emseabrown - Slashdot User

Submission + - Bill Gates on 640k (1989)

Submitted by

billgatesforpresiden

on Friday March 02, 2007 @08:07PM

billgatesforpresiden writes: "There's an article at NewsForge about a recently recovered talk that Bill Gates gave back in 1989. He covers many other topics, including OS/2, software piracy, the history of the software industry, and his role at Microsoft. In particular, Gates talks about how in 1981, he thought that 640k would be good enough for at least 10 years. Do we finally have proof of Gates' "640k ought to be enough for anybody" quote?"

Submission + - Sun is the biggest contributor to Open Source

Submitted by kaffiene on Thursday February 22, 2007 @05:17PM

kaffiene writes: A new EU study shows that Sun is the biggest commercial contributor to Open Source by a long shot. All this as IBM fires a broadside at Sun for it's Open Source strategy.

Submission + - Level 1 Web Browsers...

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 19, 2007 @05:07PM

An anonymous reader writes: Looks like Microsoft are defining Browsers as either Level 1 or 2 with Level 1 being the superior browser consisting of guess which browsers...! http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsserver/sha repoint/techinfo/sysreqs.mspx

Submission + - US trains new ELITE Swedish anti-piracy policeunit

Submitted by soulxtc on Monday February 19, 2007 @04:18PM

soulxtc writes: Never one to let its interests anywhere in the world go unprotected, the FBI and the MPAA have teamed up with the Swedish govt to create an elite corps of Swedish anti-piracy police. In an effort to help stamp out pesky Swedish pirates, FBI agent Andrew Myers and the MPAA have given a group of six Swedish police officers extensive training on how to effectively combat piracy and catch people who engage in illegal downloading from the internet.

Submission + - IT force feedback

Submitted by on Monday February 19, 2007 @04:16PM

An anonymous reader writes: I've been lost in thought for a while on the direction I want to take with my life, and since I'm in IT like most of the readers on this site I thought I'd poll my peers. I've previously acquired an associate's degree in business for information systems and in a few months I'll have a bachelors of science in information technology. At the same time I'm one of the lead developers for a software development company that will remain nameless. At this point in my life I'm not sure what direction to take next. While I enjoy working with code and software systems I find that the joy of learning new things pales in comparison to the thought that the software I develop is nothing but useless in six months to anyone who uses it. I've been toying with the idea of graduate school but I'm lost as far as the direction to take. I really want to become involved in technology that actually makes a difference and affects people's lives other than these corporate applications. If you were me or have gone through a similar situation what did you do to find the right path? Is there a graduate field of study that I should be looking into or a known career path that IT people can follow in order to get into a field where they're developing applications or technology that you can see the difference it makes? People who program machines for NASA get to see the fruits of their labor, people who develop embedded systems for medical uses get to know their work helps others, and that's the sort of thing I'm talking about. I'm sorry if this comes off as another lame thread. I've never posted to Slashdot before but I've been reading it for years. I hope I can get some constructive criticism or feedback. Thanks everyone.

Submission + - Anti-DRM Petition Response From Downing Street

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 19, 2007 @03:15PM

An anonymous reader writes: Downing Street have released a statement in response to a petition on their website.
It states that all products with DRM should be labelled on how the product can be used or not used.

It is clear though that the needs and rights of consumers must also be carefully safeguarded. It is reasonable for consumers to be informed what is actually being offered for sale, for example, and how and where the purchaser will be able to use the product, and any restrictions applied.

It also references the Gowers Report [PDF warning] published December 2006 and the recommendations proposed in the report.

Recommendations include introducing a limited private copying exception by 2008 for format shifting for works published after the date that the law comes into effect. There should be no accompanying levies for consumers. Also making it easier for users to file notice of complaints procedures relating to Digital Rights Management tools by providing an accessible web interface on the Patent Office website by 2008 and that DTI should investigate the possibility of providing consumer guidance on DRM systems through a labelling convention without imposing unnecessary regulatory burdens

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