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Networking

Submission + - Ndiyo low-cost ($10?) terminal starter kit launch

Submitted by
h00manist
h00manist writes: "Ndiyo, the project to build the lowest-cost-ever computer/terminal, made a one-chip prototype, and now has finally launched a sample starter kit. The kit includes 5 ethernet-connecting Nivo terminals, which can be added to a PC to create a 6-user system. Each Nivo is capable of supporting a standard LCD monitor at resolutions up to 1280x1024 and 24-bit colour depth."
Security

Submission + - The difference between script kiddies and hackers?

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "I know Wikipedia has definitions for both terms, but I want the Slashdot community's opinion: What is the difference between a so-called "script kiddie" and a bona fide "hacker?" It seems that if you crack wifi using readily available tools, you're a script kiddie. If you use the Metasploit framework, you're a script kiddie. At what skill level or accomplishment can one truly be called a hacker?"
Republicans

Submission + - Anonymous Senator Blocks Open Government Act

Submitted by
Josh
Josh writes: "An anonymous Republican Senator has placed a secret hold on the Open Government Act. Ironically, the purpose of this act is to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act. It is a shame that Senators are taking such a cowardly route to avoid a floor debate on this important legislation. The Seminal explains a plan to use the power of the Internet to determine which Senator is at fault. The plan involves using dispersed knowledge and resources to contact the 46 Republican Senators who aren't cosponsors to ask them if they placed the anonymous hold. A centralized tally is being maintained at this link. The American people deserve to know which Senator is responsible for this."
Operating Systems

Submission + - Review: Linux System Administration

Submitted by
Bob Uhl
Bob Uhl writes: "I've just finished reading O'Reilly's latest GNU/Linux title, Linux System Administration (full disclosure: I was sent a reviewer's copy). Bottom line up front: it's a handy introduction for the beginner GNU/Linux sysadmin, and a useful addition to an experienced sysadmin's bookshelf.

The book is essentially a survey of various Linux system-administration tasks: installing Debian; setting up LAMP; configuring a load-balancing, high-availability environment; working with virtualisation. None of the chapters are in-depth examinations of their subjects; rather, they're enough to get you started and familiar with the concepts involved, and headed in the right direction. I like this approach, as it increases the likelihood that any particular admin will be able to use the material presented. I've been working with Apache for almost a decade now, but I've not done any virtualisation; some other fellow may have played with Linux for supercomputing, but never done any web serving with it; we both can use the chapters which cover subjects new to us.

I really like some of the choices the authors made. A lot of GNU/Linux 'administration' books focus on GUI tools — I've seen some which don't even bother addressing the command line! I've long said that if one isn't intimately familiar with the shell — if one cannot get one's job done with it — then one isn't really a sysadmin. Linux System Administration approaches nearly everything from the CLI, right from the get-go. Kudos!

The authors also deserve praise for showing, early on, how to replace Sendmail with Postfix. In 2007, there's very, very little reason to use Sendmail: unless you know why you need it, you almost certainly don't. Postfix is more stable and far more secure.

Another nice thing is how many alternatives are showcased: Xen & VMware; Debian, Fedora & Xandros; CIFS/SMB & NFS; shell, Perl, PHP & Python and so forth. One really great advantage of Unix in general and GNU/Linux in particular is choice — it's good to see a reference work which implicitly acknowledges that.

The authors are also pretty good about calling out common pitfalls — several got me, once upon a time. It'd have been nice to have had a book like this when I was cutting my teeth...

Lastly, I liked that the authors & their editor weren't afraid to refer readers to books from other publishers, in addition to O'Reilly's (uniformly excellent) offerings. Not all publishers would be so forthright; O'Reilly merits recognition for their openness.

The book's not quite perfect, though. I wish that PostgreSQL had at least been mentioned as a more powerful, more stable (and often faster in practice) alternative to MySQL, and one doesn't actually need to register a domain in order to set up static IP addressing. Still, these are pretty minor quibbles.

I'd say that the ideal audience for this book is a small-to-medium business admin who'd like to start using Linux, or who already is but doesn't really feel confident yet. It covers enough categories that at least a few are likely to be relevant. Even an experienced admin will probably find some useful stuff in here."
Google

Submission + - AdSense Disabling Arbitrage Accounts by June 1st

Submitted by
shird
shird writes: "Reports of google trying to clean up its search results by cracking down on dubious Web sites that contain little content but lots of ads, sometimes known as "Made for AdSense" (MFA) sites, have been reaching the media. The Jensense blog reports "Numerous AdSense publishers have been receiving emails from Google the past couple of days stating that their use of their AdSense account is an unsuitable business model and that accounts would be disabled as of June 1st, giving publishers about two weeks notice to prepare for the loss of the AdSense accounts." Google regularly bans and rejects AdSense accounts in violation of the TOS, however this change appears to be affecting a much larger quantity of MFA sites profiting from the imbalance of AdWords costs vs AdSense profits. Currently being discussed over at WebMasterWorld."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Jack-in-the-Box Sued Over An(g)us Beef Ads

Submitted by
theodp
theodp writes: "CKE Restaurants has filed a lawsuit to stop Jack-in-the-Box from running TV ads that suggest Carl's Jr. and Hardee's use cow anus to make Angus beef hamburgers. In one ad, executives laugh hysterically at the word Angus. In another, the Jack-in-the-Box mascot is asked to point to a diagram of a cow and show where Angus meat comes from. 'We talked about but stopped short of doing a spot on [McDonald's] Angus Pounder,' said the ads' director."
Operating Systems

Submission + - VM Enables 'Write-Once, Run Anywhere' Linux Apps

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A startup will soon launch 'a kind of holy software grail,' according to an article at LinuxDevices. The dual-licensed (one of which is GPL) technology is claimed to enable more or less normal Linux applications to run — without requiring recompilation — under Windows, Mac, or Linux, with a look and feel native to each. 'As with Java, Lina users will first install a VM specific to their platform, after which they can run binaries compiled not for their particular OS, but for the VM, which aims to hide OS-specific characteristics from the application. Lina comprises a platform-specific application that virtualizes the host PC's x86 processor... A lightly modified Linux kernel (2.6.19, for now) runs on top of the VM. Under the Linux kernel is a filesystem with standard Linux libraries modified to map resources such as library, filesystem, and system calls to analogous resources on the host platform.' Further details, including an entertaining video or two are at OpenLina.com
PHP

Submission + - Fix what slows Apache down by optimizing PHP

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: As the load on an application increases, the bottlenecks in the underlying infrastructure become more apparent in the form of slow response to user requests. This article discusses many of the server configuration items that can make or break an application's performance and focuses on steps you can take to optimize Apache and PHP.
Patents

Submission + - Life Imprisonment for Copyright Infringement

Submitted by
ronadams
ronadams writes: "P. Parameswaran writes in his AFP article:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he proposed comprehensive legislation to Congress Monday against copyright thieves, including raising the maximum penalty to life imprisonment and seizing the illicit profits of offenders.
Nick Ferrel at the Inquirer confirms the reports and adds a few interesting insights of his own. Good to know RIAA is a vital part of the US Government. I must have been asleep when my Government & Law professor glossed over that one."
Networking

Submission + - World's wireless trasmission distance record broke

Submitted by Brethil
Brethil writes: According to LaRepubblica.it Torino's atheneum managed get a stable wireless link between Capanna Margherita (Europe's highest shelter, 4556m) and Pian Cavallaro, 300 Km far away. To achieve this they used old "386" computers running Linux and directional antennas. The link speed was about 20 Mb/sec and it was used to make broadband connection available to the shelter's guests and to send a webcam's photos to the iXem Laboratory at Torino's Polytechnic.

Link: (italian) http://www.repubblica.it/2005/j/sezioni/scienza_e_ tecnologia/wifi/record-collegamento/record-collega mento.html
Security

Submission + - Lessons From a Honeynet Attacked 700,000 Times

Submitted by JMoon
JMoon writes: The attacks have been thick and steady, and the relentless attackers appear hell bent on taking control of as many vulnerable systems as possible. This article will focus on providing some basic guidelines that will serve to assist you in conducting your own vulnerability management and performing scans against your own systems and networks, in the hope that you will identify and remedy any serious vulnerabilities and bugs in advance of the unyielding hackers, ultimately resulting in computer systems that are secure and protected.
Google

Journal Journal: Google Summer of Code 2007 Accepted Projects Listed

Journal by quadra23
The Google Summer of Code website now provides a full list of the projects accepted for Summer of Code 2007. Organizations have a varying number of accepted slots ranging from about 3 projects up to 10 or more for some of the larger organizations. Lets hold a congratulations for all the accepted applicants and best wishes for successful project completions.
Technology (Apple)

Submission + - Dog Swallows iPod - Owner Finds in Poo Working

Submitted by Funny Finder
Funny Finder writes: Last Friday in Dalton, Georgia 23 year old Mark Clamp found his iPod Shuffle he had been missing for the last 4 days. The bad news is it was sitting in the middle of a pile of poo his dog Frank had just left on the back walkway.Rest Of The Story
Biotech

Submission + - Stem-cell bill faces veto -- again

Submitted by
gollum123
gollum123 writes: "cnn reports The Senate approved a measure that would roll back President Bush's 2001 limits on embryonic stem-cell research Wednesday afternoon, but the margin was short of the two-thirds needed to override a promised veto ( http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/04/11/stem.cells/ index.html ). In a statement issued after Wednesday's 63-34 vote, he said he would veto the new bill as well, saying it "crosses a moral line that I and many others find troubling." Fourteen Republicans supported the bill, while two Democrats voted against it. One of the best statements was by Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, a staunch opponent of abortion rights — "I'm hopeful that the president won't veto this, because I think he can see — anybody can see — that it's just a matter of time until we get this through""

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