Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Tivo is not failing because of collusion (Score 2, Interesting) 490

Come on, really? Tivo is losing subscribers for a few reasons: 1) Cable companies now offer their own DVRs -- Tivo used to be the only game in town 2) You don't have to buy a new DVR if your cable company's DVR fails; you just trade in your old one -- with Tivo...if it's outside the warranty period you have to buy a new one (yes, I know the cable company charges you a monthly rental fee) 3) Cable companies don't charge anything for the privilege of recording onto a DVR (Tivo makes you buy the box AND charges you a monthly fee). I used to have Tivo, and I liked it, but not enough to buy a third new box after my first two failed. Especially considering the above.

Comment Re:AF cyberspace command is a joke... (Score 1) 148

Most people in the military will not be serving in this command. Only the qualified will. A few years ago we could have said that most people in the military are severely lacking in the kind of skills needed to operate UAVs, and yet that particular foray into technology seems to be going okay. Fighter pilots are going away...techies are up and coming. Even the military adapts.

Comment Re:Crap HD Quality (Score 1) 412

For what it's worth, today's movies do not involve changing reels. The reels are all spliced together by a projectionist when the movie arrives at a theater. During this process the film becomes one giant "reel" that sits on a rotating platter and feeds through the projector to an identical platter that sits below the first one. I know that it's off topic, but it's also a neat process!
Censorship

Submission + - New law makes it a crime to film violence.

majorbytesrulz writes: "From CNN.com "A new law in France makes it a crime — punishable by up to five years in prison — for anyone who is not a professional journalist to film real-world violence and distribute the images on the Internet." http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/03/08/france. violence.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories What the hell are they thinking? Our freedom of expression and information is going away folks. Can we say 1984?"
Linux Business

Submission + - May a Linux Professional be Certified?

Paolo DF writes: It often happens that employers ask for certification of your skills. Be it a Diploma, or a Master, or some other Graduation level. In order to demonstrate how good they know a CAD program, professionals are often asked to provide an Autodesk Certificate, or a Microsoft Training Certificate to show how good they are at using Windows (yeah, really!).
My question is:
Is there somebody certifying Linux Users/Power Users/Sysops/whatever?
Is there a somehow standard certification system?
Is there a widely accepted/recognized skills scale?
Enlightenment

Submission + - Cory Doctorow On Dumb Web Companies

An anonymous reader writes: In Boing Boing editor Cory Doctorow's latest column, The Web Can Humiliate Dumb Companies. Can It Make Them Smarter?, he argues that dysfunctional companies know only two modes of customer service: Abusive contempt, or pandering remorse (paging Dell?) Using problems with a Sony Hard Drive under extended warranty, he says, okay, customer service catastrophes are par for the course in big institutions, but, Jeez, can't supposed Web 2.0 companies just learn to get along with their customers? What are your customer-service catastrophes, and do you think that we're forever destinged to be stuck with bad overseas phone support?
Businesses

What's It Like For a Developer To Go Into Sales? 85

An anonymous reader asks: "I've worked for a single, very large technology company since graduating from college in '89. My degree is in Computer Science, and I've written everything from embedded machine code for big iron to applications with Smalltalk. I'm still in development, but since '99 my programming tasks have been replaced by project management, some customer-facing work (technical-ish presentations, demonstrations, training, and the like), helping our marketing people position my team's work, and other things that programmers generally don't like to do. Are you a former developer who went into sales? If so, what were your experiences like from a professional and personal perspective? What advice would you give to a developer considering a new career in sales?"
The Internet

Law Student Web Forum: Free Speech Gone too Far? 264

The Xoxo Reader writes "Today's Washington Post carries a front-page article on the internet message board AutoAdmit (a.k.a. Xoxohth), which proclaims itself the "most prestigious law school discussion board in the world." The message board has recently come under fire for emphasizing a free speech policy that allows its users to discuss, criticize, and attack other law students and lawyers by name. Is this an example of free speech and anonymity gone too far, or is internet trolling just a necessary side effect of a policy that otherwise promotes insightful discussion of the legal community?"
Google

Submission + - First University in Europe to Adopt Gmail

Adam Hazzlebank writes: Trinity College Dublin, Ireland's highest ranked university is to adopt Gmail for all its student email services. After a US University recently reported the migration of its email services to Windows Live Mail should we be concerned by the privacy implications of this trend and universities selling student ad impression, in return for a service they are obliged to provide?
It's funny.  Laugh.

Submission + - The Stanford Unix Raper

An anonymous reader writes: A student of Stanford U. geeks out to the extream. In a live concert he gives Wierd al A run for his money in the geeky songs department. The video was part of the documentary, NERDCORE FOR LIFE. The video can be found at Youtube

Slashdot Top Deals

The optimum committee has no members. -- Norman Augustine

Working...