Comment 4.4 song (Score 2, Informative) 235
Here's the song with lyrics for this release:
4.4: "Trial of the BSD Knights"
http://www.openbsd.org/lyrics.html#44
Sprint's Xohm WiMax Network Debuts In Baltimore, Works Well 86
bsk_cw writes "Sprint's newly launched Xohm service is now offering America's first WiMax network. Computerworld's Brian Nadel went to Baltimore to try it out, and he reports that Xohm delivered data smoothly to a car moving at highway speeds, played YouTube videos flawlessly, and on average, pushed through more than 3Mbit/sec., compared with 1.3 Mbit/sec. for the AT&T network Brian used as a comparison. But right now, coverage is only planned in a few US cities; if Sprint isn't able to ramp up its coverage quickly, it may lose its advantage."
Berners-Lee Speaks Out Against DRM, Advocates Net Neutrality 187
narramissic writes "Speaking before the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, Tim Berners-Lee advocated for net neutrality, saying that the Web deserves 'special treatment' as a communications medium to protect its nondiscriminatory approach to content. Berners-Lee's more controversial statements came on the topic of DRM, in which he suggested that instead of DRM, copyright holders should provide information on how to legally use online material, allowing users the opportunity 'to do the right thing.' This led to an odd exchange with Representative Mary Bono who compared Berner-Lee's suggestion to 'having a speed limit but not enforcing the speed limit.'"
Submission + - Biggest computing disaster ever
xiox writes: "Private Eye magazine contains a comprehensive report detailing the horrifying background to the wasting of £12.4 billion of public money on an unnecessary and useless central bureaucratic computer system for the UK's National Health Service. This could have paid for 26,000 doctors over 10 years. While the full report is not available online, NHS Blog Doctor details some of the findings.
Those of us working within the NHS have long been aware of the futility and waste of this IT system. The details that emerge from the Private Eye report reveal a tale of incompetence and greed that beggars belief. Incompetence on the part of the government, and greed on the part of some of the contractors, two of whom are named by the report. Both made personal profits of over £20 million on the back of inflated share sales and illusory profits generated by Enron style accounting.
"
Comparison of Working at the 3 Big Search Giants 179
castironwok writes "Finally, everything you've ever wanted to know about being an employee at Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. Tastyresearch describes his (or her) past few years interning and working at the three companies. Things I didn't know from before: Bill Gates wears old shoes, Google's internal security watches you like a hawk, the office styles of each company, and how to fill your suitcase with Google T-shirts. He calls the few select companies the 'prestigious internship circle', noting 'once you have worked at one, it's a lot easier to get into another'."
Submission + - Is Delphi the next Database dev platform.. again?
santakrooz writes: Delphi's always been known as a solid database application development platform, it just had it's 12th birthday on Valentines day, and now the Delphi guys are coming up with a completely new database architecture. The interesting thing is that it's backward compatible, insanely extensible, single sourced between .NET and Wintel native code, and... and written completely in Delphi. Ok I know Delphi's written in Delphi and there are "wow" apps out there written in Delphi like Skype that Delphi guys always like to mention, there was a loosely supported Linux version, so my question is, what can't you do in Delphi? Or a better question is... what have Slashdot readers written in Delphi?
Submission + - Nenest Web Application Framework
Tony Y. writes: "Nenest (http://www.nenest.com) is a web platform which enables anyone to create online software support databases. Users use Nenest Form Builder to create online forms, then use those form to collect, organize and store data. Those data can be secure for internal employees or members accessing only; or published to public by using social networking tools, including RSS feeds, Digg, del.icio.us and Sphere."
Submission + - BSD Stackable Filesystem Series I
jasonrfink00 writes: "Nice beginning article of a promising BSD series:
The nullfs filesystem is a passthrough filesystem. When nullfs is mounted it — literally copies the filesystem transaction. If a file is deleted, nullfs simply transmits the information down to the lower filesystem. Conversely, if a file is created, it does the same and tacks on all of the data needed for the filesystem underneath. Why is that a good thing? Where did nullfs come from and why?. What else, if anything, is it good for? The series focuses on where nullfs comes from, how it can be leveraged, a code walk and a skeloten implementation (nearly a blind copy).
link."
Submission + - Estimating custom software development cost
GL82 writes: As a student studying CS right now, we came across the subject of estimating software development cost. Out of curiosity, what kind of methods (eg. function points, use case points, COCOMO, and others) do you or your company used to estimate the cost required to develop the software for your clients (after you have complete a fairly comphrensive specification)? My question is directed toward custom software development, but methods for development of software product is also welcome. Also, how well does your method works? If you found out later that your number are way far, then what techniques do you use when re-negotiating with your clients about the pricing or scope of the projects?
Google's Growing Love For the Mac 222
An anonymous reader writes "While browsing the 2007 Macworld speaker bios, I found an interesting Google+Mac piece of news. Looks like Google has appointed the famous Amit Singh in charge of their Mac Engineering (also confirmed on Singh's website). While Google generally seems to lag behind in Safari compatibility they have been offering some native Mac software. We earlier heard Google CEO Eric Schmidt's joining Apple's board of directors. Then following Microsoft MacBU's lead, Google started their own Mac Blog a few weeks earlier. Google's jobs website also lists several Mac openings. If Singh's technical expertise and history of OS X wizardry any indication, we can hope for some cool Mac software from Google. Also wondering if all this is just Google's response to Apple's market growth or maybe a more serious partnership is coming? ;-)"
IE7 Blocking Google Image Search? 253
An anonymous reader writes, "I just tried a Google Image Search in IE7 for the first time. Whenever I click on an image, my browser tells me in big bold letters, "This is a reported phishing website." Try it yourself: make sure automatic phishing detection is turned on and do an (adorable) image search; click on one of the result thumbnails. MSN Live Image Search has no such issues. Insert Microsoft evil conspiracy theory here." I get this behavior under IE7, Win XP Pro, SP2, Parallels, Mac OS X.
Slashdot's Vastu 386
nanopolitan writes "Wired has a story on harmonious website design according to Vastu, 'the Indian counterpart of feng shui'. The graphic accompanying the story has an analysis of Slashdot's design by Dr. Smita Narang. Her verdict? This site is 'in desperate need of balance'." From the article: "Thirty-year-old Smita Narang is rapidly becoming one of India's hottest Web designers. Her method: applying vastu shastra, the Indian counterpart of feng shui, to the online realm. The process entails mapping page attributes - HTML, colors, graphics - to elements like fire, water, and air. 'Any disturbance of these established elements can cause an imbalance in the site that directly affects its business,' Narang says."
YouTube Removed 30,000 Japanese Videos from Site 265
Grooves writes "YouTube has been asked to remove almost 30,000 videos from their site, according to reports. The Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) found 29,549 videos on the site that had materials contained in them that where not authorized by rights holders. From the article, 'A spokesperson for that organization said that they were considering petitioning YouTube for a better screening process. Although YouTube is legally obligated to remove infringing material when notified, some copyright holders have expressed irritation at the notion that they need to police YouTube themselves.' Now that Google's is attached to the site, will events like this become more commonplace?"
Study Shows Good With Math Means Bad With People 479
Sylentmode writes "A recent study by Brookings Institution's Brown Center shows that students who are good with math are less likely to be happy, and are likely to have low confidence.
From the article "In essence, happiness is overrated" says study author Tom Loveless.
I wonder if Loveless is just a nickname, because he is so good with math."
IE7 Toolbar Mayhem 296
nikostheater writes "A user called anyweb tried to infect IE7 with as many toolbars as possible and it's interesting to see what happens and how secure IE7 is.." This is funny if only for the screenshot of a browser window with like 80% of the screen covered with toolbars.
