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Software

Submission + - Twitter Clients for Mac (geeksdatabase.com)

Shashtel writes: "http://geeksdatabase.com/twitter-clients-for-mac/ In the last couple of months Twitter has become a sort of internet sensation among netizens. Everyone tweets, be it Celebrities, Developers or Websites, bumping up the number of followers seems to be the latest trend. Keeping up with the trends there has been an explosion of sorts in the Twitter clients. Every developer..."
Cellphones

Submission + - Non-Apple smart phone options? 2

Rorschach1 writes: "Words cannot describe how I have come to loathe my current smart phone — a Samsung SCH-i760 running Windows Mobile 6. It locks up frequently, the user interface is unresponsive and unreliable, sound quality is poor, Bluetooth support sucks; I could fill volumes describing the things I hate about this phone, but it was an incident yesterday that solidified the decision to ditch it: My car was hit broadside by an SUV on my way home from work. There were no injuries, and I was able to make an initial call to 911 (which I could have done with the ancient backup phone in my glove compartment if necessary) but immediately after the 911 call the phone freaked out. Calling family and a tow truck required multiple resets, with the phone apparently stuck in emergency mode and once just shutting down completely.

An iPhone isn't an option because AT&T coverage is awful where I live, and Verizon is the only viable provider. The GSM phone I travel with doesn't even get a signal in my house. I will never, ever use another Windows-based phone. On the other hand, I don't think I really need a Blackberry. I rarely use email on my phone (granted, that's mostly because it's so impossible to use on my Samsung) but I'd miss the QWERTY keyboard and ability to occasionally access Google and Wikipedia if I went with a plain old phone.

I miss the reliability of my old E815, and I like the volume and sound quality on my GSM V400. If I could get something as solid as either of those with a half-decent browser and usable keyboard, I'd be very happy. I don't care about playing music, taking pictures, ringtones, downloadable apps, or any of that — I just want a communications device that works right the first time, every time. Does such a beast exist?

Whoever picks a satisfactory replacement for me gets to decide the fate of my SCH-i760. I'll leave the options open, but I should mention that I have about 20 liters of liquid nitrogen on hand and an 8-lb sledge hammer."
Programming

Submission + - Worst working conditions you had to write code in?

sausaw writes: "I recently had to write code in a hot dusty room for 20 days with temperatures near 107F (~41C); having nothing to sit on; a 64 Kbps inconsistent internet connection; warm water for drinking and a lot of distractions and interruptions. I am sure many people have been in similar situations and would like to know your experiences."
Software

Submission + - Benchmarked: Ubuntu vs Vista vs Windows 7 (tuxradar.com)

benad writes: A lot of people have been chattering about the improvements Windows 7 brings for Windows users, but how does it compare to Ubuntu in real-world tests? We put Ubuntu 8.10, Windows Vista and Windows 7 through their paces in both 32-bit and 64-bit tests to see just how well Ubuntu faces the new contender. And, just for luck, we threw in a few tests using Jaunty Jackalope with ext4.
Operating Systems

Ubuntu Wipes Windows 7 In Benchmarks 781

twitter writes "Recent and controversial benchmarks for Windows 7 leave an important question unanswered: 'Is it faster than GNU/Linux?' Here, at last, is a benchmark that pits Ubuntu, Vista and Windows 7 against each other on the same modern hardware. From install time to GUI efficiency, Ubuntu beats Windows and is often twice as fast. Where Windows 7 is competitive, the difference is something the average user would not notice. The average GNU/Linux user is now getting better absolute performance from their computer as well as better value than the average Windows user."
Linux Business

Submission + - Nokia and Linux: How They Can Live Together (technocrat.net)

Bruce Perens writes: "Ari Jaaski of Nokia is concerned that the Linux developers need to learn to live with DRM, SIM-locking, and "IPR". But they won't. Fortunately, Nokia can do all that it wants with Linux, while being GPL2 and even GPL3-compatible.

The key is knowing how to draw bright lines between different parts of the system. That's a legal term, and in this case it means a line between the Free Software and the rest of the system, that is "bright" in that the two pieces are very well separated, and there is no dispute that one could be a derivative work of the other, or infringes on the other in any way. All of the Free Software goes on one side of that line, and all of the lock-down stuff on the other side."

The Courts

Submission + - Dell guilty of fraud and false advertising (pcauthority.com.au)

An anonymous reader writes: A court in New York has found Dell guilty of false advertising and fraud. The company engaged in abusive debt collection practices, misled consumers about the financing terms and failed to provide consumers with promised rebates, according to court papers. Dell customers are being urged to register their complaints here, if they have been "left on hold for hours, promised 'onsite' repair services only to be pressured to take apart their computers themselves, and subjected to numerous other negligent and abusive practices". The most recent customer satisfaction survey rated Dell at 74 out of 100. Apple leads the industry at 79.
Government

Submission + - UK researchers arrested for researching al-Qaida (guardian.co.uk)

D Afifi writes: Two UK political researchers at the University of Nottingham have been arrested under the Terrorism Act for downloading Al-Qaida material from a US .gov website. The material was to be used for research in "Terrorist tactics". There has been a huge public outcry with university staff planning a march to demonstrate against the attack on Academic freedom. Yet, one of the students, an Algerian, is still held in custody under immigration charges and is being speed tracked for deportation.
The Internet

Submission + - Web applications for choosing a Linux distribution

voodoosws writes: "There is a web application, answering some simple questions, we suggest that we can use Linux distribution. At this site, press the button Take the test, we select the language and answering questions until we reach the final where we suggested that Linux distribution is adequate to our needs. I hope they will be useful. The Url: http://fabianperez.blogspot.com/2008/05/web-applications-for-choosing-linux.html"
Operating Systems

Submission + - Who do I donate to? 1

jasonmanley writes: "I use an OS called DesktopBSD. The other day I gave some thought to donating some money to the project, but then I got to thinking — who would I donate to? DesktopBSD benefit from FreeBSD and KDE among others. Should I donate to FreeBSD, or what about openSSH if they use that? In fact there are heaps of other project's software embedded in FOSS packages and I would like to know who the community thinks should get the donations."
Google

Submission + - Google Public Transport (google.com)

hiltron writes: "Hey Guys, I was searching Google Maps for directions to my office in Perth when i stumbled upon a public transit search. I guess Google are doing a pilot in a smaller city before rolling it out nationally. See it here Pretty Cool Cheers"

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