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Microsoft

Submission + - You let someone steal MY story! (blogspot.com) 1

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "You let someone steal my story on Microsoft issuing secret Windows Updates. I had the story first. Submitted it to Slashdot first. And the story you published didn't even make the same connection I made...that the secret Windows Update _CAUSED_ the WGA servers to go down: http://cubicspot.blogspot.com/2007/08/windows-update-updating-without.html http://cubicspot.blogspot.com/2007/08/most-coincidental-event.html (Not to mention I had submitted this story to you over TWO WEEKS AGO!)"
The Media

Submission + - TV Torrents: When 'piracy' is easier than purchase

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: NBC's recent withdraw from the iTunes store leaves the millions of Apple's customers who have Macs or iPods without a legitimate way to purchase and watch NBC's content. They join Linux users, and people outside western markets whose only method of watching The Daily Show is to turn to illegal downloads. Online media stores such as iTunes, Amazon and Walmart have never been able to compete with the pirates on price, or freedom and flexibility — as the content they sell is typically wrapped in restrictive DRM. The one advantage that legal purchase offered was ease of use. CNET looks into the issue, and discovers that with mature open-source media players such as Miro supporting BitTorrent RSS feeds, it is actually trivially easy for users to subscribe to their favorite shows. Want to wake up to the latest episode of The Colbert Report, Top Gear or any of hundreds of TV shows automatically downloaded and waiting for you? CNET offers an easy three step guide.
United States

Submission + - DashCam Catches Officer Threatening Motorist

Submitted by januth
januth writes: I just finished reading about this incident, in which a St. George, Missouri police officer was caught on a motorist's personal dashcam threatening to invent charges to arrest him even though the motorist had done nothing wrong.

"The incident began at around 2am. Darrow [the motorist] was to meet a friend who was working late and was going to pick him up. Darrow headed toward a 24-hour commuter parking lot in an unincorporated part of Saint Louis County in his 1997 Nissan Maxima. He put on his turn signal and entered the lot which, aside from Kuehnlein's cruiser, was essentially vacant. After stopping the car, the police officer approached and began questioning Darrow about what he was doing. When Darrow declined to discuss his personal business, the police sergeant exploded. Although the video clearly shows Darrow driving properly and using his turn signal, the police officer insisted that Darrow had broken the law."

Had Darrow not had his own video camera running it would have been his word against the police officer's. He has had another interesting run-in with the police that he captured on video as well. In both cases he's merely asking the questions any citizen should be able to ask of a police officer. In both cases, the police do not respond well.
Operating Systems

Submission + - Stallman: are you ready to fight for freedom?

Submitted by
E5Rebel
E5Rebel writes: "Are you ready to fight for freedom or are you too lazy to resist? That is the challenge Richard Stallman throws down to the open source community in this major interview. He also spells out his views on Microsoft, Linus Torvalds and much more http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/it-business/services-sourcing/in-depth/index.cfm?articleid=771"
Portables (Apple)

Submission + - No 15 inch MacBook Pros in Australia

Submitted by WaitingformyMacBookPro
WaitingformyMacBookPro writes: 15 inch MacBook Pros are rare as hens teeth in Australia. I haven't seen much noise from the mac sites internationaly, which suggests that Apple are shafting Aussie customers to keep stock levels higher in the U.S. and Europe.

The root of the problem appears to be manufacturing issues with the new LED Displays that made their debut on the 15" line of MacBook Pros.

Apple has been offering free upgrades from the 15" to the 17" Macbook Pro for some customers who have been waiting nearly three months for order fulfilment. That's and $1100 discount off retail from the 2.2Ghz MacBook Pro.

My local Apple Centre said they had heard a rumour that there won't be any significant stock of the 15" MacBook Pro till December. ouch!
The Media

Submission + - Media Matters Spouts its Own Flawed Study as Fact: (blogspot.com)

Submitted by Advocate123
Advocate123 writes: Media Matters, like the last time it posted a study, is intentionally misleading its audience. Why would they do this? The answer is because they have utter contempt for their own visitors whom they hope will not expose their own deliberate misinformation.
Announcements

Submission + - Brain Differences In Democrats and Republicans

Submitted by i_like_spam
i_like_spam writes: Scientists from NYU and UCLA report in Nature Neuroscience that the brains of Democrats and Republicans process information differently. This new study finds that the differences are apparent even when the brain processes common information, not just political topics. From the study, liberals were more likely to be accurate and showed more brain activity in the region associated with analyzing conflicts. A researcher not affiliated with the study stated, liberals 'could be expected to more readily accept new social, scientific or religious ideas.' Moreover, 'the results could explain why President Bush demonstrated a single-minded commitment to the Iraq war and why some people perceived Sen. John F. Kerry ... as a flip-flopper.
Announcements

Submission + - Iphone Breaks Free Today For $30 (searchbistro.com)

Submitted by
Voelspriet
Voelspriet writes: "Iphonesimfree.com will start selling the software to unlock the Iphone today for at least $25 to resellers. The lowest price for consumers should be around $30. This is what they write me 2 minutes ago:

We are delighted to confirm that the world's first and only total software driven unlocking solution for the iPhone will be released tomorrow (Monday, 10th September 2007). The first ever iPhonesimfree licenses will be available to all B2B customers who have successfully sent payment to our company. Future customers and those yet to send payment Our company understands reservations from customers regarding sending payment for such ground-breaking software without personal proof. However, please understand that we have thousands of enquiries per day from potential customers and to offer sample unlocks to all businesses would be a very time consuming process which only would have delayed the release of the software further. In our opinion, it was much more logical to allow leading technology blogs in the form of Engadget (part of Weblogs Inc) and Gizmodo (part of Gawker Media) as well as leading news agency CNN to experience the software themselves in action as ultimately these news outlets are completely independent to our company and act as more than reputable testament to the success of our product. Here is what the respective parties have said about our product:- — http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/01/apple.iphon e/ — "It's completely software hacked, it took Schulte about two minutes to unlock the iPhone." — http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/24/iphone-unlocked -atandt-loses-iphone-exclusivity-august-24-2007/ — "we can confirm with 100% certainty that iPhoneSIMfree.com's software solution completely SIM unlocks the iPhone." — http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/top/iphone-software-unl ock-confirmed-on-video-297651.php — iPhone Software Unlock confirmed on Video As of tomorrow, all those clients who placed initial trust in our software product will have the ability to perform iPhone unlock services worldwide via our licensing software and these resellers themselves will act as a further solid layer of proof that our product is indeed the real deal. For those who are waiting for others to 'try before you buy', we welcome a proforma invoice request which will allow you to complete your order as and when you are ready. Related developments . Those customers who have confirmed their payments will be contacted shortly with respective account details . Please note licenses won't be activated until payment has been confirmed by our bank but it will be possible to pre-enter data so that resellers can service their customers as quick as possible when activation is completed. . A new public website will be launching soon to better communicate the benefits of our software product to individual consumers and ultimately provide even stronger support to our business customers. The new website will also point visitors to a resellers section and we will be promoting the most prolific iPhonesimfree licensee resellers based on country and a minimum order criteria. . We are expect a huge flood of enquiries from Tuesday as iPhonesimfree unlocks will be performed by many online and offline resellers. Therefore please bear with us if you should experience any lengthy delays in hearing back from us but rest assured we will get back to you.

Earlier, I got there prices:

WHAT IS THE PRICING STRUCTURE? The minimum number of licenses you can order is 50 pieces. Minimum quantity and pricing are not negotiable. 50 licenses: $36/each 100 licenses: $34/each 250 licenses: $32/each 500 licenses: $30/each 1000 licenses: $28/each 2500 licenses: $27/each 5000 licenses: $25/each IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: WHAT GUARANTEES DO WE HAVE AGAINST FUTURE UPDATES? We CANNOT guarantee that this software will work after any future updates for the iphone. It does currently work on all firmware versions, up to and including, 1.02 We will naturally try to provide our resellers an updated version of our software for each firmware update, it is in our interest, but we do NOT guarantee that we will be able to do so. WE ARE A TEAM: Iphonesimfree.com is a wholesale only company. Although we could, we do not and will not sell directly to end users, because we want to work together with our valuable resellers as a team and not interfere in their business."
Republicans

Submission + - Washington Post Notices Ron Paul Exists, Won Poll (washingtonpost.com)

Submitted by
MBCook
MBCook writes: "Today the Washington Post printed an article titled "Ron Paul Takes the Ribbon in State Fair's GOP Straw Poll" in which they point out that not only did he win the Maryland straw poll by 43 votes, but how well his grass-roots campaign is run. The article quotes state Republican party vice-chair Chris Cavey: "The final vote showing Ron Paul won is a lesson for all campaigns of how grass-roots politics can make all the difference.""
Republicans

Submission + - Are conservatives stupid (I mean really)? (latimes.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Liberal Coward
Anonymous Liberal Coward writes: I have often been wondering why the conservatives are lacking the flexibility of thought shared by us liberals. This article does indeed point out some differences between the thinking habits of conservatives and liberals, though it definitely does not give the ultimate answer in this subject.
Links

Submission + - 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Debunked (maniacworld.com)

Submitted by
derrida
derrida writes: "To support the controlled-demolition theory, conspiracy theorists attack the official NIST report by insisting that fire doesn't melt steel. What NIST actually does claim is that the fires were sufficient enough to weaken the steel to the point where they would fail — structurally. This video attempts to debunk the 9/11 conspiracy theorists one at a time."
Security

Submission + - Preventing Bike Theft - Innovative Suggestions? 1

Submitted by
victorhooi
victorhooi writes: "I recently (read: 2 days ago) lost a bike to theft, after locking it up with a $30 lock at a bike rack at my local train station.

For my next one, I thought I would canvas the collective wisdom of Slashdot =), for opinions on effective ways of securing a bike.

I've had people suggest U-locks are the best, and others that a heavy-duty chain from a hardware store with a padlock would do it better.

One person suggested somehow welding a car-alarm to the seat post, but I'm not exactly sure how this would work.

Alternatively, one idea I tossed us was using a GPS/GSM module (e.g. one from the Telit range) glued under the seat to send me the coordinates of the bike.

Finally, some people suggested sabotaging the bike somehow. Removing the seat seems to be a common option, but it is ultimately still rideable. Is there perhaps some way of making it so that it won't actually spin? (Most of the elements in the drivechain are tightened down fairly well, for obvious reasons, I can't think of anything that could easily be removed yet still be essential to the bike's operation).

Any thoughts on these ideas, or other suggestions?"
Privacy

Submission + - Police busted after tracking device found on car (stuff.co.nz)

Submitted by uh oh
uh oh writes: A New Zealand police operation to covertly follow a Central Otago man came to an abrupt halt this week when the man found tracking devices planted in his car, ripped them out and listed them for auction on Trade Me. Ralph Williams, of Cromwell, said he found the devices last week in his daughter's car, which he uses, and in his flatmate's car after the cars were seized by police and taken away for investigation.
Businesses

Submission + - Is Apple the new Microsoft? (pcworld.com) 1

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Mike Elgan argues in a PC World article if Apple is replacing Microsoft for the company everybody loves to hate. From the article: "Ten years ago, Microsoft was the company everyone loved to hate.

The most vociferous Microsoft haters slammed the company for being a greedy industry bully that used its monopolistic, clunky, copycat operating system to force software on users and coerce partners into unfair licensing deals.

Don't look now, but the role of the industry's biggest bully is increasingly played by Apple, not Microsoft. Here's a look at how Apple has shoved Microsoft aside as the company with the worst reputation as a monopolist, copycat and a bully."

I personally do not think Apple can replace Microsoft, but they are surely trying to get there, and fast.

Slashdot Top Deals

Top Ten Things Overheard At The ANSI C Draft Committee Meetings: (5) All right, who's the wiseguy who stuck this trigraph stuff in here?

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