Comment Link contains strong language and vivid imagery (Score 1) 476
The server encountered an internal error or misconfiguration and was unable to complete your request.
Strong language, indeed! I don't see any imagery, however...
Comment Re:What Has Changed? (Score 1) 900
You can turn off overcommit in Linux if want to - most people find the default behavior more useful since many applications allocate memory they do not need to use, and don't handle out of memory errors gracefully. Change the sysctl "vm.overcommit_memory" to 2, and see "Documentation/vm/overcommit-accounting" in the linux kernel source for related sysctls.
There are occasions where you might want to use a lot of swap, if there are one-time-run applications that use a ton of RAM to do something like image manipulation/scientific computing/whatever. Those might be rare, but it would be very irritating to get out-of-memory errors just because the kernel doesn't feel like using swap.
When the OOM killer is invoked, the application isn't usually allocating memory - it's using memory that it has allocated before and that the kernel overcommitted on. So there's no good way to send an out-of-memory error other than by something like a signal handler. I think the reason this isn't done is because the signal handler would likely need to allocate RAM to run (maybe to get its code paged off disk) and this wouldn't help with the memory pressure.
Removing CO2 From the Air Efficiently 487
Canadian scientists have created a device that efficiently removes CO2 from the atmosphere. "The proposed air capture system differs from existing carbon capture and storage technology ... while CCS involves installing equipment at, say, a coal-fired power plant to capture CO2 produced during the coal-burning process, ... air capture machines will be able to literally remove the CO2 present in ambient air everywhere. [The team used] ... a custom-built tower to capture CO2 directly from the air while requiring less than 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity per tonne of carbon dioxide."
Comment Re:No they won't (Score 1) 223
Have you tried using uShare? I compiled and installed it on my Gentoo box in less than five minutes, wrote a small init script, and can now access all of my movies and music on the Xbox 360 in my living room.
I previously had a large HTPC running MythTV as a media extender. Needless to say, it was loud, hot, and never worked well, due to MythTV's awful interface. After I discovered I could use the 360 for the same task, I was able to free up a bunch of space in my TV cabinet.
I previously had a large HTPC running MythTV as a media extender. Needless to say, it was loud, hot, and never worked well, due to MythTV's awful interface. After I discovered I could use the 360 for the same task, I was able to free up a bunch of space in my TV cabinet.
The Future of Subversion 173
sciurus0 writes "As the open source version control system Subversion nears its 1.5 release, one of its developers asks, what is the project's future? On the one hand, the number of public Subversion DAV servers is still growing quadratically. On the other hand, open source developers are increasingly switching to distributed version control systems like Git and Mercurial. Is there still a need for centralized version control in some environments, or is Linus Torvalds right that all who use it are 'ugly and stupid'?" The comments on the blog post have high S/N.
How to Write 200,000 Books 4
Writing a book can be hard. You have to pick a title, cover art and compile a table of contents. If you want it in a Library it has to be assigned a numerical code (ISBN) not to mention the weeks, months or even years of actual writing. Philip M. Parker has found an easier way. He has generated over 200,000 books making him, "The most published author in the history of the planet." He has created computer algorithms that collect publicly available information on a subject and works with a team of programmers and 60-70 computers to produce such page turners as "The 2007-2012 Outlook for Tufted Washable Scatter Rugs, Bathmats and Sets That Measure 6-Feet by 9-Feet or Smaller in India." (144 pages at a very reasonable price of $495). Philip admits that many of his "books" are only printed when a customer buys one. I can't wait for "Samzenpus's Email correspondence with his mother from 2007-2008". I hear she figured out how to change her background image all by herself.
China Vows to Stop the Rain 214
Since the Olympic stadium doesn't have a roof, the Beijing Meteorological Bureau has been given the task of making sure the games remain dry. According to Zhang Qian, head of weather manipulation (best title to have on a business card ever) at the bureau, they've had success with light rain but heavy rain remains tough to control. I see a hurricane cannon in some lucky country's future.
Schneier's Keynote At Linux.conf.au 138
Stony Stevenson writes "Computer security expert Bruce Schneier took a swipe at a number of sacred cows of security including RFID tags, national ID cards, and public CCTV security cameras in his keynote address to Linux.conf.au (currently being held in Melbourne, Australia). These technologies were all examples of security products tailored to provide the perception of security rather than tackling actual security risks, Schneier said. The discussion of public security — which has always been clouded by emotional decision making — has been railroaded by groups with vested interests such as security vendors and political groups, he claimed. 'For most of my career I would insult "security theater" and "snake oil" for being dumb. In fact, they're not dumb. As security designers we need to address both the feeling and the reality of security. We can't ignore one. It's not enough to make someone secure, that person needs to also realize they've been made secure. If no-one realizes it, no-one's going to buy it,' Schneier said."
Submission + - RIAA drops another case (blogspot.com)
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "Once again the RIAA has dropped a case "with prejudice", this time after concluding
it was the defendant's daughter, rather than the defendant, that it should have sued
in the first place. In a White Plains, New York, case, Lava v. Amurao, mindful that in similar scenarios it has been held liable for the
defendant's attorneys fees (Capitol v. Foster and Atlantic v. Andersen), the RIAA this time went on the offensive over its attorneys fee exposure, even though there was no attorneys fee motion pending, arguing that it was the defendant's
fault — and not the RIAA's — that the record companies sued the wrong person, because the defendant didn't tell them that his daughter was the file sharer they were looking for."
Submission + - EBay saves billions for bidders
Stony Stevenson writes: Independent research by two statisticians from the University of Maryland has found that eBay buyers saved an average of $4 per person, or $19 billion total, at the popular online auction site per year. The study seeks to calculate what economists call "consumer surplus" — the difference between the top price buyers were ready to pay and what they actually ended up paying. E-commerce sites provide a treasure trove of data that allows researchers to test out theories of consumer behavior.
Submission + - Utah to make free and open wifi illegal
thisplaceisalmostout writes: State Representative Brad Daw from Orem Utah, is introducing HB 139.
Among other things, this legislation will make it against the law for any person to offer free and open wireless internet access, for instance a business to it's customers, or the public at large.
This law says in effect, that to offer wireless internet access to your customers, they must first prove that they are an adult, by providing either a government issued ID, or a Credit Card. Failure to do so would result in a fine up to $25,000.00
Furthermore the bill states "A person may not provide wireless Internet access to the public unless the person restricts access to prevent a minor from accessing material harmful to minors."
Additionally HB 139 makes it illegal for any retailer to sell a device capable of accessing the internet wirelessly, without it being clearly labeled as such.
Pete Ashdown the President and CEO of XMission the states largest internet provider, says that he will "shut down all XMission free wireless and cease expansion of this service." if this legislation is passed.
XMission provides a completely free wireless network that covers a substantial portion of down town Salt Lake City, and another similar one that is being constructed in Ogden will benefit the residents of that city as well.
If you live in Utah I urge you to contact your legislators and ask them to stop this bill, the potential long term damages from this bill are staggering.
Among other things, this legislation will make it against the law for any person to offer free and open wireless internet access, for instance a business to it's customers, or the public at large.
This law says in effect, that to offer wireless internet access to your customers, they must first prove that they are an adult, by providing either a government issued ID, or a Credit Card. Failure to do so would result in a fine up to $25,000.00
Furthermore the bill states "A person may not provide wireless Internet access to the public unless the person restricts access to prevent a minor from accessing material harmful to minors."
Additionally HB 139 makes it illegal for any retailer to sell a device capable of accessing the internet wirelessly, without it being clearly labeled as such.
Pete Ashdown the President and CEO of XMission the states largest internet provider, says that he will "shut down all XMission free wireless and cease expansion of this service." if this legislation is passed.
XMission provides a completely free wireless network that covers a substantial portion of down town Salt Lake City, and another similar one that is being constructed in Ogden will benefit the residents of that city as well.
If you live in Utah I urge you to contact your legislators and ask them to stop this bill, the potential long term damages from this bill are staggering.
Misc Slashdot Anniversary: Ames, IA, US 4
NASA To Send Luke's Lightsaber Into Space 290
Verunks writes "In honor of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, NASA will launch Luke Skywalker's original Jedi lightsaber into space along with the crew of the space shuttle Discovery. The launch is slated for October."
IE7 Blocking Google Image Search? 253
An anonymous reader writes, "I just tried a Google Image Search in IE7 for the first time. Whenever I click on an image, my browser tells me in big bold letters, "This is a reported phishing website." Try it yourself: make sure automatic phishing detection is turned on and do an (adorable) image search; click on one of the result thumbnails. MSN Live Image Search has no such issues. Insert Microsoft evil conspiracy theory here." I get this behavior under IE7, Win XP Pro, SP2, Parallels, Mac OS X.
Googling for ATM Master Passwords 356
default DOLLAR writes to mention an eWeek article following up on the ATM reprogramming scam pulled in Virginia Beach last week. A security researcher in New York has used a YouTube video, a few Google searches, and other legal methods to discover the master passwords to thousands of ATMs across the country. From the article: "Dave Goldsmith, founder and president of penetration testing outfit Matasano Security, in New York, did not say how he obtained the operator manual--which contains master passwords and other sensitive security information about the cash-dispensing machines--but an eWEEK investigation shows that a simple Google query will return a 102-page PDF file that provides a road map to the hack."
