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Submission + - Could Microsoft Stop the Spam?

Submitted by
stu42j
stu42j writes: "Some notable bloggers have been talking about the spam wars — are we winning, can we win? We know that most spam is sent through botnets of compromised Windows PCs. Ignoring the question of fault or responsibility, what would you do to fix the problem, if you were in charge at Microsoft? Could Microsoft shut down the botnets?"
Software

Submission + - Guide Dogs and Making Babies - The New Gaming

Submitted by
ShrapnelFace
ShrapnelFace writes: "Penny Arcade is reporting on a story that was first posted at Kotaku, but then taken down. Directing us to the same story regarding Peter Molyneux's interview about the upcoming title, Fable 2, we find a new dawn in gaming- Dogs and Babies.

http://www.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/11557/New_Fab le_2_Feature_Dog_Sidekick.html

A direct quote from Peter in this article:
[quote] "There is the appreciation the wide world feels toward your character as he lives and fights in their world. There is the ability to make love and make babies. Yes, you can be both a man or a woman and if you're a woman, you can get pregnant. A first, he believes, for a main character in an RPG."[/quote]"
Windows

Submission + - Has XP Suddenly Slowed Down?

Submitted by WhoaNotSoFast
WhoaNotSoFast writes: For the last few weeks, I've noticed XP boxes slowing down dramatically. Typically the screen freezes for 10-30 seconds — e.g. the Start menu won't come up — and there's lots of disk activity. It's happening on unrelated PCs at different locations. I notice it most on quitting IE or Firefox, but it occurs at other times also. Most of the PCs have 256MB of RAM and adequate free disk space. Most are running Windows Firewall, AVG Anti-Virus and either Windows Defender or Counterspy Enterprise. They're not loading much else at startup. The XP event logs don't show anything unusual. I've run Rootkit Revealer on some of the machines, and found nothing. Task Manager doesn't show any excess CPU utilization. Unplugging the network connection doesn't seem to make a difference. Has anyone else noticed this behavior? Is there an infection I haven't found? Is there a paging problem? Has XP grown so large that it needs more physical memory? Or could it be a ploy by MS to nudge us toward Vista? Is XP developing early dementia? Or am I?

Feed Fancy Hybrids for the Eco Riche (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
BMW and DaimlerChrysler plan to co-develop luxury-model hybrid for market by 2010. Plus: Green Car Journal picks two "clean" diesels among the top five greenest cars. In Autopia.


It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Create Your Own Apple Rumor!

Submitted by
Michael
Michael writes: "Often time our readers ask where we (and others) get Apple rumors from. We have decided to share our ultimate weapon — the 'Create your own Apple Rumor' Chart. You too can be an "inside source" with this amazing new handy dandy Apple Rumor creation tool."
Patents

Submission + - Orphan 70-Year-Old Plane Data = 'Trade Secrets'?

Submitted by Anonymous Flyboy Coward
Anonymous Flyboy Coward writes: The Experimental Aircraft Association is taking on the Federal Aviation Administration, which has denied a FOIA request for access to construction data to the owner of 70+ year old antique Fairchild F45 aircraft. The FAA sided with a company that was formed in 1990 (and which didn't even know the airplane type existed until the FAA's inquiry) that claims it "owns" the design and manufacturing data to the aircraft, calling the data a "trade secret". The company failed to register with the FAA (as required by law) yet the FAA is standing by it's assertion that they "own" this data, which was turned over to the public domain in the 1950s. Many vintage aircraft owners face a Catch-22 situation: they are required by law to perform maintenance to the manufacturer's specs, but much of this data is unavailable because the FAA refuses to release it without the data's owner's permission... even if there is no such owner. The decision in this case will likely have wide-ranging implications on FOIA requests, as well as affect whether historical antique aircraft will remain flyable or lost forever to a pointless bureaucratic death. The full story is available here.
Software

Submission + - RIAA's "Expert" Witness Testimony Now Onl

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The online community now has an opportunity to see the fruits of its labor. Back in December, the Slashdot ("What Questions Would You Ask an RIAA "Expert"?") and Groklaw ("Another Lawyer Would Like to Pick Your Brain, Please") communities were asked for their input on possible questions to pose to the RIAA's "expert", Dr. Doug Jacobson of Iowa State University, who was scheduled to be deposed in February in UMG v. Lindor, for the first time in any RIAA case. Ms. Lindor's lawyers were flooded with about 1400 responses. The deposition of Dr. Jacobson went forward on February 23, 2007, and the transcript is now available online (pdf). For those who would like an ASCII text version they can cut and paste, go here. Ray Beckerman, one of Ms. Lindor's attorneys, had this comment: "We are deeply grateful to the community for reviewing our request, for giving us thoughts and ideas, and for reviewing other readers' responses. Now I ask the tech community to review this all-important transcript, and bear witness to the shoddy "investigation" and 'junk science' upon which the RIAA has based its litigation war against the people. The computer scientists among you will be astounded that the RIAA has been permitted to burden our court system with cases based upon such arrant and careless nonsense.""
Power

Submission + - Sanyo blamed in Lenovo battery recall

Submitted by ukhackster
ukhackster writes: Those overheating laptop batteries are back. Lenovo is recalling 205,000 "extended" batteries which shipped with its ThinkPad machines, or were bought as replacements.

Slashdot readers will doubtless remember the flak which Sony attracted last year, after it was blamed for exploding Dell notebooks and several massive recalls. This time, the batteries were made by Sanyo. Could this be the start of another recall franzy?
Programming

Submission + - When a CGI script is the most elegant solution

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Writing local Web applications can be quick, easy, and efficient for solving specific Intranet problems. Learn why a Web browser is sometimes a better interface than a GUI application and why experienced Web developers find themselves struggling to learn a GUI toolkit, and descover that a simple CGI script would serve their needs perfectly well, if not better.
Patents

Submission + - EC: Microsoft patents aren't innovative

Submitted by ukhackster
ukhackster writes: The EC is threatening Microsoft with yet more fines. This time, it's over the interoperability protocols that Microsoft has been ordered to open up to its rivals. The EC has examined 1,500 pages of information about the protocols, and concluded that they "lack significant innovation".

This is pretty damning for both Microsoft and the patent system, as it has been awarded 36 patents covering this technology and has another 37 pending. Could this encourage someone like the EFF to start pushing to get these patents overturned?
Announcements

Submission + - Take-Two Loses $185 Million in 2006

Submitted by
njkid1
njkid1 writes: "With the investigation into stock options practices (hopefully) in the rear-view mirror, Take-Two revealed a loss of around $185 million for fiscal 2006. The company believes it can break even in fiscal 2007 and that its 2K Sports operation will become profitable. More within... http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=1538 3&ncid=AOLGAM000500000000001"

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