Submission + - Web Site Offers to Ruin People (foxnews.com)
Tech.Luver writes: "FoxNews reports,
" A service offering a complete "revenge package" in which people can destroy the financial status and relationships of their enemies at the click of a mouse is being offered over the Internet.
For as little as $20 a month, customers of the confidentialaccess.com Web site can make the credit ratings of people they dislike plummet, and even have them suspected of fraud.
Victims' bank accounts can be shut down remotely and all their
essential utilities cut off.
Fake e-mails and text messages which purport to come from someone
else, such as the victim's spouse, can be sent containing false
accusations of affairs or sexual liaisons. ""
Submission + - First Armed Robots on Patrol in Iraq (wired.com)
mosel-saar-ruwer writes: Noah Shachtman, blogging at Wired, notes that the first armed patrol robots have begun operations in Iraq. The SWORDS platforms, manufactured by Foster-Miller, feature a 'three-part arming process — with both physical and electronic safeties... required before firing', and 'now come with kill switches, in case there's any odd behavior'. Foster-Miller claims that SWORDS can be fitted with the Barrett .50 caliber, but apparently the units deployed to Iraq were fitted with the 5.56mm FNH M249 light machine gun. No details yet on the number of rounds of ammunition carried by the robots [which might very well be classified information].
Submission + - Taking LINUX to the races
PrvtBurrito writes: "Chastain Motorsports is running a fundraiser to raise money to brand their Indy 500 entry car with Linux and Tux. Bob Moore, a Indianapolis native and proponent of Linux has gotten support of the racing team, a marketing firm and others in his quest. In order to succeed in this community driven effort, Bob needs to raise $350,000 before May 21st. After four days, they have raised more than $2,000. You can view status of the effort at Tux500.com."
Submission + - Gary Kasparov is the Russian Martin Luther King?
reporter writes: "Like Martin Luther King of an older generation, gutsy Gary Kasparov has again defied authorities and lead a peace demonstration demanding basic civil rights and fair elections. Quoting Vladimir Ryzhkov, Bloomberg reports that the Russian police broke up the demonstration by "beating grandmothers and pensioners with billy clubs, hitting them in the back". Kasparov, a former chess champion, runs the risk of being permanently checkmated by President Vladimir Putin. Will Kasparov share the same untimely end that concluded King's life?"
Submission + - Toshiba's HD DVD player gets best HD Player Award
angus_rg writes: The award may not say which format is better, but it definitely shows the Toshiba HD-XE1 is the player of choice.
http://www.t3.co.uk/news/247/entertainment/dvd_-_p layer/hd_dvd_beats_bluray
http://www.t3.co.uk/news/247/entertainment/dvd_-_
Submission + - Is this the greatest movie summer of all time?
PrvtBurrito writes: "This could well be the greatest geek move summer of all time. In addition to movies already out, we have Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek the third, a Brad Bird driven pixar movie, Transformers, the next Harry Potter, a Die Hard movie, Evan Almighty, the Simpson's Movie, the next Jason Bourne movie, Ocean's 13, Fantastic four (blah) and, of course, Spiderman 3. Most of these movies come out within a span of eight weeks, from late May to late July. I honestly can't remember a better summer for movies, at least in a great long time. AOL has a list of these and other summer movies."
Submission + - Sweden plans official embassy in Second Life
An anonymous reader writes:
Methinks this maybe is going to far?Sweden is to become the first country to establish diplomatic representation in the virtual reality world of Second Life, officials said.... "Second Life allows us to inform people about Sweden and broaden the opportunity for contact with Sweden easily and cheaply," Waestberg said. ... Waestberg hoped the embassy would open soon. In the longer term the Swedish Institute envisaged buying an island in the virtual world to create a home for Swedish companies.
Submission + - Jim Gray is Missing
K-Man writes: "Jim Gray, Turing Award winner and developer of many fundamental database technologies, was reported missing at sea after a short solo sailing trip to the Farallon Islands near San Francisco. The Coast Guard is still searching for his vessel, and there have been no distress calls or signals of any kind."
Submission + - Uncle Sam spoils dream trip to space
gollum123 writes: "Brian Emmett's childhood fantasy came true when he won a free trip to outer space ( http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/01/28/free.ride .ap/index.html ). But the 31-year-old was crushed when he had to cancel his reservation because of Uncle Sam. Emmett won his ticket to the stars in a 2005 sweepstakes by Oracle Corp., in which he answered a series of online questions on Java computer code. For the self-described space buff who has attended space camp and watched shuttle launches from Kennedy Space Center, it seemed like a chance to become an astronaut on a dime. Then reality hit. After some number-crunching, Emmett realized he would have to report the $138,000 galactic joy ride as income and owe $25,000 in taxes. Unwilling to sink into debt, the software consultant from the San Francisco Bay area gave up his seat. Since the Internal Revenue Service requires winnings from lottery drawings, TV game shows and other contests to be reported as taxable income, tax experts contend there's no such thing as a free spaceflight. Some contest sponsors provide a check to cover taxes, but that income is also taxable."
Submission + - Will Ruby on Rails survive?
palmerj3 writes: "As a Ruby on Rails developer, I have to wonder if Ruby on Rails will survive. With Java becoming open-source, and other MVC frameworks such as DJango and CakePHP, I wonder if Ruby on Rails will be able to compete much longer. Ruby is notoriously slow and Ruby on Rails' lack of database connection pools make running Rails apps difficult. I personally love the powerful, compact expressions and 'readable' syntax that a RoR application allows. I'd like to ask the Slashdot community how the Ruby language and Ruby on Rails framework should grow in order to stay competitive in the enterprise world."
Submission + - Instant Ramen Inventor Dies from Heart Attack
An anonymous reader writes: The Yomiuri Newspaper of Japan reports that "Momofuku Ando, inventor of instant ramen and founder and chairman of Nissin Food Products Co. in Osaka, died of a heart attack Friday. He was 96." . (Brief Wikipedia bio here.) Those of us who live off his invention morn his passing.
