Comment He just proved them right. (Score 1, Insightful) 320
A police chief who wants to use the law to shut up those who criticize him. If this doesn't ring "police-state" alarm bells then I don't know what will. This chief should go.
Comment So what have we learned? (Score 1) 319
Build-in a kill switch for when your spyware hits the wrong machines.
Comment Anonymous trial? (Score 3, Interesting) 476
Following through after 'outing' seems a non-solution; you could still start cases you know you have a small (if any) chance of winning to 'out' someone.
My initial reaction actually was people cannot and should not expect anonymity on the internet, unless extreme measures are taken which often still do not guarantee anonymity 100%. Furthermore, it is not something people should want; if crimes are committed via internet or with assistance of it, then through proper procedures law-enforcement should be able to track culprits.
This however was not the case here, and so far I can see the only 'solution' would be to keep the identity of the accused anonymous during the trial and make it known only after a guilty verdict. This won't work, however, since often the daily life of the accused is relevant to the court proceedings; the accusing party has a right to be able to research what more the accused has been up to.
Perhaps an anonymous trial is only feasible for a small subset of charges. Don't see it happening though, this is probably just a necessary evil.
On a sidenote, if the charges are too ridiculous, any court would just dismiss the charges entirely without anyone being drawn out.
Comment Re:Self-incrimination becoming mandatory (Score 1) 554
That was my first thought too. In that light, can (couldn't) they still appeal, perhaps at an international court?
Comment Re:Yawn (Score 1) 222
Best standard to date, no?
Comment Re:Single card, Dual GPU (Score 1) 186
Two dual GPUs in SLI/Crossfire? Maybe?
Comment Re:Can you spell "MapReduce" Microsoft? (Score 1) 137
Not only MapReduce; the global description of the patent (input, partition, repartition, output) seems just to be a prehistoric version of partitioners like MeTiS, parkway, Mondriaan, Zoltan, etc.
Prior art in abondance.
Comment Re:Uhuh (Score 1) 500
Agree, but perhaps keeping track of user-accepted plugins in a (weakly) encoded file, would make bypassing an illegal act?
Comment WebDAV used much? (Score 2, Interesting) 114
Is Microsoft 'correct' in downplaying, in the sense that the particular vulnerable configuration mentioned is not used by many?
Comment Re:Don't use them (Score 1) 303
The alternative of answering those questions truthfully and thus keeping this facility useless, would render password-protected access useless; pick your poison.
Magnetic Portals Connect Sun and Earth 235
MaxwellEdison writes "Scientists have discovered evidence of magnetic portals connecting the Earth and the Sun every 8 minutes. 'Several speakers at the Workshop have outlined how FTEs form: On the dayside of Earth (the side closest to the sun), Earth's magnetic field presses against the sun's magnetic field. Approximately every eight minutes, the two fields briefly merge or "reconnect," forming a portal through which particles can flow. The portal takes the form of a magnetic cylinder about as wide as Earth. The European Space Agency's fleet of four Cluster spacecraft and NASA's five THEMIS probes have flown through and surrounded these cylinders, measuring their dimensions and sensing the particles that shoot through.'"
Windows Azure Offers Developers Iron-Clad Lock-in 227
snydeq writes "Microsoft's move to the cloud is certain to create a whole new kind of developer partner, Fatal Exception's Neil McAllister writes. But as much as Microsoft ISVs will likely go along with the shift to Windows Azure to keep revenue streams going, the kind of lock-in they will experience will be worlds away from what they face today. Rather than being able to ignore the new version of a key framework, developers will have no other option than to update their code to suit Microsoft's latest platform. That kind of lock-in will leave customers in the lurch, subject to their vendors' bottom lines, as ISVs that can't afford to rework code to keep up with Microsoft's latest platform will begin dropping services, and customers will have little choice but to accept the new terms of service their vendors send along."
