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Censorship

Submission + - What is the deal anyway? whats news vs. whats not

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I'm so angry! -that I don't know where to start. I read slashdot a few times per day, 'almost' every day. I've tried to submit a story several times about some new hardware that revolutionizes both home and office. A drastically different piece of hardware than anything else out there. But My story got tossed I don't know how many times. I re-wrote it different ways, each time making sure it was not an "advertisement" for a company, but an awareness article. -all to no avail.

THEN I see stories on the FRONT page of slashdot, such as "what is your favorite way to make coffee?" (just to pull out a recent one) and I about lost it!

For years I have thought that slashdot was for latest breaking news about software, hardware, issues, and for news surrounding computers, IT, security etc.. but I cannot understand why my story of a powerful and unique piece of hardware cannot make the news.. but "how I like my coffee" can..

I give up... I'm beginning to think that concerned readers/posters, who are truly concerned about what slashdot has always been about, have all left the building. And, that I'm beginning to wonder what the people are like who are reading this now. How can a question of 'How I like my coffee' or 'what is my favorite soda' make the front page.. but not something revolutionary in the computer industry... I just cannot understand..

so my question is.. what is most important for you to read about in slashdot?
What is missing in slashdot? -I hope to see this question come online, because I really want to know.
Quickies

Submission + - Sean Stevens and Peter Berdovsky (Zebbler) Free!

Submitted by
Sean Stevens
Sean Stevens writes: "Boston Mooninite Update!

Sean Stevens and Peter Berdovsky (Zebbler) are Free!

The charges have been dropped in an agreement involving community service.

Thank you all!!!!!

We're likely on the Today Show this Friday morning!
We have a lot to say, yet.

More @ our support HQ.

http://toxicollective.org/ps/
Sean Stevens and Peter Berdovsky (Zebbler)"
AMD

Submission + - AMD on x86

Submitted by
Balaji Ramasubramanian
Balaji Ramasubramanian writes: "Unlike Intel's Core, Barcelona gives each core dedicated L2 cache, and Barcelona incorporates a redesign that reduces cache latency (access delays). Barcelona adds Level 3 cache, a newcomer to the x86 and a page out of IBM's POWER playbook. All four CPU cores in a Barcelona socket will share a single master catalog of recently-retrieved data. A three-level cache is a must-have for a multicore CPU, and that becomes obvious when you get a demo that switches L3 on and off.

Barcelona is a new CPU, not a doubling of cores and not extensions strapped on here and there. Get ready to be blown away long before its release, which is scheduled for midyear."
The Internet

Submission + - Dell's "Direct model" extends to FMCG.

Submitted by
Michaeltt8
Michaeltt8 writes: "Do check out this interview article to read about how Dell's model of "Direct virtual integration" is now being utilized for the FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) industries to compress workload, increase productivity using technology and costs savings to consumers.

Moreover with the ever increasing prices of petrol, unnecessary shipping and logistic arrangements can add to unnecessary cost for customers.

Finally a turnkey system of an Online Hypermarket known as "Demandby.com — Make IT happen" which merges 3 categories of users — buyer, seller & marketer.
  • from which marketers can assist sellers to get buyers.
  • marketers offer the personalized touch to add greater trust which is non existent in ecommerce for more trade success.
  • After marketing, buyers get to deal direct with seller source and the "direct model" actually reduces costs of administration, hence cheaper pricing to buyers.
What Dell has pioneered for the hardware industry, Demandby.com is pioneering the virtual integration for the entire mass market. Click here to read more."
Security

Submission + - *nix systems more likely to be targeted by malware

Submitted by
Jerry Smith
Jerry Smith writes: "A Senior Virus Analyst from Kaspersky Lab writeshttp://www.viruslist.com/en/analysis?pubid=2 04791938: "It's also likely that there will be a significant increase in the number of malicious programs for other operating systems, primarily for MacOS, and for other *nix systems. Gaming consoles such as PlayStation and Nintendo are also likely to be targeted, as the increasing number of such devices and their ability to connect to each other and the Internet will make them a juicy potential target for virus writers." I guess there's software waiting to be sold?"
Google

Submission + - Google Unveils Universal Search

Submitted by
marcog123
marcog123 writes: "Google has been expanding its collection of products enormously over the years. A large chunk of these products are search engines, each refined to work well with a specific content type. There's Google News, Maps, Scholar, Code Search — the list goes on. Today Google started combining the efforts of the separate search engines and packaging them into the so-called Universal Search. So now when you search for Steve Jobs you get a mixture of web, image, news and video results all on one page. The upgrade is gradually spreading out, so you might have to wait before you get the new results."
Java

Submission + - How and Why AJAX, Not Java?

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: ""How and Why AJAX, Not Java, Became the Favored Technology for RIAs" writes Bruce Eckel in his blog entry which JDJ published as part of its JavaOne coverage. "We Can't Wait for Sun to Fix All of Java's Problems...The Solution is to Hybridize Parts of the Language" continues Bruce in his essay. This backlash has only been necessary because of Sun's death grip on the idea of ubiquitous, omniscient Java. It was admirable once, but a language only evolves if its designers and advocates can acknowledge problems. Pretending that a language is successful in places where it's not is just denial." http://java.sys-con.com/read/333329.htm"
Operating Systems

Submission + - Japanese Government to Move to OSS

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: linuxworld has an article on Japanese government's plan to reduce its reliance on a single IT vendor by moving to open source softwares.

Oracle, NEC, IBM, HP, Hitachi and Dell are among 10 IT equipment and software vendors that are forming a consortium to develop and sell Linux-based servers and computers for the Japanese market. The move by the vendors to collaborate on Linux in Japan comes from a edict from the country's government to make Linux and open source a priority for all IT procurements, starting this July.
Specifically, it looks to reduce Windows as the server OS.

The government has said explicitly it wants to decrease its reliance on Microsoft as a server operating system platform.
Handhelds

Submission + - Real IT Chiefs Rate the Latest Smart Phones

Submitted by
celcxo
celcxo writes: "CIO.com gave four of the latest smart phones (the Nokia E62, BlackBerry Pearl, T-Mobile Dash, Palm Treo 750) to a selection of corporate IT leaders and told them to take the devices for a serious test drive. The result is an in-depth look at the phones that includes more than just cool factor, it measures "get work done" potential as well, from the perspective of the folks who actually have to support these things in their corporations."
Power

Submission + - Heating Your Home With A Geothermal Pump

Submitted by Makarand
Makarand writes: This article in the Chronicle describes how geothermal pumps could be used to heat our homes instead of natural gas or electricity. These pumps rely on the fact that regardless of what the surface temperature of the earth is, it is always 60 degrees a few hundred feet below. You have to drill a few holes 200 feet deep and insert U-shaped tubes in them and connect these to a heat exchanger. The tubes are filled with a solution of water and alcohol to prevent corrosion. Circulation pumps drive the water solution through the tubes in the ground and when the solution comes up from underground it is warm because it has passed through an environment of about 60 degrees.The heated liquid then is passed through the heat exchanger which takes care of the business of heating your home.
Censorship

Censoring a Number 1046

Posted by kdawson from the you-can't-copyright-that dept.
Rudd-O writes "Months after successful discovery of the HD-DVD processing key, an unprecedented campaign of censorship, in the form of DMCA takedown notices by the MPAA, has hit the Net. For example Spooky Action at a Distance was killed. More disturbingly, my story got Dugg twice, with the second wave hitting 15,500 votes, and today I found out it had simply disappeared from Digg. How long until the long arm of the MPAA gets to my own site (run in Ecuador) and the rest of them holding the processing key? How long will we let rampant censorship go on, in the name of economic interest?" How long before the magic 16-hex-pairs number shows up in a comment here?
Encryption

Submission + - Church reveals 600 year old musical code

Submitted by
Person99
Person99 writes: "A father and son have deciphered a musical code in a Scottish church's arches. It is supposedly a 600-year old musical code. Quote from the article: A Scottish church which featured in the bestselling novel "The Da Vinci Code" has revealed another mystery hidden in secret code for almost 600 years. A father and son who became fascinated by symbols carved into the chapel's arches say they have deciphered a musical score encrypted in them. Thomas Mitchell, a 75-year-old musician and ex-Royal Air Force code breaker, and his composer and pianist son Stuart, described the piece as "frozen music." "The music has been frozen in time by symbolism," Mitchell told European media, which details the 27-year project to crack the chapel's code. "It was only a matter of time before the symbolism began to thaw out and begin to make sense to scientific and musical perception." The 15th Century Rosslyn Chapel, about seven miles south of the Scottish capital Edinburgh, featured in the last part of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" — one of the most successful novels of all time which has been turned into a Hollywood film. Stuart Mitchell said he and his father were intrigued by 13 intricately carved angel musicians on the arches of the chapel and by 213 carved cubes depicting geometric-type patterns. "They are of such exquisite detail and so beautiful that we thought there must be a message here." Years of research led the Mitchells to an ancient musical system called cymatics, or Chladni patterns, which are formed by sound waves at specific pitches. The two men matched each of the patterns on the carved cubes to a Chladni pitch, and were able finally to unlock the melody."
Software

Submission + - Controversial Compression Perf Guide Finished

Submitted by
crazyeyes
crazyeyes writes: "When I read this guide on data compression performance , I was so excited about it that I shared it on Slashdot . Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of arguments over the article. But it may now be time to revisit the topic, as the author(s) have finally finished the guide. I'll let their quote do the talking.

"This update completes the Compression Comparison Guide . Finally, 5 years after we posted the first version, we have a new revision of the guide.

This new Compression Comparison Guide takes a look at 11 common data compressors and their performance in 8 different filesets at 3 different compression settings. The result is a detailed but easily accessible look at these data compressors and how they perform with a wide variety of filetypes.

The results of this guide will surprise you. Data compressors that we may have given up as old-fashioned or outdated are actually still highly competitive. Even filesets that you thought was difficult to compress can be relatively easy to tackle.

Read on and find out. We hope this guide will help you choose the best data compressor and settings for your compression tasks."
This guide has really opened my eyes on what the different data compressors can do, especially the aggregated results. But I'm sure it will inevitably result in more arguments here. Let the battle begin!"

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Intel CPUs are not defective, they just act that way. -- Henry Spencer

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