Feed Numbers Are Out on How Rich the YouTube Deal Was (nytimes.com)
The biggest windfalls went to YouTube’s three founders and its main financial backer, Sequoia Capital.
Journal Journal: Interviews + unqualified applicants = AAAAAAAARGH!!!! 1
OK so we're trying to staff up. This is good. Looking for strong Unix guys with a very well defined job description handed out to headhunters. The market is apparently tight. That, is _not_ good, at least from our perspective. Yesterday, I lost an hour or so of my life that I'll never get back. Let's see.
Submission + - Genes Linked to Teen Delinquency
sporkme writes: "An Australian study has found a link between antisocial behavior and specific genes, independent of parents' emotional influence.
The study was published in the journal Child Development, which is available by subscription.""Our data shows that marital conflict is not a major culprit," said epidemiologist Nick Martin, from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research. "Rows have often been blamed for ratbag behaviour but we've got no evidence to suggest that they are the problem." Researchers, including several from the US, studied 1,045 pairs of twins and their children to see whether the link between parental fighting and kids' conduct problems was genetic or environmental. They found that children of an identical twin had the same levels of behavioural problems regardless of whether it was their parent or their parent's identical sibling that had marital rows.
Submission + - RIAA to Apple: Spread the DRM!
Kalriath writes: Posted at The Register is the RIAA's official response to Steve Jobs open letter decrying DRM and asking the recording industry to seriously consider allowing DRM-free music. They have this to say about it:
The RIAA has seized on the weakest part of Steve Jobs' anti-DRM manifesto by banging on Apple to license its FairPlay technology to other companies.
"Apple's offer to license FairPlay to other technology companies is a welcome breakthrough and would be a real victory for fans, artists and labels," the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) said. "There have been many services seeking a licence to the Apple DRM. This would enable the interoperability that we have been urging for a very long time."
The section in question from Steves letter, which quite clearly states the problems with this approach reads:"Apple's offer to license FairPlay to other technology companies is a welcome breakthrough and would be a real victory for fans, artists and labels," the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) said. "There have been many services seeking a licence to the Apple DRM. This would enable the interoperability that we have been urging for a very long time."
The second alternative is for Apple to license its FairPlay DRM technology to current and future competitors with the goal of achieving interoperability between different company's players and music stores. On the surface, this seems like a good idea since it might offer customers increased choice now and in the future. And Apple might benefit by charging a small licensing fee for its FairPlay DRM.
However, when we look a bit deeper, problems begin to emerge. The most serious problem is that licensing a DRM involves disclosing some of its secrets to many people in many companies, and history tells us that inevitably these secrets will leak. The Internet has made such leaks far more damaging, since a single leak can be spread worldwide in less than a minute. Such leaks can rapidly result in software programs available as free downloads on the Internet which will disable the DRM protection so that formerly protected songs can be played on unauthorized players.
Jobs may be a smooth talker, but against such circular logic, even he can't win.
However, when we look a bit deeper, problems begin to emerge. The most serious problem is that licensing a DRM involves disclosing some of its secrets to many people in many companies, and history tells us that inevitably these secrets will leak. The Internet has made such leaks far more damaging, since a single leak can be spread worldwide in less than a minute. Such leaks can rapidly result in software programs available as free downloads on the Internet which will disable the DRM protection so that formerly protected songs can be played on unauthorized players.
Microsoft Slugs Mac Users With Vista Tax 661
An anonymous reader writes "Mac users wanting to run Vista on their Macintosh, alongside Mac OS X programs, will have to buy an expensive version of Vista if they want to legally install it on their systems. The end-user license agreement for the cheaper versions of Vista (Home Basic and Home Premium) explicitly forbids the use of those versions on virtual machines (i.e., Macs pretending to be PCs)." Update: 02/08 17:50 GMT by KD : A number of readers have pointed out that the Vista EULA does not forbid installing it via Apple's Bootcamp; that is, the "tax" only applies to running Vista under virtualization.
Submission + - Gmail becomes more widely available
jay2000 writes: "Google Inc.'s e-mail service is almost ready to accept all comers, nearly three years after the online search leader shook up the Internet by offering users an unprecedented amount of free storage and displaying ads based on the content of the correspondence. Effective Wednesday, the Mountain View-based company removed the invitation-only restrictions on its Gmail service in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Brazil. Google opened up the service last year in several other parts of the world, including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and Egypt.
http://jayed.us/2007/02/07/gmail-becomes-more-wide ly-available/"
Submission + - Vote on the next great Linux application
Morel writes: "Linux Format Magazine and Novell have launched a very interesting
competition called Make
it With Mono. Basically, we are being given the opportunity
to finally have that Linux aplication we've always wanted. From the
competition description: "On this site you can submit a description for
a program you'd love to use, and if other users rate it to the top,
your program idea will be written in Mono!" Predictably, some of the
apps submitted are too vague, too specific to appeal to a wide audience
or replicate existing programs, but there are some absolute jewels,
too. Slashdotters of the globe, let's stop our complaining and
choose the next killer app!"
Study Show Link Between IT Sabotage, Work Behavior 325
narramissic writes "According to recent research by the U.S. military and CERT, workers who sabotage corporate systems are almost always IT workers who are disgruntled, paranoid, generally show up late, argue with colleagues, and generally perform poorly."
Submission + - EMC announces VMware IPO
VirtualizationDork writes: EMC announced that it plans to spin out approximately 10% of its share of VMware — one of virtualization's leading vendors — in an initial public offering (IPO) that should close this summer.
From the article:
"Speaking from VMware's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., Joe Tucci, EMC Chairman and CEO, said that "VMware's growth has been phenomenal," and that the IPO move was an attempt to "expose this value to EMC shareholders."
EMC purchased VMware in 2004 for $625 million. VMware reported revenues of $709 million in $2006, with Q4 revenue jumping 101% year-over-year. VMware is currently on a $900 million run rate."
Alex Barrett has the story at SearchServerVirtualization.com
From the article:
"Speaking from VMware's headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif., Joe Tucci, EMC Chairman and CEO, said that "VMware's growth has been phenomenal," and that the IPO move was an attempt to "expose this value to EMC shareholders."
EMC purchased VMware in 2004 for $625 million. VMware reported revenues of $709 million in $2006, with Q4 revenue jumping 101% year-over-year. VMware is currently on a $900 million run rate."
Alex Barrett has the story at SearchServerVirtualization.com
Submission + - Valve Delays Half-Life 2 Black and Orange Again.
Dr. Eggman writes: In a move surpising very few, Valve Corporation has announced that for the second time, Half-Life 2 Black and Orange boxes have been delayed. The new date is set for "Fall 2007." The previous target date was "late summer." No reason has been given for the delay, but Valve has reaffirmed that this will be a simultaneous worldwide release on all previously announced platforms.
Submission + - EverQuest II's Station Exchange: Year One
njkid1 writes: "SOE developed Station Exchange as an alternative to third-party sources. While sanctioned and ultimately safer than such sources, SOE still came under flack for the experiment. Despite potential pitfalls, a report by White Paper shows success and $1.87 million worth of auctions.
http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=1519 1&ncid=AOLGAM000500000000007"
RIAA Victim Wins Attorney's Fees 171
VE3OGG writes "Debbie Foster, one of the many caught-up in the RIAA's drift-net attacks who was sued back in 2004 has recently seen yet another victory. After having the suit dropped against her "with prejudice" several months back, Foster filed a counter-claim, and has just been awarded "reasonable" attorney's fees. Could this, in conjunction with cases such as Santangelo, show a turning of the tide against the RIAA?"
Submission + - Charity Auction For A Cameo Role In Halo 3
Karn Spydar Lee Bianco writes: Hollywood Arts are offering one lucky individual the chance to have their voice recorded for Master Chief's third and final outing in Halo 3.
http://www.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/11163/title/C harity_Auction_For_A_Cameo_Role_In_Halo_3.html
Submission + - Is the Global Warming Debate Buggy?
DanielMarkham writes: "Is there something basically wrong with the way we're discussing Global Warming? I've been a reader and sometime contributor on Slashdot for many years, and I'm really amazed at the level of discussion that's going on regarding androcentric climate change.
Aside from the question of the status of the issue, what's the status of the discourse? Are we talking about the role that skepticism plays in science? The basic premise of falsifiability? The relationships between theory and observation? The triad of induction, abduction, and deduction that Pierce wrote about? Has slashdot taken a look at the mathematical and computer models involved with various predictions? Or are we throwing rhetorical rocks at one another and angling for the cheap shot?
To address this, and to stir the pot some, I've written a blog article critiquing the current level of debate. I believe the level of debate sucks — it's more like a drunken european crowd at a soccer game than a bunch of science-minded analytical geeks. We can do better than that."
Aside from the question of the status of the issue, what's the status of the discourse? Are we talking about the role that skepticism plays in science? The basic premise of falsifiability? The relationships between theory and observation? The triad of induction, abduction, and deduction that Pierce wrote about? Has slashdot taken a look at the mathematical and computer models involved with various predictions? Or are we throwing rhetorical rocks at one another and angling for the cheap shot?
To address this, and to stir the pot some, I've written a blog article critiquing the current level of debate. I believe the level of debate sucks — it's more like a drunken european crowd at a soccer game than a bunch of science-minded analytical geeks. We can do better than that."
Google Apps to Become Paid Service 273
FredDC writes "Business Week reports Google Apps is becoming a paid service soon for companies who wish to use it for their domain. Disney and Pixar are reportedly thinking about switching to Google Apps instead of using Microsoft Office. Could this be the end of a monopoly? Or the start of a new one?"
