Comment Re:Why did it took this long... (Score 1) 223
oh how i wish i had mod points...
Comment Re:How about something... er... sturdier (Score 1) 523
My university uses those in internet terminal kiosks placed in prominent public areas (like student lounges). A recent emergency (dead laptop battery) forced me to use one of those. God, was it painful.
Comment to quote gizmodo (Score 1) 234
Dearest Psion,
Netbook. Netbook netbook netbook. Netbook netbook netbook, netbook netbook!
Netbook,
Netbook.
- Netbook
Netbook. Netbook netbook netbook. Netbook netbook netbook, netbook netbook!
Netbook,
Netbook.
- Netbook
Comment Re:Shoot the messenger. (Score 2, Insightful) 534
Right because Apple's so good about offering support for anything legacy? Give me a break.
I'm typing this from OS X Lepoard on my 12" PowerBook G4.
Comment Re:OpenOffice works on Windows??? (Score 2, Funny) 348
Someone tell me that parent is not serious.
Losing My Software Rights? 440
vintagepc writes "Having written a piece of software as part of my research employment, I now face (and will later face again, with other software I've developed), the issue of intellectual property rights. The legal department stated that if I was paid by the University to produce the software, the University would own all rights to it. This is supposedly black and white, not a gray area. However, I was hired as a research student, not directly by the University, and also via a research award (NSERC). Furthermore, it turns out that faculty members here, in fact, retain their intellectual rights to any software they write. At this point, I can still back out, since I have not explicitly agreed to the conditions, but this decision must be made soon. So, I turn to the Slashdot community to ask: Are they allowed to completely strip my rights to the software? If anyone has had any similar experiences, then what was the outcome? Additionally, is this a normal action, or do I have some maneuvering room?"
Comment wishful thinking (Score 4, Informative) 217
I don't doubt that Valve has investigated the possibility of a native Linux client. However, Phoronix doesn't seem to be looking in the right places. Let's go through what they brought up from the perspective of someone who is familiar with the Source engine:
steamclient_linux.so - this is the ONLY interesting file. I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that a majority is stubbed out and this is a remnant of the port of L4D to Steamworks - it uses a more generic library layout to work with any application, not tightly integrated with Source as before. Perhaps the server uses some functions in it to connect to the Steam master servers. That would explain why they only found it to be about half the size of the Windows version.
studiorender_i486.so - Valve calls their 3D model format a "studio model." I'm fairly certain that this file is stubbed out and only the model loader is available - the physics engine needs it to get at mesh data.
vstdlib_i486.so - Valve's standard libraries. Routines and classes used throughout the engine. No surprise, it's been shipping as long as the dedicated server has.
libsteam_api_linux.so - The API into Steam. Again, probably a Steamworks artifact. Again, perhaps part is used by the dedicated server.
engine_i486.so - core engine functionality. Anything that isn't factored out into another library (there are about 45) exists in here. I'm fairly sure that typically, left4dead.exe connects to Steam, then loads this library to make stuff happen. Core client and server code (operation, not logic) is in here.
Unfortunately, I have since removed the demo from my computer (bought the actual game, well worth it) and can't investigate these files any further. I don't think this is 100% indicative of Valve having a Linux client ready, but rather extreme extrapolation on Phoronix's part. I'm completely with them on wanting a client though.
steamclient_linux.so - this is the ONLY interesting file. I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that a majority is stubbed out and this is a remnant of the port of L4D to Steamworks - it uses a more generic library layout to work with any application, not tightly integrated with Source as before. Perhaps the server uses some functions in it to connect to the Steam master servers. That would explain why they only found it to be about half the size of the Windows version.
studiorender_i486.so - Valve calls their 3D model format a "studio model." I'm fairly certain that this file is stubbed out and only the model loader is available - the physics engine needs it to get at mesh data.
vstdlib_i486.so - Valve's standard libraries. Routines and classes used throughout the engine. No surprise, it's been shipping as long as the dedicated server has.
libsteam_api_linux.so - The API into Steam. Again, probably a Steamworks artifact. Again, perhaps part is used by the dedicated server.
engine_i486.so - core engine functionality. Anything that isn't factored out into another library (there are about 45) exists in here. I'm fairly sure that typically, left4dead.exe connects to Steam, then loads this library to make stuff happen. Core client and server code (operation, not logic) is in here.
Unfortunately, I have since removed the demo from my computer (bought the actual game, well worth it) and can't investigate these files any further. I don't think this is 100% indicative of Valve having a Linux client ready, but rather extreme extrapolation on Phoronix's part. I'm completely with them on wanting a client though.
AP Suspends DoD Over Altered US Army Photo 622
djupedal notes a story up at the BBC about the Associated Press's suspension of the use of Department of Defense photos after a photo of General Ann Dunwoody was found to have been altered (before and after comparison). "The Pentagon has become embroiled in a row after the US Army released a photo of a general to the media which was found to have been digitally altered. Ann Dunwoody was shown in front of the US flag but it later emerged that this background had been added. The Associated Press news agency subsequently suspended the use of US Department of Defense photos. 'For us, there's a zero-tolerance policy of adding or subtracting actual content from an image,' said Santiago Lyon, AP's director of photography."
Comment Re:Does this... (Score 1) 487
X11R6.7: April 2004
OS X 10.4: April 2005
OS X 10.5: October 2007
Not to mention that Apple puts a large amount of effort into customizing X to their needs. Oh and there's also the little niggle that X is just another application that a very small niche of Mac users need...
OS X 10.4: April 2005
OS X 10.5: October 2007
Not to mention that Apple puts a large amount of effort into customizing X to their needs. Oh and there's also the little niggle that X is just another application that a very small niche of Mac users need...
CERN, the Big Bang and Impact On the IT Industry 169
whencanistop writes "ComputerWeekly have put together a nice short guide (with lots of links) of what is going on at CERN. They've got a nice slant though on what this big bang experiment is going to mean for the IT Industry. Interesting slant on the world's largest grid and the database clustering technology that they are using. They have also picked up on the amusing rap video by CERN's scientists that has been wandering around YouTube."
The Duke Is Finally Back, For Real 309
After the first announcement on 1997-04-27 and over eleven years of fresh start after fresh start, Duke Nukem Forever finally comes to your system. At least if your system is an Xbox 360. Jon Siegler, the webmaster of 3D Realms, confirms this on their site: "As has been reported around the net today, we can confirm that the game has indeed passed final certification with Microsoft on Friday the 15th of August (on our first try, no less). That means the game is done — it is now in the hands of Microsoft." Update: 08/19 10:47 GMT by T : Several readers have written with a correction: this announcement is actually about Duke Nukem 3D, rather than Duke Nukem Forever.
Submission + - WWII sabotage manual advocates modern management (hyperorg.com)
niteice writes: "A recently declassified US Strategic Services sabotage manual from 1944 gives techniques on how to covertly sabotage business from within in an enemy-occupied area. Some suggestions:
Insist on doing everything through "channels." Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions. ... Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible. Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions. ... Be worried about the propriety of any decision — raise the question of whether such action as is contemplated lies within the jurisdiction of the group or whether it might conflict with the policy of some higher echelon.
If this sounds like modern management techniques, you're right. It reads as if someone replaced "sabotage" with "business" and gave it to your boss. Direct PDF link (2.2mb)."
Insist on doing everything through "channels." Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions.
If this sounds like modern management techniques, you're right. It reads as if someone replaced "sabotage" with "business" and gave it to your boss. Direct PDF link (2.2mb)."
Submission + - Life on Mars the methane theory (spacestart.eu)
p1234 writes: A good possibility for life on mars is a lifeform which metabolize Carbon-dioxide and produces Hydrogen. This should explain the excistence of methane in the Martian atmosphere. Methane in a planets atmosphere has a lifetime of a couple of hundred years en then it's gone again.
Verizon Denies DSL Because of Subscriber's Name 493
mikek2 writes "When retired Philadelphia-area doctor and Vietnam veteran Dr. Herman I. Libshitz went to upgrade his dial-up connection to Verizon DSL, he was informed they wouldn't complete the order because his last name contained an expletive. Repeated calls to several levels of management at Verizon failed to resolve the problem, with several managers suggesting he change his last name. It all worked out in the end, after the Philadelphia Enquirer intervened."
Text-Messaging Behind the Wheel 517
theodp writes "TIME interviews 21-year-old Taylor Leming, creator of the 600-member Facebook group I Text Message People While Driving and I Haven't Crashed Yet! While Alaska and Louisiana just became the latest states to pass laws banning text-messaging behind the wheel, Virginia resident Leming is still happily texting away while driving despite some near-accidents. 'Sometimes it just seems easier to text 'Be there in 5' instead of calling,' explains Taylor."
