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Microsoft

Submission + - the Longhorn dream reborn (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by gbjbaanb
gbjbaanb writes: Early this month, Microsoft dropped something of a bombshell on Windows developers: the new Windows 8 touch-friendly immersive style would use a developer platform not based on .NET. Cue howls of outrage from .NET developers everywhere, but here Ars Technica descibes what's more likely to have been going on and why Microsoft is finally getting its act together for developers.
Bitcoin

Submission + - Aussie IT Guy Mines Bitcoins On Govt Severs (theage.com.au)

Submitted by
jampola
jampola writes: "Just when you thought there was enough Bitcoin related news floating in the vast cloud *cough cough*, an IT worker at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) thought it would be a good idea to install Bitcoin mining software on government owned PC's. Needless to say, they're not happy and a "serious misconduct case" is underway.

Never fear, I doubt we've barely touched the bottom in Bitcoin related news!"
Technology

Submission + - Of Codebreakers and Mechanical Giants (theepochtimes.com)

Submitted by
jjp9999
jjp9999 writes: "A war of spies and electromechanical machines that took place beneath the wires during World War II not only played a crucial role in the Allies victory, but also helped spark the beginning of the computer age. Among the devices was the Enigma, a cipher capable of producing 150,000,000,000,000,000,000 possible code combinations, and a hulking machine, the Colossus, the first programmable electronic computer, capable of decoding the Enigma."

Comment Organize Books (Score 1) 1

by Nominei (#35541476) Attached to: Digital Media Libraries
I would strongly recommend Calibre for managing e-books. It is an easy to use open-source program that is regularly updated, letting you organize, sort, read, and convert books. It will also connect with e-readers, including the Kindle, when they are connected to your computer.
Security

Submission + - EMC's Anti-Hacking Division Gets Hacked (yahoo.com)

Submitted by
Nominei
Nominei writes: "The world's biggest maker of data storage computers on Thursday said that its security division has been hacked, and that the intruders compromised a widely used technology for preventing computer break-ins. It is especially troubling because the technology sold by EMC's security division, RSA, plays an important role in making sure unauthorized people aren't allowed to log into heavily guarded networks.

The scope of the attack wasn't immediately known, but the potential fallout could be widespread. RSA's customers include the military, governments, various banks and medical facilities and health insurance outfits."
The Courts

Submission + - arbitrator bans band from playing their song. (2jk.org)

Submitted by
jonklinger
jonklinger writes: "A recent arbitration between two popular Israeli musicians puts the issue of fair use in a whole new perspective.

In 2002, Israeli band Hadag Nachash released an album where one of their songs was either influenced by, or quite similar to, another Israeli classic hit. The artist, Ariel Zilber sought arbitration, claiming they violated his intellectual property rights.

The arbitrator ruled in favour of Zilber and apart from damages issued an injunction prohibiting Hadag Nachash from performing this song in their shows, mandating them to redact their albums from record stores and removing this song from the ACUM (the Israeli equivalent to ASCAP) repertoire."
Robotics

Submission + - Iran announces unmanned flying saucer (popsci.com)

Submitted by
garymortimer
garymortimer writes: "The ship is called Zohal — Saturn in Persian — and is designed for aerial imaging. Zohal has a data downlink and can fly in both indoor and outdoor spaces, according to the Fars News Service. The Daily Mail points out that Fars is a hard-line state-run news service. But with this photo, we can’t help but think of the homophone farce instead."
Science

Submission + - David Rumelhart, neural network pioneer dies (stanford.edu) 1

Submitted by
Dr_Ish
Dr_Ish writes: "David Rumelhart, one of the main movers and shakes behind the resurgence of artificial neural network research in the mid-80s has died. There is a brief obituary available at http://news.stanford.edu/news/2011/march/david-rumelhart-obit-031711.html. Rumelhart was one of the seminal figures in cognitive science research during the 1980s. His work is still widely cited. He is also the inspiration behind the Rumelhart prize, one of the major awards in the computer science of intelligence. Although in recent years a medical condition had prevented him being an active research contributer, he will still be sorely missed."
Media

Submission + - Digital Media Libraries 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Like many slashdotters, I have several TB of digital media: music, books, movies, tv shows, games, comics, you name it. I've put it all in a few HDs, but handling it all has proven to be less than optimal.
I'm covered when it comes to music, since [pretty much any music player/library manager] allows me to quickly find songs by interpreter, album, genre... For everything else, all I have is a series of hierarchical folder structures, but hierarchies have limitations. I can find Blade Runner easily, but what if I wanted all of Scott Ridley's films? Where is "Good Omens", in the Terry Pratchett folder or in Neil Gaiman's? Furthermore, in a collection with hundreds of similar items, it would help to have some extra clues such as covers (for comic books) or synopsis for TV shows' episodes.
Do you have any software to help you handle digital media libraries? Specialized software (say, something that only work for comics, something else for movies), or generic media libraries? Opensource alternatives are preferred, but commercial software is fine as well.

Submission + - Dutch Court Rules WiFi Hacking Is Now Legal (pcworld.com)

Submitted by
loekessers
loekessers writes: "Breaking in to an encrypted router and using the WiFi connection is not an criminal offence, a Dutch court ruled. WiFi hackers can not be prosecuted for breaching router security.

The Judge reasoned that the student didn't gain access to the computer connected to the router, but only used the routers internet connection. Under Dutch law breaking in to a computer is forbidden.

A computer in The Netherlands is defined as a machine that is used for three things: the storage, processing and transmission of data. A router can therefore not be described as a computer because it is only used to transfer or process data and not for storing bits and bytes. Hacking a device that is no computer by law is not illegal, and can not be prosecuted, the court concluded.

Original source http://webwereld.nl/nieuws/106024/rechter--wifi-netwerk-van-de-buren-hacken-mag.html"
Space

Submission + - Cosmonaut Crashed Into Earth 'Crying In Rage' (npr.org) 2

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: This extraordinarily intimate account of the 1967 death of a Russian cosmonaut appears in a new book, Starman, by Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony, to be published next month. The authors base their narrative principally on revelations from a KGB officer, Venymin Ivanovich Russayev, and previous reporting by Yaroslav Golovanov in Pravda. This version — if it's true — is beyond shocking.

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