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The Courts

Submission + - Whirlpool Sued for $150,000 (whirlpool.net.au)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Whirlpool founder Simon Wright is being sued by accounting software firm 2Clix Australia Pty Ltd (ACN 118 044 198) (Rumor has it they have rebadged their product as Platinum One) for alleged "injurious falsehood". The Statement of Claim from the company alleges that Simon Wright allowed statements "relating to the Plaintiff and its software product that are both false and malicious" to be published on the Whirlpool forums. 2Clix is suing for at least $150,000 (plus costs), and is demanding that two forum threads be removed from the site. Whirlpool believes the action has no merit and will defend the matter vigorously,despite being a community website with little resources.
Software

Submission + - What qualities make for a good MMORPG?

Submitted by
Anonymous Gamer
Anonymous Gamer writes: "I am a long time RPG gamer. I've played pen and paper games for over 20 years, from Palladium Games, to Star Wars, to classic D&D. I have also been playing computer RPGs for a long time, all the way back to Legacy Of The Ancients (1987) and before.

Today's MMO's often leave a lot to be desired. I do not play WoW. I do not play Everquest. I've tried them all, and the "grind" just didn't appeal.

What makes a _good_ MMORPG, in the minds of Slashdot's crowd?

I like factions. I think EVERY world should be full PVP. The user-generated content of games like NeverWinter Nights has kept it going for years now.

My ideal MMO would have a "Elder Scrolls" style of progression in levels. You get better at the things you practice most.
Factions would be blended together, with guildmasters able to declare hostility to others, allowing for the "tags" of others to change colors based on that. User created drama can bring a great deal of fun to a game. Limiting the population somewhat will bring more of a family feel to the world. Limiting the resources to gain money and power quickly will keep the competitiveness high between factions.

There should be laws, and the world should be able to change. For example, if Reynard the thief decides to burn down the pawnshop because he got a bad deal on a gem he stole. The AI of the game should not only allow him to do it, but punish him by causing the guards to target him on sight. Perhaps his name would get a symbol next to it, allowing for players to hunt him down for the bounty. Bottom line, if you're a bad guy, you should eventually be driven out of civilized lands altogether. Good guys and newbie players should be wary of journeying alone in the wilds, because bad things happen to good people.. and good games. Perhaps people on a development team will read our ideas and run with it."
Microsoft

Submission + - An Open Letter to Microsoft (nonlogic.org)

Submitted by
Azh Nazg
Azh Nazg writes: "I saw that Microsoft had decided to support open source and free software, and yet, they've not done anything at all in response. Therefore, I decided to write an open letter to them. I submit it here for your approval, in hopes that it will change something, or at least inform a few more people of their BS."
Displays

Submission + - Wave your hands to control your TV

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "Two engineers from the University of Wollongong, Australia (UOW), have developed a box that will replace your TV remote control. You'll just have to wave your hands to control your electronic gadgets. Their box contains a camera that recognizes your hand signals and translates them into electronic commands for your TV and other gadgets. Apparently, the controller's built-in camera can recognize seven simple hand gestures and work with up to eight different gadgets. The researchers say that their device is 100% accurate under normal lighting conditions and could be on sale within 3 years. But read more for additional details and a graphic showing how the hand signal device works."
Security

Submission + - What are the current challenges in IT security?

Submitted by
Domi
Domi writes: "I am going to do a PhD in Computer Science in the very near future. I am particularly interested in IT security. Having read many papers and articles, it occurred to me that most topics in this field have been widely researched already. Although I am really fascinated by all the security stuff, I asked myself the question? What topics will be highly relevant in the future? What are the upcoming challenges in the security world? Where is in-depth research still desperately needed? I couldn't come up with a good answer. But surely the Slashdot crowd can!"
PHP

Submission + - Death of php4 imminent - say open source projects (gophp5.org)

Submitted by
b.rudge
b.rudge writes: "Several open source projects have joined forces and given web hosts an ultimatum to upgrade or die with php4.

"PHP 4 has served the web developer community for seven years now, and served it well. However, it also shows its age. Most of PHP 4's shortcomings have been addressed by PHP 5, released three years ago, but the transition from PHP 4 to PHP 5..."
GoPHP5.org has given web hosts exactly 214 days warning to upgrade, and is trying to gather more open source php projects to gain momentum."
Software

Submission + - Windows Safari Key to iPhone Success? (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by
oxide7
oxide7 writes: "Here's an important concept that is hard for some people to swallow: Macintosh doesn't matter. Sure, I am sitting here on an airplane (flying to Microsoft) running Word on Mac OS X and writing this column. Like most owners, I love my MacBook Pro, especially since it now runs Microsoft Windows at an acceptable performance level. But, if you take all the Mac users on the planet and get them to buy iPhones, the overall wireless handset market would hardly notice. There just aren't enough of us to matter. Need proof? Look no further than the iPod."
Spam

Submission + - Where does a sysadmin go for help?

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: I believe I have stumbled up a new FreeBSD based rootkit/hack/backdoor/whatever you want to call it. I'm pretty sure I know how it was installed on the server, I've got a pretty good idea of how most of it works, but there are parts that are over my head. I am not an idiot, but I am lacking the reverse engineer skills required to see exactly how it works. I am leery about posting my findings to a public forum because the last thing I want to do is give the script kiddies a new toy to play with without having full knowledge of how it works myself. I would prefer to disclose what I've found to a trustworthy third party who can elaborate on my findings and then have the findings posted publicly should this turn out to be something new. Please keep in mind I have googled, yahooed, searched forums, searched usenet for any mention of what I have found and have come up empty handed. It's entirely possible this is nothing new, and I am a n00b, but in either case my question is: where does a sysadmin go when he doesn't have and can't find an answer? PS: I am already aware that in Soviet Russia, answer finds you. Unfortunately I don't live in Soviet Russia. :(
Intel

Submission + - Paul Murphy: "Intel Macs Are Killing the Plane

Submitted by Leeenux
Leeenux writes: According to LinuxInsider's Paul Murphy, Apple's migration from PowerPC to Intel processors resulted in a massive spike in power consumption that has hurt economic diversity of the US and devastated the environment. Even worse, he suggests, it involves scandal on the part of Apple board member Al Gore. RDM disagrees: Paul Murphy's 'Intel Macs Are Killing the Planet' Myth.
Enlightenment

Submission + - The oddest iPod accessory ever

Submitted by
Gary
Gary writes: "Could the iRosary be the oddest iPod accessory ever? The idea is to help young, hip Catholics learn the prayers. It works by using the iPod's famous white earphones cable which comes with a single bead that can be shifted. The change in position of the bead creates a measurable pulse that can be translated to the sound of traditional beads on a string. Users can choose from "Infidel", "Believer" and "Shepherd" settings — playing back the matching MP3s as the bead is moved."
The Internet

Submission + - 70 Expert Ideas for Better CSS Coding

Submitted by Patrick Griffin
Patrick Griffin writes: CSS isn't always easy to deal with. Depending on your skills and your experience, CSS coding can sometimes become a nightmare, particularly if you aren't sure which selectors are actually being applied to document elements. The article 70 Expert Ideas for Better CSS Coding includes over 70 expert tips, which can improve your efficiency of CSS coding. It also has most interesting and useful CSS ideas, methods, techniques and coding solutions as well as basic techniques you can probably use in every project you are developing, but which are hard to find once you need them.
Science

Scientists Claim Major Leap in Engine Design 775

Posted by Zonk from the but-does-it-still-make-roaring-noises dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Purdue researchers say they have made a major advance in the design of the internal combustion engine, one that could seriously boost fuel efficiency and cut emissions. A key portion involves building intake and exhaust valves that are no longer driven by mechanisms connected to the pistons, a departure from the way car engines have worked since they were commercialized more than a century ago. 'The concept, known as variable valve actuation, would enable significant improvements in conventional gasoline and diesel engines used in cars and trucks and for applications such as generators, he said. The technique also enables the introduction of an advanced method called homogeneous charge compression ignition, or HCCI, which would allow the United States to drastically reduce its dependence on foreign oil and the production of harmful exhaust emissions. The homogeneous charge compression ignition technique would make it possible to improve the efficiency of gasoline engines by 15 percent to 20 percent, making them as efficient as diesel engines while nearly eliminating smog-generating nitrogen oxides, Shaver said.'"

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