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Submission + - UK gov't bans iPads, phones from meetings over spying concerns (pcpro.co.uk) 1

Submitted by nk497
nk497 writes: Smartphones and tablets have reportedly been banned from Cabinet Office meetings, apparently in response to spying fears. Number 10's security team swiftly removed a batch of iPads from a presentation given earlier this month by the minister for the Cabinet Office, Francis Maude, and Government Digital Service boss Mike Bracken.

According to the Mail on Sunday, Maude and Bracken were giving an update on the government's cost-cutting move to online services, using iPads as part of the presentation. But before any sensitive discussions could start, security staff reportedly removed the devices from the room. Separate reports suggest that ministers working for sensitive government departments must also now place their phones in lead-lined, soundproofed boxes before conducting confidential conversations.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Any examples of a proper website plan/spec. document? 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Ideas fly through the tech community in droves. Many startups were born/died because of great/poor website planning and design. I have yet to see a smart document that effectively describes a website plan to both the designers and then the programmers (who may or may not be founders or employees). It's clearly quite important in the case of SAAS or web apps.

I have seen rainforest sized boxes of stapled together jargon submitted by corporations and non-profits as 'web design specs.' I find these to be gobbledygook. There must be something that strikes a balance between functional descriptiveness and readability.

Does anyone have any samples of GOOD QUALITY documents which can guide personnel through this critical task? With so much frank and open dialog these days, perhaps someone has seen a good example posted in a blog post which I missed?

Submission + - Netflix to go HTML5, but not without DRM 1

Submitted by FuzzNugget
FuzzNugget writes: In a recent blog post, Netflix details their plans to transition from Silverlight to HTML5, but with one caveat: HTML5 needs to include a built-in DRM scheme. With the W3C's proposed Encrypted Media Extensions, this may come to frition. But what would we sacrificing in openness and the web as we know it? How will developers of open source browsers like Firefox respond to this?

Submission + - ZDNet proclaims "Windows: It's over" 1

Submitted by plastick
plastick writes: "You can think Windows 8 will evolve into something better, but the numbers show that Windows is coming to a dead end."

ZDNet is known to take the side of Microsoft in the past. ZDNet's Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols explains "The very day the debate came to an end, this headline appeared: IDC: Global PC shipments plunge in worst drop in a generation. Sure, a lot of that was due to the growth of tablets and smartphones and the rise of the cloud, but Windows 8 gets to take a lot of the blame too. After all, the debate wasn't whether or not Windows 8 was any good. It's not. The debate was over whether it could be saved."
Perl

Submission + - Perl Isn't Going Anywhere -- For Better Or Worse (infoworld.com)

Submitted by
snydeq
snydeq writes: "Deep End's Paul Venezia waxes philosophical about Perl stagnancy in IT. 'A massive number of tools and projects still make the most out of the language. But it's hard to see Perl regaining its former glory without a dramatic turnaround in the near term. As more time goes by, Perl will likely continue to decline in popularity and cement its growing status as a somewhat arcane and archaic language, especially as compared to newer, more lithe options. Perhaps that's OK. Perl has been an instrumental part of the innovation and technological advancements of the last two decades, and it's served as a catalyst for a significant number of other languages that have contributed heavily to the programming world in general.'"

Comment Microsoft is betting on next wave (Score 2) 183

by perplexing.reader (#41750823) Attached to: Microsoft Surface Review: a Tale of Two Tablets
Microsoft don't bother too much in losing this round with windows 8 in the tablets market, they know that is an uphill battle. They are betting in the windows 9. They have 90% of desktop market? If they make a huge mistake with the windows 8 on desktop, they will get 80% of desktop market? So on the next software cycle, they have a lot a people already using windows 8 GUI, because they don't have really any other choices, and will be a more easy sell the next tablet with Windows 9, because they will share the same interface with the "previous windows 8" GUI. Right now they dont have the APPs, dont have the developers, but with the windows 8, this will change, people will develop software for windows 8 interface, and will be ready to develop or port the software to new Windows 9.
Games

Submission + - Sony PlayStation Orbis Not Going To Allow Legacy Games (slashgear.com) 1

Submitted by
KatchooNJ
KatchooNJ writes: "It appears that the Sony PlayStation Orbis is not going to be fitted to allow for legacy gaming. It seems that Sony has been slowly moving away from this for cost reasons, even with the PS3's ability to play PS1 and PS2 games. Is this the biggest news or is it that there is more talk about trying to elbow out the used game market? Will gamers revolt and boycott?"
Space

Submission + - Interstellar Space Travel Should Remain A Mind-Warping Pipe Dream (vice.com)

Submitted by
pigrabbitbear
pigrabbitbear writes: "The Alcubierre warp drive, theorized by Mexican physicist Miguel Alcubierre, essentially proposes a mechanism where a spacecraft may actually travel faster than the speed of light, allowing for interstellar space travel. More elaborately speaking, this states that the spacecraft’s motion, in its insanely high speeds, would create a situation where the area in front of the spacecraft would diminish, as the area behind it would expand. At this point, the spacecraft would land itself in a theoretical “wave bubble,” and would essentially whip the bubble so that the spacecraft would travel faster than the speed of light, via the bubble’s propulsion, not the spacecraft itself."

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