Journal Journal: computing Pi, circa 2007
I have conceived a method of finding digits of Pi, which, no matter what its other drawbacks, is thoroughly modern and was not available to the ancients.
Submission + - Skype experiences billing glitch
An anonymous reader writes: Evidently Skype suffered some sort of glitch on the morning of April 26th around 3-4AM GMT. I was on a call from Hyderabad to Boston via SkypeOut and the call was suddenly terminated. When I tried to reconnect, I had a negative balance. Looking at my call detail, I found:
Date Number Destination Type Rate/min. Duration Price
Apr 26 04:28 +1617xxxxxxx USA Call 00:00 0.000
Apr 26 03:39 +1617xxxxxxx USA Call $0.021 1146:08:19 $1,444.188
Clearly SOMETHING is fishy. I opened a support ticket and, a few hours later, received this response:
"Thank you for contacting Skype Support.
We are aware of a system error that may have temporarily adjusted the balance of your Skype Credit. At present we are working to restore your account balance to its correct level.
We apologize for this unexpected issue and thank you for your understanding."
Ok, stuff happens. But searching the skype forums, I found out I'm not the only one. From:
http://forum.skype.com/lofiversion/index.php/t8436 0.html
My account shows Skype Credit balance -1.164,49 . One call made last night by my daughter is listed as:
"Apr 26 04:03 +########## USA Call 0,017 1145:44:24 1.168,704" (I blocked out the number).
This posting drew this response:
"This is a known bug.
Skype are aware and working on a fix."
It's evidently happened to a number of people.
Date Number Destination Type Rate/min. Duration Price
Apr 26 04:28 +1617xxxxxxx USA Call 00:00 0.000
Apr 26 03:39 +1617xxxxxxx USA Call $0.021 1146:08:19 $1,444.188
Clearly SOMETHING is fishy. I opened a support ticket and, a few hours later, received this response:
"Thank you for contacting Skype Support.
We are aware of a system error that may have temporarily adjusted the balance of your Skype Credit. At present we are working to restore your account balance to its correct level.
We apologize for this unexpected issue and thank you for your understanding."
Ok, stuff happens. But searching the skype forums, I found out I'm not the only one. From:
http://forum.skype.com/lofiversion/index.php/t843
My account shows Skype Credit balance -1.164,49 . One call made last night by my daughter is listed as:
"Apr 26 04:03 +########## USA Call 0,017 1145:44:24 1.168,704" (I blocked out the number).
This posting drew this response:
"This is a known bug.
Skype are aware and working on a fix."
It's evidently happened to a number of people.
Feed No more Windows XP as of 2008 (com.com)
Blog: Starting next year you won't be able to buy a new PC loaded with Windows XP, despite the lukewarm reception of Windows Vista.Microsoft...
Submission + - Novell spoofs "Get A Mac" ads
Raterman writes: "At Novell's BrainShare 2007, Novell showed off three ads spoofing Apple's famous "Get a Mac" ads, but with a surprising penguin-friendly twist: "PC and Mac" are just as you'd expect, but Linux is... well, not a penguin, but something just as pleasant to a geek's eyes. Could this be the next Linux mascot? (Note: You must scroll down a little in the video listing to find them as "PC Mac Linux")"
Submission + - Google admits its developing a phone ?
An anonymous reader writes: Google has refused to comment directly on leaks from Europe and the United States which describe a low-cost, internet-connected phone with a colour, wide-screen design. But a Google official last week acknowledged the company was "investigating" such a project.
Richard Windsor, a phone analyst with brokerage Nomura in London, told clients late last week that unspecified Google representatives at a major European conference in Germany had confirmed the company is working on its own phone device.
Submission + - How to be a Gentleman
Deltaspectre writes: "Lifehacker has an article on how to be a gentleman. Now, is being a chivalrous gentleman an artifact from a bygone era or is it still practiced today? Perhaps we all could learn something from this article (Slashdotters especially.)."
Submission + - Vista: The Honeymoon is Over
BillGatesLoveChild writes: The Sydney Morning Herald reports the Vista backlash has begun, and is spreading to the popular press:
"Utterly unimaginative, internally discordant and woefully out of tune".
You have to hand it to Microsoft. Despite the negative reviews of Microsoft's New Vista Operating System in the trade press, very little of that has filtered through to the general public. Friends and relatives have told me how eager they are to upgrade to it, for no other apparent reason than "It's New!" Warnings about draconian DRM, incompatability and poor performance as highlighted in ComputerWorld and in Peter Gutman's famous paper (apparently only famous to geeks) are lost on them.
But the Sydney Morning Herald Reports that as the general public experiences these first hand, the bad word is finally starting to spread. Customers have been reinstalling XP and advising others to wait. No one ever asked for Vista. Microsoft hoisted it upon us. Has Microsoft finally gone a Bridge to Far?
You have to hand it to Microsoft. Despite the negative reviews of Microsoft's New Vista Operating System in the trade press, very little of that has filtered through to the general public. Friends and relatives have told me how eager they are to upgrade to it, for no other apparent reason than "It's New!" Warnings about draconian DRM, incompatability and poor performance as highlighted in ComputerWorld and in Peter Gutman's famous paper (apparently only famous to geeks) are lost on them.
But the Sydney Morning Herald Reports that as the general public experiences these first hand, the bad word is finally starting to spread. Customers have been reinstalling XP and advising others to wait. No one ever asked for Vista. Microsoft hoisted it upon us. Has Microsoft finally gone a Bridge to Far?
Submission + - Intel P35 "Bearlake" Chipset Performance P
Mr.Tweak writes: "Using an Intel P35 "Bearlake" motherboard, we test performance of 1333MHz FSB processors such as E6750 and E6850 on the new DDR-3 capable platform. Now it's time for Intel to start on its next generation of chipsets to support their bunch of upcoming Dual Core and Quad Core processors later this year and next such as Yorkfield and Wolfdale. They processors are based on 45nm technology and faster FSB and more onboard cache."
Submission + - Dell is taking Vista surveys...
NIN1385 writes: I thought the readers might be interested to know that Dell is taking surveys on why people don't want Windows Vista. I called Dell earlier today because I was planning on purchasing a new Dell notebook and wanted to find out if I could get either Windows XP or no OS pre-installed on it, but the sales associate proceeded to inform me that the only way they were able to sell the new systems was with Windows Vista pre-installed on them. I then asked if I could get Linux pre-installed just for you know whats and giggles, but they told me they weren't offering that either.
The next thing out of his mouth was: "I am being instructed to ask some brief questions about why users don't want Windows Vista, would you mind answering a few questions?". I of course agreed and told him how I have read numerous horror stories about installing the new version and how none of the devices on the market right now are currently supported. I also told him what I'm sure he already knew which was that it's never a good idea to buy any new operating system, Windows or otherwise, before at least a year after the initial release date. After a few minutes of listing problems off I eventually told the guy, who was actually very professional about the whole thing, that I would more than likely be looking at other notebook vendors.
I will miss Dell's business, but if they improve I may go back.
Anti-Matter's Potential in Treating Cancer 216
eldavojohn writes "The BBC is taking a look at how atomic physicists are developing cancer treatments. A step past radiotherapy, the CERN institute is publishing interesting results: 'Cancer cells were successfully targeted with anti-matter subatomic particles, causing intense biological damage leading to cell death.' The press release from last year is finally sparking interest in the medical community."
Submission + - Vista SP1 IS 500MB
Joe The Dragon writes: "That is a the biggest SP1 that M$ has came out with must have a lot blot in it.
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=38 064
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=4597"
http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=3
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=4597"
Submission + - Xbox 360 Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
An anonymous reader writes: SecurityFocus BugTraq has a post about an Xbox360 Hypervisor Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
From the article: We have discovered a vulnerability in the Xbox 360 hypervisor that allows privilege escalation into hypervisor mode. Together with a method to inject data into non-privileged memory areas, this vulnerability allows an attacker with physical access to an Xbox 360 to run arbitrary code such as alternative operating systems with full privileges and full hardware access.
I like the comment by the OP (from a sun.com email address)
From the article: We have discovered a vulnerability in the Xbox 360 hypervisor that allows privilege escalation into hypervisor mode. Together with a method to inject data into non-privileged memory areas, this vulnerability allows an attacker with physical access to an Xbox 360 to run arbitrary code such as alternative operating systems with full privileges and full hardware access.
I like the comment by the OP (from a sun.com email address)
Submission + - Microsoft Exchange, meet your replacement.
IGnatius T Foobar writes: "In this article, Linux Journal discovers the Citadel groupware server, and boldly declares that this is the one — though not as widely known as some other solutions, Citadel is the ideal open source replacement for Microsoft Exchange."
Submission + - Wikipedia banned as source by history department
hrvatska writes: An article in the New York Times reports on a ban by the history department at Middlebury College on citing Wikipedia in papers or exams. The ban came after a number of students used inaccurate information from the same article on an exam. The ban is being actively debated at the school, and does not apply to all departments. Jim Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, is quoted as saying "Basically, they are recommending exactly what we suggested — students shouldn't be citing encyclopedias. I would hope they wouldn't be citing Encyclopaedia Britannica, either." The article does not say whether or not the history department permits Encyclopaedia Britannica to be cited as a source.
