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Submission + - Google's Secret Class System 4

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Back in 2005, a Slashdot commenter pointed out some prior art for Microsoft's badge color-based 'caste' system — Nazi concentration camp badges. Now, Google is taking heat as a terminated Google contractor shines a spotlight on Google's badge color-based 'class' system. According to Andrew Norman Wilson, full-time Googlers sport White Badges, interns are given Green Badges, and contractors wear Red Badges. But what really intrigued Wilson — and ultimately cost him his job — were the ScanOps workers with Yellow Badges who toiled for Google Book Search in Building 3.1459. 'The workers wearing yellow badges,' writes Wilson, 'are not allowed any of the privileges that I was allowed — ride the Google bikes, take the Google luxury limo shuttles home, eat free gourmet Google meals, attend Authors@Google talks and receive free, signed copies of the author's books, or set foot anywhere else on campus except for the building they work in. They also are not given backpacks, mobile devices, thumb drives, or any chance for social interaction with any other Google employees. Most Google employees don’t know about the yellow badge class.' Time for someone to update the official Google Books History?

Comment Another Approach (Score 1) 697

by evenmoreconfused (#35901936) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Are You Streaming-Only For Home Entertainment?

Got rid of both the TV and cable 12 years ago when the first kid was born. Gave the kids a PC and lots of (video) DVDs that we approved of. Now they're older, they watch (mostly crappy) series on YouTube and get (a little better) TV series in DVD boxed sets (Firefly, Buffy, Red Dwarf, that kind of stuff).

A few years ago we set up an projection system, fed by BluRay, Wii, XBox or, in very rare cases, WinTV on a Boot-camped MacBook. But still (nearly) no commercials.

In the meantime, I can watch important events (elections, catastrophies, playoffs) when I want to, either on a web feed from some news organization, or in HD using the over-the-air digital TV on my Samsung desktop combination monitor/TV.

Still don't pay a penny to anyone except for DVDs, BluRays, and projector bulbs.

Submission + - Why does the US cling to imperial measurements?

Submitted by
PhunkySchtuff
PhunkySchtuff writes: "As one of only three countries on Earth that hasn't converted to a metric system of units and measurements, there is a huge amount of resistance within the US to change the status quo. Whilst the cost of switching would be huge, there is also a massive hidden cost in not switching when dealing with the rest of the world (except for Liberia & Burma, the only other two countries that don't use the metric system)

With one of the largest organisations in the US, the military, using metric units extensively, why does the general public in the US still cling to their customary system of units?"
Space

Submission + - FBI Releases Document Confirming Roswell UFO (fbi.gov) 8

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 writes: An investigator for the Air Force stated that three so-called flying saucers had been recovered in New Mexico. They were described as circular in shape with raised centers approximately 50 feet in diameter. Each one was occupied by three bodies of human shape, but only 3 feet tall dressed in metallic clothing of very fine texture.

Submission + - Famous British autism study an 'elaborate fraud,' (cnn.com)

Submitted by Charliemopps
Charliemopps writes: An investigation published by the British medical journal BMJ concludes the study's author, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, misrepresented or altered the medical histories of all 12 of the patients whose cases formed the basis of the 1998 study — and that there was "no doubt" Wakefield was responsible.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/05/autism.vaccines/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

Submission + - Apple installs Safari by default again

Submitted by Thundersnatch
Thundersnatch writes: It appears that Apple is once again making its Safari 5 web browser and MobileMe software install by default via Apple Software Update on Windows, even if users had previously deselected these options in their preferences. They've been down this road before and faced significant backlash. If Microsoft did something like this people would be calling for a DOJ investigation.
Image

Survey Shows That Fox News Makes You Less Informed 1352

Posted by samzenpus from the fair-balanced-and-simple dept.
A survey of American voters by World Public Opinion shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources. One of the most interesting questions was about President Obama's birthplace. 63 percent of Fox viewers believe Obama was not born in the US (or that it is unclear). In 2003 a similar study about the Iraq war showed that Fox viewers were once again less knowledgeable on the subject than average. Let the flame war begin!
The Courts

Judge Berates Prosecutors In Xbox Modding Trial 285

Posted by Soulskill from the your-uppance-has-come dept.
mrbongo writes with this excerpt from Wired: "Opening statements in the first-of-its-kind Xbox 360 criminal hacking trial were delayed here Wednesday after a federal judge unleashed a 30-minute tirade at prosecutors in open court, saying he had 'serious concerns about the government's case.' ... Gutierrez slammed the prosecution over everything from alleged unlawful behavior by government witnesses, to proposed jury instructions harmful to the defense. When the verbal assault finally subsided, federal prosecutors asked for a recess to determine whether they would offer the defendant a deal, dismiss or move forward with the case that was slated to become the first jury trial of its type. A jury was seated Tuesday."
Crime

Student Googles Himself, Finds He's Accused of Murder 184

Posted by samzenpus from the be-careful-what-you-search-for dept.
University of Florida student Zachary Garcia was more than a little surprised to find out he was wanted for murder after Googling his name. It turns out the police were looking for a different man but had mistakenly used Garcia's photo. From the article: "Investigators originally released a driver's license photo of Zachary Garcia — spelled with an 'A' — but it was Zachery Garcia — spelled with an 'E'— who was charged in connection with the crime."

Submission + - What 2D GUI Foundation do you use? 2

Submitted by Zmee
Zmee writes: I am looking to build a 2D application for personal use and I will need to use a canvas to paint custom objects. I am trying to determine what foundation to use and have not located a good side-by-side comparison of the various flavors. For reference, I need the final application to work in Windows; Linux is preferred, but not required. I have looked at WPF, Qt, OpenGL, Tcl/Tk, Java's AWT, and others. I have little preference as to the language itself, but each of the tutorials appear to require significant time investment. As such, I am looking to see what the community uses and what seems to work for people prior to making that investment.
Medicine

Americans Less Healthy, But Outlive Brits 521

Posted by timothy from the cross-cultural-croaking-comparison dept.
An anonymous reader writes with this intriguing snippet: "Older Americans are less healthy than their English counterparts, but they live as long or even longer than their English peers, according to a new study by researchers from the RAND Corporation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London. Researchers found that while Americans aged 55 to 64 have higher rates of chronic diseases than their peers in England, they died at about the same rate. And Americans age 65 and older — while still sicker than their English peers — had a lower death rate than similar people in England, according to findings published in the journal Demography."
Games

Submission + - Don't get naked while playing Xbox Kinect (gamepron.com) 1

Submitted by UgLyPuNk
UgLyPuNk writes: The latest gaming blockbuster from Harmonix, the Kinect-enabled Dance Central hit shelves this week and already it’s taking the world by storm.

I was trying out the Kinect Dance Central game and I was getting hot so I took off my clothes. I had no idea that the game was going to take A BUNCH OF PICTURES OF ME
Firefox

Submission + - Do Firefox users pay more for car loans? (consumerist.com)

Submitted by
RandyOo
RandyOo writes: "Someone wrote in to The Consumerist to report an interesting discovery: while shopping online for a car loan, Capital One offered him different rates, depending on the browser he used! Firefox yielded the highest rate at 3.5%, Opera took second place with 3.1%, Safari was only 2.7%, and finally, Google's Chrome browser afforded him the best rate of all: 2.3%! A commenter on the article claims to have been previously employed by Capital One, and writes: If you model the risk and revenue of applicants, the type of browser shows up as a significant variable. Browsers do predict an account's performance to some degree, and it will affect the rates you will view. It isn't a marketing test. I was still a bit dubious, but at least one of her previous comments backs up her claims to have worked for a credit card company. Considering the outcry after it was discovered that Amazon was experimenting with variable pricing a few years back, it seems surprising that consumers would be punished (or rewarded), based solely on the browser they happen to be using at the time!"

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