Comment Re:Dependent on the Church (Score 1) 323
I don't know at what point in the English Reformation confession was done away with, but I know modern Anglicans and Episcopalians don't confess sins to a priest.
Comment Re:Dependent on the Church (Score 5, Insightful) 323
Yeah, we went over this between 400 and 500 years ago. It was called the Reformation.
Comment Mind Control? (Score 4, Funny) 246
Don't forget that they made Julian Assange a pompous douchebag by drugging his food. A side effect, perhaps intended, is the paranoia that makes him think he'll be imprisoned at Guantanamo. They also slipped a defective condom into his wallet so they could trump up rape charges.
Comment Re:Taco and Slashdot reader post FUD headline (Score 1) 220
There's no room for rational thought on /. Start acting like we live in an Orwellian dystopia or get your news somewhere else.
Comment Re:CDC (Score 1) 42
I assumed the same thing, at least for naturally occurring pathogens.
Submission + - 54 percent of VZW's Android users want iPhone (tuaw.com)
4phun writes: A jaw-dropping 54 percent of VZW's Android and BlackBerry users say they're either very likely or somewhat likely to buy the iPhone.
It took all of 17 hours or so for the initial allocation of pre-order Verizon iPhones to get churned through, meaning there won't be any more orders placed until 3:01 AM ET on February 9 (online orders) or 7 AM local time on 2/10 (store purchases).
It took all of 17 hours or so for the initial allocation of pre-order Verizon iPhones to get churned through, meaning there won't be any more orders placed until 3:01 AM ET on February 9 (online orders) or 7 AM local time on 2/10 (store purchases).
Submission + - Senate Panel Backs Patent Overhaul Bill
mvar writes: A bill to reduce the likelihood of massive damage awards in patent disputes took a step forward with approval by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee voted 15-0 to back the legislation that would give judges a major role in determining how important a particular patent is to a product, so that infringing minor patents would not lead to huge damages. The bill also gives patents to the first inventor to file, rather than the first to invent, making the patent application process easier for companies who apply for patents in multiple countries. This year, Microsoft, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Biotechnology Industry Organization support the patent legislation, while Dell, Cisco and others oppose it.
Submission + - Peering through the malicious iframe (iseclab.org)
An anonymous reader writes: Boffins at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the University of Birmingham, UK have published a report describing their infiltration and take over of the Mebroot drive by download campaign. For over 4 months, they had access to the malicious web sites used to exploit unsuspecting visitors and they observed the victims, the infected web sites and the behavior of the criminals running the campaign. Some interesting data points: 25%-42% of the visitors used vulnerable browsers; the majority of the infected web sites remained infected for 25 days and 20% remained infected the whole time. The result: the campaign managed to exploit over 91K visitors per week.
Comment Re:Security, Now? (Score 1) 273
I've been using the two features mentioned in the article for a couple weeks now. Maybe I was part of the test group, or maybe this story is old news. I think the immediate response for his account getting hacked is the introduction of throwaway passwords. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gEJI8Phl6k9vRW-khhuB6g5_y8kw?docId=CNG.2f43771e83b9067bef21d73ee8f670a7.871
Comment Move along, nothing to see here (Score 1) 227
This has nothing to do with the content of the mod, only the name. Blizzard supports the modding community to an extent few, if any, other gaming companies do. If he changes the name, I'm certain that Blizzard would have no problem with what he is doing. The mod has the potential to be high quality, and if it became popular, Blizzard would have to deal with issues if they are indeed planning on releasing a World of StarCraft.
Comment Re:ADMIRED??? (Score 1) 470
Who do you suggest we admire, then? Bill Gates is the epitome of a person who has achieved the American dream. He has made himself the one wealthiest people on Earth through (mostly) honest means. By helping to make the PC ubiquitous in the household and office, he has had great influence on American and world business, technology, and culture. And now that he has stepped down as leader of Microsoft, he is spending his time donating his wealth to worthy causes. He's not a saint, and has certainly engaged in questionable business practices, but there are certainly worse people to admire. It is so bad to admire someone who made good by using his intelligence rather than athletic ability, appearance, family name, religion, etc?
Comment Re:Fiddle While Rome Burns (Score 2, Insightful) 672
Your facts are complete bullshit. The US does not throw out enough food each day to feed the entire world, although enough food is produced worldwide to feed everyone if distribution systems were adequate. The island of floating debris you mention is mostly invisible to the naked eye and consists of small particles of plastic in the upper part of the water column. It's something to be concerned about, no doubt, but your description is hardly accurate. I can't refute your carbon footprint claim any more than you can prove it, but the fact people that are starving and live in filth and poverty may have a smaller carbon footprint doesn't seem to be all that relevant. Should we all live like they do?
As for the rest, what's your point? Accusing anyone with money and/or power of being corrupt is the most common excuse for personal failings. If it makes you feel better, great.
