Comment Re:Please keep in mind (Score 1) 447
For a second there I thought you'd written "PayPal security".
Comment Re:IE6 comes with XP, IE8 with Win7 (Score 1) 422
Now now, don't go skipping generations!! As a State Govt, you must endure the throes of Vista also. Only then can proper anti-MS policy bias be formed. You should make that 4 years.
Comment Re:All I have is an anecdote (Score 1) 430
The H1N1 virus does not represent "the grave" for me.
Spoken like a true Darwin Award contender. H1N1 has presented a strain that is very virulent and that has been fatal for young healthy individuals. Of course, you can argue the finer points, weigh up the overall risks for yourself by understanding the disease better (recommended) and come to a decision, but should you chose not to vaccinate yourself against it, you should keep in mind the possibility that you may carry the disease on to people you care about whom may or may not be adversely impacted.
Comment Re:All I have is an anecdote (Score 1) 430
There is, after all, a type of natural selection in effect here. If you change the virus's environment (by vaccinating the hosts) to select against a few strains, then those strains will decline and other strains will become dominant.
The problem I see with this is that it implies that the flu strains are competing with one another when in fact they are not. I don't see why it's not possible for a person to come down with two or more flu's at the one time, thereby all being successful, and one not disqualifying the other(s). The victim would be in a pretty bad state I expect and greatly benefit from having been vaccinated against any one. The (un-natural) selection pressure is real in terms of diminished host environments for one of these flus, and while it may appear that the other flus have been selected "for", eliminating one does not make the others more or less successful.
In line with this thinking then, if a flu weakened immune system is enough to make another less prevalent virus, more successful, then not vaccinating and getting a bad flu may assist a less virulent flu at becoming more successful.
Submission + - Alaskan Volcano goes boom
Michael the Great writes: "http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php
http://twitter.com/alaska_avo
Alaska volcano, Readoubt, is currently errupting. This began late Sunday evening. Lava is not an issue, but ash can be. Currently, it looks like the ash is heading directly to the Kenai Penninsula where almost 50,000 people live. The last time Readout blew, 1989, it caused $160 million in damages."
Comment Re:What is wrong with the Linux GUIs? (Score 1) 936
Spot on R.Kitten. Spot on.
Comment Re:Wrong Premise (Score 1) 1108
That sure makes some rivetting reading. Having read a dozen or so of the bio's I started to get the feeling that some of these guys haven't put that much thought into it. Not that reading such a small and relativly random sample of the 650 is entirely representative, but after a whole series of bad links to a skeptics website, plus reading of an aging Norweigian that reckons he could do with a little warming (Norway is apparently cold), and a mathematician who admits to not understanding why the incoming solar radiation isn't absorbed by the atmosphere but the reflected radiation is; it started to detract from the credibility of the document. Anyone else taken a look at it?
Comment Worth it? (Score 1) 294
If you come away having learnt just 1 thing, then Singularity U was worth it. All they need to know is how much a "worth it" is worth.
Comment Screen Saver (Score 1) 248
but also for research into astronomy, energy, the human genome, and climate change.
So they'll be running BOINC as a screen saver then?
Submission + - SPAM: Internet Fraud: Many Complaints, Few Repercussions
narramissic writes: "Unless you're peddling child porn, there's not much chance you'll see the inside of a courtroom for Internet-related crime, according to research released Tuesday. The Center for American Progress and the Center for Democracy and Technology compared the number of complaints that state attorneys general offices receive to how many lawsuits the states bring against spammers, spyware creators and other online fraudsters. Not all states report such numbers, but the 20 that do said that they received 20,000 Internet-related complaints in 2006 and 2007. Yet during that same time period, attorneys general brought only 168 Internet-related cases to court, with 60 percent of those related to child porn, the researchers found."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Submission + - Apple Breaks Law with Policy on iPhone Unlocks (phonenews.com)
Anonymous Coward writes: "Apple's recent decision to void warranties for folks that unlocked their iPhones may wind up with Apple in some hot legal waters. Apple appears to have broken a key warranty law relevant to SIM unlocks.
It appears that Apple will have to change its policy on SIM unlocks, or be in clear violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act... a law decades old."
It appears that Apple will have to change its policy on SIM unlocks, or be in clear violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act... a law decades old."
Submission + - Apple Discourages iPhone Unlocking Programs
Hugh Pickens writes: "Apple has released the following statement on the iPhone:
Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed. Apple plans to release the next iPhone software update, containing many new features including the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store (www.itunes.com), later this week. Apple strongly discourages users from installing unauthorized unlocking programs on their iPhones. Users who make unauthorized modifications to the software on their iPhone violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty. The permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing unlocking software is not covered under the iPhone's warranty.
"
Submission + - Australia gets world's fastest HSDPA network (itwire.com)
gadgetopia writes: "For some time now Telstra have been saying that the Next-G network has already been upgraded to be up to 14.4Mbps compatible, but only offered 3.6Mbps-class devices. Finally, 7.2Mbps-class devices have arrived, and the speed boost is real!
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/14604/1103/"
Submission + - A Bank For Geeks
An anonymous reader writes: I just received a notice from my current bank indicating that they are forcing upon me a new privacy policy. The only reason that they've sent me this notice is because it is the law. And they're certainly meeting the absolute bare requirements for meeting the requirements of this law: I can opt-out, but only if I mail them a letter with all of my personal details, including my account numbers and social security number! As a geek, this is obviously the last straw and I'd like to make the switch to a legitimate bank. What are other geeks using?
Submission + - Google sued for $5b for crimes against humanity (theregister.co.uk) 2
mytrip writes: "A Pennsylvania crusader has slapped Google with a $5bn lawsuit, claiming that the world's largest search engine is endangering his personal safety.
With a suit filed in federal court, Dylan Stephen Jayne insists that the company is guilty of "crimes against humanity" because its name turns up when his social security number is scrambled and turned upside down.
By calling itself Google, Jayne argues, Google has exposed him to attack by an army of culturally diverse, net-savvy terrorists. "A person regardless of race or religion that wishes to cause acts of terrorism would look for social security numbers that are made readily available on the public use databases," his suit reads.
And he's adamant that if Google claims ignorance, many people could end up dead or buck naked. "The 'I don't know' defense obviously is a waste of money, time, and puts the lives of Americans and illegal aliens at risk of death or serious undress.""
With a suit filed in federal court, Dylan Stephen Jayne insists that the company is guilty of "crimes against humanity" because its name turns up when his social security number is scrambled and turned upside down.
By calling itself Google, Jayne argues, Google has exposed him to attack by an army of culturally diverse, net-savvy terrorists. "A person regardless of race or religion that wishes to cause acts of terrorism would look for social security numbers that are made readily available on the public use databases," his suit reads.
And he's adamant that if Google claims ignorance, many people could end up dead or buck naked. "The 'I don't know' defense obviously is a waste of money, time, and puts the lives of Americans and illegal aliens at risk of death or serious undress.""
