Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
America Online

Submission + - What exactly is "open" about ODP?

Submitted by ProfessorMonkhouse
ProfessorMonkhouse writes: The Open Directory Project, a.k.a. DMOZ, shines of obscurity. Processing a url request can take "from weeks to years"; inquiries as to the status of a url request are not allowed; and if your url inclusion request is declined, (or accepted, for that matter) no notification is sent back to the applicant. Thus, there is simply no way for a webmaster to know whether enough years haven't passed yet, or whether the url was rejected, or why. The decisions are made anonymously by Editors. Editors are accepted or rejected anonymously by Meta-Editors. If your application to become Editor is declined, no reason is given, except a standard email that simply lists the many possible reasons. Editors can be anonymously fired by Meta's, no reason given, such as after The Cunctator wrote to Slashdot. And threads at their forum which are critical of DMOZ, such as Something's a little off in Denmark are promptly labelled "non-constructive" and locked... Apparently since the acquisition of ODP by Netscape, and of the latter by AOL, all decision making power is concentrated in the few employees who draw a salary from AOL. The question is, what's AOL planning to do with all that power?
Toys

Submission + - Toy Shopping? Buy "Made in the U.S.A." (clarksvilleonline.com)

Submitted by bl968
bl968 writes: Clarksville Online has a helpful article for Slashdot readers who might be looking to buy American made toys for their children titled Toy Shopping? Buy "Made in the U.S.A.". With all the Chinese made toy recalls of the past year, this may a parent's best option this Christmas season.

So you want to buy American as you check off that Christmas toy list? You can, though it may seem as if everything on the shelves was manufactured somewhere else. There are many American toy companies alive and thriving in the USA.
Software

Submission + - Free Linux based home anti-virus/spy/adware proxy? 1

Submitted by JaBob
JaBob writes: Would anyone know how would to go about setting up a linux distro as a home firewall/antivirus/antispyware/ad blocking proxy? I have been wanting to play with a linux box more and more, and I'm sick and tired of fixing my family's windows boxes from the crap that they download. Is there some kind of free proxy solution that will also scan incoming files and extensions for malware and other garbage? I know I can't get them to switch to linux, because some of the apps we depend on don't work on linux, even under wine. A simple Google search yields quite a bit on using Squid to filter ads http://www.google.com/search?q=squid+ad+block , but I have yet to find any information on using it as a filter for other things. I have played with MS ISA server 2004 and would love it if there was something similar or better. I'm a bit of a techie (mechanical engineering student that used to major in CS), and don't mind having to learn a bit to get it set up and working properly, but I don't want to have to think about it and write it from scratch myself (no time, insufficient skills). I could really use a bit of help from people who are a bit wiser and more experienced in this than I am. Thanks.
Classic Games (Games)

Submission + - Desert Bus raising money for Child's Play

Submitted by
kloostec
kloostec writes: "The gamers at Loading.Ready.Run are raising money for Child's Play by bringing out the worst game you've never heard of: Desert Bus. In this game, the player drives from Tucson, Arizona to Las Vegas, Nevada (and back!) at 45 mph in real-time. Each successful one-way trip takes 8 hours and scores one point. While no gamer in his or her right mind would play this game for any length of time, this group is taking pledges to continue their marathon of boredom.

Penn and Teller have endorsed the marathon, donating both money and food to the effort. The local media have also caught on, drumming up support and gathering more pledges to continue driving the bus back and forth. So far, they've managed to raise over $8000, and must therefore drive the bus for 94 hours straight.

The official website has a live webcam feed of the event, with cameras covering both the on-screen action and their supporters. There is also a live IRC chat with the drivers and other fans."
Enlightenment

Submission + - The New Grinch?

Submitted by
theodp
theodp writes: "The NYT reports there's a new Grinch in town — relatives pushing eco-friendly gifts for Christmas like energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs and carbon offsets. To help the little ones get with the program, FAO Schwarz offers the new children's book When Santa Turned Green (gift wrap optional), with its tale of Santa's struggle to save The North Pole from a global warming meltdown."
Nintendo

Submission + - Pictochat Clone That Connects via IP Released

Submitted by YokimaSun
YokimaSun writes: Circus has released an exceedingly interesting new homebrew app for the DS.This app is a clone of the Pictochat Software that comes bundled with the Nintendo DS but this homebrew variant uses Wifi to connect 2 DS consoles together using the IP Address. Chat worldwide instead of a few metres away.
Cellphones

Submission + - More Sprint service nightmares!

Submitted by
cyberpope
cyberpope writes: "I do not know why someone would be with sprint from a plan service perspective. I have been a customer ONE day and listen to my story; Purchased blackery, 300 minutes a month, 300 sms messages, and unlimited web and email. They said I would have a $125 spending limit. I pay $249 for the phone; happy as a clam I await my purchase. Next day, I see the status online claims my phone was activated and shipped. I get the phone the next day! WOW, that was fast. I open the box and a nice red letter tells me my phone was locked during shipping, here is your new number, here is your unlock key. I put the battery in. I see the phone is actually NOT activated. No biggie, I will read the manual and do that. I am told to dial*2, and all will be peachy. I dial the number, and I get a message asking if I am a new or existing customer. I say existing, I get a message, my phone number is not in their db, click I am gone. So I call back again, a little concerned. I then state I am a new customer, and I get routed to a sales person. I tell them I ordered the phone, and the activation would not work. He then claimed he did not see me in one database, and he would have to take a few minutes to look in another. After 5 minutes, he states, I must be in a database he does not have access to, and he will transfer me to another person. I get transferred to the next person. A lady with a slight Indian accent. After one hour, she says she will have to program my phone. Could she call me at a different number than the phone. Sure, I give her my number, now very concerned. She calls me, after I hang-up. Then she puts me on hold for over one hour while she says she is doing something. One hour later she comes on, thanks me for the long wait. Says, she can do nothing, and will have to transfer me to her partner. I am a little hot. I bite my tongue. I then get transferred, this time the lady has an accent that is unintelligible, and the connection is like she is standing down the hall. I have to AGAIN remove my battery, find the ESN number (why would their system not transfer that). She then does the WORST job of trying to talk me through programming my OWN phone. In 20 years of IT, 3 of it in owning an ISP, so I know what phone support SHOULD be, we get my phone activated. She says though, that I have to wait three hours before using it, because I need to get updates. I thought my pain was over. I thought I was in Nirvana. Three hours later, I decide I will set up my email. What no browser link, no email link? Isn't that what the blackberry is for? I decide to look on the web see if others have had this happen. I so did NOT want to call their support again. After researching it showed I have no services programmed, and I would need to call their support, if after going to Sprints website and requesting them to resend them did not work. Guess what, it didn't LOL I called them again. I told the new person (at least this one I could her and understand) my pain. So 45 minutes later we change the network info on my phone and get my services installed. She then notices that I do not have internet access on my phone. I said what, I bought the unlimited plan. She says it is not on my account. I told her I downloaded opera trying to resend the services myself. If I didn't have internet access, how could I do that? She said without the service I can still use the web, I am just paying a premium rate? Shocked, I said I bought it on your website. It told me there would be these charges. She said she saw all except that. She said she would remove any previous web charges and set me up with the web and email unlimited plan. I am asked how my experience was; laughing I say if I have no more problems it is fine. So I set up my email, go to sleep. I wake up the next morning. I check my email on the phone. That is great. I then go to call my voicemail. I get a message my phone has been shut off for non-payment or I have exceeded my credit limit! What how could that be. I am transferred to finance. He claims he sees a 300 dollar charge. It appears like I did not pay for my phone. What I paid $249 for the phone; I saw the charge on my corporate Visa. I rant now for 20 minutes, making sure someone at Sprint feels my pain. He claims he is in Finance and can do NOTHING to help me. I ask him, if I take my phone back today to a Sprint store, what will I owe. He said just for any calls, maybe $30. I tell him my only calls were to his support people. He offers to transfer me to customer service. I tell him that has messed up in setting up my phone that has made mistakes in regards to my plans; they have now made billing mistakes. There is no way after one day of Sprint service would I stay a customer. The only positive is that I did not cancel my Verizon, which I have had with ZERO issues for 7 years. After talking with their special cancellation team and they telling me I would NEVER get any communications from Sprint. They are now claiming I owe them 271 dollars! They are also claiming I still owe for my MONTHLY service. I had the phone and service less than 24 hours. Has anyone else had issues with cancellation and billing issues? It appears they may have dinged my credit too. I am now researching any open class action suits against them. I am so ticked at Sprint, my whole goal in life now is to warn people about what a crappy, pitiful experience I have had. I personally do not care if I have to now get a lawyer and pay out of my pocket to sue them. 30 days later: Currently my cost is one lost day, 12 hours dealing with their support. That number is growing. I called them as soon as I got the bill. The billing department claimed they could do nothing. They would have to forward me to their cancellation team. I jumped down that moron's throat. I told him, get me your manager. I waited 30 minutes, to go into that person's voice mail."
Media

Submission + - NYTimes Editorial Says Science Is a Religion (nytimes.com) 1

Submitted by jeffporcaro
jeffporcaro writes: Paul Davies writes a guest editorial in the NYTimes (sorry, but that's where it is) in which he shares his opinion that science is no better/no different than religion, since it forces its adherents to take items on faith. Examples he gives of faith-based science include our belief that the laws of physics will not change tomorrow and the idea that there are multiple universes — both are non-falsifiable and therefore no better than religious faith. Similarly, the fact that fundamental concepts are not fully explained (Why are the laws that regulate motion the way that they are? Who/what made them that way?) proves to him that science is based on a faulty, "deeply anti-rational" foundation. See here for full story.
Security

Submission + - How Can I Make A Secure Phone Call?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It is becoming increasingly difficult to convince myself that I should continue walking around while wearing a mobile tracking device and a mobile audio bug. That said, I'd like to be able to use the phone, and I'd occasionally like to be able to use it in places that aren't my home. Is this possible to do securely? The best thing that I can think of is to somehow run zfone on a mobile wifi handset. Or perhaps on a smartphone with the SIM card removed? Is this possible? Has anyone had any success with this, or have any recommendations on ways to make mobile secure calls and avoid being tracked?
Biotech

Submission + - U of A team wins prize for creating E.Coli Biofuel (ualberta.ca)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The University of Alberta ButaNerds have taken first prize in the energy category at an international genetic engineering competition at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. The U of A team is using E. coli bacteria to produce butanol, a biofuel that could one day replace gasoline. Butanol also cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions and takes food crops out of the equation in the development of biofuels. Teams from 59 universities from around the world took part in the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition, which invites researchers from all over the world to address the question: Can simple biological systems be built from standard, interchangeable parts and operated in living cells?
Portables (Apple)

Submission + - why Linux Community Didn't Come Up With iPhone?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Lately, there seems to an explosion of interest in Open Source. I suppose it is a natural progression. When interest in something grows, its level of recognition expands exponentially as more and more people become aware. It seems the scientific community is also starting to take note — not necessarily of the software, but of the way in which Open Source community functions.At this time a question arise in my mind-Why linux community doesnt comeup with iphone?This blog story will clarify my doubts.
Microsoft

Submission + - What Will Windows 7 Bring to the Table After Windo

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: With Windows Vista far from being the last mammoth release of the Windows operating system as we know it, Microsoft is increasingly focusing on Windows 7. Stripped down of its Vienna codename, following the development strategy implemented by Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, debuted with the introduction of product numbers, Windows 7 is currently set for 2010, in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors. At the same time, there are generally only scarce details related to Windows 7 available, most of which do not benefit from any official confirmation from Microsoft.

Slashdot Top Deals

THEGODDESSOFTHENETHASTWISTINGFINGERSANDHERVOICEISLIKEAJAVELININTHENIGHTDUDE

Close