TobyRush - Slashdot User

Submission + - CBS to give Jericho a Second Chance

Submitted by TobyRush on Thursday June 07, 2007 @12:39AM

TobyRush writes: After being deluged by e-mails, phone calls, and salty snacks, CBS has reconsidered its decision to cancel the apocolyptic serial drama 'Jericho'. Worthy of note is a point made by the series' executive producer, Carol Barbee, referencing the series' online episode availability:

"I really think that what has been learned here is that networks are going to have to look at numbers and who is watching their show and who is downloading their show in a different way from here on out. I think they have to understand that the Nielsens are not telling the story anymore and that the 18-49 demographic they're all so keen on is online and that's how increasingly they are getting their news and entertainment."
Better yet is CBS President Nina Tassler's postscript: 'Please stop sending us nuts.'

Submission + - Comedic Rights Backlash

Submitted by

menciasteals

on Friday February 16, 2007 @03:52AM

menciasteals writes: "After Joe Rogan confronted Carlos Mencia during a performance at the Comedy Store, a petition has been started in an attempt to remove Mencia's show "Mind of Mencia" from Comedy Central's lineup in an internet-based attack against comedic theft. Rogan has since been banned from performing at the Comedy Store and has ended his relationship with the Gersh Agency. From Rogan's post on his blog: "Now, when you work hard on a bit and polish and craft it, and then someone just disrespects the whole process, steps in, steals it and performs it as his own, that's a pretty intense creative violation." So what do you say, Slashdotters, are Comedians entitled to the same rights as musicians and authors?"

Submission + - Google Misspelled Google?

Submitted by on Wednesday February 14, 2007 @04:23PM

An anonymous reader writes: I'm having a bet at work with some co-workers on whether Google Misspelled Google today or not. To me, it reads Googe. What does the rest of slashdot think?

Submission + - Teacher convicted for porn pop-ups

Submitted by

jlorenzatti

on Wednesday February 14, 2007 @04:16PM

jlorenzatti writes: "A substitute teacher in Winham Connecticut was convicted of exposing her students to pornography through pop-ups occurring on her classroom computer .

This story raises an interesting discussion:

Where does the responsibility lay for spyware/adware/viruses/porn pop-ups not occuring on a network? Is it the user, the IT Department, or both?"

Submission + - The Top 12 Movies that Were Ahead of Their Time

Submitted by

Alex Billington

on Wednesday February 14, 2007 @03:37PM

Alex Billington writes: "What makes a movie years down the road be referred to as ahead of its time? It's the visual effects and technical achievements that the filmmakers implemented, from the miniatures in Star Wars to the time-freezing camera system in The Matrix, these movies were vastly ahead of their time. FirstShowing.net has comprised a comprehensive list of the top 12 movies in history that were ahead of their time, ranging from Psycho and 2001 to The Matrix."

Submission + - Flying Cars are here!

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 14, 2007 @03:18PM

An anonymous reader writes: POINT ROBERTS, WASHINGTON — (MARKET WIRE) — 02/14/07 — Skyflyer Inc. the "Company") announced today that, subject to available financing, it is planning to commence construction of its prototype for the Skyflyer VTOL (vertical take-off and landing vehicle) within the next few months. The Skyflyer VTOL is a one to two-seater flying machine, designed to be piloted by members of the general public without the need for extensive training. This aircraft, designed by the Company, is expected to be usable in a variety of recreational and passenger applications. The current design contemplates that the Skyflyer will operate within an electronically and/or physically controlled airspace. Actual construction and testing of the initial prototype is expected to take approximately 6 months. The motor driven flying machine is expected to be able to take-off and land vertically, and its design gives it a spaceship-type look. The prototype is expected to have a diameter of approximately 4 m, with a height of 1.8 m, and a weight of approximately 700 kg. It is expected to have a rate of take-off of 0.1 m/s and a horizontal speed capability of 0 to 60 km/h. The general flight and control characteristics of the Skyflyer are expected to be somewhat similar to that of a helicopter. For safety reasons, the Company also expects to equip the Skyflyer with a GPS navigation system, remote controls enabling ground personnel to take control of the aircraft, and distance sensors. Subject to the Company obtaining financing in an amount sufficient to enable it to fund its development program, the first flight and data tests are expected to be conducted by the end of this year. In addition to its plans for the Skyflyer itself, the Company has been planning the development of a testing and demonstration facility to be located in Wegberg-Wildenrath, Germany. Subject to financing, the Company hopes to have this testing and demonstration facility operating in 2008. This planned facility will be used to test the flight characteristics of the Skyflyer, to simulate and control various flight plan concepts, and to optimize the system software for the Skyflyer and other equipment. The Company hopes that its Skyflyer VTOL aircraft will revolutionize the leisure and entertainment business. The Company believes that, as an attraction, the Skyflyer could surpass even giant indoor ski slopes and the most spectacular fairground ride. The Company hopes that the Skyflyer will be able to bring to reality humanity's dreams of flying personal aircraft.

Submission + - TSA can't figure out security certificates

Submitted by

markgo2k

on Wednesday February 14, 2007 @12:57PM

markgo2k writes: "The Washington Post reports that TSA has taken a new website live that people who are wrongly on the famous "no-fly" list can protest their status. Unbelievably, the website uses a self-signed certificate (and some have reported that you can submit forms insecurely as well). Perhaps contractor (Desyne Web Services, Inc. www.desyne.com) nor whoever was managing them ever actually tested the site or figured that flashing red certificate error warnings were something that might not be okay on a site that asks for name, address, height, weight, date of birth, hair color, eye color, passport number, birth certificate, drivers license number, military id number..."

Submission + - History's most romantic geeks

Submitted by Cupid on Wednesday February 14, 2007 @12:33PM

Cupid writes: CNET have compiled a list of history's most romantic geeks. The entries include Albert Einstein and Mileva Maric, who Einstein described as "a creature who is my equal and who is as strong and independent as I am." There's also Alan Turing's homosexual infatuation, Christopher Morcom. Other famous geek lovers honored on the list are Linus and Tove Torvalds, and the astronaut Lisa Nowak who drove 1,000 miles in a nappy to attack her fellow astronaut and love rival. If you need cheering up this Valentine's day, the list is worth a read.

Submission + - Open-source vs. Proprietary in the DVR Space

Submitted by

MrBlockHaus

on Wednesday February 14, 2007 @12:29PM

MrBlockHaus writes: "The age-old open source debate rages on, this time in the DVR space. TiVo has released it's next-generation unit, the Series 3. Open-source DIY options like MythTV are becoming more compelling every day. As the inevitable clash looms on the horizon, who will prevail? DVRplayground addresses this question in a head-to-head comparison of MythTV and TiVo Series3."

Submission + - John Edwards' campaign enters Second Life

Submitted by politics 2.0 on Wednesday February 14, 2007 @11:46AM

politics 2.0 writes: It may not be an official effort — yet — but thanks to a grass-roots effort, John Edwards has become the first presidential candidate to set-up-shop in Second Life. Jerimee Richir, whose avatar is called Jose Rote, paid-for and developed Edwards' virtual headquarters, and, on a voluntary basis, is managing the in-world campaign. Considering that Second Life's user numbers are much smaller than other social networks, such as MySpace and Facebook — aside from generating press coverage — will campaigning in Second Life actually win many votes? Rote says yes, and that "Second Life users are a unique audience, in that, they are first adopters. It is a smaller community, but I would argue it is a more influential community." What do Slashdot readers think?

Submission + - Hotbasic 5.1a for Windows & Linux

Submitted by

PB8

on Wednesday February 14, 2007 @11:38AM

PB8 writes: "Hot Basic has come along way from a compiler delivering only console based applications for Windows. It's fast, creates itty bitty fast executables, and compares very well with fastest compilers. Is it worth leaving the OSS world to use it? Hot Basic for Windows and Linux now supports threading on Duo-Core chips, and has libraries for Windows API and can hook into whatever Linux libraries you have. It can be used to write web apps, GUIs, services, DLLs, and libraries, pretty much wherever you'd use C or C++. Many programmer's editors now support syntax checking for it. Creator James Keene (aka "Dr. Electron") wants Apache rewritten in Hot Basic so it's more efficient. Is this a language whose time has come? It's not a free language like Gnu tools, Gambas or Mono. There is a trial license version. It's $69 for Windows license, $59 for Linux, and if you have the Linux version it's another $29 to get the Windows license. It's nearing that stage Borland's Turbo Pascal or Turbo Basic was when they became quite popular and has a growing fan-base. How much does the need for speed and tight small binaries still drive language and compiler selection in these days of multi-threading, multi-core multi-gigahertz CPUs? How big a factor is not using an OSS language? A non-ANSI or ECMA language? [My singular unpaid role in this venture was enabling porting to Linux by shipping Dr. Electron a bunch of Linux distributions on CD and pointing out the documentation on Linux's binary executable format and library APIs.] Ok, for some out there there may be a social issue — Dr. Electron's erstwhile mascot is 'HotBabe', Miss Compiler 2006, and some may find this sort of political incorrectness a bit much. Ok, and I also know, that for some of you weak-willed slashdotters, that item will actually pique your interest. Maybe you all can find more to debate about than what I've layed out, but you can start by reading more here: http://www.hotbasic.org/ And there's a yahoo group for it: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/hotbasic/ And you can test Hotbasic's speed and compilation output here, online compiler at your service: http://204.188.170.145/hotcomp.html"

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