Submission + - How To: Stability with Open Source and Windows
Henry Coolridge writes: "Anyone looking to deploy open source scripting and backend technologies on Windows Server 2003 and IIS should be concerned with stability, security, reliability, and performance. NeoSmart's guide/review covers just which open source technologies work and those that don't on Windows and IIS — and just how well. Whether you're a Windows fan or not, IIS is a major player in the world of webservers, and it's always good to know what open source companies have support for their Windows consumer-base... and those that don't. Covers PHP, Python, Perl, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and more — with solutions on how best to achieve stability with each open source technology on Windows."
Feed Don't Sue DontDateHimGirl In The Wrong State (techdirt.com)
There were already plenty of problems with the lawsuit filed by a guy upset about what some women wrote about him on a site called dontdatehimgirl.com. It has been widely discussed that the lawsuit against the site was poorly aimed, since the site was protected against libel charges under section 230 of the CDA. The site is just a service provider, which played no role in writing or verifying the content posted to the site, and therefore should have no liability for the content. However, it appears there was another problem with the suit: jurisdiction. The original lawsuit has been tossed out of a Pennsylvania court, with the judge noting that he has no jurisdiction over the site, which is based in Florida. With that, the liability issue wasn't even addressed -- but could certainly come back up if the suit is refiled in Florida.
Feed Bubba makes an exciting SOHO server appliance (newsforge.com)
Have you considered setting up a server on your home LAN, but shied away from the idea because you didn't want to dedicate a machine to the task, or want to spend a lot of time setting it up and managing it? If so, you might be interested in Excito's Bubba, a cute little Linux-based server appliance from Sweden that makes running and managing a server easy and fun.
Submission + - Fab@Home: 3D objects from your printer
CaffeineFree writes: Ars Technica did an interview with Evan Malone of Fab@Home, the open-source project that provides drivers, applications software, and detailed design plans for assembling a three-dimensional desktop fabricator. In it, he discusses the project and what it means for home fabrication enthusiasts. From the article:
Malone's machine puts fabbing within hobbyist budgets for the first time. Since the first Model 1 Fabber began life in the summer of 2006, Malone has launched a wiki and built a community of enthusiastic tinkerers, all in his spare time.
The project has already attracted worldwide attention; Malone has taken his device to South Africa at the request of the government there, and one of the first Model 1 machines has already been requested for an exhibit at the Science Museum in London. Early machines are still primitive, but they work reliably. A Model 2 revision is already in the works.
Fab@Home is about more than making small plastic objects in your living room, however. Malone and his mentor, Dr. Hod Lipson, believe that such devices can change the world.
Submission + - AACS Licensing Authority Throws The First Grenade
mrneutron2004 writes: In an effort to stem the tide of discovered encryption keys, the AACS Licensing Authority announced that is has "taken action, in cooperation with relevant manufacturers, to expire the encryption keys associated with the specific implementations of AACS-enabled software." So, those with some clue will wait for BackupHDDVD and AnyDVD HD to get updated. Meanwhile the average clueless consumer who rarely even thinks about updating anything will soon be in for a shock when their HD disc playing software goes into self-destruct mode with new HD releases.
The end result? Perhaps, and this is just an educated guess, more and more legitimate consumers will likely be turned into encryption cracking evildoers, simply because they want to play what they PAID FOR. Sigh... Why is this so predicatable? http://www.fastsilicon.com/latest-news/aacs-licens ing-authority-throws-the-first-grenade-into-the-fo .html?Itemid=60
Submission + - Super Bowl Website Hacked, Curtesy of Microsoft
webax writes: "In an advisory issued by Microsoft Thursday, the world's largest software maker said it had confirmed that multiple versions of Windows — including the latest Vista version — contain a flaw in the way the operating system handles animated cursors or pointers. The animated cursor files end with the filename extension ".ani" and are sometimes used by software such as Microsoft's Office suite and by website developers to enhance or modify the experience of using the computer. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to take control of a computer." article
Do You Get a UNIX Workstation at Work? 290
Fished asks: "This may be a selfish question, but so far as I can tell it hasn't been asked before. I'm currently a Solaris System Engineer in a Very Large Company. This Very Large Company has predictably standardized on Windows as their corporate desktop. However, they are also of the opinion that nobody needs anything -but- Windows on their desktop. If you're a UNIX/Linux systems engineer/administrator in a large company, do they give you a desktop for the platform you manage? Do you have any tips on justifying your need for a second, UNIX-based desktop to the powers that be?"
Submission + - How To Properly Archive Data On Disc Media
An anonymous reader writes: Patrick McFarland, the well-known Free Software Magazine author, going into great detail on CD/DVD media. McFarland covers the history of these media from CDs through recordable DVDs, explaining the various formats and their strengths and drawbacks. The heart of the article is an essay on the DVD-R vs. DVD+R recording standards, leading to McFarland's recommendation for which media he buys for archival storage. Spoiler: it's Taiyo Yuden DVD+R all the way. From the article:
"Unlike pressed CDs/DVDs, 'burnt' CDs/DVDs can eventually 'fade,' due to five things that affect the quality of CD media: sealing method, reflective layer, organic dye makeup, where it was manufactured, and your storage practices (please keep all media out of direct sunlight, in a nice cool dry dark place, in acid-free plastic containers; this will triple the lifetime of any media)."
Submission + - Tesla coil bizarre effects.
Tesladownunder writes: "Plain Tesla coil sparks are so-last-year. This Australian high voltage enthusiast/nut/genius and his camera have come up with a range of dramatic and new Tesla coil effects. Like the huge ring of sparks "Eye of Sauron" circling a car like a dramatic car thief protector. Or a ring of sparks around you out of nowhere. Perhaps you just fancy a swim with 100,000 volts.
http://tesladownunder.com/tesla_coil_sparks.htm"
Submission + - Electronic Environmental Waste
Anonymous Coward writes: "Dr. David Suzuki, a well know Canadian environmentalist, says there ought to be a law against planned obsolescence. He uses the case of the plethora of of power bricks and battery chargers that we accumulate over the years. Having dozens of them myself, I have to agree ! After all, why do I need *another* 12VDC 1A power brick ? I only have 6 of them already !
I'd love to see a law whereby every manufacturer is responsible for reclaiming their devices once consumers are done using them. They could, after all, afford to ship the product to us. They could surely afford to take it back, right ?
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Science/Suzuki/2007/03 /07/3709705-ca.html"
Submission + - Quitting WoW, Cold Turkey
capnbishop writes: "Up until recently, I hadn't tried World of Warcraft, largely because I've yet to be impressed by any MMORPG, but mostly because I just haven't had the time. Well, I took a couple weeks off of school (I attend UoP Online, and can take up to a month off between each 5 week course), and decided to give WoW a shot. Needless to say, I was blown away. My trial period is now up, and I'm jonesing for a fix. However, I don't want to fully activate my account, because I know my grades will plummet if I do. My good ol' casual games don't seem to sustain me like they used to. Even my Wii feels uninteresting after witnessing the glory of Ironforge. And I miss Randall, my trusty pet bear! Quitting WoW is harder than crack! I need a replacement game, but something that won't destroy my personal life. What do you slashdotters use to get by, when WoW isn't an option?"
Bookmark Vista UI Is a 'Step Back' for Microsoft (pcworld.com)
Submission + - 20 must-have Firefox extensions
mrbluze writes: "Computerworld has an article: http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?com mand=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=development&art icleId=9011975&taxonomyId=11&intsrc=kc_feat which reviews 20 useful Firefox extensions. I must admit this was a very fruitful read and identified some extensions that don't usually come up when you browse the 'popular' list on the website.
Do fellow slashdotters have other extensions they cannot live without?"
Do fellow slashdotters have other extensions they cannot live without?"
Submission + - Geek Squad fails, $415 charge. Linux recovers HD
An anonymous reader writes: Seems the Geek Squad and Best Buy horror stories never stop coming in. The latest is a piece over at the Consumerist where someone went to Geek Squad to attempt to recover data off a hard drive that apparently crashed. For $415 and 8 days of time, the Best Buy Geek Squad techs failed to recover any data from the drive. The author later tried to recover his data using a friend's Linux box and after 20 minutes, most of his data was recovered. After attempting to get a refund for something that the Geek Squad techs were unable to do, he only managed to get under 1/2 off the fees that he was charged... having to pay almost $250 for nothing.
