Panaqqa - Slashdot User

Submission + - Identity Theft - The Massachusetts AG

Submitted by

Panaqqa

on Wednesday January 24, 2007 @09:33AM

Panaqqa writes: "It looks like Martha Coakley, the newly sworn in Attorney General of Massachusetts, has been the victim of identity theft. A phone call from Dell computer tipped her off to somebody using her credit card information fraudulently. Interesting that the top prosecutor for the state would admit that the chances of catching the fraudster are "slim to none"."

Journal Journal: wii porn for wee tots

Journal by Suchetha on Wednesday January 17, 2007 @10:35AM

The NYTimes tech blog has an article that pretty much debunks the claims made in a news story by WFAA News in Dallas/Ft. Worth. According to the news article, parents should be careful of the PS3 and Wii "because the Wii, the PS3 and other game con

Submission + - DNA So Dangerous It Doesn't Exist

Submitted by

Panaqqa

on Wednesday January 03, 2007 @10:59PM

Panaqqa writes: "One group of researchers at Boise State University is investigating the theory that there are genome sequences so dangerous they are incompatible with life. Greg Hampikian, a professor of genetics, and his team are comparing all possible short sequences of nucleotides to databases of gene sequences to determine which ones don't exist in nature. The New Scientist reports that the US Department of Defense is interested enough in their work to have awarded them a $1 million grant. I for one am not sure I like the possible directions this research could take."

Starbucks Responds In Kind To Oxfam YouTube Video 492

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday January 02, 2007 @06:16PM from the better-latte-than-never dept.

Kligmond writes "Last week, Starbucks placed a video on YouTube responding to a video posted by the Oxfam Charity. The Oxfam video was launched in conjunction with 'Starbucks Day of Action,' held December 16th, when activists visited Starbucks locations across the world in protest of the coffee retailer's alleged mistreatment of Ethiopian farmers. The Starbucks video calmly addresses the Oxfam allegations, citing an impasse over Ethiopian trademark legalities. Starbucks claims the refusal to sign a trademark agreement with Ethiopia is a stumbling block they hope to resolve on behalf of the farmers. The coffee chain's representative goes on to refute the contention that Starbucks refuses to pay a fair price for its coffee reserves and, in fact, routinely pays well above commodity price, and above fair trade price. Unlike many recent ineffectual corporate reactions to social journalism and networking eruptions, Starbucks' response is unique in that the corporation managed Oxfam's unconventional assault in a very unconventional way, via YouTube. Regardless of the outcome of this particular incident, the move on Starbucks' part comes off as unmistakably in touch with today's communication modes and methods."

Submission + - Is MySql is changing the rules?

Submitted by sygin on Saturday December 30, 2006 @07:09PM

sygin writes: There is a recent item that is causing me some concern.

"As you might noticed there are no recent MySQL Community versions available for download from MySQL Download Area This applies both to binaries (which is expected with new polices) but also to the source files which were promised to be available."

I know that many Linux distributions release their own builds of the latest source, but this new direction still has me thinking. Add to this the fact that although the latest version is 5.0.30 and I can only download the 5.0.27 Windows binary from the official MySQL download page. The source for the latest version can be found here, but I have no experience when it comes to building MySQL for Windows.

I fear for the future accessibility of this database system. When companies chase money the rules seem to change. I now realize that the PosgreSQL camp could be correct when they say that PosgreSQL is the way to go, although it is not as good for some applications (or is it?).

I have been using MySQL for a long time, and I know how to make it work for me. It works well on Linux and Windows platforms and it is very efficient. I feel comfortable in my ability to administer it. What is the real story behind MySQL, should I still use it for future projects or take the plunge and learn PostgreSQL?

The Battle Over AT&T's Fiber Rollout 121

Posted by kdawson on Monday December 18, 2006 @06:14PM from the rock-and-hard-place dept.

Tyler Too writes "AT&T is facing heated opposition from some communities where it wants to deploy its U-Verse fiber network. Ars Technica has a feature looking at the situation in the suburbs of Chicago. 'Legal uncertainty is the rule when it comes to IPTV deployments by telecommunications companies. Neither Congress nor the FCC [has] weighed in on whether services like U-verse require their operators to take out a cable franchise from cities, and no federal judge has issued a definitive ruling.' It's not just Chicago, either: 'With AT&T set to upgrade its infrastructure to support U-verse across its wide service area, this is a battle that could play out in thousands of communities across the country over the next few years.'"

Submission + - Dear PHP, I Think It's Time We Broke Up.

Submitted by

XorNand

on Monday December 18, 2006 @05:37PM

XorNand writes: "We've been together for about five years now. I've had a lot of good times and I've really enjoyed being with you. However, the more we work together, the more concerned I get about our future. I'm sorry, but you don't have the elegance that inspires me to want marry you. I think it's time we broke up."

Another Small Step Before the Giant Leap 277

Posted by Hemos on Monday December 18, 2006 @10:26AM from the a-brave-new-tomorrow dept.

Armchair Anarchist writes "Over at Futurismic, a new column proposes that NASA's plans to establish a lunar colony are an attempt to run before we can walk properly, and that developing orbital habitats first would be a wiser and more realistically attainable project. From the article: "... it seems to me that the trump card is with the orbitals; orbit is closer, cheaper and easier to get to, and offers more flexibility as a long-term outpost. Sure, let's put men back on the moon, mine it for helium-3, research its history and origins. But it makes more sense to launch missions of that type from an already-established colony in orbit.""

Submission + - MySQL's Questionable Activities

Submitted by

eldavojohn

on Monday December 18, 2006 @09:49AM

eldavojohn writes: "There's a two page article at ITWire about a recent deal that MySQL did with Microsoft and delays in releases for Debian. The open source company has struck a deal to make a plug-in for Visual Studio 2005 which would make it possible for Visual Studio developers to build applications for MySQL. It would also mean that users can manage MySQL databases from Studio environments. There's nothing wrong with building interoperability of your product but the question remains whether this plug-in or subsequent improvements/additions to it will be open source. It is also curious that MySQL has delayed production of binaries for its enterprise product for Debian. Is this a sign that supporting Microsoft is slowly becoming a primary concern for this open source company?"

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