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Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Using Google Voice with a US number while traveling in Europe?

Submitted by RyogaHibiki
RyogaHibiki writes: I will be in Europe (Germany, specifically) for 3 weeks later this month. I live a very connected life and need to make sure I'm reachable while abroad. I currently rely on Google Voice for all my communications (it is my main number, I never give out / use my actual cell phone number). I'd like to continue to send/receive calls and text messages while in Germany with the minimum of cost. I don't mind if it's a bit of a hassle to set up or if there are some minor costs involved, but keeping my current number for communication is vital.

I've done some leg-work already, so I'll share what I've researched / decided so far:

1) I'm with T-Mobile for my carrier in the US International roaming is not an option due to cost
2) I just put in a request to unlock my phone, I have an HTC MyTouch 4G Slide
3) T-Mobile in Germany has "Xtra Triple" for 20 Euros (10 for the setup, 10/month) — A SIM card that should work in my phone and would give me a local number in Germany with SMS and Data
4) Google Voice doesn't allow International Roaming, so I've been looking at various forwarding options

I'd love to get suggestions and hear about any experiences anyone has with a similar setup. Thanks, Slashdot!
Google

Submission + - Android Rules Smartphones, But Which Version? (slashdot.org)

Submitted by
Nerval's Lobster
Nerval's Lobster writes: "Google Android’s dominance of the smartphone space has been reinforced by a new IDC study that places its market-share at 68.3 percent, well ahead of iOS at 18.8 percent. But which version of Android is most preferred by users? A new set of graphs on the Android Developers Website offers the answer to that question: “Gingerbread,” or Android versions 2.3 through 2.3.7, dominates with 50.8 percent of the Android pie. “Ice Cream Sandwich,” or versions 4.0.3 through 4.0.4, is second with 27.5 percent, with the latest “Jelly Bean” build at 6.7 percent. As demonstrated by that graph on the Android Developers Website, there are a lot of devices running a lot of different versions of Android out there in the ecosystem, all with different capabilities. In turn, that could make it difficult for Google to deliver “the latest and greatest” to any customer that wants it, and potentially irritates those customers who buy a smartphone (particularly a high-end one) expecting regular upgrades."

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Literature for memory management?

Submitted by keepsimple
keepsimple writes: I am working on a new database system that needs its own memory management sub-system. I started with simple fixed-block memory management and working on an improvement. While I went back to my old books and googled the web, I felt that there must be some newly published methods and results in recent years in the area of memory management. Can you guys recommend some books or papers that cover the state-of-art in memory management?
Hardware

Submission + - New super-elastic form of graphene promises 'flexi-electronics' (nature.com)

Submitted by
ananyo
ananyo writes: "It can support 50,000 times its own weight, springs back into shape after being compressed by up to 80% and has a density much lower than most comparable metal-based materials. A new superelastic, three-dimensional form of graphene can even conduct electricity, paving the way for flexible electronics.
The researchers adapted an industrial technique called freeze casting to nano-sized flakes of carbon up to 1-centimetre high graphene blocks. The researchers attribute the new graphene's properties to its structure: the individual graphene sheets are neatly aligned, forming an ordered network of hexagonal pores (abstract)."
Google

Submission + - Movie Studios Ask Google To Censor Links To Legal Copies Of Their Films

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Several large movie studios have asked Google to take down legitimate pages related to their own films, including sites legally hosting, promoting, or discussing them. We’ve written about the ridiculousness of automated Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) requests before, including Microsoft asking Google to censor BBC, CBS, CNN, Wikipedia, the US government, and even its own Bing links, but this latest episode takes the cake.

Comment Start simple (Score 2) 361

by ripvlan (#41941529) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Which Virtual Machine Software For a Beginner?

I've used many. I started with MS Virtual Server 2005 because it could create shared storage, which I needed to experiment with MS Clustering. Our corp IT infrastructure is VMware ESX/vSphere/vCloud, and now I use VMware Desktop for my local stuff. But on my office machine money isn't a concern, I have the "Ultimate" MSDN license.

At home, where money does matter, I use VirtualBox. I find it very easy to use, great UI, and has all of the features one needs. It has a virtual network - but I haven't used it yet. I use virtual networking in VMware to simulate different LAN configs, mostly to play around...I'm a software Dev...not IT.

My recommendation... Start with VirtualBox and learn the concepts. It is easy to setup, has all of the features you probably need, and has reasonable documentation. It also seems to be compatible with both the outside equipment/OS, and hosts everything inside that I've ever tried (including Win8). I think you'll spend less time farting around with silly stuff and be able to have success quickly.

Then if you want to try a bare metal config, I suggest looking at VMware ESX...it is free for a single machine, and its the real deal. It is well documented, both by VMware and the fanboy clubs ;-). It is complex, so there is a lot of doc to read and get started. And as others have pointed out, it has hardware requirements.

You can be reading up while enjoying VirtualBox.

Also, I suggest learning about iSCSI. There may be times that you need shared storage. I keep a vm running Windows 2008 as my storage machine. It is simple. Remember, I'm just experimenting with different things, so quick and easy is what I'm looking for. In real life we have a NetApp.

Have fun.

Comment Is it the device? (Score 1) 4

by ripvlan (#41721407) Attached to: What causes degradation of wireless signals over time?
I've had a similar experience.  However, I have also moved into a new place.... and bought more furniture, drapes, wall hangings etc over the years.    And more electronic devices such as wifi enabled tv, blueray, iPad, appletv, AirPlay devices.  And I'm sure my neighbors have too.

Is it (more) possible that your airspace is getting polluted?  And the replacement models are simply better/more powerful?

I know when I bought my iPad this year, my network went into vapor lock until I moved some devices to 5ghz and others onto 2.5.  My dell laptop has never recovered and still suffers poor connections even though the router is now 12ft away. Although, I also think the dell may be suffering general cancer and will die soon (eSATA port died and random BSODs claims USB port driver in dump...which wifi is prob also on)

Comment Always have an install package (Score 1) 288

by ripvlan (#41438401) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Should Developers Install Their Software Themselves?
There should always be an installation package.  Not having instructions, or allowing the developer to hand-install stuff, leads to all kinds of problems (inconsistencies for instance, i.e. no two systems the same).

Another reason - simple scalability of a business.  The installation must get to a point where it can be handed off to somebody else.

Installation and deployment generally doesn't get the respect it needs.  Imagine buying an app for your phone - and somebody handed you a long text document detailing the 5 libraries that you needed to install first, and then they needed to make a few hand-patch configuration changes to the device?  That wouldn't be acceptable - Enterprise software should be just as easy to install as consumer products.  Customers see value in this and the installation tends to be the first encounter with your product and can set the tone for the relationship.

Somebody else posted something about dogfooding.   Yes - engineers must know how "hard" it is to use the product (whether it be installation or usability).  However, the engineers cannot be the ones responsible for installation.

Exception to the rule:  brand new proof of concepts being delivered to the "partner" customer.  By the time the "second" partner install comes up - there needs to be an installation package.  I work for a large company and I generally cannot touch a customer system - so everything must be packaged and handed off.

In my line - the installation is easy.  It is the configuration that is extremely complex.  Although it doesn't require an engineer, it does require an "expert."   But this too should be as easy as possible.

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