FST - Slashdot User

German Schoolboy actually Incorrect-> 0

Submitted by FST on Wednesday April 16 2008, @11:51AM

FST writes "According to The Register, the calculations made by a German Schoolboy (see Slashdot article here) are, in fact, incorrect. FTA: '... the kid's sums are in fact wrong, NASA's are right, and the ESA swear blind they never said any different. An ESA spokesman in Germany told the Reg this morning: "A small boy did do these calculations, but he made a mistake... NASA's figures are correct."'"
Link to Original Source

Another MS Office bug 0

Submitted by FST on Monday March 31 2008, @10:15PM

FST writes "Microsoft has acknowledged a security vulnerability in its Office application suite that can potentially reveal sensitive data residing on a user's computer. The bug reveals information that resides in a user's RAM and memory buffers — such as user IDs and passwords — when users save Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. To access the potentially sensitive information contained inside a document, a user simply has to open the file using a text-editing program such as BBEdit or Windows Notepad. Get more info here."

iPhones found to be toxic-> 0

Submitted by FST on Friday November 09 2007, @02:56PM

FST writes "A Greenpeace inspection of the iPhone found that iPhones contain significantly more (15x) phthalates than the maximum considered to be safe in the United States. FTA: "An analysis done on a disassembled iPhone by an independent lab in the U.K. found toxic brominated compounds and hazardous PVC (polyvinyl chloride) in multiple components of the handsets. Bromine, a chemical used in fire-retardant compounds, was present in more than half of the 18 samples taken, Greenpeace claimed, while toxic phthalates made up 1.5% of the PVC coating of ear bud cables."
It is not clear if the user is required to ingest the phthalates in order to cause damage to him/her self."
Link to Original Source

Mark Shuttleworth: No negotiations with Microsoft->

Submitted by FST on Saturday June 16 2007, @04:42PM

FST writes "Mark Shuttleworth tells us at his website that Canonical has "declined to discuss any agreement with Microsoft under the threat of unspecified patent infringements." FTA: "Allegations of "infringement of unspecified patents" carry no weight whatsoever. We don't think they have any legal merit, and they are no incentive for us to work with Microsoft on any of the wonderful things we could do together. A promise by Microsoft not to sue for infringement of unspecified patents has no value at all and is not worth paying for. It does not protect users from the real risk of a patent suit from a pure-IP-holder (Microsoft itself is regularly found to violate such patents and regularly settles such suits). People who pay protection money for that promise are likely living in a false sense of security.""
Link to Original Source

Ancient Canadian Ice Shelf Breaks Free

Submitted by FST on Sunday December 31 2006, @07:28PM

FST writes "CNN.com is reporting that an ancient Canadian Ice Shelf just broke free from Canada's Arctic. From the article: "The mass of ice broke clear 16 months ago from the coast of Ellesmere Island, about 800 kilometers (497 miles) south of the North Pole, but no one was present to see it in Canada's remote north...'This is a dramatic and disturbing event. It shows that we are losing remarkable features of the Canadian North that have been in place for many thousands of years. We are crossing climate thresholds, and these may signal the onset of accelerated change ahead,' Vincent said Thursday.""

Google releases Google for Educators

Submitted by FST on Sunday December 03 2006, @11:12PM

FST writes "Google released a new set of tools, called Google for Educators to assist educators teach. From the site: 'We think of this site as a platform of teaching resources — for everything from blogging and collaborative writing to geographical search tools and 3D modeling software — and we want you to fill it in with your great ideas. You can explore a Google tool you've never tried before, then tell us what you think about it. Or road test our lesson ideas, then follow the links to submit your own. And if you'd like to share your expertise with fellow educators, we encourage you to send us your story — we'd love to feature it on this site.'"

Libya joins in 1 laptop per child program

Submitted by FST on Wednesday October 11 2006, @06:06PM

FST writes "According to the associated press, Libya joined in on the one laptop per child program. From the article: "The $250 million deal, reached Tuesday, would provide the nation with 1.2 million computers, a server in each school, a team of technical advisers, satellite Internet service and other infrastructure... The two men discussed the possibility that Libya would also pay for laptops for poorer African nations like Chad, Niger and Rwanda, he said.""

Patent w/ FOSS implications

Submitted by FST on Sunday October 01 2006, @03:55PM

FST writes "there is a likelihood that the Supreme Court will review whether an organization can get around software patents by completing the work in other countries. This case has huge implications for OSS projects with coders in the U.S., as it may inhibit, among other things, the ability of American coders to contribute to projects that violate U.S. software patents. The Patently-O blog gives background on the case."

IBM's Petaflop Roadrunner

Submitted by FST on Thursday September 07 2006, @10:36AM

FST writes "CNN is reporting that 'IBM will build a next-generation supercomputer for the U.S. Energy Department with the potential to achieve a sustained speed of 1,000 trillion calculations per second, or one petaflop, the department said on Wednesday...The machine is to be built entirely from commercially available hardware and based on the Red Hat Linux Version 4.3 operating system.' It was funded by a $35 million grant from congress."