Feed IBM banks on software for growth (theregister.com)
IBM acquires software governance
RSDC
Submission + - Suing Trolls on Mess Boards for Threats (reuters.co.uk)
* * Beatles-Beatles writes: "Defendant began a thread in 2005 seeking to warn Yale students about one of the women in the suit, entitled "Stupid Bitch to Enter Yale Law." Another threatened to rape and sodomize her, the lawsuit documents said
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?t ype=internetNews&storyid=2007-06-17T010410Z_01_N15 292674_RTRIDST_0_OUKIN-UK-USA-INTERNET-LAWSUIT.XML
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/06/16/new-suit-coul d-expose-anonymous-internet-trolls/"
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/06/16/new-suit-cou
Submission + - Why Does Ebay Insult Customers? (barrisbilt.com)
Ralph Riccardi writes: "I am presently having a dispute with eBay over the fact that I mistakenly listed a car 2 minutes before their promo went in effect. (I am EDT, they use PDT). I ask for a credit ($39) and they reply with 2 emails that are both insulting and condescending in tone. This is not about the money, but rather the way a huge company in the middle of some serious competition issues treats the customers that made them the success they are. I wonder if the powers that be at eBay know about any of this questionable customer service, or in fact, set these policies. I will gladly forward all the emails to you or post them on my blog if you are interested. Feel free to contact me for any additional information. Also, I have not responded to the second email yet. Thanks for taking the time to look this over.
Ralph Riccardi"
Ralph Riccardi"
Submission + - Pump and dump spam coming to VOIP?
An anonymous reader writes: This morning I received a phone spam for a penny stock. It was similar to the robotic political campaign calls that plagued during the last election (I was receiving over 10 a day in the weeks leading up to the election). The call had all the tact of a late night infomercial, proclaiming... "STOP! Do you trade in stocks? Then you need to BUY XXXX (I won't do them the justice of perpetrating their pump and dump). Thats XXXX! This stock is set to run! Get in now before the news breaks sending XXXX into the stratosphere" You get the point.
I'm on the do not call list and use a "zapper" so my normal telemarketer frequency, aside from political and charity calls is very low. I did just register a new domain name and didn't configure my private registration for a couple of days... so I imagine my number could have been scraped from WHOIS.
So I put it out to other Slashdotters... have you experienced this? Do we have to look forward to a new level of spam harassment utilizing the latest and greatest in low cost automated phone banks? Has the cost of VOIP brought the cost of spamming down so low as to be profitable for the pump and dump scam artist?
I'm on the do not call list and use a "zapper" so my normal telemarketer frequency, aside from political and charity calls is very low. I did just register a new domain name and didn't configure my private registration for a couple of days... so I imagine my number could have been scraped from WHOIS.
So I put it out to other Slashdotters... have you experienced this? Do we have to look forward to a new level of spam harassment utilizing the latest and greatest in low cost automated phone banks? Has the cost of VOIP brought the cost of spamming down so low as to be profitable for the pump and dump scam artist?
Submission + - Father Day - Top 5 Dads in Sci-Fi (wordpress.com)
darthcamaro writes: In honor of Father's day..who are the top five dads in Sci-Fi? Alright Vader has to be number one but who do add after that?
There is a list up on ShowMeSciFi and includes...Bill Adama, Sarek and Kyle Reese.
There is a list up on ShowMeSciFi and includes...Bill Adama, Sarek and Kyle Reese.
Feed Linspire CEO singing a different tune after Microsoft deal (slashdot.org)
When Linspire 6.0 is released next month, it will include the fruits of the recently announced marriage between Linspire and Microsoft. Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony says he has been in talks with Microsoft for about a year and a half before reaching...
Submission + - Cellphone "Phantom Vibration Syndrome" ... (usatoday.com)
Ant writes: "This USA Today article on what some call it "phantom vibration syndrome." Others prefer "vibranxiety" — the feeling when you answer your vibrating cellular/cell phone, only to find it never vibrated at all. Though no known studies have analyzed what may cause spontaneous buzzing. Some who experienced recurring phantom vibrations wondered whether the phenomenon had physical roots: Was it caused by nerve damage or muscle memory?
But experts say the false alarms simply demonstrate how easily habits are developed. Psychologically, the key to deciphering phantom vibrations is "hypothesis-guided search," a theory that describes the selective monitoring of physical sensations, says Jeffrey Janata, director of the behavioral medicine program at University Hospitals in Cleveland. It suggests that when cellphone users are alert to vibrations, they are likely to experience sporadic false alarms, he says...
Seen on Digg."
Submission + - Why people write online documen (onlamp.com)
mbadolato writes: The O'Reilly Network published a survey asking why people contribute to online forums, wikis, and other technical documentation. With over 350 responses, the results and analysis are published here
The article summarizes some of the debates concerning online gifting, presents the results of the survey, and attempts to analyze the meaning of the results.
The article summarizes some of the debates concerning online gifting, presents the results of the survey, and attempts to analyze the meaning of the results.
Feed Sony apologizes over Manchester Cathedral gunfight scene (engadget.com)
Filed under: Gaming
Sony's PR department has got to be one of the oddest places in the world to work: what other job requires doing damage control over accusations of running a racist marketing campaign and apologizing to the Church of England about violent video games in the same breath? Well, the latter is the current situation report from the whole "Resistance: Fall of Man level being set in Manchester Cathedral" brouhaha. Apparently, the company and the Church are going to sit down and discuss the Church's demands -- how much the company will be donating, and whether there will be a recall of the game -- with the background of Sony sincerely apologizing to anyone that was offended by the depiction. In light of this controversy, the embarrassment from asking a Church "can we make a video game where we shoot aliens inside this Cathedral?" would have been far less damaging than all this negative publicity: next time Sony, just ask permission![Via Joystiq]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Submission + - Ebook Readers Where are they now?
Patrik_AKA_RedX writes: "I spend quite sometime on the bus each day, and most of it I spend reading. A lot of it I get from the net and have to print to take with me. IMO this is a bit of a waste of perfectly good trees so I was looking for an alternative. I've tried taking a laptop, but even the compact Armada M300 is quite cumbersome. Real Ebook readers haven't shown up in stores around here yet, the closest thing I've found is a MP4 player with ebook support, which didn't specify how much this support actually is. My question is what ebook reader-device do you have and is it worth the trouble? Also which of these devices are available in Europe?"
Submission + - Open Architecture Network for the good of Humanity
RobBebop writes: The organization Architecture for Humanity has just launched the beta version of their Open Architecture Network website. The goal of the Open Architecture Network is to be the SourceForge of the art of Building Sciences by allowing blueprints, engineering specs, and construction tips to be shared in a community. An article from Wired includes more detail, "The site is built so people can upload info, comment on and, in some cases, download building or project specs". There is also an interview with the co-creators Cameron Sinclair & Kate Stohr at the end of the article.
Submission + - Auto-parallelizing compiler from Codeplay
Max Romantschuk writes: "Parallelization of code is a very tricky thing. We've all heard of the challeges with Cell, and with dual and quad core pocessors this is becoming an ever more important issue to deal with. The Inquirer writes about a new auto-parallelizing compiler called Sieve from Codeplay: What Sieve is is a C++ compiler that will take a section of code and parallelize it for you with a minimum hassle. All you really need to do is take the code you want to run across multiple CPUs and put beginning and end tags on the parts you want to run in parallel.
Is this the Silver Bullet of parallelization? There's more info on Sieve on Codeplay's site."
Is this the Silver Bullet of parallelization? There's more info on Sieve on Codeplay's site."
SCO Lawyers Ambush IBM Witness 199
Mr. E. writes "In a sneaky legal maneuver, SCO's lawyers managed to ambush an IBM witness into having to give a no-holds-barred deposition in front of an unrelated court in another state. After SCO was limited in what they could depose Mr. Otis Wilson about by the Utah court, the company blindsided IBM with last-second subpoenas before a North Carolina court. IBM's lawyer was on vacation at the time, didn't give prior notice to big blue, and now they've won the right to ask him anything they want. They've asked him about whether he has a criminal record, about ex-wives, etc. and they have four hours in which to do so. According to PJ of Groklaw, 'I'd say [Magistrate Judge Brooke Wells] has thrown poor Mr. Wilson to the wolves in North Carolina and told him it's his own fault.' SCO, of course, is fishing for something — anything — they can use to stave off IBM's Motion for Summary Judgement which is fast approaching, and if they can somehow trip up Mr. Wilson, they might be able to do just that. However, there was at least one line of cold comfort in Magistrate Well's order '[T]he court wishes to note that its decision should not be viewed as any type of invitation to reopen the discovery process.'"
Apple Trade Secret Suit Final Arguments Today 117
An anonymous reader writes "The final day of arguments takes place today in Santa Clara, CA, in the suit between Apple and the bloggers who outed their secrets." From the article: "Apple often dispatched cease and desist letters to the editors or these sites or initiated internal investigations to smoke out which of its employees were leaking information. But the lawsuit against the Power Page marked the first time that Apple attempted to use California law protecting corporate trade secrets to suppress the early disclosure of its product development plans by a Web media outlet. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is representing the Does, or the unnamed sources of the alleged information leak, contends that a ruling in this case could set a precedent that determines whether online sites can qualify as journalists who can work under First Amendment protections"
Bill Could Restrict Freedom of the Press 747
WerewolfOfVulcan writes "The Washington Post is carrying an article about a disturbing Senate bill that could make it illegal to publicly disclose even the existence of US domestic spying programs (i.e. NSA wiretaps)." An aide to the bill's author assures us it's not aimed at reporters, but the language is ambiguous at best. From the article: "Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said the measure is broader than any existing laws. She said, for example, the language does not specify that the information has to be harmful to national security or classified. 'The bill would make it a crime to tell the American people that the president is breaking the law, and the bill could make it a crime for the newspapers to publish that fact,' said Martin, a civil liberties advocate."
