CHaN_316 - Slashdot User

Yahoo Announces Open Search Platform 0

Submitted by CHaN_316 on Tuesday February 26 2008, @04:31AM

CHaN_316 writes "Yahoo is announcing that they're opening up their search platform. It will allow third-party developers to modify search results by adding images, deep links, and structured data. Anyone will be able to create their own modifications and share them with users. "For example, Yelp, one of the launch partners, will include a photo, review information and the address and phone number of the business [on the Yahoo search results page]." Users will be able to turn on/off these modified search results. The desired effect is similar to the popular GreaseMonkey plugin for Firefox. The screenshots of this looks pretty compelling. More info can be found at the Yahoo Search Blog."

Yahoo Launches Search Assist 0

Submitted by CHaN_316 on Tuesday October 02 2007, @05:00PM

CHaN_316 writes "Reuters has an article entitled, 'Yahoo seeks to make its Web search more predictive.' From the article, 'Yahoo Search Assist suggests related concepts to instantly refine a search, drawing on the wealth of information Yahoo has about what users across its sites are saying when they comment upon Web links, photos, video or the like. Search Assist is designed to be especially helpful when a person is searching for information on an unfamiliar topic. The feature senses when a searcher needs help with a search and it appears as a drop-down menu under the main search results box.' Other new features I've noticed is YouTube and Flickr integrated into their search results page."

Sony Cuts PSP Prices

Submitted by CHaN_316 on Wednesday April 04 2007, @02:21PM

CHaN_316 writes "Sony has announced that they will cut the price of the Playstation Portable (PSP) from $199.99USD to $169.99USD. The move is intended to better compete against the Nintendo DS. The article reports, "In February, Nintendo's DS outsold every other console in the U.S., with about 485,000 total units sold. The prices of the DS vary among online and brick-and-mortar retailers, but a consumer can usually expect to pay from $130 to $160." This is the first price cut of the PSP since its launch in March 2005. Now when are we going to see a PS3 price cut?"

Canadian Online Tax Filing System Glitch

Submitted by

CHaN_316

on Wednesday March 07 2007, @03:32AM

CHaN_316 writes "The Financial Post reports that a computer glitch has forced the Canadian online tax filing system to shut down. Officials have ruled out causes due to hackers, viruses, or other security breaches. The integrity of the information is not affected, but it's not always in the right place. If the problem isn't resolved within a few days, the agency may have to look at options, including a possible extension of the tax deadline. Currently half of all tax filings are submitted online in Canada."

OLPC Security System

Submitted by

CHaN_316

on Wednesday February 07 2007, @05:25PM

CHaN_316 writes "Wired Magazine is running an article about the "One Laptop Per Child" project entitled, 'High Security for $100 Laptop.' The laptop, officially called the XO [...] will premiere a security system that takes a radical approach to computer protection. Krstic's system, known as the BitFrost platform imposes limits on every program's powers. Every program runs in its own virtual machine with a limited set of permissions. Thus a picture viewer can't access the web, so even if a hacker comes up with an exploit that lets him control the program, he couldn't use it to grab all the photos on the laptop and upload them to the internet. Krstic contrasts this approach to Microsoft's Windows XP where every program, including Solitaire, has the right to access the web, turn on the video camera, open spreadsheets and send e-mail. Beyond cyber threats, the XO laptop will have an anti-theft system designed to render stolen laptops useless. Each XO is assigned a 'lease,' secured by cryptography, that allows it to operate for a limited period of time. The laptop connects to the internet daily and checks in with a country-specific server to see if it's been reported stolen. If not, the lease is extended another few weeks."