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Submission + - Chromebooks Overtake iPads in U.S. Education Market

Submitted by SmartAboutThings
SmartAboutThings writes: In Q3 2014, IDC notes that Google shipped 715,500 Chromebooks to U.S. schools while Apple shipped 702,000 iPads. Thus, Apple's iPad has lost its lead over Google's line of Chromebook laptops in the U.S. education market as Google shipped more devices to schools last quarter. While analysts say that this advantage for Google's Chromebooks can be attributed to their low cost, the presence of a physical keyboard has also been seen as an important factor.

Submission + - Mahdism: How does religion really influence Iranian nuclear policy? (thebulletin.org)

Submitted by Lasrick
Lasrick writes: Many observers of American Christianity are familiar with the notion of an "end times" and a return of Jesus to earth. More radical believers of this notion have welcomed climate change, nuclear war, and other threats to mankind because, to them, this chaos and destruction fulfills Biblical prophecy. Islam has its own version: Mahdism: 'Shia Muslims believe that the Mahdi, born in the ninth century and also known as the Hidden Imam or the Twelfth Imam, is the Prophet Mohammed’s last legitimate successor. They believe that he has gone into occultation—the state of being blocked from view—but will eventually return...reappear along with Christ...restore peace and justice, saving the world from the chaos into which it would otherwise descend.' In this article, Ariane Tabatabai discusses the idea that Mahdism informs Iran's public policy, especially its nuclear policy, providing hardliners with an excuse to hasten the Mahdi's return. Terrific analysis.

Submission + - If Illegal Sites Get Blocked Accidentally, Hard Luck Says Court (torrentfreak.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In a case before the High Court, UK ISPs have raised concerns that 'innocent' sites might be taken offline due to them sharing IP addresses with other sites detailed in blocking orders. While sites will get a chance to complain, those operating illegally will get no sympathy from the High Court.

The movie and music industries have obtained several High Court orders which compel UK ISPs to block dozens of websites said to facilitate access to copyright-infringing content. Recently, however, they have been joined by those seeking blockades on trademark grounds.

The lead case on this front was initiated by Cartier and Mont Blanc owner Richemont. The company successfully argued that several sites were infringing on its trademarks and should be blocked by the UK’s leading ISPs.

Submission + - Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Part 6 (dwidi.net)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Call of Duty Advanced Warfare Part 6

In 2054, all nuclear reactors around the world is destroyed by a terrorist organization known as the KVA.

Submission + - Disney keeps mysterious no-fly zone over parks (orlandosentinel.com)

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: What do the White House and the Magic Kingdom have in common? Each is protected by a federally imposed no-fly zone.

That's because for the past decade, Disney World and Disneyland have benefited from a deal slipped into a 300-page spending bill that designates airspace above both parks as no-fly zones. That means anyone caught trying to chopper into Cinderella’s castle could risk federal prosecution and jail time.

The no-fly zones were put in place ostensibly for security reasons following 9/11 but have stayed in place in what some say is a cleverly crafted plan by Disney to keep pesky aerial advertisers out of its pristine airspace.

Submission + - Wikipedia's 13 Deadly Sins (newslines.org) 5

Submitted by sparkydevil
sparkydevil writes: Almost all Wikipedia criticism comes is about the vandalism, hoaxes and scandals. There's very little about how the software model creates the many problems on the site. As an ex-Wikipedia editor and founder of a crowdfunding startup I examine Wikipedia's problems and trace them back to the core Wiki software.

Comment Re:It's stupid - switch to GMT (Score 1) 613

by Lirodon (#48290871) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Where Do You Stand on Daylight Saving Time?
I did the exact opposite; we moved from Ontario to Saskatchewan a few years back (after me, not knowing of this quirk on a road trip that had a stop in the province about a decade ago, accidentally set a hotel clock back to CDT from CST and goofed up our itinerary a bit). The only awkwardness it causes is when we have to adjust our television viewing habits to work around the time differences that develop, but we use that to our advantage.

Submission + - Fortune.com: Blame Tech Diversity On Culture, not Pipeline (fortune.com)

Submitted by FrnkMit
FrnkMit writes: Challenging a previous Code.org story on tech diversity, a Forbes.com writer interviewed 716 women who left the technology field. Her conclusion: corporate culture, and the larger social structure, is the primary cause they shook the sand of the tech industry from their shoes, never looking back. Specific issues include a lack of maternity policies in small companies, low pay which barely covers day care, "jokes" from male coworkers, and always feeling like the "odd duck". In reality, there are probably many intertwined causes: peer pressure at the high-school and college level, female-unfriendly geek culture, low pay, a lack of accommodations for pregnant/nursing mothers, the myth of "having it all", stereotype threat, and repeated assertions that women aren't biologically suited to writing software and therefore there's no problem at all.

Comment I share the opinion of a Wikipedia IP editor (Score 1) 349

by Lirodon (#48059913) Attached to: Possible Reason Behind Version Hop to Windows 10: Compatibility
Mainstream media, please stop perpetuating this speculative misinformation. It is VERY unlikely, given that, according to an IP editor who removed my addition of this alleged, speculative information, "even if their assertion were correct, the confluence of events required to run on 95/98 *and* an unreleased Windows 9 without modifications is improbable. While that code exists in the wild (with modifications), none of it is remotely modern. They're using JDK6/7 internal test tools and code from a 13 year old version of jEdit as an example as to why "Windows 9" was skipped."

Submission + - The single vigilante behind Facebook's 'real name' crackdown (dailydot.com)

Submitted by Molly McHugh
Molly McHugh writes: Given the timing and the accounts suspended, they believe that they are in fact the mystery “individual” who threw a wrench into Facebook’s system, noted in Facebook’s explanation of the events. “Considering the hours and hours I spent reporting accounts over the course of the past month, it is likely that I am.”

Submission + - Unofficial patch extends Windows XP support

Submitted by dfsmith
dfsmith writes: Many companies, my employer included, have stopped supporting Windows XP starting today. Luckily, a couple of engineers at Microsoft have released simple patch to extend XP support. "Our patch extends March indefinitely. For example, with the patch, today is March 32nd. And we wish you Merry Christmas later this month, on March 300th!", explained Rolf Paoli. Seems like an ingenious way to fix an awkward problem.

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