Comment There are tools that can help (Score 3, Insightful) 451
It's a real shame that email encryption never really hit the mainstream.
Comment George Szell would not approve (Score 1) 1
There is a story about the famous conductor George Szell, who once while conducting looked down at one of the cellists and said, "Madame, God has seen fit to put that beautiful instrument between your legs and all you can do is scratch it."
I feel a little like this when I see Windows booting up on a Mac. If the question is, 'who's to blame,' the answer is users who run Windows on a Mac and corporate goons who can't or won't figure out how to allow OS X to work within their infrastructure.
Submission + - Windows drains MacBook's battery: who to blame? (computerworld.com) 1
ericatcw writes: "Users hoping that Windows 7's arrival will mean less power drain on their MacBook laptops may be disappointed, writes Computerworld. Running Windows 7 in Boot Camp caused one CNET reviewer's battery life to fall by more than two-thirds. But virtualization software such as VMware Fusion suffer from the same complaints. Some blame Apple's Boot Camp drivers (the last ones were released in April 2008), others lay the blame at Windows' bloated codebase. With Apple and Microsoft both trying to avoid responsibility for improving the experience, that may mean Windows 7's reported improvements in power management will be moot for MacBook users for awhile."
Comment Re:Serious question (Score 1) 352
Not at all--it is GCI. More importantly, the reason I am still with them is that I, like many, many people, live in a market with no serious competition. That is the real problem.
To be fair, their service, other that this REALLY annoying DNS business has been decent.
Comment Re:Serious question (Score 4, Informative) 352
My ISP does this. They also have an 'opt-out' option, but you know what that does? It still doesn't send an NXDOMAIN response like it should. Instead it redirects me to a site that is serving the standard windows site-not-found page. A horrifying experience for this mac/linux user.
So I set up my own DNS server, which fixed the problem and sped up my internet connection since the ISP's DNS server was really slow.
Comment Focusing too much on the minutia? (Score 4, Insightful) 73
I understand slashdot's obsession with the RI...really I do. But, don't you think stories like this that aren't really even news are getting a little too much attention? There is no decision, no new case, no new theory--not even the filing of an amicus curiae brief, just a petition to file an amicus curiae brief. Next we'll be hearing what the lawyers are eating for lunch.
Comment No more routers...think of the children (Score 5, Funny) 196
I'm sure nobody here would argue with me if I suggested that the internet would be a much safer place without routers.
Comment Just boycott the asses pleases (Score 5, Insightful) 339
Please, if you use one of the ISPs in this program, send a very strong message and dump them as soon as the filters go live. Tell them that you are quite capable, thank you very much, of filtering your own content.
I guarantee that if this gains traction it will not stop at porn. Welcome back to the Middle Ages.
Comment Let's teach kids to make hardware mods early (Score 5, Funny) 167
Seriously.
1. phillips head screwdriver (to open case)
2. wire cutter (to cut leads to switch)
3. wire nut (to short circuit around switch)
4. profit?
The really clever kids will find a way to install a software patch that makes any game say "Show us your tits!" every time the button is pressed.
When I was a kid, my parents had a 'red button' called a leather belt. It was much harder to hack.
Euro Parliament Wants "Red Button" For Shutting Down Games 167
GamePolitics writes "The European Parliament has actually requested that red, panic-style buttons be set up for use by parents whose children play online games. The buttons would allow the parents to quickly shut the game down should something inappropriate occur. Wouldn't the old-school on-off switch work just as well?"
To be fair, the report isn't entirely crazy; it says games "can also be used for educational and medical purposes," and acknowledges that the "presence of violence in video games does not automatically lead to violent behaviour."
Comment Standards (Score 4, Interesting) 319
I don't really care about their tabs, 'Awesome Address and Search Bars,' privacy or really anything else while they still only score 20 on the Acid3 Web standards test. IE has historically been such a pain in the ass for the entire world because of poor adherence to standards. The article says Microsoft takes standards seriously but the test says otherwise.
Leopard Claims Half the Japanese OS Market In October 256
hoagiecat writes "Is Apple like all those bands who claim to be "huge in Japan"? Leopard accounted for 53 percent of boxed operating systems sold in Japan in October — even though it was only on sale for the last six days of the month. 'The software went on sale worldwide on Oct. 26 with sales kicking off at 6 p.m. local time in each country. Users in New Zealand and Australia got their hands on Leopard first, but Tokyo saw the first launch at an Apple retail store. About 200 people lined up in light rain to buy the software at Apple's store in the ritzy Ginza district of Tokyo. Lines also formed at other Apple stores across the country and at major electronics retailers, where special events were held to mark the start of sales. Combined with other sales of other operating systems including Tiger, Apple had an overall 60.7 percent share of the market in October -- that's a big jump from the 15.5 percent share it had in September, which was itself the highest share Apple had managed to get so far in 2007. '"
Submission + - Wikileaks releases Guantanmo "bible" (wikileaks.org)
James Hardine writes: Wikileaks has released the Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) standard operating procedures (SOP) for Camp Delta (Guantanamo Bay). This is the primary document for the operation of Guantanamo bay, including the securing and treatment of detainees. The document is extensive and includes, in addition to its text various forms, identity cards and even burial diagrams. It is signed by Major Miller, who Donald Rumsfeld later sent to Abu Ghraib with instructions to "Gitmoize it". The document is the subject of an ongoing legal action between the ACLU, who has been trying to obtain the document and the Department of Defense, who has "witheld it in full". ACLU 0. DoD 0. Wikileaks 1
Submission + - Madeleine L'Engle, 1918 - 2007
mosel-saar-ruwer writes: Madeleine L'Engle Camp Franklin passed away, on Sept. 6, aged 88, at Rose Haven nursing home, in Litchfield, Connecticut. Even before we discovered Tolkien, CS Lewis, or Robert Heinlein, many /.-ers' first exposure to Science Fiction and Fantasy was surely L'Engle's 1962 novel, A Wrinkle in Time. The Washington Post has an obituary, and the New York Post's John Podhoretz relates his childhood memories of life at 924 West End Avenue with Mr. & Mrs. Franklin.
Submission + - Amazon's new e-book reader scheduled for October?
Mrs. Grundy writes: "The New York Times is reporting that Amazon is on track to release its new e-book reader, the Kindle next month. Like Sony's reader it will use an e-ink screen, but it will include wireless network connectivity, a keyboard, and a web browser. It will also be tied to an Amazon e-book store which critics have complained use a proprietary e-book format from Mobipocket (an Amazon subsidiary) rather than an open format. Some photos leaked last year make it look a little like a device from 1985, but maybe they've updated the design since then."
