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Java

Interview - James Gosling, father of Java

Submitted by Minaloush
Minaloush writes "Interesting Q&A with Sun's James Gosling on silicon.com. The father of Java field questions on the GPL, security, the role of Java in the enterprise — and even reveals his — albeit limited — views on Windows Vista ("I tend to stay away from Microsoft [software] because it tends to be so toxic").

From the article:
If you come up with a good software development tool, that makes life easier for the developers and they can get their job done quicker, then the first thing the manager says is 'oh you've got free time on your hands. Do this extra thing'."
Privacy

What happens to my on-line accounts when I die ?

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes "Seriously, I had to think about this. I consider half of my life is on-line and should be for most of you. Except for living in with family, friends etc. Everything else is now on-line, even planing that hiking trip.

Be it photo albums, bloging, radio all are web2.0 they say !

Seriously, what happens to all of my on-line life and related accounts the day I be hit by a truck ?"
Wireless Networking

Wireless Routers for Congested Areas? 138

Posted by Cliff
from the let's-add-to-the-RF-mashup dept.
An anonymous reader asks: "I have been living close to campus at UW Madison for the past six months or so and have come across a problem. We, along with everyone else in the area, have a wireless router, both a Belkin 54g and a Linksys WRT54G. We have Charter 3 Mbit down/.25 Mbit up cable and 6 guys in our apartment. Just on our block about 15-20 people have routers. We are constantly plagued with problems connecting to the wireless, staying connected, getting connected after rebooting, hibernating, and so forth. We have to reset the cable modem and the router many times a day to get everything rolling again. I am thinking that the router is the problem, because my dad always told me that's why they have twenty dollar routers up to thirty thousand dollar routers. What router can I purchase that will help my situation and will work well in a congested college area?"
Communications

Cutting Edge Credit Card?

Submitted by
pdbogen
pdbogen writes "I've recently become fed up with the particular way in which Bank of America's web site is user friendly, so I've started thinking about getting a different credit card and transferring my balance. I'm interested in finding out what the most technologically advanced credit card out there is (both in terms of physical technology, and in terms of the support provided for the card. An RSS feed of my transactions? A programmatic way to get access to my bank balance?)."
Power

Reducing Peak Electricity Load and Keeping Cool

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes "The Atlantic Monthly has an article on a Chinese company which sells non-electric air conditioners: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/prem/200703/fallows -zhang (subscriber only). Considering the recent D grade given to the U.S. energy infrastructure in 2005 by the American Society of Civil Engineers: http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2005/page.cfm?id=25 , are their products, among others, viable for lowering peak electrical use during summers worldwide?"
Communications

Videoconferencing tool for computer illiterates?

Submitted by
Corson
Corson writes "There are many videoconferencing tools out there, some available free of charge, others for a price. But here is the problem: most of them require some computer or otherwise high technical proficiency. And here is the challenge: imagine you are somewhere in North America and your grandma is half a world away; she has access to the Internet and cable TV but has never used (and never will use) a computer the way you and I do. The videophone is still a science-fiction gadget. Can you think of a videoconferencing tool that comes close to what we see on the Space Channel and is available for a reasonable price? You know, the one where you just press the ON button to connect to the other party, so you can see and hear them and they can see and hear you, and when you are done you just press the OFF button to disconnect and turn the machine off? Or is this still science-fiction, like the HAL computer in '2001: A Space Odyssey'?"
Portables

Water Cooled Laptop Solutions?

Submitted by
sr. taquito
sr. taquito writes "Since my laptop's hard drive has died due to heat exhaustion, I have been trying to find a more efficient cooling solution for my Clevo D470K desktop replacement (AMD64 3700XP). I am thinking of water cooling it since nothing else seems to help. Other than simple pads with fans you place under a laptop, no manufacturer has tried to venture in to the land of laptop cooling. I was able to find a few sites that have rather crude DIY laptop water cooling, but is there anything else out there or other solutions you all have come up with?"
Communications

Own more than one cell phone? Are you a terrorist?

Submitted by PLaXman
PLaXman writes "According to a blog written by Andrew Lim, Cnet UK's mobile phone editor, UK police are warning people to look out for anyone that owns more than one cell phone. "Terrorists need communication. Anonymous, pay-as-you-go and stolen mobiles are typical. Have you seen someone with large quantities of mobile phones? Has it made you suspicious?" The problem, as Andrew points out, is that almost everyone these days owns more than a few cell phones, so how do you aptly distinguish between a law abiding gadget fan and a potential terrorist? The other issue that's highlighted is what to do with the growing number of old cell phones that are accumulating in our homes. With wireless carriers making it easier and easier to upgrade our handsets, how do we responsibly deal with this mountain of electronic waste that we leave behind us every time we get a new phone?"
Upgrades

Impact from DST?

Submitted by
Lokatana
Lokatana writes "Managing the email environment for a large financial institution, I've spent the last month and a half working to prepare for the adjustments to Daylight Saving Time. There has been a large amount of effort communicating to users, upgrading old blackberries, and patching servers and workstations. Now that we're here, and the changes have been made, the silence so far has been deafening.

Is this another Y2K, and the hype has been overstated, or have all of our preparations paid off? What are others in the community experiencing in their workplaces? Is there anyone out there who did not prepare for DST, and if so, what kind of impact are you seeing today?"

"The National Association of Theater Concessionaires reported that in 1986, 60% of all candy sold in movie theaters was sold to Roger Ebert." -- D. Letterman