MilesTails - Slashdot User

Submission + - US cell phone plans amongst world's most expensive (oecd.org)

Submitted by Albanach on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @09:22AM

Albanach writes: An OECD report published today has shown moderate cell phone users in the United States are paying some of the highest rates in the world. Average US plans cost $52.99 per month compared to an average of $10.95 in Finland. The full report is available only to subscribers, however Excel sheets of the raw data are available to download.

Submission + - Linux isn't Windows - Is it still relevant? (piestar.net)

Submitted by on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @09:11AM

An anonymous reader writes: I commonly see the link to this site — I am sure everyone else has seen it more than once before also — Linux isn't Windows But the question is is this still relevant? Is it representative of the current direction Linux is heading? Is it the impression we even want to give? Reading the (slightly unfair) rebuttal here, which amusingly points out that it was probably drafted in MS Word in the first place, demonstrates that even the author doesn't follow his own advice and prefers to use 'user friendly' proprietary software.

Isn't it time that we stopped linking to this and other such articles, as they only serve to reinforce the elitist and difficult reputation that Linux has gained, and is trying hard to shed?

Submission + - GSA Web-Tracking Plan Stirs Privacy Fears

Submitted by quadwrench on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @08:41AM

quadwrench writes: GSA under the Obama administration are considering revamping a policy that allows tracking of users website visits. I'm posting this because it could be easily construed as a slippery slope for web-tracking by agencies. "U.S. Web-Tracking Plan Stirs Privacy Fears" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/10/AR2009081002743_pf.html

Submission + - The Future of Farming (popsci.com)

Submitted by eldavojohn on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @08:41AM

eldavojohn writes: With hunger being a major problem in the world, PopSci offers eight innovations in farming that are currently being tested and implemented. They are: farming the desert, soil sensors to cut fertilizer/water waste, genetically engineering rice, using nitrogen collecting microbes in place of fertilizer, gathering extensive data on land to improve usage, robot labor, biochar (nutrients for plants while sequestering carbon) and supercrops like a super resistant, super nutritious bioengineered cassava (also known as yucca). While some of the estimates on these things are five or six years into the future, many are already in place and available.

Submission + - In the Underworld, the game plays you! (www.itu.dk)

Submitted by

togelius

on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @08:15AM

togelius writes: "Whenever you play a game of Tomb Raider: Underworld, heaps of data about your playing style is collected at Eidos' servers. Researchers at the Center for Computer Games Research have now mined this data to find out who you are! Using self-organizing neural networks, they classified players as either Veterans, Solvers, Pacifists or Runners. It turns out people play the game for very different reasons and focus on different parts of the game, but almost everyone falls into one of these categories. These neural networks can now instantly find out which of these you belong to based on just seeing you play. In the near future, such networks will be used to adapt games like Tomb Raider while they are played (e.g. by removing or adding puzzles and enemies), so you get the game you want."

Feed news.com: 'Touchable holography' stars Wiimote (cnet.com)

From feed by cnetfeed on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @08:13AM

University of Tokyo researchers have come up with a holographic projector prototype that adds tactile feedback to hovering images and could bring more realism to games.

Feed The Register: Campaign Monitor reels from hack and spam attack (theregister.com)

From feed by registerfeed on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @08:12AM

Australian mail marketing firm stumped

Australian email marketing application developers Campaign Monitor warned on Tuesday that it had been the victim of a hacking attack over the weekend.

Offloading malware protection to the cloud

Feed The Register: Half-ton space watermelon hints at habitable Martian past (theregister.com)

From feed by registerfeed on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @08:12AM

NASA droid probe sniffs at rusty fallen star

An unusual object recently found on Mars by a NASA robot - said to be "the size of a large watermelon" and to weigh a "half ton or more" - is thought by boffins to provide proof that the Red Planet once had a much denser atmosphere than it does now.

The power of collaboration within unified communications

Feed The Register: Apple promises MacBook Pro drive bug fix (theregister.com)

From feed by registerfeed on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @08:12AM

Patch coming soon

Apple has confirmed it's working on an software fix to appease MacBook Pro owners who've been complaining their new machines beep unexpectedly and suffer recurring temporary freezes.

The power of collaboration within unified communications

Submission + - Torrents Being Honey Potted

Submitted by digital_gods on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @08:07AM

digital_gods writes: The company MediaSentry unit of SafeNet, Inc. owned ARTISTdirect, Inc. is targeting P2P downloaders of torrents. They have recently unleashed a new Anti-Piracy strategy of Honey Potting torrents in order to discover downloaders IP address. Upon the discovery of the downloaders IP address, they contact the ISP of the IP address. There sending out letters informing the ISP about the downloaders recent activities. In return the ISPs are sending out warning messages and or canceling service because of violations of Terms of Service. I just recently received on of their letters that included a strong arm push towards purchasing a legal copy from iTunes. Attached is the letter i received.
RE: Unauthorized Distribution of the Copyrighted Published Work Entitled Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Document) Dear ISP Customer: On behalf of the rights holder for the content listed below, we are writing this letter to state that we have a good faith belief that the unauthorized sharing (distribution) and downloading of this content has occurred by an individual making use of the IP address below at the date and time referenced at the end of this notice. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Document) xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx We also state, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this notice is accurate and that we are authorized to act on behalf of the rights owner. Since you own this IP address, we request that you inform the individual who engaged in this conduct of the following: Unauthorized file sharing is illegal. However, we truly appreciate your interest in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Document). We are making every attempt to provide this wonderful content to you in a host of legitimate ways, one of which is through the following website: http://www.apple.com/itunes If you believe you have received this notice in error, please contact us at CLCopyright@mediasentry.com ., and kindly include this identification number xxxxxxxxxx, also noted above, in the subject line. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Respectfully, A Kempe MediaSentry Operations — INFRINGEMENT DETAIL — Infringing Work: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Document) First Found: 8 Aug 2009 00:36:43 EDT (GMT -0400) Last Found: 8 Aug 2009 00:36:43 EDT (GMT -0400) IP Address: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx IP Port: xxxxx Protocol: BitTorrent Torrent InfoHash: 64C9951D7A910E5BAF24CB3512B7DECBEA0245E3 Containing file(s): eBooks & Texts.torrent (2,554,748,198 bytes) Infringing Work: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Document) First Found: 8 Aug 2009 00:36:43 EDT (GMT -0400) Last Found: 8 Aug 2009 00:36:43 EDT (GMT -0400) IP Address: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx IP Port: xxxxx Protocol: BitTorrent Torrent InfoHash: 64C9951D7A910E5BAF24CB3512B7DECBEA0245E3 Containing file(s): eBooks & Texts.torrent (2,554,748,198 bytes) Infringing Work: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Document) First Found: 8 Aug 2009 00:36:43 EDT (GMT -0400) Last Found: 8 Aug 2009 00:36:43 EDT (GMT -0400) IP Address: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx IP Port: xxxxx Protocol: BitTorrent Torrent InfoHash: 64C9951D7A910E5BAF24CB3512B7DECBEA0245E3 Containing file(s): eBooks & Texts.torrent (2,554,748,198 bytes)

Submission + - AMD low power 64bit processors

Submitted by rwiggers on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @08:05AM

rwiggers writes: AMD has released two new low power processors for embedded apps. With a power of 18W and a chipset with 3W of average consumption it seems we may have some interesting competition with atom's.

Submission + - Office Web Apps ignore Opera and Chrome browsers (itpro.co.uk)

Submitted by

nk497

on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @06:36AM

nk497 writes: "Microsoft's Office 2010 will bring with it web-based versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint — but no guarantee that they'll run in Chrome or Opera — or even IE6. Microsoft said IE7 and IE8 will be supported, alongside FireFox 3.5 and Safari 4, but left off the smaller rivals. So much for encouraging browser competition, then."

Submission + - Microsoft refuses to kill off IE6 over personal ch (itpro.co.uk)

Submitted by

nk497

on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @06:10AM

nk497 writes: "Microsoft has said it will keep supporting IE6, despite a campaign to rid the web of the ancient browser. An IE GM said techie folks might like using the latest upgrade, but not everyone wanted to take that route. "The choice to upgrade software on a PC belongs to the person responsible for the PC," said Dean Hachamovitch, adding that, as engineers, they rather hoped people would upgrade but had no intention to cut support. "Dropping support for IE6 is not an option because we committed to supporting the IE included with Windows for the lifespan of the product," he said. "We keep our commitments." While that might apply to browsers, users of XP — which had full support yanked this April and will see just security updates until 2014 — might beg to differ."

Submission + - CRIA & MPAA Demand Expanded DMCA for Canada

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @05:54AM

An anonymous reader writes: The Canadian Recording Industry Association and the MPAA's Canadian subsidiary are demanding that Canada adopt copyright laws that go beyond even the DMCA. The groups demand anti-circumvention law, three strikes and you're out legislation, and increased secondary liability for websites. The demands come as part of the national copyright consultation in which hundreds of Canadians have spoken out against such reforms.

Submission + - Why don't users mind when Twitter breaks down?

Submitted by

holy_calamity

on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @05:30AM

holy_calamity writes: "New Scientist speculate about why Twitter users are so upbeat in the face of their beloved service suffering downtime and delays. Last week's attacks caused some serious problems, all borne with good grace. Is this an effect of the incredible hype around the service, down to it not really being that useful, or a demonstration that so-called web 2.0 products can create a new kind of relationship between users and companies?"

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