mrsam - Slashdot User

Submission + - How to really bury a mainframe (networkworld.com)

Submitted by

coondoggie

on Monday December 17, 2007 @06:00PM

coondoggie writes: "Some users have gone to great lengths to dispose of their mainframe but few have gone this far. On November 21, 2007, the University of Manitoba said goodbye to its beloved 47-year-old IBM 650 mainframe Betelgeuse by holding a New Orleans style jazz funeral. In case you were wondering what an IBM 650's specifications were, according to this Columbia University site, the 650's CPU was 5ft by 3ft by 6ft and weighed 1,966 lbs, and rented for $3200 per month. The power unit was 5x3x6 and weighed 2,972 pounds. The card reader/punch weighed 1,295 pounds and rented for $550/month. The memory was a rotating magnetic drum with 2000 word (10 digits and sign) capacity and random access time of 2.496 ms. For an additional $1,500/month you could add magnetic core memory of 60 words with access time of .096ms. Big Blue sold some 2,000 of the mainframes making it one of the first successfully mass-produced computers. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/23123"

Submission + - Clinton campaigners busted for astroturfing (computerworld.com)

Submitted by

Ian Lamont

on Monday December 17, 2007 @04:53PM

Ian Lamont writes: "The liberal blog Blue Hampshire has banned six users after determining that the users failed to disclose their affiliations with Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign. The scheme came to light after Blue Hampshire noticed that the users all registered from an IP address used by the Clinton campaign in order to recommend the post Winning the Policy Debate — Clinton over Obama. Blue Hampshire has banned the accounts in question and has threatened to do the same to 'undisclosed paid staffers of any campaign' who are 'gaming the system.' Clinton's campaign office told the blog that the astroturfing was the product of 'overeager staffers and volunteers.'"

Submission + - The IRS Will Fax Your Life to Anyone Who Asks

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 16, 2007 @08:44AM

An anonymous reader writes: Apparently, the IRS is more than happy to fax all your private tax information to anyone who calls up and knows a little bit about you. Identification not required. Really scary with all the identity theft going on. You should have to at least fax in an ID.

Startrek.com Shutting Down 260

Posted by kdawson on Saturday December 15, 2007 @11:08PM from the could-have-offered-it-to-fandom dept.

Curlsman writes to let us know that the fan site startrek.com, operated for 13 years by CBS, is being shut down and its staff laid off. Is this site worth a write-in campaign? From the (perhaps final) post: "Goodbye from the STARTREK.COM Team. Sadly, we must report that CBS Interactive organization is being restructured, and the production team that brings you the STARTREK.COM site has been eliminated. Effective immediately. We don't know the ultimate fate of this site, which has served millions of Star Trek fans for the last thirteen years. If you have comments, please send them to editor @ startrek.com — we hope someone at CBS will read them."

Submission + - Good news, everyone! (imdb.com)

Submitted by

mrsam

on Tuesday November 27, 2007 @10:33PM

mrsam writes: "The eagerly awaited first Futurama direct-to-DVD movie, "Bender's Big Score!" is out today. All the original voice actors are back, with a special appearance by Mark Hamill as the voice of the "Chanukah Zombie".

That, in my opinion, calls for a celebration. With blackjack! And hookers!"

Submission + - The sixty-five dollar click (nytimes.com) 2

Submitted by PessimisticLitigator on Sunday October 21, 2007 @09:29PM

PessimisticLitigator writes: Adam Liptak wrote a great article, in the New York Times, on how competition in the legal field is driving the cost per click of Google ad to remarkable levels Phrases such as "Oakland personal injury lawyer," "Asbestos attorney," and "mesothelioma attorney Texas" are bringing in between $58 and $66 per click. Is this an example of commonsense left at the door, or is it a brilliant use of technology? It seems like the prior to me.

There is an interesting side note where the article calls Google a middle aged technology, and it cites the historically slow adaptation of technology by attorneys as evidence.

Submission + - New Xbox with HD DVD HDTV tuners coming next year (smarthouse.com.au)

Submitted by iloveCarla on Saturday October 20, 2007 @09:56PM

iloveCarla writes: Microsoft is partnering with Toshiba to turn the Xbox into a full fledged HTPC. With built-in HD DVD, a larger hard drive, revamped "MCE" interface, and possibly HDTV tuners, the Xbox would be in a better position to compete against the PS3 in the race to serve as the defacto entertainment hub for couch potatoes. According to the article "The new device is expected to be released late in 2008 or at the 2009 CES show in Las Vegas.

Submission + - Slashdot Reverses Facts about Radiohead 1

Submitted by Apro+im on Thursday October 18, 2007 @02:16PM

Apro+im writes: The popular news aggregation website, Slashdot today reported that the new Radiohead album, In Rainbows was pirated more than it was procured via legitimate means, setting off a flurry of speculation on their online discussion board as to the implications of this "fact". Strangely overlooked in much of the discussion, however, was the fact that the article they linked contained the exact opposite information, stating:

"The file was downloaded about 100,000 more times each day — adding up to more than 500,000 total illegal downloads. That's less than the 1.2 million legitimate online sales of the album reported by the British Web site Gigwise.com"

Questions about what this implies about Slashdot's editorial practices and readership remain unanswered.

Submission + - Cancel your cell phone contract, without a penalty (com.com)

Submitted by

mrsam

on Friday July 06, 2007 @07:30PM

mrsam writes: "You want that iPhone, but you're stuck on your current cell phone contract, for another two years?

It turns out that (at least with Sprint) there's an easy way to get out of your contract, without getting soaked. All you have to do is call Customer Service, a dozen times, or so, and you're free!"

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