Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Submission + - Amazon attracting more ire. (huffingtonpost.com)

Grekan writes: Amazon seems to be attracting ire from a number of sources these days, especially from bookstores. The latest onslaught from the online retailer comes in the form of an app that encourages book buyers to go into brick and mortar book stores, find the books they want and then leave without making a purchase. Purchasing the book from amazon at a steep discount instead. Thus Amazon is using other companies stores as a showroom. Even a U.S. Senator has spoken out against the practice. From the article:

"Maine senator Olympia Snow (R) released a statement calling on Amazon to cancel the promotion, stating that "paying consumers to visit small businesses and leave empty-handed is an attack on Main Street businesses that employ workers in our communities.” She went on to describe use of the app as "incentivizing consumers to spy on local shops.""

Comment kudos (Score 4, Interesting) 159

If you compare that money against the total government expenditures, I'd guess percentage-wise they're spending far less on gadgets from their budget than the average consumer. Maybe we should be congratulating them.

Of course, there may be buried beneath all the other expenditures many gadgets that don't show up as itemized and measurable.

Comment I think the better question is... (Score 1) 1

I think the better question is, "Can anyone think of an example where someone has been hacked in such a way whereby the hacker does so to make the hackee look like a sexual cad?" I can't think of a single instance where the hack has been to that end. Probably is one, can't think of it. Nope, nothing comes up. Idiots. More idiotic when they start down the implausible denial path. Didn't sound plausible day one. And Weiner looks more ridiculous now than he would have. Now he's a cheater and a liar. Bad at both.

And, yeah, IT community, hackers specifically, are an easy scapegoat. Sucks that people would buy the story/claim of hackery. Blows that the media lets it slide. It's a head shot the IT community doesn't need.

Comment funny and ironic (Score 4, Insightful) 446

An ironic twist I think... I know many people whose DSLR pictures totally suck because the camera is beyond their ability to master even simple photographs. Also, ironically, anyone who would want useful information from digital pictures can readily shoot quality pictures with non-DSLR digital cameras. Is this for real?

Comment need more input (Score 5, Insightful) 449

well, the bulk of real information about the said thief in TFA says he "recieved a stolen motorcycle". This isn't much to go on and get a sense of how or why the sanctions were applied. Considering the dearth of underlying exposition, this article qualifies as a non sequitur.

Some additional information worth introducing to the discussion:

  • "how" the thief received said stolen motorcycle
  • "why" /. summary would describe motorcycle as "bicycle"
  • "if" there were computer-related activity leading to discovery and tracking of said thief.
  • etc.

Comment in addition to easier (Score 1) 1

and, to extend the example, aside from "which is easier", I don't know how many times I've had to iterate on a task in a GUI that had no CLI for a specific repeatable task. So, not only would a CLI that I could have scripted been easier, and more accurate (same script, same change everywhere), but I could save orders of magnitude in time (typically 2 -- yes, 100x faster to script).
Idle

Submission + - Stewart & Colbert plan competing D.C. rallies (theglobeandmail.com)

Lev13than writes: In a direct retort to Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor rally, John Stewart and Stephen Colbert have announced competing rallies on October 30th. Stewart plans to host a “Rally To Restore Sanity” on Oct. 30 on the National Mall in D.C. for the Americans he says are too busy living normal, rational lives to attend other political demonstrations. Colbert, meantime, will shepherd his fans in a “March To Keep Fear Alive.” “Damn your reasonableness!” Colbert said. “Now is not the time to take it down a notch. Now is the time for all good men to freak out for freedom!” Stewart, meanwhile, has promised to provide attendees with signs featuring slogans such as “I Disagree With You But I'm Pretty Sure You're Not Hitler” and “I'm Afraid of Spiders.”
Microsoft

Submission + - The Return of "Best Viewed With Internet Explorer" (technologizer.com) 1

An anonymous reader writes: As part of its launch of the Internet Explorer 9 beta, Microsoft partnered with dozens of companies--from USA Today to BMW--to build sites that show off IE9's support for HTML5 and hardware acceleration. Some of them work extremely poorly in other browsers, and carry messages telling users to download IE9 for the best experience. Let's hope this isn't a return to the bad old days of the 1990s,when it was common for companies to slap "Best Viewed in Internet Explorer" logos on their sites and not even try to work equally well in every browser.
Technology

Submission + - Boeing: $89M for drone that can fly for 5 years (networkworld.com)

coondoggie writes: One of the more unique unmanned aircraft took a giant step toward reality this week when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) inked an agreement with Boeing to build the SolarEagle, a plane capable of remaining at heights over 60,000ft for over five years. Boeing says the first SolarEagle under the $89 million contract could fly as early as 2014.

Slashdot Top Deals

HELP!!!! I'm being held prisoner in /usr/games/lib!

Working...