Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Windows

Submission + - The pros of upgrading from Vista to XP! (dotnet.org.za) 4

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A reviewer takes on the daunting task of upgrading [sic] from Vista to XP, and gives a very nice breakdown of the Pros and Cons (yes, there are a couple...;)
Microsoft

Submission + - What is Bill Gates learning from Open Source? (zdnet.com)

Submitted by
christian.einfeldt
christian.einfeldt writes: "In the world of Free Open Source Software communities, Microsoft is often viewed as the very epitome of the Cathedral-style model of software production. But is Bill Gates learning from the software development phenomenon that he once compared loosely to communism? In commenting on the results of a Microsoft-commissioned survey of approximately 500 board-level executives about the importance of interpersonal skills versus raw IT coding skills, Gates starts to sound a bit more like a member of the Apache Foundation than the take-no-prisoners king of cut-throat competition: 'Software innovation, like almost every other kind of innovation, requires the ability to collaborate and share ideas with other people, and to sit down and talk with customers and get their feedback and understand their needs.' [Emphasis added]. One wonders how long until 'sharing ideas' starts to become 'sharing source' code. Nah. it'll never happen."
Classic Games (Games)

Submission + - The History of the Commodore 64 (gamasutra.com) 1

Submitted by
Matt Barton
Matt Barton writes: "I thought Slashdotters might be interested in our History of the Commodore 64, the first in a set of six planned features on gaming platforms at Gamasutra. Bill Loguidice and I look at why the C-64 was so overwhelmingly popular, as both a personal computer and a brilliant gaming platform. We also give advice to modern gamers interested in emulating the platform and playing its games: "The 'Commie' is still the best personal computer ever to grace the living room.""
Google

Submission + - Analyst reports 50,000 'Gphones' shipping out (cnn.com)

Submitted by
crossb0nez
crossb0nez writes: "A UBS analyst has confirmed that Taiwanese handset manufacturer HTC will ship about 50,000 cell phones running on a mobile operating system made by the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant by the end of this year.
Last week a Wall Street analyst reported that Google's shares would crack $700 with plans to make its own phone. Most, however, suspect that Google (GOOG) is making a mobile operating system that could work on any mobile device.
This isn't the first time that HTC has been mentioned as a possible manufacturer of the Google phone, but none have nailed concrete details. Should the HTC/Google partnership turn out to be true, consumers can expect their Gphones sometime in 2008.
The article also mentions development uses for starters — "These initial phones are not going to be for sale," Benjamin Schachter, one of the analysts who worked on the report, said in a phone call earlier today. "These are going to be available for developers only to understand how the software works." if only that Steve guy in 'the other white building' in California was so thoughtful of his company's consumers..."
Censorship

Submission + - Swedish hackers pwn Turkish hackers (thelocal.se)

Submitted by
DavidMWW
DavidMWW writes: "Swedish hackers have retaliated against their Turkish counterparts following an attack earlier this month on some 5,000 Swedish websites. "We have chosen to leak these user details in response to the many recent attacks on Swedish web hosts and websites following the publication of a satirical drawing by Lars Vilks portraying the Muslim prophet Muhammad as a roundabout dog.""
Communications

Submission + - RIAA Launches Attack on Usenet (torrentfreak.com) 1

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "The major record labels have launched a copyright infringement lawsuit against Usenet.com. The complaint filed in the federal District Court in New York accuses Usenet.com of providing access to millions of copyright infringing files and slams it for touting its service as a "haven for those seeking pirated content" Usenet.com has been putting up a fight against the RIAA, refusing to block access to alleged 'copyright infringing groups' Game On"
Security

Submission + - Interpol identifies face-twirling criminal (timesonline.co.uk)

Submitted by
tfurrows
tfurrows writes: "Chalk one up for the good guys; they caught that face-swirling idiot that we all read about not too long ago here on Slashdot.

"Thai police today named the 32-year-old suspect who was identified after an unprecedented global appeal launched last week ... Yesterday Interpol said that the suspect, photographed abusing children in Vietnam and Cambodia, had been identified by five sources"

I wonder if Interpol will give credit to the internet community and enlist their help more in the future..."
Music

iTunes DRM-Free Tracks Now Same Price As DRM Tracks 250

Posted by Zonk from the that's-called-competition dept.
jawtheshark writes "Apple has made the decision to revise the pricing of Plus songs on the iTunes Music store. Whereas previously the DRM-less tracks were more expensive than the 'normal' option (at $1.29 vs. $0.99), DRM-less tracks bought via ITMS will now be priced on the same level as DRM'd tracks. 'Apple plans to expand iTunes Plus to include certain indie music labels starting Wednesday, October 17 (or sometime this week, at least) ... This expansion won't include all independent music labels just yet, although we're optimistic that more will be included in the future. While we have no information on whether the iTunes Plus songs are selling well, we assume that the decision to drop the price is a response to the Amazon MP3 store. Amazon sells individual tracks for between 89 and 99 apiece, all without any DRM restrictions. With that in mind, it's kind of hard for Apple to compete at $1.29.'"
Portables (Apple)

Submission + - DVD Jon Unlocks the iPhone

Submitted by i_like_spam
i_like_spam writes: Jon Lech Johansen, aka DVD Jon, has struck again. On his blog, he claims to have activated an iPhone without intiating a contract with AT&T. The activated phone cannot be used for calls through AT&T's network, but all other functionalities are open (iPod, WiFi, etc). He's even created a package to activate your iPhone too!
Biotech

Submission + - What is your favorite way to make coffee?

Submitted by markov_chain
markov_chain writes: For a while I've been making coffee using home-ground whole beans and a standard drip maker. I settled on this method for its simplicity and good taste even after trying numerous others such as French press, gravity and pressure percolators, each coupled with either preground or whole beans. So far, the fresh ground beans are the only factor that made a significant difference in taste. However, when I recently spotted a site that vaguely extols freshness, I began to wonder how much the freshness of even the whole beans themselves affects quality. Normally I thought the whole beans would retain the quality far longer due to less surface area exposed to air, but clearly there still must be a decline; worse yet, it is difficult to gauge that decline since the sellers usually do not advertise the age of the beans. For this reason, I would like to throw out two questions to you, Slashdot readers, about our favorite beverage. 1) what is your preferred coffee-making method, and how does it compare to other methods you tried? 2) What are your favorite beans? Specifically, not just the varietal, but also the source and the age (if known).
Space

Submission + - Another Ocean in Space?

Submitted by
Riding with Robots
Riding with Robots writes: "A new study concludes that the strange and intriguing water geysers on Saturn's moon Enceladus may not result from pools of liquid water near the surface. However, the fractures they spew from might point to an entire ocean deep inside the icy moon. If confirmed, this would be at least the second world in the Solar System thought to have a hidden ocean beneath its surface."

Slashdot Top Deals

"A car is just a big purse on wheels." -- Johanna Reynolds

Close