Deideldorfer - Slashdot User

Submission + - Microsoft deprecating some OOXML functionality (fanaticattack.com)

Submitted by

christian.einfeldt

on Thursday December 27, 2007 @10:36PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "According to open standards advocate Russell Ossendryver, Microsoft will be deprecating certain functionality in its Microsoft Office Open XML specification. Ossendryver says the move is an attempt to quiet critics of the specification in the run up to the crucial February vote as to whether Microsoft OOXML will be included as a second standard for e-documents, along with the existing ODF ISO standard. ECMA, the Microsoft-led industry standards group formally offering OOXML to ISO, confirms in a 21 December 2007 announcement that issues related to the "leap year bug", VML, compatibility settings such as "AutoSpaceLikeWord95" and others will be "extracted from the main specification and relocated to an independent annex in DIS 29500 for deprecated functionality." Ossendryver is not convinced that deprecation will work, calling the deprecation proposal a 'smoke screen' and a 'bomb disguised as a standard' because 'every application will need to support the deprecated features in order to read files with the deprecated features.' Ossendryver also points out that legacy formatted Microsoft Office documents will still remain non-standard under the new proposal for deprecation."

Submission + - Vista more secure than MacOS 10.4

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 01, 2007 @01:13PM

An anonymous reader writes: Macworld has an article up about security in MacOS 10.4, in which they post an email interview with Dino Dai Zovi, the New York-based security researcher who took home $10,000 in the highly-publicized MacBook Pro hijack on April 20. From the interview:

From your research on both platforms, is there a winner between Mac OS X 10.4 and Vista on security? I have found the code quality, at least in terms of security, to be much better overall in Vista than MacOS 10.4. It is obvious from observing affected components in security patches that Microsoft's Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) has resulted in fewer vulnerabilities in newly-written code. I hope that more software vendors follow their lead in developing proactive software security development methodologies.

I recommend that Mac users make their primary user a non-admin account, use a separate keychain for important passwords, and store sensitive documents in a separate encrypted disk image. I think these are fairly straightforward steps that many users can take to better protect their sensitive information on their computer.

Submission + - DARPA Working on Spidey Sense for Soldiers

Submitted by anti-human 1 on Tuesday May 01, 2007 @12:56PM

anti-human 1 writes: Via Wired:
A new optics system being developed brings a novel approach to threat detection.

The most far-reaching component of the binocs has nothing to do with the optics: it's Darpa's aspirations to integrate EEG electrodes that monitor the wearer's neural signals, cueing soldiers to recognize targets faster than the unaided brain could on its own. The idea is that EEG can spot "neural signatures" for target detection before the conscious mind becomes aware of a potential threat or target.[...] In other words, like Spiderman's "spider sense," a soldier could be alerted to danger that his or her brain had sensed, but not yet had time to process.
Seems even DARPA is trying to ride the hype wave these days, I guess.

Submission + - Hotmail hard filters with no warning

Submitted by kurmudgeon on Tuesday May 01, 2007 @12:45PM

kurmudgeon writes: The Register is reporting that Hotmail blocks emails from entire domains with no warning to either sender or intended recipient and there is apparently little either party can do to fix it. Exasperated server admins report getting the run-around from Hotmail support people, who have confirmed a filtering technology called SmartScreen hard filters the domains, but they refuse to say why, saying the disclosure would allow spammers to circumvent the measure. Is this another sign that the net's email infrastructure is crumbling under the crushing weight of spam?

Submission + - Brain Powered Toys

Submitted by

phyrebyrd

on Tuesday May 01, 2007 @12:19PM

phyrebyrd writes: "Next generation games could use biofeedback to enhance the playability of upcoming games. Technology currently being developed by NeuroSky and other startups is at the heart of this exciting new possibility.

From the article:

"Adding biofeedback to "Tiger Woods PGA Tour," for instance, could mean that only those players who muster Zen-like concentration could nail a put. In the popular first-person shooter "Grand Theft Auto," players who become nervous or frightened would have worse aim than those who remain relaxed and focused.""

Submission + - It's Time for a World-Wide I.T. Workers Union

Submitted by bumbaclaat on Tuesday May 01, 2007 @11:59AM

bumbaclaat writes: Today is May 1st, also known as International Labor Day. For years, people have been calling for the I.T. Workers of the world to unite and form a unified labor union. I.T. workers should form a union for the same reason that workers have always formed unions: together we have more power to improve the terms and conditions of our employment than we do as individuals. This is a call to action to the world-wide IT worker community to become involved in the creation of a central International I.T. Workers Union that will represent the interests of I.T. Workers around the world.

Submission + - "The Secret" Tested

Submitted by

PhilBowermaster

on Monday March 19, 2007 @10:12AM

PhilBowermaster writes: "As of this morning, The Secret is the #2 ranked book on Amazon.com, lagging behind only the new Harry Potter. As featured recently on Oprah and spoofed even more recently on SNL, The Secret purports to reveal the long-guarded principle that lies behind all human achievement.

Here we assert that a widespread test of The Secret has already taken place, with somewhat disappointing results."

Submission + - Companies Asked to Donate Unused Patents

Submitted by Radon360 on Monday March 19, 2007 @08:40AM

Radon360 writes: There are countless patents that are promising but sitting idle, stowed in the corporate fileroom. In fact, about 90 percent to 95 percent of all patents are idle. Countless patents sit unused when companies decide not to develop them into products. Now, not-for-profit groups and state governments are asking companies to donate dormant patents so they can be passed to local entrepreneurs who try to build businesses out of them.

Could such a measure lead to more innovation or just another means for companies to receive a tax break by unloading useless patents?

The Business Case for Open Source Software 158

Posted by Zonk on Monday March 19, 2007 @07:11AM from the exciting-time-to-like-penguins dept.

An anonymous reader writes "An InfoWorld blog entry makes a business case for open source software, and attempts to explain the business benefits of OSS to management and business owners. The primary benefits the piece uses to argue in favor of OSS include no licensing fees, and no license keys. The article also argues that OSS results in freedom from 'ownership' by software vendors. 'Never again will you fear the BSA (Business Software Alliance) knocking on your door wanting to perform a software audit. The BSA even takes out advertisements on Google search pages for and up to $200,000 reward a disgruntled ex-employee can receive for reporting your company to the BSA! That's quite a powerful motivator...'"

Gas-Powered Boots As Metaphor For Cold War 149

Posted by Zonk on Monday March 19, 2007 @06:29AM from the always-good-to-see-ye-olde-steampunk-technology dept.

News.com has a piece up looking at a set of gas-powered boots that were developed during the cold war. While the technology itself is interesting, article author Andrew Kramer uses it as a launching point for a discussion of Russia's technological stagnation during the cold war. Outside of military applications, many of the innovative ideas developed in the former USSR during the 80s and early 90s were left to rot on the drawing board. The boots were eventually brought to market, but failed sometime last year. They do, of course, also go into how the boots work: "Taking a step down will compress air in the shoe--as in a typical sneaker, said Enikeev, who was a designer on the project. But then, a tiny carburetor injects gasoline into the compressed air and a spark plug fires it off. Instead of fastening a seat belt, the institute's test runner, Marat D. Garipov, an assistant professor of engineering, strapped on shin belts at a recent demonstration. Then he flicked an ignition switch."

Feed Green Dream: Shrink-Wrapped Trash (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed on Monday March 19, 2007 @02:52AM

TransLoad America is building a new garbage disposal system that wraps refuse in plastic and moves it by rail. The ultimate goal? Turning landfills into fuel cells. By Alexander Gelfand.

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