wolfb - Slashdot User

Largest Aussie ISP Agrees To "Ridiculous" Net-Filter Trial 231

Posted by timothy on Tuesday November 11, 2008 @09:56AM from the may-you-get-what-you-desire dept.

Klootzak writes "Michael Malone, head of Australia's largest ISP iiNet announced today that his company would sign up to the Government's live trials of the Great Firewall of Australia. In an article published by The Age, Mr Malone is quoted calling Stephen Conroy 'The worst Communications Minister we've had in the 15 years since the [internet] industry has existed.' Despite at first giving the impression that iiNet is rolling over like a good Government puppy the article quotes Mr Malone saying that the reasons for participating in this trial is to show how unfeasible and stupid it is — Quoted from the article: 'Every time a kid manages to get through this filter, we'll be publicizing it and every time it blocks legitimate content, we'll be publicizing it.' Let's hope that in typical fashion of government-instigated Internet-filtering that this stupid idea is just as useless, inefficient and ineffectual as the last one, and that the Australian Government realizes this before wasting more taxpayer dollars on it (seeing as the first attempt only cost taxpayers $84,000,000)."

Optical Fiber With a Silicon Core 60

Posted by timothy on Wednesday October 29, 2008 @03:43PM from the now-that-ain't-in-leviticus dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "According to the Optical Society of America, U.S. researchers have been able to create a practical optical fiber with a silicon core. As they were able to use the same commercial methods that are used to develop all-glass fibers, this might pave the way for future silicon fibers as viable alternatives to glass fibers. The scientists note that this should help increase efficiency and decrease power consumption in computers and other systems that integrate photonic and electronic devices. Here is a good summary by the lead researcher: 'In the past, we've needed one structure to process light and another to carry it. With a silicon fiber, for the first time, we have the ability to greatly enhance the functionality in one fiber.'"

World Bank Under Cybersiege In "Unprecedented Crisis" 377

Posted by kdawson on Friday October 10, 2008 @12:34PM from the wolf-really dept.

JagsLive sends in a Fox News report on large-scale and possibly ongoing security breaches at the World Bank. "The World Bank Group's computer network — one of the largest repositories of sensitive data about the economies of every nation — has been raided repeatedly by outsiders for more than a year, FOX News has learned. It is still not known how much information was stolen. But sources inside the bank confirm that servers in the institution's highly-restricted treasury unit were deeply penetrated with spy software last April. Invaders also had full access to the rest of the bank's network for nearly a month in June and July. In total, at least six major intrusions — two of them using the same group of IP addresses originating from China — have been detected at the World Bank since the summer of 2007, with the most recent breach occurring just last month. In a frantic midnight e-mail to colleagues, the bank's senior technology manager referred to the situation as an 'unprecedented crisis.' In fact, it may be the worst security breach ever at a global financial institution. And it has left bank officials scrambling to try to understand the nature of the year-long cyber-assault, while also trying to keep the news from leaking to the public." Update: 10/11 01:15 GMT by T : Massive spyware infestations might be good cause to reevaluate the TCO of non-Windows systems on the desktop.

Comment Re:"Digital Ready" headphones -- for digital ears? (Score 1) 393

by wolfb on Monday December 13, 2004 @02:13PM (#11073848) Attached to: Truth in Advertising?

I don't know what these amps do. I distinctly remember reading an article that mentioned using the speakers themselves as the filters, but that was years ago. I can't find it now.

It is possible the article referred to a specific amp/speaker comination that was tuned, or just matched to work together. Most crossovers already have low pass filters on woofers and midrange, so that may not have been a concern, and as you say, some tweeters may not need the filter at all.

On the other hand, I suspect you're correct, and these amps probably do have some low pass output filter. The filters would make the amps safer, and more predictable, and there is probably no good reason against having them.

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