Comment Re:Why not identi.ca? (Score 1) 39
Exactly what I thought as well. I have a feeling the Twitter API was picked since status.net supports it too http://status.net/wiki/Twitter-compatible_API.
Comment Re:SPICE is a circuit simulator (Score 5, Funny) 79
What about places that might have a need for both SPICEs?
They will need a SPICE rack.
Submission + - MPAA pushes for HD-disabling SOC once again (arstechnica.com) 2
Tyler Too writes: The MPAA is once again trying to badger the FCC into approving Selectable Output Control, which would plug the 'analog hole' during broadcasts of some prerelease HD movies. MPAA bigshots met with seven staffers from the FCC Media Bureau last week, calling the petition a 'pro-consumer' move designed to 'enable movie studios to offer millions of Americans in-home access to high-value, high definition video content.' At least the studios are now acknowledging that SOC would break the functionality of some HDTVs, an admission they were previously unwilling to make: 'What's interesting about the group's latest filing, however, is that it effectively concedes that the output changes it wants could, in fact, hobble some home video systems. "The vast majority of consumers would not have to purchase new devices to receive the new, high-value content contemplated by MPAA's" request, the group assures the FCC.'
Submission + - SPAM: Microsoft pushes for single global patent system
Xerolooper writes: What would the world be like if everyone could enjoy the same patent system we use in the USA?
From the article "A senior lawyer at Microsoft is calling for the creation of a global patent system to make it easier and faster for corporations to enforce their intellectual property rights around the world." CNET
They have already attracted opposition from the open-source community and the Pirate Party. According to the article The World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO will be meeting in Geneva on the 17th and 18th of September.
Link to Original Source
Submission + - All Humans Are Mutants Say Scientists
Hugh Pickens writes: "In 1935, JBS Haldane, one of the founders of modern genetics, studied a group of men with the blood disease hemophilia and speculated that there would be about 150 new mutations in each human being. Now BBC reports that scientists have used next generation sequencing technology to produce a far more direct and reliable estimate of the number of mutations by looking at thousands of genes belonging to two Chinese men who are distantly related, having shared a common ancestor who was born in 1805. To establish the rate of mutation, the team examined an area of the Y chromosome which is unique because, apart from rare mutations, the Y chromosome is passed unchanged from father to son so mutations accumulate slowly over the generations. Despite many generations of separation, researchers found only 12 differences among all the DNA letters examined. The two Y chromosomes were still identical at 10,149,073 of the 10,149,085 letters examined. Of the 12 differences, eight had arisen in the cell lines used for the work. Only four were true mutations that had occurred naturally through the generations. Impressively, it seems that Haldane was right all along because by looking at the number of differences between the two men, and the size of the human genome, the researchers were able to come up with an estimate of between 100 and 200 new mutations per person. "The amount of data we generated would have been unimaginable just a few years ago," says Dr Yali Xue from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridgeshire. "And finding this tiny number of mutations was more difficult than finding an ant's egg in an emperor's rice store.""
Submission + - 15 minutes of Avatar made me cry (sffmedia.com)
bowman9991 writes: "Reactions to the first trailer from James Cameron's upcoming SF epic, Avatar, released on "Avatar Day" 20 August, have been surprisingly mixed. While the 2-minute trailer grabbed some people immediately, others have been less than thrilled. SFFMedia argues that if you watched the trailer on the small screen without 3D, you're likely to have missed Avatar's most salient selling point: the cutting edge 3D technology Cameron developed to make it as real and vivid as it can be while audiences remain immersed in an extra dimension."
Submission + - Livestrong.com Requires Users to Opt Out
MorganH writes: "This morning Livestrong.com sent its users a message notifying them that on August 27, 2009, Livestrong.com changed its privacy policy to allow it to send users advertising emails from its partners. The message further states, "You will be opted in to receive these emails from us no sooner than September 30, 2009. If you'd prefer not to receive LIVESTRONG.COM special offers, you can unsubscribe from them at any time by logging in to your profile's Notification page and changing your Special Offer preference (under My Newsletters)." While this doesn't violate the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, the practice is less than admirable. One wonders if Lance Armstrong is aware that the site is run with this little integrity."
Submission + - Game Over for Sony and Open Source? (computerworlduk.com)
Glyn Moody writes: "Sony has never been much of a friend to hackers, and its famous rootkit showed what it thought of users. But by omitting the option to install GNU/Linux on its new PS3, it has removed the final reason for the open source world to care about Sony. Unless, of course, you find Google's new distribution alliance with Sony to pre-install Chrome on its PCs exciting in some way."
Submission + - Google Chrome OS: The Unnecessary Operating System (jimlynch.com)
JimLynch writes: "There has been an amazing amount of hype about Chrome, Google's upcoming operating system. Frankly, I've found it more than a little amusing to read some of the coverage of it and the comments posted by various readers on different sites. A lot of people seem to think that Chrome means the end of Microsoft is at hand and that Google will finally be able to destroy Microsoft's office application and operating system monopoly.
But the truth about Chrome OS is a lot less rosy than the hype and I'll tell you why in this column."
Submission + - Google, Sony ink browser deal (blogspot.com)
consonant writes: "FT is reporting that Google has reached a deal with Sony to ship Chrome on the Viao line of PCs.
Google confirmed that Sony PCs carrying Chrome had started to go on sale and said it was in talks for similar deals with other computer makers. It said the arrangement was "experimental" and part of wider efforts to boost distribution, including a deal to make Chrome available to internet users who download the RealPlayer software and the company's first use of television advertising.
While mainstream media coverage and financial details were very sparse, El Reg terms it a "Microsoft-snubbing deal". Google also mentioned it was pushing for similar deals with other vendors. Could this spell the beginning of the end for IE?"
Comment Try Gobby (Score 1) 302
"Gobby is a free collaborative editor supporting multiple documents in one session and a multi-user chat. It runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and other Unix-like platforms. "
It is GPL, easy to use and lets you code together very rapidly.
http://gobby.0x539.de/trac/
Submission + - Are P2P Users Hollywood's Best Customers? (contentinople.com)
An anonymous reader writes: According to a new survey commissioned by Vuze, P2P users are more likely to pay for film content than other Internet users. On average, Vuze users watched 34 percent more movies in theaters (8.2 versus 6.1 per year), purchased 34 percent more DVDs (9.0 vs. 6.7 per year), and rented 24 percent more movies for a fee (15.7 vs. 12.7 per year) per year than non-P2P users. With that in mind, do you think Hollywood's quest to stop P2P distribution of its movies is misguided?
Submission + - AvantGo Shutting Down, Changing Markets (codebudo.com)
codebudo writes: "AvantGo, the once ubiquitous application for all PDAs, is shutting down its web sync service. Users of the service have just begun to see banners stating, "Starting June 30, Avantgo will no longer offer mobile web content." According to parent company Sybase, AvantGo will transition from a mobile web service, to an SMS advertising and content delivery system."
Submission + - KDE 4.2.4 Released
An anonymous reader writes: KDE 4.2.4 has been released. See the release announcement for details.
Submission + - Microsoft Sabotaging Firefox With Sneaky Add-Ons 4
Slashdot writes: The Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1, unleashed in February, forces an undisclosed Firefox extension on Windows users, which not only injects a serious security vulnerability into Firefox (also present in Internet Explorer), but it disables the uninstall button, meaning the only way to get rid of it, is to edit the Windows registry.
**you may wish to remove this extension with all due haste**
http://startupearth.com/2009/05/31/microsoft-sabotaging-firefox-with-sneaky-net-updates/
**you may wish to remove this extension with all due haste**
http://startupearth.com/2009/05/31/microsoft-sabotaging-firefox-with-sneaky-net-updates/
