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Oracle

Ask slashdot -- getting rid of Oracle ?

Submitted by
vikingpower
vikingpower writes ""Working with a software and consultancy firm, together with two colleagues I am in the process of trying to convince a major ( and I mean: major ) media corporation to free itself from Oracle's considerable grip. The problem is: the corporation in question is as "hooked" as any addict can be. Coming loose from Oracle, however, would make them realize an enormous saving, not to speak of liberating quite some human resources from tedious maintenance and troubleshooting tasks.

How do we convince this corporation of what is good for them ?""
Software

G-WAN : Another Free Webserver ?

Submitted by mssmss
mssmss writes "Has anyone used g-wan — a free (as in beer), supposedly fast and scalable webserver ? The downside is it supports only C scripts which the author claims is a plus since most programmers know C anyway. There is currently only a Windows release and no clear answer in their FAQs whether there would be linux/solaris releases. As an interesting aside, releasing a webserver while at the same time fighting a losing battle (PDF file) with a rather large bank over a piracy claim of $200 million (the bank is alleged to have done the piracy) is quite a task."

Should A Mobile Phone Fit In Your Pocket?

Submitted by andylim
andylim writes "A piece in recombu.com points out a simple but equally complex problem regarding the evolution of mobile phones. People want mobile devices that are crammed with features and that boast large screens but that means that they're getting harder to fit in standard sized pockets. The article explains how this is a formidable challenge for mobile phone manufacturers but that there may be solutions such as flexible screens. This raises the question of whether or not a mobile phone has to fit in your pocket or are you prepared to carry a larger more powerful 'mobile' in a bag?"
Media

SPAM: The best places to spend your time in social media

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Social media websites are having a huge influence on businesses and many more companies are now turning to this type of website to help with the promotion of their brands, products and services. Using these websites effectively can take a lot of thought and planning if the results for your business are going to be advantageous. However, before planning the creation of your profile and making posts on social media networks, you must first decide which social media websites are right for you and your business. There are more and more websites like this being developed and increasing in popularity but in the current market, there are some social networking websites that are recommended for SEO purposes."
Link to Original Source
The Almighty Buck

Should You Be Paid for Being on Call?

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes "Fortune's Dear Annie takes on the case of poor Dazed and Confused, an independent webmaster who's expected to be on call for his client at all hours of the day and night, but doesn't get paid for being on call, only for the 40 hours a week that he's in the office. Surprisingly, Annie throws cold water on the contractor's dreams of paid OT, citing these pearls of wisdom from an attorney who's apparently never had the 'privilege' of being a techie on call: 'Many companies see the on-call issue as analogous to a firefighter's job. Most of the time, a firefighter is off-duty but on call, hanging around the firehouse, cooking, sleeping, or whatever. What that person really gets paid for is the relatively small, but crucial, amount of time he spends walking into a burning building with an ax. A webmaster, likewise, has slow times and busy times.' Yikes. Is this really the norm in companies these days, or are there more enlightened on-call pay policies?"

VCore is the new official name of ZPanel ->

Submitted by SF:trilexcom
SF:trilexcom writes "VCore is the new official name of ZPanel RapidCP.org is the official VCore / ZPanel web site for developement and support Any other official ZPanel based web site would not be official and would need to request permission to do this. Thanks RapidCP Team"
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Record-Breaking Black Friday for eBay's PayPal->

Submitted by adeelarshad82
adeelarshad82 writes "EBay's PayPal division reported that PayPal processed 20 percent more transactions on Black Friday compared to 2008. PayPal didn't release the total payment volume, but claimed that its Payflow Gateway system processes nearly a quarter of e-commerce, while its direct sales numbers reflect 12 percent of all e-commerce. In general, reports from a number of e-tailers and retailers indicated that consumers spent more on Black Friday than in 2008, when the United States was in the midst of a recession. However, it's still unclear whether shoppers bought more on "Black Friday," when they could expect a discount on what usually is one of the busiest days in the holiday season, or whether the pattern will continue. In 2008, shoppers stopped buying in early December, a shock that the U.S. economy felt well into 2009."
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News

Russian Train Wreck Tied to Terrorist Bomb->

Submitted by reporter
reporter writes "The "New York Times" (NYT) has just issued a report describing the aftermath of the bombing of a train often used by government officials. According to the report, the explosion and subsequent derailment of the train killed about 25 people. An analysis of the site of the explosion indicates that the bomb is a homemade device.

According to another report by the NYT, some residents of villages near the site of the explosion offered their help to the victims and arrived at the scene of the tragedy long before the federal rescue workers arrived. One villager, Anatoly Myagchenkov, "spent three hours taking apart train seats, and he estimates that he withdrew 13 bodies in that time. While trying to clear a car of shards of twisted metal, he bent down and realized that what he was looking at was a piece of a human brain."

The Kremlin suspects that the terrorists who caused this tragedy come from "the Caucasus region in southern Russia, which includes Chechnya".

However, given all the enemies that the Kremlin created during the 8-year rule of President Vladimir Putin, the terrorist could actually be a member of the Kremlin itself. Putin himself may be the next target."
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Lawyers target 'pirates' for cash->

Submitted by jonfr
jonfr writes "Around 15,000 suspected pirates may soon get legal letters accusing them of illegally sharing movies and games.
ACS:Law plans to send notes to the accused in the new year offering a chance to settle out of court for "several hundreds of pounds".
A lawyer who has defended people who have received similar letters described it as a "scattergun approach" that would catch "innocent people".

[...]

Andrew Crossley of the firm told BBC News it was acting to "eradicate" sharing of its client's products.
"We give them opportunity to enter into compromise right at the start to avoid having to deal with it [in court]," said Mr Crossley."
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If you flaunt it, expect to have it trashed.