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KDE

KDE 4.0 Beta 1 Released 249

Posted by Zonk from the and-they-are-just-giving-it-away-this-time dept.
dbhost writes "Along with this morning's cup of coffee and log reviews, I discovered that the KDE team is moving forward with a long awaited beta release of KDE 4.0 beta release of KDE 4.0. The most interesting item I found in the notes is that the file manager in KDE is being separated from Konqueror into a component called Dolphin. Also, according to the announcement, konsole has been treated to a number of improvements such as split view, and history highlighting."
Toys

Submission + - Pricey HD Radios Have Lousy Tuners

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Did you plunk down a few hundred dollars for a new set to tap into all those HD Radio channels only to find you can barely tap into any HD content at all? That's what happened to MP3 Newswire when it tested three popular models — in signal-rich central New Jersey. Not only did these radios do a poor job at picking up digital content, their analog reception was so bad they were all outclassed by a cheap shower radio that was lying around. Then the reviewer threw an old 1940's tube radio into the mix for laughs and sure enough that 65 year-old piece of technology performed better (video clip included in article). Hey, if you're going to charge top dollar for these things at least throw some better parts in.
The Internet

Submission + - Congress to debate Net Neutrality

Submitted by evw
evw writes: The NYTimes is reporting that legislation was introduced in the Senate on Tuesday in support of Net Neutrality. It is bipartisan legislation introduced by Olympia Snowe, R-Maine and Byron Dorgan, D-N. Dakota, however the article notes that Senator Snowe is one of the few Republicans that supports it. "Senior lawmakers, emboldened by the recent restrictions on AT&T and the change in control of Congress, have begun drafting legislation that would prevent high-speed Internet companies from charging content providers for priority access."

This isn't the first attempt. Last year a similar amendment was blocked. However, conditions placed on AT&T in its merger with SBC have emboldened supporters of the legislation.
Programming

Submission + - Charles Simonyi's intentional programming

Submitted by
prostoalex
prostoalex writes: "MIT Technology Review describes how Charles Simonyi and Intentional Software will change the programming paradigm. For a long time Simonyi was a lead applications developer for Microsoft. According to MIT Technology Review, Simonyi can be considered the world's most successful coder, since everybody else who made more than a billion dollars off software was mostly involved in managing companies, not coding."
Sci-Fi

Submission + - Slashdot mentioned in 'Century Rain'

Submitted by oblivious
oblivious writes: Maybe this is old news, but I just finally got around to reading 'Century Rain' by Alastair Reynolds. Along about page 123 or so, I ran across this:

"It's alright," Niagara said. "I won't be the least bit offended if you call me a Slasher. You probably regard the term as an insult."
"Isn't it?" Auger asked, surprised.
"Only if you want it to be." Niagara made a careful gesture, like some religious benediction: a diagonal slice across his chest and a stab to the heart. "A slash and a dot," he said. "I doubt it means anything to you, but this was once the mark of an alliance of progressive thinkers linked together by one of the very first computer networks. The Federation of Polities can trace its existence right back to that fragile collective in the early decades of the Void Century. It's less a stigma than a mark of community."

I'm still waiting for one of the geeks in my office to make the special hand sign!
Announcements

Submission + - Solar powered car attempts to break record

Submitted by
Snowdon
Snowdon writes: "Jaycar Sunswift III today started on its 4000km across the Australian outback, in an attempt to beat the 8.5 day record from Perth to Sydney. The team expects to complete the journey in 6 days, depending on the weather. It is a seriously innovative machine, with the aerodynamic design iteratively optimised on 80 CS lab computers over three months, custom-built carbon-fibre wheels, chassis, suspension and steering components, and custom-built power electronics and telemetry/control systems (components of which presently use Linux, but will soon run Iguana/Wombat). It is the result of several years' work by both undergraduate and postgraduate students at UNSW. Keep track of the team's progress by visiting www.sunswift.com."
Networking

Submission + - A Wii Bit of Porn

Submitted by mreed911
mreed911 writes: According to a story on WFAA (ABC affiliate in Dallas, TX), the Wii and PS3 being targeted as "porn gateways."

From the article:
"Some porn sites are advertising they are "Wii Friendly." Their screens have been reconfigured to fit the Wii and the Playstation 3.

No mention is made of the XBox and it's online capabilities, or the DS, or the PSP... but one can imagine that similar themes could come into play. Are porn sites really re-configuring themselves to be console-compatible? What will this mean for content-control systems like CyberNanny, etc. in the console space?
Portables (Apple)

Submission + - Apple's new iphone

Submitted by
cmax
cmax writes: "Apple's new iphone has recently been displayed on their website seen here: http://www.apple.com/iphone/
I have been using HP iPaqs for a couple of years, both ones that are simply handhelds and ones that have integrated cell phone systems. The Apple iphone is by far the best looking, and hosts the best opperating system as of yet. Some of the main features I have noticed are the excellent integration between the phone and the handheld, which is something that I believe has been lacking in many previous versions released by competitors, as well as the multi-touch interface. This is displayed most visibly in a video I had seen before on multi-touch interfaces seen here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=PLhMVNdplJc
I had no idea, however, that this technology was going to be available so soon or in a handeld device as the first consumer product.
I for one am excited for the release of the iphone and will be interested to see how the market accepts it, and the new technologies it offers.
—
Max Bailey — http://www.cmyblogs.com/"
Microsoft

Submission + - Gates Foundation Evil After All

Submitted by
mqduck
mqduck writes: "Bill Gates haters can breath a sigh of relief: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is evil after all. According to the L.A. Times, "The Gates Foundation reaps vast profits every year from companies whose actions contradict its mission of improving society in the United States and around the world, particularly the lot of people afflicted by poverty and disease" such as using slave labor. "Critics," the L.A. Times says, "fault the Gates Foundation most for failing to use the power of its immense wealth to improve the behavior of the companies in which it invests.""
Handhelds

Submission + - Analysis of the Apple iPhone

Submitted by Provataki
Provataki writes: Now that the initial dust of the iPhone's launch has settled down, here is a no-frills, objective analysis of the iPhone's feature-set and how it compares to other smartphones today. The author seems to like the device a lot and believes that will drive the industry in the coming years, but he also mentions the lack of a native (non-widget) SDK (which is what defines a "smartphone") and the old-style input method used (why didn't Apple go for something as innovative as this?). Stereo Bluetooth A2DP, MMS support and user-replaceable battery (a norm in the cellphone industry) are still a questionmark.

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