impending release, the love of my life has considered purchasing a new computer. There are two problems associated with this befuddling conundrum. Firstly, she likes her Macbook but it is beginning to show its five year age rapidly. Secondly, she must have a laptop due to the type of work she is involved in. I have been scouring the internet for a hackable, moderately priced, sleek laptop but have come up with few options. I ask you, the always helpful slashdot community: What laptop would you purchase if you were in my shoes?"

Submission + - Researchers Use Stem Cells To Grow New Teeth (singularityhub.com)

Submitted by bonch on Thursday May 10, 2012 @08:18PM

bonch writes: Scientists from the College of Dental Medicine at Nova Southeastern University have successfully grown new teeth from stem cells. After extracting stem cells from existing oral tissue, the cells are molded into the shape of a tooth using a polymer scaffold. Using this method, teeth have already been successfully grown in mice and monkeys, with human clinical trials under way.

Submission + - Wolfenstein 3-D turns 20! (pcmag.com)

Submitted by Dr Herbert West on Thursday May 10, 2012 @05:22PM

Dr Herbert West writes: 20 years ago today, ID software released "Wolfenstein 3D", a remake of a classic Apple II game, "Return to Castle Wolfenstein". To celebrate, Bethesda Softworks on Wednesday released a free, browser-based version of the iconic first-person shooter, Wolfenstein 3D.
Users can pick which level they wish to play in the browser version, even the secret levels.

Submission + - Dozens of U.S. Companies Face Bribery Probes (cnn.com)

Submitted by bonch on Thursday May 10, 2012 @04:57PM

bonch writes: Wal-mart, Deere, Hewlett-Packard, Las Vegas Sands, Qualcom and others are under investigation for violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Wal-mart is suspected of bribing Mexican officials to quickly obtain store permits, while former employees of HP are being investigated for alleged bribery, embezzlement and tax evasion to land a Russian IT contract for a former German subsidiary. Even U.S. movie studies are under investigation for using bribes to influence the Chinese entertainment industry. In total, at least 81 public companies are being probed by the SEC for FCPA violations.

Slashdot Top Deals