Games

Best Configuration for Linux Gaming? 155

Posted by Cliff from the aside-from-dual-booting dept.
werjman asks: "I'm interested in switching completely to Linux but the only thing holding me back is the gaming. What I really want to know is what distro, graphical environment, Window Manager, and so forth are low on the system resources and play games great (and by games, I mean 3D accelerated memory hogs). Does anyone out there actually use Linux as a gaming platform?"
Hardware

Really Stylish PCs and Peripherals 310

Posted by CmdrTaco from the style-matters dept.
knipknap writes "With Christmas lying ahead I decided it was time to present myself new PC hardware. Of course, nothing can be good enough for my Linux box, so I ran looking for some really nice cases - but was soon disappointed by the very little options available when it comes to stylish cases. There is the very nice Hoojum Nanode, which is for Nano-ITX boards only, while I was looking for more powerful alternatives. Then there was the Cubit P4, also from Hoojum, which seemed to suit my needs. I ordered one via mini-itx.com, but unfortunately they messed up the order and noticed only after it was already sold out... so there went my last option. I was also recommended Hush (I already own one) and Shuttle, both of which I found looking kind of cheap. Another problem seems to be finding good peripherals - I have not found a single higher quality mouse and keyboard outside the plastic computer world. So I decided to ask Slashdotters - which other options are there available?" Personally I love the Hush box.
Communications

When Do You Read the Instructions? 135

Posted by Cliff from the some-assembly-required dept.
An anonymous reader asks: "I originally submitted this as a poll, but the answers I'm guessing, were way too long. However, I would like to ask the crowd at Slashdot: When do you read the instructions?"
Communications

The Analysis of Workflow Analysis? 24

Posted by Cliff from the zen-and-the-art-of-keeping-good-notes dept.
ziploclogic asks: "Much of my days are taken up performing workflow analysis for courts. For the past few years I have worked for a company implementing their off-the-shelf Integrated Court Management system. While our products are among the best in the industry, I find it difficult to keep my analysis notes organized. The judicial process can vary greatly from state to state as well as from county to county. As to be expected, not one court has been a 100% match to our software. This leads to hours of spec writing for programming changes that must be derived from my notes. Keeping my information organized so that I can prepare said specifications and training plans prove to be a nightmare at times. I have tried one solution that seems to work well for my humble web design company where I send myself gMails with specific keywords in the subject line. This provides for sorting and [later] message retrieval. However, I can leave a court with notebooks [plural] full of workflow analysis notes that I have to decipher in the evenings. I would be interested to learn how others keep their analysis notes organized, especially when working with multiple clients and with multiple [individuals] departments within those clients. Thanks!"
Graphics

ATi Drivers for Linux that Work? 132

Posted by Cliff from the what-have-you-done-in-this-situation dept.
James F. Hitchens asks: "I used to run Red-Hat Enterprise vs.3, just recently I switched to fedora core 3. The reason for my change was because I could not get my ATi Radeon 9600 All in Wonder to work. I hoped that Fedora was a little more advanced in the area of 3D acceleration (so I could play Unreal Tournament 2004 and Tux-racer). Yet again it was not to be, ne worke pas. Can anyone tell me what I need to do to make this work? The drivers that ATi supplies on their website are, in short, crap."
Communications

Setting up a High-Tech Language School? 332

Posted by Cliff from the effective-use-of-technology-to-enhance dept.
Bakerybob writes "My wife and I are currently setting up a small Japanese language school, and I am in charge of all of the technical aspects, with a small but not tiny budget. What would Slashdot recommend as technologies we could use to improve the student experience (and hopefully to interest more students in the school!)? We have the easy bases (free Wifi access for students, a stunningly poorly designed homepage, and a few cheap computers lying around for them to play on between classes) covered, but I'm sure there are a lot of better ideas out there. Has anyone used Moogle? What about online lessons via webcam? Give it your best shot, revolutionary thinkers!"
The Almighty Buck

Pay-As-You-Play MMORPGs? 158

Posted by Cliff from the another-way-to-separate-gamers-from-their-cash dept.
grubber33 wonders: "With exciting MMO games like World of Warcraft and others existing, the current monthly fee plans that all MMO games that I'm aware of aren't necessarily worth it for people that don't have as much time to play games as others. For instance, I have about 3-5 hours to play games per week, if I'm lucky. On top of that, I like more than one game but I'm still interested in MMO games. I was wondering what Slashdot thinks about newer MMO games implementing some sort of pay-as-you-play system or at least having that option alongside the current monthly fees."
Programming

What is a Good Open Source Code Analysis Tool? 53

Posted by Cliff from the a-magnifying-glass-for-programs dept.
carlmenezes asks: "I volunteer when I can to help a poor educational institution in India with their computing needs. As you can imagine, most computers are from donations and very little money (if any) can be spent on software licensing. Therefore, the installed software is all Open Source and I do all of the software installation by myself. I have already installed Linux on 16 PCs, with Firefox. The default desktop is KDE and the kdeedu package (klettres in particular) has several loyal fans. Incidentally, the kids don't find it hard to use at all and the lack of 3D doesn't bother them in the least :) I would like to ask the community about a good source code analysis tool. I have already installed Source Navigator. Is there any other comparable open source tool?"
Education

Finding Student IT Security Placements in the Industry? 273

Posted by Cliff from the finding-the-experience dept.
CABAN writes "I am a third year computer security and investigations student. My program requires a three month placement in the IT security and forensics industry. Finding an appropriate learning environment seems to be harder than I expected. Lack of security clearance, no real world experience and many companies, who just don't see a need for ITS, are the critical shortfalls right now. What tips does Slashdot have for finding organizations who are willing to let students get involved with sensitive security procedures and cases?"
Security

Dealing with Network Politics and Insecure Users? 170

Posted by Cliff from the limiting-the-damage-vector dept.
Rob asks: "I work at a large university as an IT support person for one of the college's Novell networks, and I frequently find that my hands are tied on security issues--highly paid, highly respected professors do not like to see the words 'Access Denied', not even on their secretaries' screens. They routinely share their passwords, leave their machines unlocked, and go weeks on end without rebooting. They demand Administrator access on their local machines. They demand Internet Explorer have minimal security (but it's our fault when they get a piece of spyware). So, Slashdot community, I ask you this: how do you limit a user's access without making it look like you're limiting their access?"
Communications

Infrared Support on Non Windows Systems? 40

Posted by Cliff from the compters-and-hyper-crimson-comm-beams dept.
An anonymous reader asks: "So I've bought myself a brand spanking new dive computer to keep tabs on my dive profiles, decompression, and all the other fun things like that. Nifty! The dive shop owner assures me that it's Mac compatible; if the software isn't in the box, he'll get an appropriate disc from his supplier, and if he can't get the disc, he'll replace it with a model that does work. There's only one problem: the only connectivity it has is an infrared port. There is no Bluetooth, no USB and no Firewire...not that you'd expect any of that on something that's going to be submerged in salt water on a regular basis. Is there a viable infrared option for the Mac? Although the support people haven't been able to tell me yet if it's Mac compatible or not, might something like the Belkin USB to Infrared Smartbeam work? Are drivers included in Mac OS X 10.3, or am I going to be SOL? Bluetooth is all very well and good, but it doesn't help you if the hardware you want to play with doesn't support it. What about Linux IRda support, for that matter -- just to make it cross platform?"
Windows

Open Source on Windows - Boon or Bane for Linux? 896

Posted by Cliff from the tough-questions dept.
A not-so anonymous Anonymous Coward puts this tough issue up for discussion: "There seem some more determined efforts underway currently in some corners of the KDE project to port substantial parts of the software stack to the MS Windows platform. These efforts are now met by fierce resistance on the part of some of their core developers. Aaron J. Seigo summarizes his reasoning in his blog: 'If the applications people want are available on Windows, they will tend to stick with Windows...by porting software to Windows, we eliminate the majority of the competitive advantage of Free Software desktops in the eyes of the overwhelming majority of consumers while Microsoft has all the rope they need to shut the door once again on us ... Free Software desktop applications on Windows represent a no-win situation for Open Source, but Open Source desktops on Free Software operating systems do.'" (Read more below.)

Do Unsubscribe Links Stop Spam? 521

Posted by timothy from the click-here-to-find-out dept.
Kaiten writes "Brian McWilliams of Spam Kings fame has just published a fascinating spammer exposé over at Salon. Using a pseudonym, he was hired to send junk email on behalf of a spam operation that has been burying people (me included) with spam for fake Rolex watches. The article details how the spammers handle the 200,000-plus unsubscribe requests they get each month. Seems that LOTS of geeks actually cross their fingers and click those remove links. And, surprise, surprise, the spammers usually ignore the unsubscribe requests."

Running a Small Business on the Linux Platform? 89

Posted by Cliff from the software/business-comfort-zone dept.
WinDOOR asks: "As part of a small-mid sized family business, finding a way to rid ourselves from the dependence of using Microsoft products is a very daunting challenge. I've been searching for a good Linux based ERP/CRM software that's adequate for use with about 20 or so users and that can handle light manufacturing and POS type order inputting. I've looked at Compiere, but consider the Oracle tax to be one and the same as the Microsoft tax. We don't have the money nor expertise to design our own solutions like the big corporations that have switched sides. What packages or vendors have you had the most success with? Is Postgre or MySQL an acceptable database backend? Is there a viable replacement for MS Access yet? What language would be best to learn if I had to create my own solution? Do CS Students do this kind of work to pay the bills?"
Java

What are Some Essential Java Libraries? 77

Posted by Cliff from the additions-to-programming-toolkits dept.
rleclerc writes "I would like to ask those 'Javaniers' in the Slashdot community what they thought were essential non-standard libraries that every Java coder should have. Normally I roll my own when it comes to that type of thing and simply build on whats available in the foundation classes. However, recent work has pushed me toward looking at some scientific libraries and I thought I would find out what libraries others in the Java community would consider an essential weapon in their Java arsenal. A few that I am looking at are the Cern scientific libraries and the Apache Commons Collections libraries. To avoid extra libraries I have opted to use the Java logging rather than the Apache one. Anyone like to add anything to the list?"

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