Music

Redirecting Audio from PC to PC? 76

Atlantis-Rising asks: "I have two PCs in my standard setup- one is a 1U server (Running windows XP), and the other is a Windows XP Media Center PC. When I purchased the server, I didn't think I'd need a soundcard, and so I made no provisions for this when I was planning my system, and so it has no audio. After buying the server, my main desktop died and I decided to use the server as my main desktop machine, and I'd really like audio. However, my Media Center PC is hooked up to a wonderful speaker set, one that I'd not like to duplicate. I therefore wonder if anyone on Slashdot knows of a way to play the audio from one PC on another? I know about buying a USB sound-card, and I'd rather not do that. I also know that I can use RDP to connect the media center PC to the server, but I'd rather not do that either, for graphical performance reasons. Are there any other solutions out there, Slashdot?"

Beginning Python: From Novice to Professional 436

nazarijo writes "Python seems to be devouring everything these days, with more and more people using it for serious projects. It's quickly supplanting Perl in some circles, and with good reason. It's a powerful, richly featured language with boatloads of extensions. And, unlike Perl, it's very easy to do complicated things in simple, legible code. Python books are still only a small part of the shelf at your local bookstore when you compare it to the popularity of Perl, but which ones are the gems and which ones are fluff? Having looked at a lot of Python books in the past couple of years, I think that Beginning Python: From Novice to Professional is the one that I'll most recommend to people." Read on for the rest of Jose's review.
Programming

Tools for Debugging Stack Corruption? 30

blackcoot asks: "I know that there are tools which exist on hardened Linux distros and OpenBSD (and probably $your_os_of_choice too), which are designed to help track down stack corruption (which is often symptomatic of buffer overruns). Unfortunately, that's about all I know about those tools. What options are there? How effective are they? What does it take to get access to those tools? Are they really useful enough to make the effort justified?"

Getting Off NetHack? 141

thetan asks: "Like a lot of Slashdot readers, I've played a little NetHack as a teenager. Alright, quite a lot - but it was no big deal and I just sort of grew out of it. Now I'm not proud of this, but I got my gf hooked and she's been using daily for a few years now. After she tired of the game, I tried sating the monkey on her back with new fixes like Angband and ADOM. Now, I no longer want be a party to her addiction and self-destruction. She acknowledges the problem but is not yet ready to take that first step. What can I do to help ween her off? Could interactive fiction act as a methadone - or does it result in just as much harm? What other strategies have users employed to get clean? Does anyone know of NetHack addiction support groups or a 12-step? I'm desperate to get her back!"
Printer

Is LPRng Project Still Alive? 46

deeptrout asks: "The LPRng distribution hasn't been updated since mid-2004, the LPRng project website hasn't been updated since late 2004, and the LPRng mailing list has been dead since the April of 2005. What's going on? Is the project unofficially dead? Has anyone heard any news from Patric Powell, the author of LPRng? It'd be a shame if that is true. I really like LPRng's simple and yet robust reimplementation of the LPD model that allows to keep the configuration for an entire site with hundreds of hosts and dozens of printers in a fairly simple text file. What are we supposed to do now? Switch to CUPS? Something else?"
Technology

Equipment Suppliers You Can Trust? 379

Steve Gray asks: "It has happened to all of us at some time or another. You're two weeks from deploying an application, but suddenly your testbed server falls over, and just won't get back up. After fighting with a variety of companies to try and get parts delivered for Tuesday, I'm finding that most companies will stall your order for days for reasons from random extra checks through to migration of lesser known species of Vole, business needs be damned! Who do Slashdot readers turn to when technology goes wrong? Do you trust them to deliver by tommorow, without fail?"
News

Panel Confirms S. Korean Cloning Fraud 111

A user writes "South Korean cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk created a stir when he claimed to have successfully cloned human stem cells, claims which were almost immediately viewed with skepticism in the scientific community. Now an article on the BBC's website chronicles the doctor's final fall from grace as nine scientists empanelled at Seoul University conclude that Doctor Hwang's sensational claims were in fact an elaborate fraud (although they have also confirmed that Doctor Hwang's prior claim to have cloned a dog appears to be valid)." Confirmation of the investigation begun last week.
Businesses

Is a Weblog a Business? 37

Clinko asks: "I currently have a couple moderately successful websites with Google and Yahoo ads. Combined, they will generate a couple thousand this year. (Sounds great, but read on...) The problem is that I know nothing about starting a business, filing taxes (U.S.) on such, or if I even need to be a licensed business. Will I need to start a licensed business on income generated from ads? I'm sure someone from Slashdot has been in a similar situation. What was your solution?"

Pluto's Moon Gives Up Secrets 11

This Week In Science writes "When Pluto's moon, Charon, occulted a distant star on July 11, 2005 two groups of astronomers were there to witness the fleeting moment. Based on what they saw, the scientists were able to determine that Charon has very little atmosphere, has a radius of 605 km, and is about 1.7 times denser than water. The density calculation implies that Pluto and Charon were once two separate proto-planets that because of a chance encounter are now bound by gravity."
Displays

Computers, Long Hours and Vision Problems? 512

msid asks: "I have been computing for almost 10 years, starting back in 1996 when my father bought me my first computer. In the process, I fell in love with computers and got stuck with them. The last year though has been a real challenge for me. I sleep 5 hours, in average, per day and I spend more that 15 hours in front of my laptop's monitor (a 17" TFT Widescreen), either programming or reading. I have never had 'problems' with my vision up until now. Do you have a specific way of using light sources in your workspace? I have heard of special glasses for computer users. Should I use them or not?"
Music

Sound Quality of the Fifth Generation iPods? 196

ntropi asks: "As the drive on my old MP3 player (an iRiver H320) grinds toward its last days, I've found myself in search of a new one. Given the options the new iPod seems the best choice, but I'm hesitating somewhat over the murmurings as to the iPod's supposedly poor sound quality. However, while Marc Heijligers has provided a comprehensive breakdown of iPod performance for up to the fourth generation, I have been hard-pressed to find any information on the 5G's performance. With the exception of this CNET review, which reports that 'Audio quality is quite good and probably better than the previous iPod's, with reasonable bass, distinguishable mids, and shiny highs, plus the audio-output power is quite good.', there seems not to have been any detailed analysis of the iPod's output quality. Thus, it seemed a good idea to appeal to the Slashdot hive-mind for its personal experiences with the 5G's playback, or even analyses that people might have done which were simply never put online."
Businesses

The Importance of Commenting and Documenting Code? 203

mrtrumbe asks: "The company I work for is in the process of creating a development standard to be applied to all projects. The topics being considered range from dictating the formatting of the code (an issue on which there is widespread agreement), to creating a standard for commenting and documenting the code (a far more contentious issue). On the issue of commenting and documenting, there are two extreme views being considered with most employees' opinions falling somewhere between them." To comment, or not to comment. And if you do choose to comment, what's the best way to standardize it, company-wide?

Switching to Windows, Not as Easy as You Think 803

rchapman writes "Mad Penguin writer Simon Gerber has published an amusing review of Windows XP as seen from a Linux users point of view. He really makes you feel like you are trying to use Windows for the first time after exclusively using Linux. The article covers everything from the hideous installer and its lack of partitioning/formatting capabilities to the utter wasteland that is the Windows desktop, devoid of useful applications and everything in between. A fun read."
Education

Cryptology Research for High School Student? 43

John3 asks: "My daughter is enrolled in an Advanced Science Research (ASR) course, at the local high school. The students join the program in 10th grade, choose a research topic, and then locate a mentor to work with them on their topic until high school graduation. My daughter took a cryptology course this past summer, and now she has chosen cryptology for her ASR topic. Most HS students pick mainstream research fields (medicine, genetics), so her science teacher is a bit unsure of where my daughter might locate a cryptology research project appropriate for advanced high school students (especially one that doesn't require security clearance). I'm hoping my fellow Slashdot readers might know of current cryptology/cryptography research projects that offered opportunities for a high school student to participate."
Businesses

Worst Web Hosting experience? 101

Tim asks: "I have just come through an experience with a web hosting company. Basically, a script on the server was compromised, because of incorrect security settings on the server, and used as a zombie phishing mailer script. My account was suspended for phishing, and through the course of several tickets, it was made clear that I had nothing to do with the phishing. Still throughout the entire ordeal, they refused to give me any of my files, saying that they could not be released now, or ever for 'legal evidence reasons.' So, here I am without a database (I should have backed up!), and without several files I was working on. What is your worst web hosting experience, and how have you dealt with it?"

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