Squirrelgirl - Slashdot User

Submission + - What Would You Do With $10000? 8

Submitted by on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:48PM

An anonymous reader writes: I have a US$10000 certificate of deposit which has recently reached maturity. Having no immediate need for this money, I was wondering if Slashdot readers had any suggestions regarding how I could invest this money in order to get the best rates of return possible. I'm looking for something I can deposit this money into with a guaranteed relatively high rate of return. Any suggestions for this geek with newfound income?

NZ Outfit Dumps Open Office For MS Office 581

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:38PM from the pull-of-the-dark-side dept.

(Score.5, Interestin writes "The NZ Automobile Association has just announced that it is dropping Open Office and switching back to MS Office. According to their CIO, 'Microsoft Office is not any cheaper, but it was almost impossible to work out what open-source was actually costing because of issues such as incompatibility and training.' In addition, 'you have no idea where open-source products are going, whereas vendors like Microsoft provide a roadmap for the future.'" About 500 seats are involved. MS conceded to letting Office users run the software at home as well.

Submission + - For those that can't wait for Harry

Submitted by Drivintin on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:31PM

Drivintin writes: WWTD.com is reporting that several sources are saying that an authentic copy of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" has hit the internet. Someone, maybe a hand model, has photographed every page of the much anticipated book and posted it on several torrent sites, notably Pirate Bay. It's not known who the source is or even if the book is truly genuine, but one clue that author JK Rowling gave was that "scar" would be the last word in the book. She later said it was changed to be one of the last words, and this copy of the book does have "scar" in the second to last sentence, the eleventh to last word.

Submission + - openMosix - Condition Terminal

Submitted by

jd

on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:29PM

jd writes: "Despite having one of the largest userbases of any clustering system for Linux, openMosix is to be shut down. Top developers have left and they lack the means or motivation to continue. Their official claim of multicore CPUs making clustering redundant is somewhere between highly improbable and totally absurd, as has been pointed out elsewhere.

Why is this shutdown so important? Well, from a technical standpoint, the open-source bproc (the Beowulf process migration module) is ancient, MOSIX is very hard to obtain unless you're a student and kerrighd is (as yet) immature. From a user standpoint, openMosix is the mainstay of the Open Source clustering world and has by far the best management tools of any. The ability of this project to continue will likely have a major impact on the future of Open Source in the high-end markets — if the best of the best couldn't survive, people will be more careful about anything less."

Submission + - STS-118 crew practice at Kennedy for August launch (itwire.com.au)

Submitted by

WaltonNews

on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:25PM

WaltonNews writes: "The crew of STS-118, the 119th space shuttle flight, arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, July 16, 2007, for several days of pre-flight practice."

Submission + - Heroic Ramparts (bosskilling.com)

Submitted by

rudeboy714

on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:19PM

rudeboy714 writes: "In-depth, heroic ramparts master pulling guidebook for world of warcraft."

Submission + - Platinum Arts Sandbox 3D Design Software For Kids (platinumarts.net)

Submitted by

Mike

on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:18PM

Mike writes: "Platinum Arts Sandbox is the sandbox game that is easy enough for kids to use but fun for everyone! Your imagination is the limit as far as worlds you can create. Kids and adults alike are finding sandbox a fun and easy tool to make worlds quickly and easily in real time! Download it at http://kids.platinumarts.net/ The project is to remain open source and free so that developers and kids can help add new content and features to help make Platinum Arts Sandbox the most fun and easy world creation tool possible. Platinum Arts Sandbox is easy enough for kids to use but also powerful enough for full game projects. Main Feature List: — The ability to map edit in game in real time and cooperatively with other people. — The ability to immediately play with and interact with map editing changes — Several custom maps that will feature slides, jumping levels, mazes, amusement park rides, etc — The pursuit of making it as easy as possible to add map features and content. Also the addition of new entities to add even more features and capabilities. — Windows, Linux, and Mac compatable Upcoming Features, a list I hope and want to have in: — A tutorial video — Audio tutorials — Vehicles — New models — A way to scroll through the models much like how you can already scroll through the textures and easily add new models such as trees, plants, and other objects — New maps — New entities. I really want to create a "move" entity so players can make movable platforms, roller coasters, etc. — Any other features I can think of to make the creation process as easy as possible. Thanks for checking out Platinum Arts Sandbox. I hope you enjoy it! Take care. -mike"

Submission + - Sprint to offer Loopt friend-tracking service (msbconsulting.net)

Submitted by

i8myh8

on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:15PM

i8myh8 writes: "Sprint Nextel said Tuesday it will use Loopt's "friend finding" technology to let subscribers track their friends.

Loopt, which also offers its location-based service on Boost Mobile, a subsidiary of Sprint, uses Global Positioning System chips in phones to allow subscribers to see where their friends are located.

To address privacy concerns, Loopt subscribers must give other Loopt users permission to track them. Subscribers also can hide from anyone in their "buddy" list at any time.

Loopt has been available on Boost Mobile since last year. And earlier this year the company said it had signed up 100,000 users. Sam Altman, the company's CEO, wouldn't give any updated information about subscribers. The deal with Sprint is the first in which a major carrier has announced it will use the service. Altman said Loopt will offer the service on other carrier networks later this year.

Location-based services are becoming popular. Most major mobile operators already offer a GPS-enabled navigation service that allows people to get real-time driving directions. Sprint uses a mobile-navigation application from TeleNav. The company bundled the TeleNav service for free with data packages that cost more than $20 per month.

Helio, a mobile virtual network operator, also offers a tracking service that is similar to the one offered by Loopt. Other providers, such as Disney Mobile and Verizon Wireless, offer tracking services for parents who want to keep tabs on their kids. Sprint also offers a kid-tracking service.

Location services also can be used to enhance other applications, like search and weather updates. And mobile operators see great revenue potential for leveraging the technology, which originally was put into phones to comply with a Federal Communications Commission requirement to provide enhanced 911 services that automatically provide the location of people who have called 911.

I don't know about anyone else, but my friends are idiots and would most likely use this device to locate me at the absolute worst moment. I don't keep anything with GPS built in enabled, even my cell phone. If I'm not able to be found, chances are I want it that way."

Submission + - World of Warcraft (bosskilling.com)

Submitted by

rudeboy714

on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:14PM

rudeboy714 writes: "Very informative website for World of Warcraft players. Includes videos, quick reference summaries, and several PDF ebooks on the game."

Submission + - Google limits lifespan of cookies

Submitted by wouterteepe on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:13PM

wouterteepe writes: Google's preference cookies used to last a dazzling 31 years. In a move to please privacy advocacies, they have decided to reduce this to only 2 year. To let your cookie expire, you do have to keep away from google for only 2 years... Of course, all the other issues about Google and privacy are unaffected by this.

Submission + - DoD Offers $1M Prize for Lightweight Power Pack (defenselink.mil)

Submitted by

timbck2

on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:08PM

timbck2 writes: "The U.S. Department of Defense periodically offers a Research & Engineering Prize to "promote the use of inventive and novel approaches to solve problems of U.S. military interest inventions". The current contest, which begins Fall 2008, is for a wearable power system which lasts 4 days and weighs less than 4kg."

Submission + - Google to Cut Life of Cookies Short

Submitted by

em8chel

on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @03:00PM

em8chel writes: "Under the scrutiny and critique of the ARTICLE 29 Data Protection Party of the European Union, Google is to introduce a new cookie policy in the next few months to auto-expire their cookies after 2 years. Up until now, the cookies are defaulted to expire in 2038.

As reported on German technews site heise, Peter Fleischer, Google's Global Privacy Counsel, writes on his Google blog: "In the coming months, Google will start issuing our users cookies that will be set to auto-expire after 2 years, while auto-renewing the cookies of active users during this time period. In other words, users who do not return to Google will have their cookies auto-expire after 2 years. Regular Google users will have their cookies auto-renew, so that their preferences are not lost. And, as always, all users will still be able to control their cookies at any time via their browsers."

The Artiel 29 Working Party's letter to Google back in May can be downloaded here (PDF)"

Submission + - Sony Atones for Early Blu-ray Sins

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @02:55PM

An anonymous reader writes: When it was originally released on Blu-ray's launch day back in June 2006, 'The Fifth Element' seemed to represent all that was wrong with the next-gen format. Featuring a sub-standard video transfer, fans and reviewers alike agreed that the disc looked no better than standard DVD. A year later, riding a wave of good press for the Blu-ray format, Sony has returned to the scene of the crime, offering up a new remastered Blu-ray edition of 'The Fifth Element' as the format's first re-issued disc, and even going so far as to offer a free disc replacement program for consumers who felt burned the time around. In a just-posted review, High-Def Digest compares the two editions — complete with screengrabs from both.

Submission + - Million-dollar prize for soldier 'power pack' (cnn.com)

Submitted by mnovotny on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @02:54PM

mnovotny writes: According to CNN — Inventors across the country are being asked to find a way to lighten the load U.S. soldiers carry on their backs — largely due to the high-tech gear that uses batteries — and the solution will be decided in a $1 million contest.

The Department of Defense is asking a person or team to come up with a way to lessen the weight of the 20-40 pounds of batteries a solider carries on a typical four-day mission. The batteries power everything from soldiers GPS systems to their night-vision goggles.

Submission + - How to Finance Foreclosures (bankforeclosuressale.com)

Submitted by

cassy82

on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @02:44PM

cassy82 writes: "In the world of real estate investment, a person with no money can still invest in properties especially foreclosures. Surprised? Do not be. Foreclosure investing often involves employing different techniques in order to have the financial means to be successful. Compared to looking for foreclosure homes, you will have an easier time financing foreclosure."

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