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Businesses

Submission + - Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule (paulgraham.com)

jjrff writes: "Paul Graham has a great article over at his site which illuminates the difference in a Maker (programmer, admin writer) schedule versus a manager's schedule. As per the norm he manages to explain a very complex topic for some (that would be managers) with succinct writing. This is a great read for those who would like to explain why and how meetings can be so disruptive."

Comment Re:Why does everything have to be child friendly?? (Score 1) 342

Actually that depends on the kids age. Mine is 13, so no, letting her watch certain episodes does not bother me (33 is a good example of that) because it _makes her think_ and I am in attendance if she has questions. But are there ones I would not allow to her watch yet?- certainly. Generally speaking (unless it is obvious one way or the other) I screen shows and movies that I think are questionable before allowing my child to see them - even at 13 - and am always watching them with her in case she has questions.

Comment Re:Thank goodness (Score 1) 342

The problem that arises here is similar to star wars (although the prequels were a trainwreck); people have a memory associated with the original and now that memory was tarnished. Ron Moore was not looking to really even re-imagine, he was looking for a place to allegory real world situations and try to make viewers think; it did not always work so well because there were obvious agendas in some of them; but for the most part it worked. What does it mean to be human? What do people really do in war? If your about to become extinct and are aware of it - how would you react to a given situation? The old show was created at a time when things like just were not possible on cable and it was never intended to be a think piece series; it was and always will be a religulous view of star wars - and there is nothing wrong with that - you just shouldn't hold it against the new series because that is not what it is about. Star Trek DS9 was another good example of this departure; Moore expressly got involved in DS9 because with Gene passed away the "it always has to have a happy ending" hand cuffs were taken off. Again, many fans were angry at DS9's darkness (which compared to new BSG is lightweight) but the point was not to do yet another trek, it was to try and make people think about what war is like, what are humans really like (both the good and the bad). In the end though, I still look at this as completely separate and not even a re-imaging. I still watch the old series on retro TV and I do not feel any sort of loss. I do suggest for kids though try out Eureka; you might need to screen Eureka (depending on the children's age) but for the most part it is light hearted fun.

Comment Re:Individual Responsibility (Score 1) 245

The real answer here is "it depends" - for instance a few years ago someone who worked for Internet.com was astroturfing LinuxToday (and probably other Internet.com sites); in that instance the individual was held responsible: granted internet.com was less than pleased about it, however, the evidence that a sole individual was responsible led to that person being dismissed. If, however, Internet.com management overall instructed employees to astroturf it would have been difficult to punish each and every person - hence the organization itself would be punished.
Linux Business

SAP — Open Source Friend Or Foe ? 155

pavithran writes "Does SAP, one of the largest business companies offering software solutions, support FOSS as a movement? Why is SAP looking at closed and open source in a similar way? This shows lot of ambiguity in SAP's attitude towards open source software. I found an interesting article in Linux Journal on whether SAP is an open source friend or foe, by Glyn Moody. Here's a quote from the article: 'For an outfit that calls itself "the world's largest business software company," the German software giant SAP is relatively little-known in the open source world. With 51,500 employees, a turnover of 11.5 billion euros ($16 billion) last year, and operating profits of 2.7 billion euros ($3.8 billion), SAP is clearly one of the heavyweights in the computer world. Given that huge clout, SAP's attitude to open source is important; and yet it is hard to tell whether it is really free software's friend or its foe. ... A company that wished open source well would back these ideas. One that really supported free software would also fight against software patents. So, while SAP's involvement in Eclipse and investment in open source companies is welcome — and pretty self-interested, it has to be said, given that it presumably hopes to make a profit on them — it's not really enough cancel out its unhelpful attitude and statements elsewhere. If it wants to be a serious, respected player in the world of open source, as befits its size, it must do better.'"
Databases

Oracle Beware — Google Tests Cloud-Based Database 123

narramissic writes "On Tuesday, the same day Google held a press event to launch its Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook, the company quietly announced in its research team blog a new online database called Fusion Tables. Under the hood of Fusion Tables is data-spaces technology, which would 'allow Google to add to the conventional two-dimensional database tables a third coordinate with elements like product reviews, blog posts, Twitter messages and the like, as well as a fourth dimension of real-time updates,' according to Stephen E. Arnold, a technology and financial analyst. 'So now we have an n-cube, a four-dimensional space, and in that space we can now do new kinds of queries which create new kinds of products and new market opportunities,' said Arnold, whose research about this topic includes a study done for IDC last August. 'If you're IBM, Microsoft and Oracle, your worst nightmare is now visible.'"
The Courts

How To Seize a Laptop And Make It Stick 177

Frequent Slashdot contributor Bennett Haselton takes a look back at the recent Boston case where police seized a student's laptop but had to give it back. "The EFF was right to argue that police had no right to seize the laptop of a Boston College student who was accused of forging an e-mail from his roommate. But according to the judge's reasoning, the police probably could have gotten away with it, if they had appeared to care more about pursuing the student for downloading pirated movies instead." Click the link for Bennett's analysis.
Medicine

Wii Boosts Parkinson's Treatments 122

mmmscience writes "Scientists are investigating the use of Wii Sports as a form of treatment for Parkinson's sufferers. After a four-week study, researchers found that rounds of tennis, bowling, and boxing improved rigidity, movement, fine motor skills, and energy levels as well as decreasing the occurrence of depression. It is thought that combining exercise with video games helps to increase levels of dopamine, a chemical that is deficient in Parkinson's. The therapy is gaining notoriety under the name Wii-hab."
Linux Business

Submission + - Does anyone fact check anymore? (about.com)

jjrff writes: "So there is a story over at some place called Blorge by an expert from Lenovo titled: Lenovo analyst: Linux on netbooks is doomed. The story has drawn the usual reactions from both sides of the fence but I posed the still unanswered question: was this story verified? According to the bottom of the story it was but only by a single phone call. This raises a much larger question; who fact checks anymore? It seems pretty obvious that no one experienced fact checked this story (or rather they simply didn't check it at all). Normally a misquote here or there isn't a big deal but the mistakes in that particular interview are pretty big. It also would appear that the interviewer might have decided to let the interviewee just hang themselves without questioning some of the statements. In any case — still a valid question."
X

Submission + - X Windows Visual History Part 2 (systhread.net)

jjrff writes: "In part 1 of the series we looked at the early X window managers that ran on X display protocol based systems. The scale and range of them was from the very beginning where a user was presented with a menu and windows and little else (perhaps a clock or loadmeter) up to what could be considered the first window manager that went beyond providing the basics to providing more of an environment and extensibility through modules that allowed other hackers to "join in the fun". In this part 2 of the series two more distinct groups of window managers will be peeked at; first a look at the evolution of that first "more of an environment than just window managing" software; many of which cropped up right around the same time (within a few years of eachother). Second the kickback against large scale environments with an examination of a breed of window managers designed to be ultra light/fast while still preserving good looks. Read more...."
Networking

Submission + - How to write a portchecker and a new scanner

jjrff writes: Over at systhread there is both a new network scanner written in C and the beginnings of a series of how to do it. One of the things I have always tried to do was just plain relate what I was doing (which is to say mostly a bull in china shop) and hope others can correct me and contribute. Well now here is your big chance .. I am sure I will try to write a book about it when I am done but in any case I did whack together a scanner and kicked off a series of articles about it — swing by and have fun.

Comment And it begins... (Score 2, Informative) 263

the problem with that of course is it the basis for many a scifi movie; direct genetic manipulation resulting in a number of box office scenarios: - mass death (pick one...) - zombies (Resident Evil - the t-cell accident; was supposed to be a cure) - intentional mutation (Xmen 2 - the guy that made wolverine) - super soldiers (Super Soldier - the movies part 1 and 2, captain america) - Battlestar galactica (skin jobs and pro-creation attempts) - mutegenics wars - lots of super soldiers (Star Trek - not to be confused with Khan who is a eugenic offspring) - replicants (Blade Runner - note the replicants learned how to do this themselves...) - serenity (reavers were gene mutated - with the best of intentions of course) - I am Legend (someone else mentioned it already) I am sure the list goes on.

Comment Not just manufacturing (Score 1) 494

Proctor and Gamble did not just move manufacturing over. They completely outsourced their IT (allegedly 100% of it) and demanded that at least 60% of IT work should be cheaper offshore support. Ironically the last I checked this was going incredibly well for them. Not so great for the people who were canned over the years of course.

Spammer Perjury is Worth Prosecuting 161

Slashdot regular Bennett Haselton summarizes his essay by saying "Spammers really do lie more often under oath than other parties in court (surprise). Judges and prosecutors could promote respect for the law by cracking down on it, and maybe make a dent in spam in the process." Read on to learn of his experiences with (shocking!) spammers who lie in court.

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