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The Hidden Secrets of Online Quizzes 136

Posted by CmdrTaco from the i-thought-it-just-cluttered-my-facebook dept.
LegionKK points out a story on PC World, sending along this excerpt: "Ultimately, deciding whether you should take an online quiz comes down to a question of trust: Are you comfortable putting your information — personal or financial — into the owner's hands? Remember, even if you don't directly input data, it can be passed along. Such is the case with Facebook, where just opening an application automatically grants its developer access to your entire profile. And don't assume that the developer isn't going to use the information within. [...] The ads can follow you long after you click away, too. Just look at RealAge, a detailed quiz that assigns you a 'biological age' based on your family history and health habits. The site, a recent investigation revealed, takes your most sensitive answers — those about sexual difficulties, say, or signs of depression — and sells them to drug companies looking to market medications."

Comment Re:Abuse of moderation (Score 5, Interesting) 311

by coryboehne (#27950105) Attached to: Flash Drive Roundup

All you want is waterproof?

USB drives are super cool like that. (No moving parts!)

All you need is a little 2-part epoxy.

Take apart your flash drive (any!) and simply coat the green / black components with as much epoxy as you can stuff into it's exterior shell..

Now, the cap, buy a thin o-ring from your local hardware store, using a knife or dremel, cut a very narrow groove around the inside of your cap. Carefully use epoxy (sparingly here!) to secure the o-ring..

This might not be 100% water proof, but I'm pretty sure it would be very water resistant.

-Cheers,
Cory!
The Internet

Cory Doctorow Says DIY Licensing Will Solve Piracy 189

Posted by samzenpus from the well-that-was-easy dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The founding editor of Boing Boing, Cory Doctorow, has written a report about 'do-it-yourself' digital licensing, which he's touting as the panacea for piracy. Doctorow's solution for content creators is two-fold: get a Creative Commons license and append some basic text requiring those who re-use your work to pay you a percentage of their gross income. Doctorow refers to this as the middle ground between simply acquiring a Creative Commons license and hiring expensive lawyers for negotiations. He calls do-it-yourself licensing 'cheap and easy licensing that would turn yesterday's pirates into tomorrow's partners.'"
Windows

Submission + - Windows 7's disingenuous "Advantage" (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by
Barence
Barence writes: "An interesting blog about Microsoft's 'slimy' and 'sneaky' anti-piracy policies. Quote: "Last week, Microsoft announced some details of anti-piracy measures in Windows 7. It sounds like they're going to be slightly less intrusive than those in Vista, and probably roughly as effective. I don't exactly resent all this product validation stuff. I'd prefer it if Microsoft didn't feel the need to do it; but I accept that the company has a legitimate interest in dissuading casual copying, and to me a one-time online authorisation doesn't seem an unreasonable way of going about that. But I do resent all the weasel words and spin that surround the process.""

Comment Re:Intermedia - First in hosted OCS (Score 1) 4

by coryboehne (#27940923) Attached to: MS Unified Communications for Small Businesses?

Very well done!

I'm waiting on a call from Broadsoft.. Intermedia answered right away, very friendly and helpful. Apparently the terms "Unified Communications" and "Office Communications" are synonymous.

I'd still love to hear some user experinces with this software solution. Have you used it? Do you love it, hate it?

Thanks to CheifRED and adoyle!
Programming

Have Sockets Run Their Course? 230

Posted by kdawson from the as-it-was-in-the-beginning dept.
ChelleChelle writes "This article examines the limitations of the sockets API. The Internet and the networking world in general have changed in very significant ways since the sockets API was first developed in 1982, but the API has had the effect of narrowing the ways in which developers think about and write networked applications. This article discusses the history as well as the future of the sockets API, focusing on how 'high bandwidth, low latency, and multihoming are driving the development of new alternatives.'"

Comment Spoke with Police Dept. (Score 4, Interesting) 1232

by coryboehne (#27930435) Attached to: Man Arrested For Taking Photo of Open ATM

The on duty desk officer assured me that it did not happen today, it was a few days ago. The officer is employed there. And he also assured me that the facts as they were being presented were inaccurate.. However, you can call their media unit at (206) 684-5520 for more information.

By the way, they're getting slashdotted!
Security

Man Arrested For Taking Photo of Open ATM 1232

Posted by kdawson from the i-will-tackle-you dept.
net_shaman writes in with word of a Seattle man who was arrested for taking a photo of an ATM being serviced. "Today I was shopping at the downtown Seattle REI. I was about to buy a Thule hitch mount bike rack. They were out of the piece that locks the bike rack into the hitch. So I was in the customer service line to special order one. It was a long line and while I was waiting, I saw two of guys (employees of Loomis, as I later learned) refilling the ATM. I walked over and took a picture with my iPhone of them and more interestingly of the open ATM. I took the picture because I'm fascinated by the insides of things that we don't normally get to see. ... That was when Officer GE Abed (#6270) spun me around and put handcuffs on me."
Microsoft

Submission + - MS Unified Communications for Small Businesses? (microsoft.com) 4

Submitted by
coryboehne
coryboehne writes: "Have you heard of Microsoft's Unified Communications? This toy/tool bridges the divide between computers and telephones. The company that I work for would like to take advantage of these capabilities, the problem is that we don't have the budget or staff to host our own Unified Communications Server. We have exhausted multiple angles of approach on this problem, and have found no acceptable solutions. I find it hard to believe that no one offers Unified Communications hosting as a monthly service, like so many companies do for MS Exchange hosting. Is there a technological, financial, or feasibility issue with offering this as a service that anyone is aware of? So have you worked with Unified Communications in a small business setting? How did your company deal with implementation?"
Mars

Submission + - Mars Opportunity Rover Threatened by Dust Storm (msn.com) 1

Submitted by
mdsolar
mdsolar writes: "MSNBC is reporting that the Oportunity Rover, planned to descend into Victoria Crater, may end up defunct owing to lack of power by the end of two large dust storms now blowing on Mars. 99% of sunlight is currently being blocked by dust in the atmosphere and managers are trying to figure out what more can be shut down to save power. A complete battery discharge would end the mission because electonics would become too cold and break owing to thermal stress. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19622820"

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