7957932
submission
Voulnet writes:
Hello Slashdot, I am a Computer Engineer, fresh off graduation, and I would like to educate myself on a broad range of technological fields and aspects. I am the kind of person who is easily distracted while reading from a screen, and so I would like to ask fellow slashdotters about the best books for computer related topics. I consider my level to be intermediate in some fields, and beginner in others.
Some books are de facto standards in a certain technology field, others can be classified as Hidden Gems, while others are Interesting Reads (like GUI Bloopers). Therefore, I would love to hear what is everybody's book recommendation in the following fields:
- Programming (C++, C#, Java, Python, Ruby, Pike..etc)
- Secure coding
- Networking
- Electronics (design and simulation)
- Security (attacks and countermeasures)
- Web development (especially Ruby and Perl)
- Unix systems
- Win32 development
- Databases
- Computer Architecture
- Infrastructure (Think national level)
- Computer industry business management
These are my desired topics for the next 8 months or so, and I would like to immerse myself into said topics in different methods.
So what do you think is the best book for the aforementioned categories in terms of being a (de facto standard/ Hidden Gem/ Interesting Read)?
Hopefully this submission passes through, being so useful to me, young engineers and developers. Thanks in advance!"
7954770
submission
gQuigs writes:
According to StatCounter Global Statistics the most used browser version on the web is Firefox 3.5. Congrats to Mozilla (and the open web)!
But we can use this as a rallying call to do more. Let's Finish Off IE6 (remove the links to IE8 and Safari if you want, and maybe add one for Opera). And how many of you end up upgrading your family's browsers over the holidays? Good job keeping them safe, but bring everything you need this time on a USB stick, and then get back to enjoying the holidays.
2857365
submission
Blowit writes:
With the Christmas holidays just past and opening up your electronic presents may get you all excited but not for a selected lot of people who got the Mercury 1.5" Digital Photo Frame from Walmart (or other stores). My father in law attached the device to his computer and his Trend Micro Anti-virus screamed that a virus is on the device. I scanned the one I have and AVAST did not find any virus... SO I went to Virscan.org to see what vendors found what and the results are here and here.
This product has been available since 2007 at Walmart yet they are still selling the product 1 year later. How can they continue to sell a product when there is a virus on the device? Can we sue the vendor for actively distributing a virus on a device when they should have had sufficient amount of time to remove the product from the market?
193949
submission
Eileen writes:
Remember those days when you could get a free Unix shell account and learn all about the command line? You still can at the Super Dimension Fortress (SDF). SDF is celebrating its 20th birthday on June 16.
Full press release text:
The SDF Public Access UNIX System Celebrates 20 Years!
http://sdf.lonestar.org
It was on June 16th, 1987 that the SDF-1 received its first caller at
300bps. This little Apple ][e BBS of the late 80s turned into a Public
Access UNIX System with the demise of "killer.dallas.tx.us" during the
"Operation Sundevil" raids. Since then it has grown to become the oldest
and largest continually operating PUBNIX on the planet.
Over the years SDF has been a home to 2+ million people from all over
the world and has been supported by donations and membership dues. SDFers
pride themselves on the fact that theirs is one of the last bastions of
"the real INTERNET", out of the reach and scope of the commercialism and
advertising of the DOT COM entities. It is a proponent of SMTP greylisting
as opposed to content filtering and offers that as an option to its members.
While access to basic services are free to everyone, lifetime membership
can be obtained for a mere onetime donation of $36. And it is the members
who decide which programs and features are available. The members
communicate via a web free, google inaccessible, text bulletin board
('bboard') as well as an interactive chat ('com') where users battle each
other in the integrated netris matches. The interface of these programs
harks back to the days when TOPS-20 CMD J-SYS ruled the ARPANET.
SDF has also become home to well known hackers such as Bill Gosper,
Tom Ellard (Severed Heads), Geoff Goodfellow, Carolyn Meinel and Ezra
Buchla, son of the father of the Synthesizer. From this pool of talent
you might expect more than just computing, and you'd be correct. An
annual music compilation is published featuring original music ranging
from electronic noise to improvised piano sonatinas. Gosper's puzzles
which he has cut at his favorite laser shop are frequently given away as
membership perks or through fundraising raffles.
There are always classes being taught on SDF as well, where instructors
and students enjoy free access to the latest teaching and programming
tools. Instructors manage their own classes in such a way as not
to be encumbered by their own school's outdated utilities or computer
security restrictions, which can hamper the learning process.
And where else would you expect to be able to locally dialup at 1200bps
from just about anywhere in the USA and Canada with a Commodore 64 and
get a login prompt? SDF! As well as direct login, SDF offers PPP and
PPPoE via analogue dialup (1200bps — 56kbps), ISDN and DSL. Members also
have access to the SDF VPN (Virtual Private Network) and Dynamic Domain
Name Service.
One of the many interesting and esoteric aspects of life on the SDF-1
is GOPHER. All users have access to their own GOPHER space and a
number of them continue to find it a useful way to share text and data.
And if you don't want to relive that past, SDF's 'motd.org' project
offers a collaboration amongst members to share source and security tweaks
for the latest wikis, web forums, photo galleries and blogs.
SDF runs NetBSD on a cluster of 12 DEC alphas with 3 BGP'ed T1s linking
it to the INTERNET. It is an annual supporter of the NetBSD foundation
and the Computer History Museum (CA). One of its original incarnations,
an AT&T 3B2/500, is displayed annually at the Vintage Computer Festival.
108247
submission
Elton Gray writes:
Don't bet on Apple loosening the shackles off its much-lauded iPhone operating system (OS) — even if it means this could broaden the device's appeal to developers and mobile device users.
"Apple has a history of seeking to control its development environment, thus limiting access to the iPhone OS would enable it to maintain this approach," Gavin Byrne, research analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail interview.
While analysts have described the iPhone as a major achievement in industrial design, doubts still linger over how much flexibility Apple will give to programmers.
62132
submission
PreacherTom writes:
In the age of watches that have more computational power than Apollo 11's computer, one would think that the watchmaker has gone the way of the cobbler, the blacksmith and the Dodo. Quite the contrary. With the rise in interest for mechanical watches (especially luxury models), Rolex has sponsored a new school to train horologists in the arcane art. "We were facing a situation today where we needed to foster a new generation of watchmakers," says Charles Berthiaume, the senior vice-president for technical operations at Rolex and the Technicum's president "Thirty to 40 years ago, there was a watchmaker at every jewelry store. That's not the case today," he notes. Included are some remarkable examples of their training, dedication, and intricate patience as they take technology in an entirely different direction.
62082
submission
pragueexpat writes:
Do we have free will? Apparently not, according to an article in the new issue of the Economist. Entitled "Free to choose?", the shocker is this sentence: "The British government, though, is seeking to change the law in order to lock up people with personality disorders that are thought to make them likely to commit crimes, before any crime is committed."
62054
submission
Exter-C writes:
2006 was the year that a large amount of people started to talk Ubuntu as a possible contender for the Enterprise Linux desktop. There are several key issues that have to be raised, Is Ubuntu/Canonical really capable of maintaining Dapper Drake (6.06 LTS) for 5 years? I know this is not a new question but the evidence 6 months on seems to be negative. A case in point is the 4-5+ day delay for Critical updates to packages like Firefox. Can Ubuntu/Canonical really compete with the likes of Redhat (RHSA-2006:0758) that had the patches available the day that the updates came out? Given that such a large percentage of people use their desktop systems on the web critical browser vulnerabilities seem to be the corner stone of a secure desktop environment (user stupidity excluded).
