Comment Dear Editors: (Score 4, Interesting) 136
That should be a comma in ("iPhone %d,%d",majorversionnumber,minorversionnumber), not a period.
iPhone 3.1 Spotted In Field Testing 136
kai_hiwatari writes "Digitizor reports that the next generation of the iPhone was spotted in the analytics log of an iPhone app called iBart. The device, it seems, was identified as iPhone 3.1 in the log. When iPhone 2.1 was spotted, it was followed by iPhone 3G."
Making Carriers Shoulder Smartphone Security 57
alphadogg writes "Georgia Tech researchers have received a $450,000 NSF grant to boost security of iPhones, BlackBerries and other smartphones and the wireless networks on which they run. And it's those networks where the researchers are really zeroing in. The researchers are looking into ways wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon can detect malware on devices and clean up the devices before they do further damage. 'While a single user might realize that a phone is behaving differently, that person probably won't know why,' says Patrick Traynor, assistant professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Computer Science. 'But a cell phone provider may see a thousand devices behaving in the same way and have the ability to do something about it.' Georgia Tech is going to build out a cellular network test bed to try out its remote repair techniques."
OS X Update Officially Kills Intel Atom Support 610
bonch writes "After apparently disabling and then re-enabling support for the Atom chipset in test builds of their 10.6.2 update, Apple has officially disabled support for the chipset in the final update. This makes it impossible for OSX86 users to run 10.6.2 on their Atom-based netbooks until a modified kernel shows up."
Ted Dziuba Says, "I Don't Code In My Free Time" 619
theodp writes "When he gets some free time away from his gigs at startup Milo and The Register, you won't catch Ted Dziuba doing any recreational programming. And he wouldn't want to work for a company that doesn't hire those who don't code in their spare time. 'You know what's more awesome than spending my Saturday afternoon learning Haskell by hacking away at a few Project Euler problems?' asks Dziuba. 'F***, ANYTHING.'"
MIT Project "Gaydar" Shakes Privacy Assumptions 508
theodp writes "At MIT, an experiment that identifies which students are gay is raising new questions about online privacy. Using data from Facebook, two students in an MIT class on ethics and law on the electronic frontier made a striking discovery: just by looking at a person's online friends, they could predict whether the person was gay. The project, given the name 'Gaydar' by the students, is part of the fast-moving field of social network analysis, which examines what the connections between people can tell us, from predicting who might be a terrorist to the likelihood a person is happy, fat, liberal, or conservative." MIT professor Hal Abelson, who co-taught the course, is quoted: "That pulls the rug out from a whole policy and technology perspective that the point is to give you control over your information — because you don't have control over your information."
FCC To Propose Net Neutrality Rules 110
wiredog writes "From The Washington Post comes news that the FCC is preparing to propose net neutrality rules on Monday. Quoting: '[FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski] will discuss the rules Monday during a keynote speech at The Brookings Institute. He isn't expected to drill into many details, but the proposal will specifically be for an additional guideline on how operators like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast can control what goes on their networks. That additional guideline would prevent the operators from discriminating, or act as gatekeepers, of Web content and services. ... The agency is expected to review what traffic management is reasonable and what practices are discriminatory. The guidelines are known as "principals" at the agency, which some public interest groups have sought to codify so that they would clearly be enforceable.'"
Comment Gentlemen, start your start-ups (Score 2, Insightful) 431
Creation of showerhead disinfection industry in 3...2...1...
Man Accuses Cat of Downloading Child Porn
174
bruce_the_loon writes "They have blamed viruses. They have blamed neighbors. They have accused police of planting it. In rare cases, they have admitted downloading it. This is the first time someone has accused a cat of downloading child porn onto their computer. This seems like a defense almost too stupid to be made up."
Comment I might not have been clear (Score 1) 311
I don't crouch in my house. I am involved in a LOT of stuff and am actually pretty extroverted. I have a ton of friends, am out every weekend, and am currently in a relationship with a woman that is giving me fantastic sex but that I know isn't going anywhere (she's 9 years older than me, I'm 30, and she has two kids, one of whom is 19). Right now I am applying to go into the military as an officer, participating in local civic theater, and assisting with the creation of a hackerspace. I'm out there. My point was that all of that still isn't enough. You still have to just get lucky, and you may never, ever get lucky.
And in my case, that means that some portion of my life may always feel empty and incomplete, because I've known I wanted to be a father since I was 16 years old.
Comment I'm 30, and I know these things. (Score 1) 311
My life is dizzyingly active. I'm involved in all sorts of things, have a ton of friends and a girlfriend who is fantastic in the sack (but we're over in two weeks because she's moving).
My point was that enjoying all life has to offer and putting yourself out there and "living" is still no guarantor of anything. It all comes down to luck, and some of us simply don't have it.
"Facile" seemed to work better in that sentence than "easy" to me. Note that I used "easy" in the subject line. If you don't like it, you are free to edit it out with your internal mental sed.
Comment For the record (Score 1) 311
I'm in a relationship with someone right now. The problem is that I know it can't last. She's 9 years older than me (still a fantastic lay) and has two kids, one of whom is 19. But she's way, way too clingy and manipulative. It's going to be over soon.
My point was that you can go out and be an extrovert and have a fantastic social life and STILL be alone your entire life. Being in a successful romantic relationship is far, far more about luck than self-help books care to admit.
Comment Enjoy your church mice. (Score 1) 311
Also the public health insurance option we're about to get.
Comment From VERIZON??? It is to fucking laugh! (Score 1) 272
Wow. You have rural coverage. Congratulations, guys. How about the fact that you've ADMITTED your business model orbit around fleecing customers by crippling handsets such that everything customers do has to go through your "nation's most reliable network," thereby incurring pay-to-play fees over and over for simple operations that could otherwise take place over WiFi or Bluetooth?
FUCK Verizon. Fuck them right in the ear. Sideways.
Comment Easy for you to say (Score 5, Insightful) 311
Maybe people should just stop dating and learn how to experience life and just get out and do things. My friends that try the hardest to meet someone are the ones that are the least successful at it.
This is a very facile thing for someone in your position to say. For many of the rest of us "experiencing life" all by itself simply means interminable years of crushing loneliness.
I have started to come to the following realization:
Happiness is guaranteed to no one. The best one can expect out of life is that you can always find some way to respect yourself and say "I did something with my life that I can look myself in the mirror and approve of." That status of self-respect is prerequisite for happiness, but it is by no means a guarantor. There is every chance that you'll just get out there and do your thing and live your life and be alone and lonely right up until the day you die.
