Paolo DF - Slashdot User

Twitting from space. This time for real-> 0

Submitted by Paolo DF on Friday January 22 2010, @12:12PM

Paolo DF writes "You will surely remember when a story here was about astronauts twitting from the ISS, but it was actually a relay: the post was sent to Earth and then published.
well, not any more. NASA just reported a real Internet access active from space. The news are here."
Link to Original Source

Geocities shutting down today-> 1

Submitted by Paolo DF on Monday October 26 2009, @05:27AM

Paolo DF writes "There is not much to say: Geocities is closing today. It has been a sign of the rising "Internet for everyone" era. You may love it, or hate it, but millions of people had their first contact with a web presence right here.
I know it's something that most slasfotters will see as a n00b thing, and that the Internet was fine *before* Geocities, but I still think that nevertheless some credit is due. Heck, there's even a modified xkcd homepage for that!"
Link to Original Source

French President Sarkozy's bank account hacked-> 1

Submitted by Paolo DF on Sunday October 19 2008, @02:14PM

Paolo DF writes "French President Sarkozy had his personal bank account hacked. French weekly Journal du Dimanche reported that small amounts of money were repeatedly stolen from mr. Sarkozy's account.
Herald Tribune article here.
Are banks going to introduce brand new silly security systems, or maybe the problem resides in the chair-keyboard interface?"
Link to Original Source

Music on the road, literally!-> 0

Submitted by Paolo DF on Tuesday November 13 2007, @02:51PM

Paolo DF writes "The Guardian is reporting a story about three Japan test roads with grooves in them organized in a way that a car produces music while travelling on them. A youtube video clarifies all."
Link to Original Source

Visit Leonardo's Last Supper online 0

Submitted by Paolo DF on Saturday October 27 2007, @10:55AM

Paolo DF writes "In yesterday's news, we discovered that Leonardo's Last Supper, displayed in Milan, is at risk because of the pollution powder carried inside Santa Maria delle Grazie by visitors. This risk led the authorities to limit admittance to the masterpiece.
Now, however, anyone can appreciate the beauty of this masterpiece online, by visiting www.haltadefinizione.com
This is a *huge* 16 billion pixels image made from 1677 separate images.
Although this can not replace the real deal, you can see details unavailable to 'in person' visitors."

Italy: be reimbursed if you don't want Windows-> 0

Submitted by Paolo DF on Thursday October 25 2007, @07:00PM

Paolo DF writes "An italian user asked for a reimbursement after buying a Compaq Computer which came with Windows XP and Works 8 preinstalled. HP tried to avoid the EULA agreement that -more or less- states: "If the user doesn't agree with these terms, he shall contact the manifacturer in order to return the software and receive a reimbursment".
The court ruled in fovour of the user, who received back 90 euros for XP and 50 for Works.
This ruling is particularly important in Italy, since it is one of those countries where computer=Microsoft Windows. Corriere della sera has a report (italian), and here is the ruling (PDF, Italian)."
Link to Original Source

New currency on its way (more than worldwide) 0

Submitted by Paolo DF on Friday October 05 2007, @02:48PM

Paolo DF writes "Foreign exchange company Travelex by scientists from the National Space Centre and the University of Leicester came up with a new currency, and new coins, too!
The QUID BBC reports is perfect for deep space usage, and it exchanges at nearly 10 euros. Be sure to take a few QUIDs with you on your next trip to the Moon!"

European Court confirms 497 M Euros fee 0

Submitted by Paolo DF on Monday September 17 2007, @09:55AM

Paolo DF writes "Microsoft just lost its appeal in the trial for abuse of dominant position.
The European Court of First Instance upheld the ruling that Microsoft had abused its dominant market position. BBC news has a full report on this story here.
Does this represent winds of change?"

iPhone is FCC approved, it seems

Submitted by Paolo DF on Monday May 21 2007, @04:09PM

Paolo DF writes "it seems that the iPhone finally got its FCC certification. You can assume it by checking the iPhone homepage http://www.apple.com/iphone/ that used to carry the "this device is not for sale and it is awaiting the FCC authorizations" disclaimer.
I was curious to see when was it going to disappear, since they are really approaching the release date, and they sure didn't want a no-go because of a FCC delay!"

May a Linux Professional be Certified?

Submitted by Paolo DF on Thursday March 08 2007, @09:12AM

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?"