dazlari - Slashdot User

Comment Re:Wrong Premise (Score 1) 1108

by dazlari on Sunday February 08, 2009 @06:19AM (#26771173) Attached to: Why Sustainable Power Is Unsustainable

That sure makes some rivetting reading. Having read a dozen or so of the bio's I started to get the feeling that some of these guys haven't put that much thought into it. Not that reading such a small and relativly random sample of the 650 is entirely representative, but after a whole series of bad links to a skeptics website, plus reading of an aging Norweigian that reckons he could do with a little warming (Norway is apparently cold), and a mathematician who admits to not understanding why the incoming solar radiation isn't absorbed by the atmosphere but the reflected radiation is; it started to detract from the credibility of the document. Anyone else taken a look at it?

Comment Worth it? (Score 1) 294

by dazlari on Tuesday February 03, 2009 @10:52PM (#26720491) Attached to: NASA and Google To Back New "Singularity University"

If you come away having learnt just 1 thing, then Singularity U was worth it. All they need to know is how much a "worth it" is worth.

Comment Screen Saver (Score 1) 248

by dazlari on Tuesday February 03, 2009 @07:25PM (#26718785) Attached to: IBM Building 20 Petaflop Computer For the US Gov't

but also for research into astronomy, energy, the human genome, and climate change.

So they'll be running BOINC as a screen saver then?

Submission + - SPAM: Internet Fraud: Many Complaints, Few Repercussions

Submitted by

narramissic

on Tuesday August 12, 2008 @09:17PM

narramissic writes: "Unless you're peddling child porn, there's not much chance you'll see the inside of a courtroom for Internet-related crime, according to research released Tuesday. The Center for American Progress and the Center for Democracy and Technology compared the number of complaints that state attorneys general offices receive to how many lawsuits the states bring against spammers, spyware creators and other online fraudsters. Not all states report such numbers, but the 20 that do said that they received 20,000 Internet-related complaints in 2006 and 2007. Yet during that same time period, attorneys general brought only 168 Internet-related cases to court, with 60 percent of those related to child porn, the researchers found."
Link to Original Source

Submission + - Apple Breaks Law with Policy on iPhone Unlocks (phonenews.com)

Submitted by

Anonymous Coward

on Tuesday September 25, 2007 @03:01AM

Anonymous Coward writes: "Apple's recent decision to void warranties for folks that unlocked their iPhones may wind up with Apple in some hot legal waters. Apple appears to have broken a key warranty law relevant to SIM unlocks.

It appears that Apple will have to change its policy on SIM unlocks, or be in clear violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act... a law decades old."

Submission + - Apple Discourages iPhone Unlocking Programs

Submitted by

Hugh Pickens

on Tuesday September 25, 2007 @12:52AM

Hugh Pickens writes: "Apple has released the following statement on the iPhone:

Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed. Apple plans to release the next iPhone software update, containing many new features including the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store (www.itunes.com), later this week. Apple strongly discourages users from installing unauthorized unlocking programs on their iPhones. Users who make unauthorized modifications to the software on their iPhone violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty. The permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing unlocking software is not covered under the iPhone's warranty.
"

Submission + - Australia gets world's fastest HSDPA network (itwire.com)

Submitted by

gadgetopia

on Monday September 24, 2007 @11:29PM

gadgetopia writes: "For some time now Telstra have been saying that the Next-G network has already been upgraded to be up to 14.4Mbps compatible, but only offered 3.6Mbps-class devices. Finally, 7.2Mbps-class devices have arrived, and the speed boost is real! http://www.itwire.com/content/view/14604/1103/"

Submission + - A Bank For Geeks

Submitted by on Monday September 24, 2007 @06:57PM

An anonymous reader writes: I just received a notice from my current bank indicating that they are forcing upon me a new privacy policy. The only reason that they've sent me this notice is because it is the law. And they're certainly meeting the absolute bare requirements for meeting the requirements of this law: I can opt-out, but only if I mail them a letter with all of my personal details, including my account numbers and social security number! As a geek, this is obviously the last straw and I'd like to make the switch to a legitimate bank. What are other geeks using?

Submission + - Google sued for $5b for crimes against humanity (theregister.co.uk) 2

Submitted by

mytrip

on Monday September 24, 2007 @02:16PM

mytrip writes: "A Pennsylvania crusader has slapped Google with a $5bn lawsuit, claiming that the world's largest search engine is endangering his personal safety.

With a suit filed in federal court, Dylan Stephen Jayne insists that the company is guilty of "crimes against humanity" because its name turns up when his social security number is scrambled and turned upside down.

By calling itself Google, Jayne argues, Google has exposed him to attack by an army of culturally diverse, net-savvy terrorists. "A person regardless of race or religion that wishes to cause acts of terrorism would look for social security numbers that are made readily available on the public use databases," his suit reads.

And he's adamant that if Google claims ignorance, many people could end up dead or buck naked. "The 'I don't know' defense obviously is a waste of money, time, and puts the lives of Americans and illegal aliens at risk of death or serious undress.""

Submission + - Programmers and overtime

Submitted by Maximum Prophet on Monday September 24, 2007 @12:54PM

Maximum Prophet writes: Programmers and System Administrators typically don't get overtime. Here's and article about a lawyer who's challanging that:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20908975/

From the 2nd page:

Computer workers of various stripes, for example, have commonly not been paid for their extra hours. ... But under California law, the exemption applies only for workers whose primary function involves "the exercise of discretion and independent judgment." In numerous lawsuits, Thierman and other plaintiffs' attorneys have alleged that legions of systems engineers, help desk staff, and customer service personnel do no such thing. Of programmers, Thierman says, "Yes, they get to pick whatever code they want to write, but they don't tell you what the program does.... All they do is implement someone else's desires."

The takeaway: Everyone start recording your hours now. Even if you don't sue, someone else might, and documentation about your overtime will go a long way. towards getting your piece of the pie.

Submission + - Seagate: Vista requires 250GB to 1TB of storage (computerworld.com) 1

Submitted by

Lucas123

on Monday September 24, 2007 @11:54AM

Lucas123 writes: "Seagate is saying the increased demands of the Windows Vista OS and the increasing storage of songs, pictures and videos, means to fully leverage your OS you need 250GB to 1TB of hard drive storage. "And with the need for backup, that becomes 500GB to 2TB," says Pete Steege, a senior marketing manager with Seagate. Not surprisingly, Seagate's just launched an education program for channel partners dubbed "Learn, Market, Sell," to help partners "assess the right storage options based on customer needs.""

Submission + - Discovering hidden information on your PC 2

Submitted by KermitJunior on Monday July 30, 2007 @08:29PM

KermitJunior writes: I was recently approached by a colleague at work who seems to think that his wife might be cheating on him or engaging in otherwise "not quite right" behavior. He has asked me to investigate his computer and find any "pictures, movies, emails, browser history, bank accounts, etc." that might clue him in to a "second identity." Aside from the standard file searches and poking around settings, does anyone in the slashdot crowd know of any free forensic software out there that might help in the search? (Like recovering deleted cache, etc?) The computer is running Win98, I think. I can slave to linux, too, if that will assist.

Submission + - RIAA backtracks after embarrassing P2P defendant (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Harmony on Monday July 30, 2007 @06:56PM

Harmony writes: When the RIAA sued Sgt. Nicholas Paternoster, it included a screenshot of a shared folder with over 4,600 files — some of which were pornographic images unrelated to the case. Last week, the RIAA got permission from a judge to, as a 'professional courtesy,' swap out the original exhibit for one with only the 350+ songs the defendant is accused of sharing on Kazaa. The RIAA's carelessness may come back to haunt it, however: 'After the suit was filed — and the exhibit made public — Sgt. Paternoster decided to fight back, filing a counterclaim accusing the RIAA of violating his privacy and seeking to "shame Counter-Plaintiff... into giving in to their unreasonable demands regarding their copyrighted materials."'

Submission + - Plant grown insulin could be a diabetes cure. (ucf.edu) 2

Submitted by

MamaEri

on Monday July 30, 2007 @06:17PM

MamaEri writes: "In a study by UCF professor Henry Daniell, he found that by genetically splicing insulin into Tobacco and Lettuce plants, these produce an insulin laced plant. Then he gave a freeze-dried powder of these plants to mice with diabetes. After 8 weeks the mice had normal sugar levels and were producing their own insulin."

In Search of the Cheap Linux Laptop 421

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 30, 2007 @06:00PM from the ever-hopeful dept.

mr_mischief writes "According to Hot Hardware's recent review, Asus is getting ready to unleash a $199 compact notebook running Linux. This is entirely different from this recent $150 Linux laptop story which many Slashdot readers believed to be a scam. There's a dual-mode menu which offers a simple system for novice computer users, and a slightly more advanced version for others. It's not aimed squarely at the same market as the One Laptop Per Child project's XO, and is expected to be sold to end users worldwide. It's targeted at new users who don't own a computer or at people who want a cheap, small laptop for basic tasks. The reviewed version has a 7" screen and a cramped keyboard to match, but a 10" version is available for $100 more. It offers built-in wired and wireless networking, four USB 2.0 ports, and a three-hour battery life. The storage options are a bit cramped, as you only get 4 GB of on-board storage (8 GB on the $299 model) and no optical drive. As the review says, though, USB 2.0 can make up for that if you like, and the lack of moving drive parts makes the machine run dead quiet."

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