Comment Re:rm -f /lib/libc* (Score 5, Funny) 2362
You want subtle?
ln -f
(Useful) Stupid Unix Tricks? 2362
So the other day I messaged another admin from the console using the regular old 'write' command (as I've been doing for over 10 years). To my surprise he didn't know how to respond back to me (he had to call me on the phone) and had never even known you could do that. That got me thinking that there's probably lots of things like that, and likely things I've never heard of. What sorts of things do you take for granted as a natural part of Unix that other people are surprised at?
Geoengineering To Cool the Earth Becoming Thinkable 419
johkir writes "As early as 1965, when Al Gore was a freshman in college, a panel of distinguished environmental scientists warned President Lyndon B. Johnson that CO2 emissions from fossil fuels might cause 'marked changes in climate' that 'could be deleterious.' Yet the scientists did not so much as mention the possibility of reducing emissions. Instead they considered one idea: 'spreading very small reflective particles' over about five million square miles of ocean, so as to bounce about 1 percent more sunlight back to space — 'a wacky geoengineering solution.' In the decades since, geoengineering ideas never died, but they did get pushed to the fringe — they were widely perceived by scientists and environmentalists alike as silly and even immoral attempts to avoid addressing the root of the problem of global warming. Three recent developments have brought them back into the mainstream." We've discussed some
pretty
strange
ideas
in the geoengineering line over the last few years.
Opera's Slashdot Easter Egg and Speed Dial 157
Thelomen writes "Opera Browser contains an Easter egg that is not widely known, recently reported over at OperaWatch.com: type /. in the address bar and you are taken directly to slashdot.org. Other recent news from Opera is their new Speed Dial feature, present in the most recent build from Desktop Team. At first glance Speed Dial just looks like 9 bookmarks you can open with CTRL+1 to CTRL+9. However, the pages on the Speed Dial are shown in thumbnail and are automatically pre-fetched in background — a useful thing if you have some heavy pages among your top bookmarks."
BBC Uses Skype Links In Murder Hunt 193
Nico M writes "The highly publicized UK murder hunt for the serial killer(s) of five young sex workers in Suffolk is using Skype to ask the public for information. BBC News is embedding freephone Skype links to both the police incident room and Crimestoppers UK. Is this the first time Skype has been used in this way?"
Submission + - Move to End Preinstalled Windows in France
xarak writes: French media are reporting that the main consumer protection agency, "UFC Que Choisir" are attacking PC vendors in an effort to force them to provide bare or alternative OS's for their hardware. They are taking HP and two shops to court.
Article in French.
Submission + - Nintendo recalls three million Wii straps
MartinJW writes: After an increasing number of reports of the Wii projectile effect Nintendo appear to have bowed to pressure and are now recalling 3.2 Million straps. The strap is supposedly designed to prevent the innovative wireless controller from leaving the hand during vigorous bouts of gaming, but despite numerous warnings in games telling you to use it at all times it would appear that even the most safety conscious are wrecking Mom and Dads expensive LCD television when the strap snaps and the device hurtles across the room to embed itself in the television screen.
The recall affects all Wiis sold worldwide and almost all units currently on shelves in shops, but it is not yet clear how customers can return their straps and get replacements.
The recall affects all Wiis sold worldwide and almost all units currently on shelves in shops, but it is not yet clear how customers can return their straps and get replacements.
Submission + - Is Microsoft planning a ZunePhone?
WinBreak writes: "After taking part in an online survey, this blogger was left pondering some of the suggestive questions. WinBreak discusses the clues that Microsoft could be planning to combat the Apple iPhone."
