Comment Re:Goatse frames? (Score 1) 174
You were not alone.
Submission + - How long do you wait for replies to e-mail?
tinkertim writes: "What I am asking has been asked many times before.
I've noticed that people (in general, through my own dealings) seem to be growing increasingly impatient (seems more so over the last year).
I'd like to ask slashdot readers, simply, how long does it take before you feel that someone 'blew you off' by not replying to your e-mail and how upset do you get when this appears to happen?"
Submission + - BonziBUDDY ported to Mac OS X - the world's end?
An anonymous reader writes: As it could be read recently on digg and Ars Technica, the world famoust spyware, the BonziBUDDY, has been ported to OSX, no exatcly like the original but as price for the spyware freeness, with a bit more "profane" attitude to the users. Does spyware free ports of the world famoust spyware bring the mac world in danger? At least it's worth a good laugh.
Wikipedia Blocks Qatar [Updated] 204
GrumpySimon writes "Wikipedia has blocked the entire country of Qatar from editing pages. Whilst the ban is due to spam-abuse coming from the IP address in question, the fact that this belongs to the country's sole high-speed internet provider has the unintended consequence of stopping Qataris from editing the wiki. The ban has raised concerns about impartiality — the majority of Al Jazeera journalists operate out of Qatar, for example. This raises a number of issues about internet connectivity in small countries — what other internet bottlenecks like this exist?" Update: 01/02 13:32 GMT by Z : Jim Wales wrote in the comments that the story is 'completely false'. Either way, the ban has been lifted and anonymous editing is once again possible from Qatar.
Microsoft Applies to Patent RSS in Vista 119
Cyvros wrote in with a link to Wired's Monkey Bites blog, which is featuring a post on Microsoft applying for a patent on RSS. As the article points out, this isn't as crazy as it seems at first blush. From the wording of the application, post author Scott Gilbertson interprets their move as a patent on RSS only within Vista and IE7. From the article: "The big mystery is what Microsoft is planning to do with the patents if they are awarded them. The sad state of patent affairs in the United States has led to several cases of Microsoft being sued for technologies they did arguably invent simply because some else owned a generic patent on them. Of course we have no way of knowing how Microsoft intends to use these patents if they are awarded them. They could represent a defensive move, but they could be offensive as well -- [self-described RSS inventor Dave] Winer may end up being correct. It would be nice to see Microsoft release some information on what they plan to do with these patents, but for now we'll just have to wait and see whether the US Patent and Trademark Office grants them."
Submission + - Google Documents and Spreadsheet enters Desktop
IT Soup writes: "http://itsoup.blogspot.com/2006/12/google-docs-and -spreadsheets-now-enters.html
Yet another signal on Google's intention to use its huge market cap in Internet to gain access to Microsoft's honeyspot.
Users who install new Google Toolbar 'can' now 'double-click' any compatible document (.doc, .xls, .odt, .rtf, .csv) on their computer and it will open straight in a browser in Google Docs and Spreadsheet."
Justin Long No Longer A Mac 333
david.emery writes "Wired is reporting that Apple will be replacing Justin Long as its 'Mac' in their 'I'm a Mac/I'm a PC' ad campaign. John Hodgman, the personification of the PC, is reportedly shooting new commercials." From the article: "Even people who hate the campaign find their core idea compelling enough to endlessly satirize the series on YouTube. The one enduring criticism of the ads is that John Hodgman's PC is funnier and more likable than Justin Long's sleazy hipster doofus Mac. (just what was he saying to that hot new camera from Japan?) Hodgman is a riot (just read "The Areas of My Expertise" if you don't believe me), but I'm not sure how the new series of ads goes on from here. Is there a new Mac? Does Hodgman become the Mac?"
Submission + - U.K. outlaws denial-of-service attacks
gnaremooz writes: A U.K. law has been passed that makes it an offense to launch denial-of-service attacks:
Wouldn't this outlaw any kind of copy-protection system? Anyone want to be a test case?Among the provisions of the Police and Justice Bill 2006, which gained Royal Assent on Wednesday, is a clause that makes it an offense to impair the operation of any computer system. Other clauses prohibit preventing or hindering access to a program or data held on a computer, or impairing the operation of any program or data held on a computer.
3-D Software for 'Virtual Surgery' 59
Roland Piquepaille writes "Computer scientists at Brigham Young University (BYU) have developed a new software tool to perform 'virtual surgery'. This tool, dubbed 'Live Surface,' will allow surgeons to visualize in 3-D any part of a patient's anatomy with just a few clicks of a mouse. Similar software already exists, but according to the Deseret Morning News, Live Surface is interactive and fast. This software can be used for better diagnosis by physicians, but it might even suppress the need for some exploratory surgeries. The researchers add that Live Surface might even been used for special-effects in movies or games by extracting an actor's performance from a video clip."
Vermont Launches 'Cow Power' System 400
odyaws writes "Central Vermont Public Service has launched Cow Power, a system by which power users can opt to buy 25, 50, or 100% of their electricity from dairy farms that run generators on methane obtained from cow manure. Cow Power costs only 4 cents/kWh more than market price, so a household like mine would only pay $5-6/month more at 100% usage. The big question now is whether Vermont-based Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream will use power generated from the manure of cows treated with Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone."
UK Law May Criminalize IT Pros 514
An anonymous reader writes "More worrying news from the UK. This time, a bill meant to fight cybercrime may make it illegal to use or make available network security tools available, just because they could be used by hackers." From the article: "Clayton cited the Perl scripting language, created by Larry Wall in 1987, as an example of a useful technology that could fall foul of the law. 'Perl is almost universally used on a daily basis to permit the Internet to function,' said Clayton. 'I doubt if there is a sysadmin on the planet who hasn't written a Perl program at some time or another. Equally, almost every hacker who commits an offense under section 1 or section 3 of the CMA will use Perl as part of their toolkit. Unless Larry is especially stupid, and there is very little evidence for that, he will form the opinion that hackers are likely to use his Perl system. Locking Larry up is surely not desirable.'" A note that this is equally confusing but separate from yesterday's story about the UK government wanting private encryption keys.
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