Comment Fall? (Score 1) 216
"Fall to public domain" makes it seem like some kind of failure. Wouldn't they really be "released to public domain", more like getting out of copyright prison?
Comment Reams of paper (Score 1) 312
If you are in an office setting, reams of paper make excellent monitor stands and are in plentiful supply.
That having been said. I'd also recommend a real keyboard and mouse with the laptop off to the side.
Submission + - WH: 370K 'Seriously Mentally Ill' To Go Untreated
theodp writes: The White House took to Twitter Saturday night, warning its 3,680,252 followers that 'more than 370,000 seriously mentally ill adults and emotionally disturbed children' will be left untreated when automatic spending cuts triggered by the sequester take effect on March 1. Presumably, the tweet was intended to engender sympathy and prompt a call for action. Still, it's likely to also conjure up images of attacks by Adam Lanza, James Holmes, Jared Lougher, and others. With the shooting at Newtown putting a spotlight on U.S. mental health care, the White House has been stressing the importance of 'access to mental health treatment' to prevent gun violence.
Submission + - Curiosity killed the QRcode app, study finds curious men are most likely victims (cmu.edu)
An anonymous reader writes: It turns out that people scan QR codes simply because they are curious, not because the want information about a product. [Un]fortunately, curiosity is also a primary motivator for phishing campaigns used by scammers. In a recent study CMU researchers performed a QRishing (QR code phishing) experiment placing various types of QR codes around Pittsburgh. Besides finding that curiosity was the chief reason people scanned, it was also obvious that men are much more likely to fall victim to this scam.
In the real world, this attack would likely have been far more effective since these researchers were handcuffed by ethical research rules. Attackers could place QRcodes over existing ones or deface public property like parking meters. Heck, who wouldn't scan a QR code stick that had been placed on the neighborhood cat?
With the incredibly long and spurious patch cycle for today's Android devices, scanning a QR code could result in a bad guy having complete control of your mobile phone. Be wary next time you see one of these codes, certainly use a reader app that at least shows you the URL before launching your, probably old, browser!
In the real world, this attack would likely have been far more effective since these researchers were handcuffed by ethical research rules. Attackers could place QRcodes over existing ones or deface public property like parking meters. Heck, who wouldn't scan a QR code stick that had been placed on the neighborhood cat?
With the incredibly long and spurious patch cycle for today's Android devices, scanning a QR code could result in a bad guy having complete control of your mobile phone. Be wary next time you see one of these codes, certainly use a reader app that at least shows you the URL before launching your, probably old, browser!
Comment recycle it locally (Score 2) 113
How about none of our e-waste leaves the country so we can reclaim as many of the rare earth elements as we can before handing things back to Asia.
Comment Re:Apparently Obama knows not Grigsby & Cohen (Score 1) 763
L1 visas are worse. H1B is great compared to L1. When companies play the shell game they can get L1 workers over here on "internal company transfer" for a fraction of going local rates. (I'm looking at you AT&T)
Comment I'm fine with this (Score 1) 419
I'm fine with this. I'm in a law class right now that has a printed text and a free PDF copy. I bought the printed text because I figured I'd like reading it better. I haven't even cracked the binding.
Why You Never Ask the Designers For a Favor 238
Usually there is nothing funny about a missing pet, but the tale of Missy the lost cat is hilarious. It serves as an example of just how clueless your fellow employees can be, and why you should never ask the designers to drop what they're doing, and help with a personal matter.
Comment Too bad (Score 1) 459
Too bad it's got a command line interface and the documentation only describes the theory behind flight, not how to actually fly the plane.
Comment A great race? (Score 1) 133
Does this great race come with a Natalie Wood ride-along and a pie fight in eastern Europe?
Good Language Choice For School Programming Test? 407
An anonymous reader writes "The Australian Informatics Olympiad programming test is being run in a couple of months. I'm an experienced programmer and I'm thinking of volunteering to tutor interested kids at my children's school to get them ready. There will be children of all levels in the group, from those that can't write 'hello world' in any language, to somewhat experienced programmers. For those starting from scratch, I'm wondering what language to teach them to code in. Accepted languages are C, C++, Pascal, Java, PHP, Python and Visual Basic. I'm leaning towards Python, because it is a powerful language with a simple syntax. However, the test has a run-time CPU seconds limit, so using an interpreted language like Python could put the students at a disadvantage compared to using C. Is it better to teach them something in 2 months that they're likely to be able to code in but possibly run foul of the CPU time limit, or struggle to teach them to code in a more complicated syntax like C/C++ which would however give them the best chance of having a fast solution?"
Ubisoft's Authentication Servers Go Down 634
ZuchinniOne writes "With Ubisoft's fantastically awful new DRM you must be online and logged in to their servers to play the games you buy. Not only was this DRM broken the very first day it was released, but now their authentication servers have failed so absolutely that no-one who legally bought their games can play them. 'At around 8am GMT, people began to complain in the Assassin's Creed 2 forum that they couldn't access the Ubisoft servers and were unable to play their games.' One can only hope that this utter failure will help to stem the tide of bad DRM."
Breaking the Squid Barrier 126
An anonymous reader writes "Dr. Steve O'Shea of Auckland, New Zealand is attempting to break the record for keeping deep sea squid alive in captivity, with the goal of being able to raise a giant squid one day. Right now, he's raising the broad squid, sepioteuthis australis, from egg masses found in seaweed. This is a lot harder than it sounds, because the squid he's studying grow rapidly and eat only live prey, making it hard for them to keep the squid from becoming prey themselves. If his research works out, you might one day be able to visit an aquarium and see giant squid."
Comment ... and airlines wonder (Score 1) 888
why they are going bankrupt.
Who wants to pay to put up with garbage like this?
