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IBM

Submission + - NYT: IBM PC Division Sold to Advance China's Goals

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Back in 2005, Wharton's Michael Useem speculated that IBM's sale of its PC Division to Lenovo was more about ingratiating Big Blue with the Chinese government than getting top dollar for the assets. 'Government relationships are key in China,' Useem explained. Now, a NY Times article on outgoing IBM CEO Samuel J. Palmisano seems to confirm that Useem's analysis was spot-on. From the NYT article: 'In 2004, I.B.M. sold its PC business to Lenovo of China. Mr. Palmisano says he deflected overtures from Dell and private equity firms, preferring the sale to a company in China for strategic reasons: the Chinese government wants its corporations to expand globally, and by aiding that national goal, I.B.M. enhanced its stature in the lucrative Chinese market, where the government still steers business.'
Android

Submission + - Android Now Support Mobile Network IPv6 (t-mobile.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: As has been touted in many 2012 predictions, IPv6 is ascending to its proper spot as a core Internet protocol ( 1,
2, 3 ) . One of the biggest moves in IPv6 advancement is that IPv6 is now supported on the mobile network interface of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) phones. Not all phones will work, but the Google Nexus S and Galaxy Nexus will support the IPv6 mobile network interface. This is the first time this functionality has been widely supported, previous version of Android only supported WiFi IPv6. T-Mobile USA is supporting these IPv6 phones on their IPv6-only + NAT64/DNS64 network infrastructure.

Submission + - Ocean Marketing Attempts To Extort Former Client (escapistmagazine.com) 1

Submitted by ESRB
ESRB writes: Paul Christoforo, recently in the news for his poor handling of a customer inquiry and attempt to smear Penny Arcade, is now attempting to extort a substantial amount of money from his former clients. He is holding their hosting and email hostage (notably, the original company has control of the domain name).

Comment Re:Maybe the movies just aren't very good (Score 1) 865

by MBCook (#38534470) Attached to: Ebert: I'll Tell You Why Movie Revenue Is Dropping

I'm almost positive that Song of the South was available on VHS for a while. I'm pretty sure it's available on DVD in other countries. But Disney is so dead set against releasing anything that might make them look bad, it's unavailable. It doesn't matter it's the source of Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, one of their most famous songs. It doesn't matter there is possibly offensive material in other works like Dumbo. It doesn't matter that old black slave is actually the hero of the story and the white slave owning parents are portrayed as abusive/neglectful.

Now, that's based on my understanding of the plot. I've only read the summary on Wikipedia, as it never comes out of the "Disney Vault" in the US.
Piracy

Submission + - How to deal with blog thieves? 3

Submitted by mminella
mminella writes: It was recently brought to my attention that some of my blog posts are being copied by other people's blogs. Letter for letter, even linking to the images on my server. What does the community recommend as a way to address this? I know there are things I could do with the image with regards to redirects, but beyond that. Any course of action recommendations? Thanks!
Programming

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Hand it Over For The Greater Good? 8

Submitted by rsmith84
rsmith84 writes: I'm the Senior Systems administrator for a small trade college. When I was hired on it was strictly for L3 related tasks such as advanced server administration, Exchange design and implementation, WAN and MPLS interconnectivity, multi-site routing, yadda, yadda, yadda. They have no in-house programmers, no help desk software, and no budget to purchase one.

I'm a moderate PHP, MySQL programmer on the side and am easily capable of writing something to meet their needs but do not believe I should be a) asked to or b) required to as my job description and employment terms are not based upon this skill set. I like a challenge and since all of my goals outlined since my hire date have been met and exceeded expectations I have a lot of down time; so I wrote the application. It streamlines several critical processes, allows for a central repository of FAQ, and provides end users with access to multiple systems all in one place.

I've kept a detailed time log of my work and feel I should be remunerated for the work before just handing over the code. The entire source was developed on personal equipment off company hours.

My question is what should I do? Obviously if they are willing to pay me, either in the form of a bonus, raise, or even PTO, I will gladly hand it over. However, it's been mentioned that, if I do the project, it is all but guaranteed that I will see no compensation. The application would streamline a lot of processes and take a lot of the burden off my team, freeing them up to handle what I deem to be more challenging items on their respective punch lists and a better utilization of their time and respective skills.

I'm a firm believer in not getting "something for nothing" especially when the skills are above my pay grade.

Submission + - GoDaddy still supports SOPA (techcrunch.com)

Submitted by blkwolf
blkwolf writes: The public statement that GoDaddy no longer supports SOPA was nothing but a PR move to keep people from leaving. They still wont change their position on supporting it, in the record of Congress.
Android

Submission + - Is Android really open? 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Dear Slashdot,

A few months ago, I bought myself an Asus Transformer Android tablet. One of the reasons was the freedom iOS doesn't offer, but after using it a few months, I have yet to experience that freedom.

When I first got the device, I couldn't help but notice how nothing was open-source. The firmware was closed-source, the pre-installed applications were closed-source, the operating system was closed-source. I couldn't tweak the user-interface like how I am used to in Linux with config files. I couldn't view system files in the file browser. The market prohibited me to download applications that were not fully compatible with my device or region. It was also impossible to download Market applications on my desktop. I couldn't get root access on my device because it wasn't rootable (according to XDA developers), so I couldn't for instance create a full backup or use the Market enabler.

And one of the biggest frustrations was not being able to just plug in a USB stick loaded with a (ARM-based) Linux live image. The first obstacle being the proprietary dock-connector on the Transformer, the second obstacle being the unrootable Android, the third obstacle being the closed firmware.

So I am asking you, is Android really open?
Android

Submission + - Galaxy S And Galaxy Tab Won't Get Android 4.0 (theverge.com)

Submitted by bonch
bonch writes: Samsung has announced that the Galaxy S smartphone, which sold 10 million last year, and the Galaxy Tab tablet won't be receiving the Android 4.0 update, known as 'Ice Cream Sandwich.' Samsung claims the devices lack enough RAM and ROM to run Android 4.0 alongside TouchWiz and other custom 'experience-enhancing' software. Note that the Galaxy S runs the same hardware as the Nexus S, which is already receiving the Android 4.0 update.
Games

Submission + - Game Developers Go Gaga Over Kindle Fire (industrygamers.com)

Submitted by donniebaseball23
donniebaseball23 writes: Amazon's entry into the tablets market has gone probably even better than they expected. And now the Kindle Fire is quickly becoming a viable games platform. Developers have come out in force to lavish praise on the Fire for its price and ease of use. “People are fired up about Fire because they know it's part of a service they already use and trust,” said Josh Tsui, president of Robomodo. “It becomes effortless to buy and use because it does not make them break their usual buying patterns. It enhances it.” Added Igor Pusenjak, president of Lima Sky: “In many ways, the best thing about Fire is that you barely feel it's an Android device. Amazon built its own closed-system OS on top of Android."
Bug

Submission + - Software bug caused Qantas Airbus A330 to nose-div

Submitted by
pdcull
pdcull writes: "According to this article, the Australian Transport Safety Board found that a software bug was responsible for a Qantas Airbus A330 nose-diving twice while at cruising altitude, injuring 12 people seriously and causing 39 to be taken to hospital.

The event, which happened three years ago, was found to be caused by an airspeed sensor malfunction, linked to a bug in an algorithm which 'translated the sensors' data into actions, where the flight control computer could put the plane into a nosedive using bad data from just one sensor.' A software updated was installed in November 2009, and the ATSB concluded that 'as a result of this redesign, passengers, crew and operators can be confident that the same type of accident will not reoccur.'

I can't help wondering just how could a piece of code, which presumable didn't test its' input data for validity before acting on it, become part of a modern jet's onboard software suit?"
Google

Submission + - Google Cancels Take-Your-Daughter-to-Gmail Day 1

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: The Washington Post's Elizabeth Flock managed to hold Google's feet to the fire and get an explanation of sorts for why it's making kids cry by disabling their Gmail accounts after years of use. Giving 12-year-olds access to Gmail — unless they are using Google Apps for Education accounts through their school — is proving to be as formidable a task for Google as making renewable energy cheaper than coal. But what about that viral 'Dear Sophie' commercial, asked Flock, in which a father creates a Gmail account for his baby daughter and uses it to send her photos, videos, and messages that chronicle her growing up? 'The implied understanding,' replied a Google spokesman, 'is that the girl in the story does not have access to the account, but that she will have access to it "someday"'.
Piracy

Submission + - SOPA creator in TV/Film/Music industry's pocket. (opensecrets.org) 1

Submitted by en4bz
en4bz writes: Representative Lamar Smith, the creator of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), has been consistently receiving donations averaging $50 000 from the TV/Film/Music industry for each of his re-election campaigns for the past ten years. Smith has received roughly half a million dollars from the TV/Film/Music lobby over the past ten years according to www.opensecrets.org. Check out the source link for a full breakdown of donors to Smith's campaigns.
Youtube

Submission + - Universal Censors News Podcast (google.com)

Submitted by Snaller
Snaller writes: Tech News Today does what the name says, its a podcast reporting on Tech news, Monday to Friday. They, like Slashdot, reported on the Megaupload vs Universal. But during the coverage they played a snippet of the Music video and immediate Universal Music Group had the news podcast yanked from Youtube.
Tech News Today has other outlets than Youtube, but should a music company have the right to have a news podcast removed on copyright grounds when its not even clear if said company has had any copyrights violated?

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