calebt3 - Slashdot User

Submission + - MSNBot "MSIE 7.0" UserAgent legitimacy? 10

Submitted by

sinthetek

on Thursday January 03, 2008 @11:43PM

sinthetek writes: "I noticed today that recently (around 02:56:18 EST on New Years Eve at least by my logs) MSNBot UserAgent strings started to indicate that it's requests are coming from a an IE 7 browser rather than it's usual/previous 'msnbot' useragent string. I went through several years of logs to confirm that it has always previously been some variation of "msnbot".

My question is whether there is likely a legitimate reason for using this string (ie a mistake due to shared code etc) or if there is a more sinister agenda to corrupt web statistics in an attempt to rally more support/development for MSIE7 with the seeming obviousness as potential 'plausible deniability' escape hatch?"

Submission + - LANCOR v. OLPC Update (groklaw.net)

Submitted by drewmoney on Tuesday January 01, 2008 @03:17PM

drewmoney writes: According to an article on Groklaw: It's begun in a Nigerian court. LANCOR has actually done it. Guess what the Nigerian keyboard makers want from the One Laptop Per Child charitable organization trying to make the world a better place?

$20 million dollars in "damages", and an injunction blocking OLPC from distribution in Nigeria.

Submission + - Foams with good memory for space applications

Submitted by

Roland Piquepaille

on Tuesday January 01, 2008 @01:49PM

Roland Piquepaille writes: "The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has recently reported that two research teams have developed a new porous foam of an alloy that changes shape when exposed to a magnetic field. The NSF states that this new material is able to remember its original shape after it's been deformed by a physical or magnetic force. This polycrystalline nickel-manganese-gallium alloy is potentially cheaper and lighter than other materials currently used in devices ranging from sonar to precision valves. It also could be used to design biomedical pumps without moving parts and even for space applications and automobiles. But read more for additional references and a photograph showing an example of such a magnetic shape-memory foam."

Submission + - Most Popular Linux Wishes for 2008 (linuxloop.com)

Submitted by

Anonymous Coward

on Tuesday January 01, 2008 @11:55AM

Anonymous Coward writes: "Linux Loop asked readers to submit their wishes for Linux in 2008. The resulting list of the most popular wishes included a more consistant look and feel, getting rid of the terminal and all editing of configuration files, and more. Even though crazy, never in a million years suggestions were invited, most people asked for very realistic changes, showing how mature Linux is."

Submission + - Fox News Excludes Ron Paul from Presidential Debat (gambling911.com)

Submitted by kaynaan on Monday December 31, 2007 @12:57AM

kaynaan writes: Fox News has excluded Ron Paul from participating in the last debate the weekend before the primary election begins. The debated occurs on January 6, less than one day after two back to back Republican and Democratic debates are being held at the same location. IANAL but isn't this going too far even for FOX ?? http://www.gambling911.com/Ron-Paul-123007.html

Submission + - The top Linux/FOSS events of 2007 (itwire.com)

Submitted by

davidmwilliams

on Monday December 31, 2007 @12:47AM

davidmwilliams writes: "Sure, it's been said before, but this time it's true: 2007 was undoubtedly the year which saw Linux go mainstream. Linux has long accepted as a server platform and a playground for tweakers, hackers and the adventurous, but 2007 saw major events which entrenched Linux on the desktop. Let's look at what happened."

Submission + - Office 2003SP3: Old file formats, now unavailable! 3

Submitted by

time961

on Saturday December 29, 2007 @12:39PM

time961 writes: "In Service Pack 3 for Office 2003, Microsoft has disabled support for many older file formats, so if you have old Word, Excel, 1-2-3, Quattro, or Corel Draw documents, watch out! They did this because the old formats are "less secure", which actually makes some sense, but only if you got the files from some untrustworthy source.

Naturally, they did this by default, and then documented a mind-bogglingly complex workaround (KB 938810) rather than providing a user interface for adjusting it, or even a set of awkward "Do you really want to do this?" dialog boxes to click through. And, of course, because these are, after all, old file formats, many users will encounter the problem only months or years after the software change, while groping around in dusty and now-inaccessible archives.

One of the better aspects of Office is its extensive compatibility mechanisms for old file formats. At least the support isn't completely gone—it's just really hard to use. Security is important, but there are better ways to fulfill this goal.

This was also covered by the Windows Secrets newsletter, although I can't find a story URL for it."

Submission + - Microsoft deprecating some OOXML functionality (fanaticattack.com)

Submitted by

christian.einfeldt

on Thursday December 27, 2007 @10:36PM

christian.einfeldt writes: "According to open standards advocate Russell Ossendryver, Microsoft will be deprecating certain functionality in its Microsoft Office Open XML specification. Ossendryver says the move is an attempt to quiet critics of the specification in the run up to the crucial February vote as to whether Microsoft OOXML will be included as a second standard for e-documents, along with the existing ODF ISO standard. ECMA, the Microsoft-led industry standards group formally offering OOXML to ISO, confirms in a 21 December 2007 announcement that issues related to the "leap year bug", VML, compatibility settings such as "AutoSpaceLikeWord95" and others will be "extracted from the main specification and relocated to an independent annex in DIS 29500 for deprecated functionality." Ossendryver is not convinced that deprecation will work, calling the deprecation proposal a 'smoke screen' and a 'bomb disguised as a standard' because 'every application will need to support the deprecated features in order to read files with the deprecated features.' Ossendryver also points out that legacy formatted Microsoft Office documents will still remain non-standard under the new proposal for deprecation."

Submission + - Domains May Disappear After Search 1

Submitted by

Ponca City, We Love You

on Thursday December 27, 2007 @07:47PM

Ponca City, We Love You writes: "A perfect domain name pops into your mind, a quick check at your registrar reveals that the domain is available, you put off the registration a few minutes and when you come back to register the domain, it's taken by someone else. How much time has elapsed between the search and the attempted registration — in one case, less than 90 seconds. Daily Domainer has an interesting story alleging that there may be a leak that allows domain tasters to intercept, analyze and register your domain ideas in minutes. "Every time you do a whois search with any service, you run a risk of losing your domain," says one industry insider. ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC ) has not been able to find hard evidence of Domain Name Front Running but they have issued an advisory (pdf) for people to come forward with hard evidence it is happening. Here is how domain name research theft crimes can occur and some tips to avoiding being a victim."

Submission + - PC Mag slams Everex gPC (pcmag.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 27, 2007 @05:29PM

An anonymous reader writes: PC Magazine reviews the $200 Linux desktop wonder sold by Wal-Mart. This desktop sold out quickly and has been cited as proof that consumers are tired of the Windows tax and ready for Linux. Not so according to PC Magazine giving the gPC a 1.5 star rating. "The gPC is not the alternative to Windows or Mac OS X it's cracked up to be; it's very frustrating to use."

Submission + - Egypt wants to copyright the Pyramids (bbc.co.uk) 2

Submitted by Munchkinguy on Tuesday December 25, 2007 @08:57PM

Munchkinguy writes: The Government of Egypt intends to pass a law that requires people to pay license loyalties whenever they photograph monuments such as the Pyramids of Giza. Zahi Hawass, the chair of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, says that this copyright will apply worldwide and insists that "Even if it is for private use, they must have permission from the Egyptian government".

Submission + - Egypt to Copyright Pyramids and Sphynx (google.com)

Submitted by empaler on Tuesday December 25, 2007 @06:01PM

empaler writes: We all know the usual pro-copyright arguments. Most of them hinge on the fact that the individual or company that has a copyright needs an incentive to make something that is copyrightable, and therefore ensure a revenue stream in a period after the copyright has been granted. In a never-surpassed move, Egypt is working on legislation to extend copyright well above 3000 years — they are going to start claiming royalties for using likenesses of the Sphynx and the Pyramids. It is still unclear whether the original intent of the Pyramids included "making sure them bastards pay for a plastic copy in 3000 years" alongside "securing a pathway to the heavens for the God King". Speaking as a Greenlandic national, I want dibs on ice cubes.

Submission + - A new low in restrictive software licensing 4

Submitted by Coutal on Tuesday December 25, 2007 @05:52PM

Coutal writes: Licensing is usually looked upon as a burden by software customers, although one we're grudgingly used to living with. However, at times one encounters new lows which can still invoke sufficient outrage — a stealable license.
Recently, my i-go based pocket pc navigation unit was stolen. However, I still retained my valid serial number, certificate of authenticity, proof of purchase and even a backup of the software. I figured restoring my software to another device should be a matter of unit service or (tops) minimal fee for media restoration. Tech support, however, had other ideas in mind. They informed me that my license was stolen with the unit. No amount of explanation of the lack of logic in that statement made through. They insisted that my backups were also void because I no longer have the original SD card and that I am not allowed to use them (which kind of defeats the whole purpose of backup, as the device only stores extremely little other data than the original software — no more than a few points of interest and marginal settings).

Submission + - Microsoft Complains About Google's Monopoly Abuse (eweek.com)

Submitted by

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property

on Tuesday December 25, 2007 @02:39PM

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes: "Frustrated at the FTC's blessing of the Google/Doubleclick merger, Microsoft is complaining to the EU. Its latest filings detail how the merger would give Google a stranglehold on the advertising industry. While these complaints aren't new, the diagram [PDF] Microsoft created gives you an interesting look at the sort of competition Microsoft fears from Google."

Submission + - Holiday Hacker Takes Down Blogs, Big Science Sites (popularmechanics.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 24, 2007 @03:03PM

An anonymous reader writes: A hacker calling himself "Body" and taking on the image of "The Crow" broke in to at least 20 websites as of Sunday afternoon, targeting blogs as well as well-established news outlets such as LiveScience, Space.com and Aviation.com. From the article: "In an age of hacker syndicates stealing financial info from e-commerce sites or assuming control of vast numbers of personal computers to launch spam, this kind of old-fashioned hack is almost reassuring."

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