Comment Use Sharepoint (Score 1, Informative) 237
Sharepoint is your best bet here.
The only alternative I can think of is checking your docs into your source control.
Comment Shamwow (Score 1) 105
But is it as amazing as this stuff?
http://www.shamwow.com/
Comment Re:LOLOLOLOLOL (Score 1) 391
Oh, if only ! Intel and AMD were (and are) enthusiastic participants in the creation of "trusted computing" architectures that allows data-files to discriminate against different playback/rendering software and operating systems, hardware configs, BIOSes, etc.
Comment Re:The bottom line is parent's don't care (Score 1) 126
"Parents that truly care take the time to look at the back of the box"
Where does this time come from? We can say the same thing about umpteen hundred billion things parents *should do* where does that leave time for parents to have a personal life?
There are several things wrong with this:
1. If they have the time to complain to congress, perhaps they could have used that free block of time to check the back of the box.
2. Parents pay plenty of attention to the ratings of movies and TV. Checking the back of the box takes about the same amount of time. In fact, since movies and TV, at $0-$10, are purchased far more frequently than $60 games, checking the game ratings would take considerably less time overall.
3. Media is often lumped together in one category. If parents pay attention to "explicit lyrics" on CDs and R-ratings on movies, it's easy to understand that games fall into roughly the same category and therefore should also be checked for a rating. This simple association helps parents understand the need to check in a very short time.
4. Unlike the confusing instructions that it takes to operate the game consoles themselves, and unlike the pain in the ass it is to set up the V-chip, looking at the back of the game box is a breeze, and therefore is far less time consuming. Since the ratings are briefly explained on each box, there is very little extra effort necessary to get accustomed to understand the ratings.
Simply put, parents should have a blanket policy of giving a brief inspection to any media their kids will be accessing in the house. If you believe you would be a bad parent if you let our 10-year old kids watch Pulp-fiction or Fight Club, and you take the time to keep these away from your children, then you would be just as bad of a parent to not look at the back of the box and decide Grand Theft Auto or Manhunt, is just not right for little Billy. If you're too busy to do this simple thing then perhaps you should reconsider having children at all. Or maybe just decide that it's ok for Billy to do anything he damn well wants.
Copyright Cutback Proposed As RIAA Solution 709
An anonymous reader writes "InfoWeek blogger Alex Wolfe proposes a novel solution to the ongoing spate of RIAA lawsuits over alleged music copying. He suggests legislation which cuts back corporate copyrights from 120 years to 5 years. 'We should do what we do to children who misbehave,' he writes. 'Take away their privileges.' Wolfe says this is regardless of the misunderstanding surrounding the latest case, which apparently isn't about ripping CDs to one's own computer. As to those who say copyrights are a right: "That's simply a misunderstanding of their purpose. Copyrights, like patents, weren't implemented to protect their owners in perpetuity. They are part of a dance which attempts to balance off societal benefits against incentives for writers and inventors. You want to incentivize people to push the state of the creative and technical arts, but you don't want give those folks such overbearing protections that future advances by other innovators are stifled." What do you think; is it time to cut off the record industry?"
Office 2003 Service Pack Disables Older File Formats 555
time961 writes "In Service Pack 3 for Office 2003, Microsoft disabled support for many older file formats. If you have old Word, Excel, 1-2-3, Quattro, or Corel Draw documents, watch out! They did this because the old formats are 'less secure', which actually makes some sense, but only if you got the files from some untrustworthy source. Naturally, they did this by default, and then documented a mind-bogglingly complex workaround (KB 938810) rather than providing a user interface for adjusting it, or even a set of awkward 'Do you really want to do this?' dialog boxes to click through. And of course because these are, after all, old file formats ... many users will encounter the problem only months or years after the software change, while groping around in dusty and now-inaccessible archives."
US Spy Agencies See Bloggers as Journalists 77
Sniper223 writes with a link to ABC's Blotter blog. That site observes that at least in the realm of US intelligence gathering, the 'are bloggers journalists' question is already decided. "Despite the rap that bloggers simply 'bloviate' and 'don't try to find things out,' as conservative newspaper columnist Robert Novak once sniffed, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) have altered policies to indicate they're taking blogs seriously, and a growing number of public offices are actively reaching out to the blogosphere. The CIA recently updated its policies on Freedom of Information Act requests to allow bloggers to qualify for special treatment once reserved for old-school reporters. And last August, the NSA issued a directive to its employees to report leaks of classified information to the media — "including blogs," the order said."
Jack Valenti, Dead at 85 650
saforrest writes "Jack Valenti, a man whose influence in both Washington and Hollywood was profound, died today at age 85. He first became famous as special assistant to Lyndon Johnson: he can even be seen in the famous photo aboard Air Force One. In 1966, he quit this job to become president of the MPAA, from 1966 to 2004."
The Hundred Million Mile Pipe Organ 76
jd writes "Scientists have announced that the gigantic coils of plasma in the solar atmosphere, known as coronal loops, actually carry sound waves much like a pipe organ. Micro-flares on the surface of the sun create powerful blasts of charged particles, which are then guided through the coronal loops, creating the standing waves. Sheffield University is hosting movies and audio recordings of the sun's performance."
Comment Threading (Score 1) 90
I have avoided threading for the same reason I have avoided C++. It's a broken platform. It doesn't make your smarter after you learn about it - it makes you realize how broken the system is. It's more of a patchwork than a real solution. There needs to be a paradigm shift (ala Actor Oriented Programming).
Until that happens, I'll confine myself to threadpools and a worker thread.
Until that happens, I'll confine myself to threadpools and a worker thread.
NASA Can't Pay for Killer Asteroid Hunt 398
CGISecurity.com writes "NASA officials say the space agency is capable of finding nearly all the asteroids that might pose a devastating hit to Earth, but there isn't enough money to pay for the task so it won't get done. 'We know what to do, we just don't have the money,' said Simon 'Pete' Worden, director of NASA's Ames Research Center." But hey, it's just the potential end of the world, so nothing much to worry about there.
Cancer Drug Found; Scientist Annoyed 349
sporkme writes "A scientist was frustrated when the compound she was working with (called PPAR-gamma) destroyed her sample of cancer cells. Further research revealed that the substance was surprisingly well suited as a cancer treatment. Lab test results on mice resulted in the destruction of colon tumors without making the mice sick." Quoting: "'I made a calculation error and used a lot more than I should have. And my cells died,' Schaefer said. A colleague overheard her complaining. 'The co-author on my paper said, "Did I hear you say you killed some cancer?" I said "Oh," and took a closer look.' ... [They found that the compound killed] 'pretty much every epithelial tumor cell lines we have seen.'" Update: 02/15 17:27 GMT by KD : As reader CorporalKlinger pointed out, PPAR-gamma is a cellular receptor, not a compound; and this news is not particularly new.
Comment Re:Like YouTube at the Micro Level (Score 1) 96
Disclosure: I write for (and used to edit) Gawker Media's Valleywag. This is my informed commentary.
These are just videos that one of our staffers uploaded. Gawker Media isn't going for that Mad YouTube Traffic; we just use YouTube as a repository for videos we embed on our sites. That's one of the intended uses of YouTube.
What some may question is whether Gawker Media's videos are fair use. The company and its staff argue that they are, as we are reporting on these clips as news, or making critical commentary. The preroll and postroll aren't ads; they're identifiers. Gawker Media isn't paying someone to add them.
These are just videos that one of our staffers uploaded. Gawker Media isn't going for that Mad YouTube Traffic; we just use YouTube as a repository for videos we embed on our sites. That's one of the intended uses of YouTube.
What some may question is whether Gawker Media's videos are fair use. The company and its staff argue that they are, as we are reporting on these clips as news, or making critical commentary. The preroll and postroll aren't ads; they're identifiers. Gawker Media isn't paying someone to add them.
MIT Labs Moves Ahead In Synthesizing Spider Silk 135
icepick72 writes in with a link to an ExtremeTech article on new methods for creating synthetic spider silk. This material, like lycra in many ways, has a number of unique properties. The MIT lab that created it is being monitored by military elements, keenly interested in applications of this material to front-line technologies. From the article: "The secret of spider silk's combined strength and flexibility, according to scientists, has to do with the arrangement of the nano-crystalline reinforcement of the silk as it is being produced--in other words, the way these tiny crystals are oriented towards (and adhere to) the stretchy protein. Emulating this process in a synthetic polymer, the MIT team focused on reinforcing solutions of commercial rubbery substance known as polyurethane elastomer with nano-sized clay platelets instead of simply heating and mixing the molten plastics with reinforcing agents."
America's Worst Christmas Parties 406
Ant writes "Slate Magazine asked its readers to submit reports of horrible office Christmas parties, gifts, and bonuses. Of nearly 200 submissions, they've chosen quite a few tales for The Corporate Scrooge Contest Results ... and they're not pretty. From the article: 'A contract consultant sends word that the company to which he is currently assigned recently sent out an e-mail to some 2,000-odd consultants. The company would give away two $100 gift cards--to two of the brave souls who would commit to work 80 hours between Dec. 18 and Dec. 31. As our correspondent noted: "Hey, if you work Christmas, we'll put you in a pool of 2,000 other folks to maybe win a hundred bucks."'"
