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Security

Submission + - Is Anti-Virus software dead?

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: After stumbling over several unanimous recommendations against using viral scans for your email (which somewhat shattered my security world view), I started to notice a bigger and bigger movement which argues against the use of anti-virus software altogether, as it is ineffective against the main threats of malware, counter-productive (as it eats up system resources), and seems to be more of a "good-luck charm" than anything else.

I have to admit that, even though I deal with loads of suspicious software, I can't even remember when I got the last real virus warning.

So — is it time to dump your anti-virus software, go "commando", and free yourself from the shackles of these system drags?
Operating Systems

Submission + - Is now the time for a Windows alternative?

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: The current software industry environment raises questions about the possibility of an alternative commercial desktop operating system for PCs. Consumers seem to finally understand that they are responsible for market diversity, and that relying on government intervention will not improve the situation. As evidence of this, consider the increasing adoption of standards based applications such as Firefox and OpenOffice. Furthermore, frustration with draconian licensing models and protection environments has facilitated the emergence of DRM-free media. Thanks to the attention given to web applications, the availability of small legacy utilities is not perceived to be the issue it once was. Windows Vista is exuberantly priced, relying on an extortionary tiered licensing model that reeks of intentional crippling. Macs are actually gaining market share. Is hell freezing over? Could a low priced, snappy, easy to use, commercially backed desktop operating system a la BEOS actually succeed? I have the faint impression, that were BEOS released now rather than 6 years prior, it would be commercially viable. Any thoughts? (As a side note, we should celebrate Microsoft's efforts for preventing users from pirating Windows. If they are successful, the argument to force bundling on new PCs is questionable.)
The Internet

Submission + - What traffic do you value most on your network?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The company I work for has just implemented the technology to shape traffic almost any way possible, but have not necessarily decided on how to implement the technology. The goal is to aide our existing pipes to the internet enough to delay purchasing an additional pipe. The majority of our traffic is HTTP (~65%), followed by a few major P2P protocols (~30%). Limiting P2P will help our contention issue. I personally have no problem with shaping traffic until an additional pipe is in place; however management is ready to 'cut the *[p2p] to 348K.' This leads me to believe shaping P2P traffic will be a long term plan to maximize profits. The mindset seems to be that 99.999% P2P traffic is illegal anyways. What are your thoughts?
Linux Business

Submission + - Bubba: the best Linux appliance ever?

Submitted by
Joe Barr
Joe Barr writes: "Bubba is both heavier and smaller than I expected, weighing roughly 3.5 pounds and yet scarcely larger than a typical 3.5-inch IDE drive. Four models are available, differing in the size of their hard drive from 80 to 750GB. The Bubba I tested had a 320GB drive. The device comes with a short Category 5 cable, power supply, and power cord. Bubba is the best Linux-based product I've tried."

Feed DARPA developing threat sensing binoculars (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Wearables

The night-vision thing has definitely been done a time or two before, but DARPA's latest initiative is looking beyond the darkness as it hopes to create a set of binoculars that can actually detect threats and warn soldiers of impending death. Taking a note from Star Wars, the jokingly dubbed "Luke's Devices" is actually considered a "cognitive technology threat warning system," and utilizes brain monitoring to bring attention to spikes in activity before the person can actually realize he / she has noticed something awry. Among the gizmos that'll bring this all together are "neurally-based target detection signatures, ultra-low power analog / digital hybrid signal processing electronics, wide-angle optics, large pixel-count digital imagers, and cognitive visual processing algorithms." Yeah, sounds pretty complicated to us too, but unlike snazzy concepts we've seen before, the gurus behind these goggles reportedly hope to have prototypes ready for battle in just a few years.

[Via Wired]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Linux Business

Submission + - Can GPL be enforced in China?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The legal recognition of GPL in China is at best a grey area, but at most unrecognized due to limited government regulations and confusion of whether or not GPL requires copy right since it is interpreted at free. Chinese officials have a long way to go to understand what Free means. Until they do, developers in China are going to find a better way to cooperate and ensure the longevity of their projects.
Software

Submission + - Apache urges Sun to free JCK

Submitted by
bjourne
bjourne writes: "Geir Magnusson Jr. head of the Apache Software Foundation has written an Open Letter to Sun Microsystems urging them to lift certain IP rights restrictions present in their license of their Java Compatibility Kit. Apparently, the current JCK licensing terms are unacceptable to the Apache Harmony project. Sun's initial response is fairly vague, but ASF:s request has not been dismissed outright. Sun recently choose to to free Java itself, so one must wonder if a free and GPL licensed JCK isn't also on the horizon. If not, what is preventing them from doing that and how does it affect free Java implementations such as Harmony and Classpath?"
Announcements

Submission + - Kurt Vonnegut - R.I.P.

Submitted by
cultrhetor
cultrhetor writes: "Kurt Vonnegut, whose satiric eye, tinged with an oddly innocent moral vision, left an indelible mark on science fiction with Player Piano and The Sirens of Titan, and on American Literature as a whole from Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five forward, died at age 84 from "irreversible brain injuries" resulting from a fall six weeks ago, according to an article in the New York Times. From the article:


His novels — 14 in all — were alternate universes, filled with topsy-turvy images and populated by races of his own creation, like the Tralfamadorians and the Mercurian Harmoniums. He invented phenomena like chrono-synclastic infundibula (places in the universe where all truths fit neatly together) as well as religions, like the Church of God the Utterly Indifferent and Bokononism (based on the books of a black British Episcopalian from Tobago "filled with bittersweet lies," a narrator says).
"
Books

Submission + - Kurt Vonnegut RIP

Submitted by
letchhausen
letchhausen writes: "I just saw the sad news that Kurt Vonnegut has died from complications resulting from a fall. He was 84."
IBM

Submission + - IBM Heralds 3-D Chip Breakthrough

Submitted by
David Kesmodel from WSJ
David Kesmodel from WSJ writes: "IBM said it achieved a breakthrough in developing a three-dimensional semiconductor chip that can be stacked on top of another electronic device in a vertical configuration, the Wall Street Journal reports. Chip makers have worked for years to develop ways to connect one type of chip to another vertically to reduce size and power use. The new chips may appear in cellphones and other communication devices as soon as next year, the WSJ reports."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - What's Your Worst Boss Story?

Submitted by greysky
greysky writes: While reading The Crazy Boss Hall of Fame today I started thinking about all the strange bosses I've worked for over the years. None of them compared with this guy:

Rickover grilled McGowan, a recent top graduate from Ole Miss, about how many dates he had a week. Five, McGowan guessed. "How long did the dates take?" Rickover asked. Three hours, he replied. That's 15 hours a week, Rickover barked. What a waste of time. Why don't you take three women out at once and spend only five hours a week on dates?
What's your worst boss horror story?
The Gimp

Submission + - Is This The End Of The Koala?

Submitted by zentropa
zentropa writes: So, Is This The End Of The Koala? Australian magazine Cosmos reports
that extreme drought, ferocious bushfires and expanding urban development are exacting a heavy toll Australia's koalas and might push the species towards extinction in the wild within a decade. Could this be the end of the cuccly Australian icon, they ask.

Feed Meet the Hamster Shredder (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

We've already got a 100,000-large network of hamsters in wheels powering backup generators at Engadget HQ, but in the interest of energy conservation (especially going into the warmer months), we think Tom Ballhatchet's Hamster Shredder might be an order. Just be mindful to keep your little guy clear of the paper-grinding gears, we wouldn't want this thing taking its name literally.

[Via Core 77]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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