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Submission + - Transition to retirement

Submitted by Burbistan
Burbistan writes: Must be a tonne of vintage software engineers out there who've been through this (but I didn't find a thread): You are reaching a point where (not too smugly I hope) you can afford to stop working, you're still healthy, you have a lot of interests you'd actively like more time to pursue, you aren't dependent on workplace for your social life. So you can start thinking about making a positive decision to retire. Sounds dandy and it probably is, you're a lucky guy. Question is: Are there any surprises in store when you stop working on bleeding edge software development?

Submission + - Samsung SmartHub botched update (cnet.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: As Samsung is about to unveil the next generation of SmartTV, it looks like their engineers have botched a push update to their customers' SmartHub leaving the software unusable. Users report deleted applications, renamed applications and the impossibility to use the Samsung TV AppStore. No communication from Samsung so far...
Security

Submission + - FBI publishes top email terms used by corporate fraudsters (computerworlduk.com)

Submitted by Qedward
Qedward writes: Software developed by the FBI and Ernst & Young has revealed the most common words used in email conversations among employees engaged in corporate fraud.

The software, which was developed using the knowledge gained from real life corporate fraud investigations, pinpoints and tracks common fraud phrases like "cover up", "write off", "failed investment", "off the books", "nobody will find out" and "grey area".

Expressions such as "special fees" and "friendly payments" are most common in bribery cases, while fears of getting caught are shown in phrases such as "no inspection" and "do not volunteer information".

The top fraud words and phrases in email conversations:

        Cover up
        Write off
        Illegal
        Failed investment
        Nobody will find out
        Grey area
        They owe it to me
        Do not volunteer information
        Not ethical
        Off the books
Microsoft

Submission + - Now you can control ANY Win 8 kit with your EYEBALLS (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by
iComp
iComp writes: "CES 2013 It's all gestures and eyeball-tracking at CES this year, with Tobii releasing a USB peripheral that adds control-by-sight to any Windows PC and Lenovo upgrading its Yoga to finger-watching.

Tobii demonstrated its eyeball-tracking technology at CES last year, but this time it is announcing a 5,000 unit production run of a USB bar which can be stuck to the bottom of the monitor of any Windows 8 PC to start tracking eyeballs. Lenovo isn't even waiting that long. Although it is only tracking fingers, it's adding the capability to existing Yoga laptops courtesy of eyeSight Tech.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicks off next week but companies are already announcing what they're going to show in the hope of gaining some pre-show publicity, with better ways to control Windows 8 featuring prominently in the offerings."
Hardware

Submission + - USB 3.0 getting a speed boost to 10 Gbps (gizmag.com) 1

Submitted by cylonlover
cylonlover writes: The USB 3.0 Promoter Group has used CES 2013 to announce an enhancement to the USB 3.0 (aka SuperSpeed USB) standard that will see the throughput performance of USB 3.0 double from 5 Gbps to 10 Gbps. The speed boost will come courtesy of enhanced USB connectors and cables that are fully backward compatible with existing USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 devices. The 10 Gbps SuperSpeed USB update is up for industry review during the first quarter of 2013, with completion of the standard expected by the middle of the year.
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Windows RT Jailbroken (paritynews.com)

Submitted by hypnosec
hypnosec writes: A security researcher is claiming to have defeated Microsoft Windows RT’s Code Integrity Mechanism thereby jailbreaking the ARM-based tablet to run desktop applications. C. L. Rokr has revealed that the vulnerability that allowed for the jailbreak is present in the Windows Kernel that found its way into the ARM port as well. “Ironically, a vulnerability in the Windows kernel that has existed for some time and got ported to ARM just like the rest of Windows made this possible”, Rokr wrote in a blog post. The vulnerability can be exploited through memory manipulation and it was possible after the researcher stumbled upon a “byte that represents the minimum signing level.” Once the vulnerability is exploited the Windows RT tablet allowed for execution of ARM compiled desktop apps. The jailbreak will only work with ARM based applications and x86 apps can’t be executed.

Submission + - Shareholders sue Novell Board (groklaw.net)

Submitted by dgharmon
dgharmon writes: If you thought the deal smelled funny back in 2011 when Novell sold itself to Attachmate and its patents to a Microsoft consortium, you are not alone. Some shareholders .. sued ..

Specifically, they claim that Novell favored Attachmate over other bidders, especially a "Party C", and the judge, under Delaware's reasonable ‘conceivability’ standard, denied summary judment with respect to the board and decided there will need to be a trial ...
Games

Submission + - Nvidia Announces Project Shield, Android Based Gaming System (tekgoblin.com)

Submitted by
tekgoblin
tekgoblin writes: "Nvidia has announced today their first gaming system based on Android and the Tegra 4 called Project Shield. The device is capable of running the Unreal Engine and has outputs to connect directly to your TV. Shield is also running the Android OS so you can enjoy everything about Android as well on either your TV or in your hands on the device. It also supports the new Nvidia Grid gaming and streaming movies and games from your PC or the internet.
The system was being demoed on a new LG 4K TV with HDMI out and it was beautiful. The system performed quite well to all tests and even was able to stream content such as games installed on Steam on your own computer directly to the Shield device to play. So basically you can create your own gaming cloud with Shield inside your own home, you can play the games on your PC from your Couch or while laying in bed."
Government

Submission + - Postal Service Pilots 'Federal Cloud Credential Exchange' (informationweek.com)

Submitted by
CowboyRobot
CowboyRobot writes: "The U.S. Postal Service will be the guinea pig for a White House-led effort to accelerate government adoption of technologies that allow federal agencies to accept third-party identity credentials for online services. The program involves using services from organizations like PayPal and Google through standards like OpenID rather than requiring users to create government usernames and passwords. The federated identity effort, known as the Federal Cloud Credential Exchange, is just one piece of a broader Obama administration online identity initiative: the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC), which aims to catalyze private sector-led development of a secure, digital "identity ecosystem" to better protect identities online. The Postal Service pilot is but one of several different pilots that are part of NSTIC. There are also three cryptography pilots and two non-cryptographic privacy pilots in the works. Each of those pilots is being carried out by multiple private sector organizations ranging from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to AOL to AARP to Aetna."
Robotics

Submission + - 2013 FIRST Robotics Competition Kicks Off

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: In South Park's Pinewood Derby episode, a father steals a superconducting magnet from the Large Hadron Collider to help his son win the annual state Pinewood Derby (the car reaches warp speed, shooting off the track and into space). It's a tale that no doubt rings true with every Cub Scout who went down to defeat at the hands of other kids whose engineer Dads had access to tools like the wind tunnel at NASA. Well, on Saturday, the 2013 FIRST Robotics Competition kicked off, and — much like the Pinewood Derby — mentoring by adult engineers there doesn't hurt one's chances of winning. So, any advice for 'ordinary' high schools going up against the likes of FIRST Robotics Teams sponsored and mentored by NASA? FIRST Robotics Team 254's Lab at NASA Ames Research Center, for instance, includes 'an 80% size practice field as well as a small machine shop, workspace, computer lab and meeting space.' Not surprisingly, Team 254 won the 2011 FIRST Championship.

Comment Re:Fair for the goose... (Score 1) 476

by jbernardo (#42472691) Attached to: Microsoft Says Google Trying To Undermine Windows Phone

Need any more proof? Best part is I took the screenshot on the Ubuntu machine, moved it onto the phone via drag and drop, then uploaded it to imgur using an app.

That still doesn't tell me if you're using MTP or USB mass storage, which was my question. But you still manage to get modded informative when you fail to address what I asked.

But it doesn't seem to be your only reading comprehension problem.

1- The things you call errors are maybe errors for WP8 - but I've stated I was talking about WP7, and even asked for clarification if things had changed with WP8. Besides, despite WP8 now being apparently usable with Linux, what else has changed? Can you modify that idiotic search button so that it will show google instead of bing? Can you select folders to auto-sync in dropbox, box, or minus? Because you can't do any of these in WP7.8

2- I didn't call you a shill. I just noticed on your postings that you are a Microsoft fan and are usually quote/defend Microsoft, so I made that jab. I didn't want to imply you were a Burston-Marsteller or Waggener Edstrom employee, so if that is what it sounded like, I apologise

.

Comment Re:Fair for the goose... (Score 1) 476

by jbernardo (#42461785) Attached to: Microsoft Says Google Trying To Undermine Windows Phone

Wrong, Windows Phone 8 mounts specific folders on the phone. I can trasnfer documents, music, videos, pictures, and ringtones via explorer without a special client. http://www.gsmarena.com/windows_phone_8_to_get_mass_storage_and_screenshot_support-news-4530.php

I was wondering when we would get Microsoft's take on the matter... Unfortunately I can't verify if this was really implemented as I only have WP7.8, can you please post something that is not speculation and instead is a clear confirmation that WP8 has USB mass storage support?

Comment Re:Fair for the goose... (Score 3, Interesting) 476

by jbernardo (#42460291) Attached to: Microsoft Says Google Trying To Undermine Windows Phone

Yes, they *should*... but regarding this specific instance/thing... why should MS have to change 10s/100s of things not related to Google to use one of Google's things. A thing that is really easy for Google to do, and will make them profit?

Why shouldn't they? Why are they asking for a standard access to a third party API when they don't follow standards, and even distort them for their own profit? Besides, what profit would Google have in changing their APIs to cater to an almost non-existing smartphone OS? Why not first focus on Bada or Symbian or RIM, which still have bigger market share than Windows Phone?

PS: I got an Android phone in the meantime. The WP phone was a gift, and it works well as my second phone - receiving calls and SMSs, basically working as a dumb phone.

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