Frumious Wombat - Slashdot User

Submission + - Saudi oil production in trouble

Submitted by IamTheRealMike on Saturday March 03, 2007 @11:24AM

IamTheRealMike writes: As one of the worlds most prolific producers of oil, Saudi Arabian production is of vital importance to maintaining our standard of living in the west. A new analysis from Stuart Staniford appears to show large, fast declines in production throughout 2006 that are uncorrelated with price, world events or OPECs own announced production cuts (in fact, no evidence for those cuts occurring is found at all). Given that the apparent steep decline (8%/year) matches the rates seen in other areas where horizontal drilling and water injection were used, and high prices give the Kingdom every incentive to produce, is this the beginning of the end for Saudi oil?

Submission + - Symantec Releases Four Whitepapers Debunking Vista

Submitted by kfed on Saturday March 03, 2007 @10:07AM

kfed writes: Hot on the heals of research showing UAC in Vista could hide malware Symantec have now relesed four new whitepapers (two more to be released on Monday). The research is a mixture of high level fluff and more detailed technical analysis of certain technologies and their weaknesses. Symantec have given Vista mixed reviews, thumbs up in certain areas and down in others. If Symantec is engaging in competitive research one can only wonder what other MS competitors are up to.

Submission + - Conservapedia

Submitted by

Petra_von_Kant

on Saturday March 03, 2007 @01:52AM

Petra_von_Kant writes: "According to the Sydney Morning Herald via The Guardian News & Media, conservatives have set up a "christian and US-centric" version of Wikipedia. One of the complaints from the founders of the Conservapedia, was that "...... many Wikipedia articles often use British spelling instead of American English ....".

Bizarre ......."

Submission + - Patent application for Godly Powers

Submitted by

Orleron

on Friday March 02, 2007 @04:07PM

Orleron writes: "Christopher Roller of Burnsville, MN is apparently trying to corner the market on deific abilities. He has submitted a patent application for "Godly Powers". It can be found here. In yet another example of how the US Patent system is broken, this submission actually made it through the entire process for application issuance. How much farther could it go?"

Submission + - Gonzales denies Americans have habeas rights

Submitted by

TrumpetPower!

on Saturday January 20, 2007 @03:42PM

TrumpetPower! writes: "This past Thursday, in response to questioning by Senator Arlen Specter (R, PA), US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary committee that ``The Constitution doesn't say every individual in the United States or citizen is hereby granted or assured the right of habeas corpus. '' The exchange between Mr. Gonzales and Senator Specter has received virtually no attention from the press; Google News currently has all of a dozen or so stories. Habeas corpus is the right, in America guaranteed by Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution, which ensures that people are not unjustly imprisoned and tried."

Submission + - MacScan debuts Blacklisted Cookie Feature

Submitted by Leopard on Saturday January 20, 2007 @02:51PM

Leopard writes: Spyware for the Mac? As more people are 'switching' and more attention is being directed towards the security more holes are being discovered and more spyware applications are being developed. The anti-spyware program MacScan 2.3 adds a notable feature that allows the user to scan and remove tracking cookies without deleting all their saved cookies. The definitions are updated just like the spyware definitions. MacScan's spyware library consists of keystroke loggers, trojan horses, and dialers.

Submission + - Best Monitoring Applications for multiple platform

Submitted by on Saturday January 20, 2007 @02:33PM

An anonymous reader writes: I was wondering what people consider the best monitoring applications for a multi-platform environment. (Windows, OS X, Linux, Solaris). I'm looking for an Application that will page (Numeric and Alpha numeric), text message and email and also show graphical trends. I'm also looking for a monitoring application that allows personal scripts that I have created to be added to the list of items to be monitored. So far I have read about: 1)Hp OpenView 2) Big Brother

Submission + - Electric Solar Sail to Propel Spacecraft Cheaper

Submitted by

mairas

on Saturday January 20, 2007 @05:56AM

mairas writes: "The electric solar wind sail, or a large set of long, thin conducting wires set up radially like the spokes of the wheel, may yet provide a relatively simple way to set up extremely large solar wind sails: a solar-powered electron gun is used to create a high positive voltage in the wires. Positively charged solar wind particles see the electric fields of the charged wires as opaque obstructions, thus accelerating the spacecraft. The article states that small payloads could be sent to Pluto in less than five years using electric solar wind sails."

Submission + - Why isn't ReactOS gaining momentum?

Submitted by

CSMatt

on Saturday January 20, 2007 @04:09AM

CSMatt writes: "I find it puzzling and interesting that, given all of Microsoft's negligence on Windows, the community still doesn't seem to support ReactOS development near as much as the Linux distributions or even the BSDs. ReactOS could easily do to Windows what the GNU project did to UNIX, but it seems like it is constantly falling short of a suitable Windows alternative due to either a lack of developers or a lack of money. Yes, I know that it takes about a decade for the community to write a complete operating system, and it will probably take at least 15 years to write one as complex as Windows, but there still seems to be something that is slowing the project down. Is it disbelief that the final version will be able to provide compatibility with Vista or Vienna programs because ReactOS will inevitably have to play catch-up with Windows? Is it the idea that it would still be used only by hobbyists and free software advocates, even though it is possible that the low price of zero might woo OEMs into preinstalling it?"

Submission + - Australian likely to escape death for cannabis

Submitted by

tortilla

on Friday January 19, 2007 @11:53PM

tortilla writes: "AN Adelaide man is likely to escape execution after being arrested in Singapore allegedly in possession of 495g of cannabis, just 5g under the death penalty limit. Michael Karras, 38, was alleged to have had four slabs of a greenish matter in his flat when it was searched by officers of Singapore's Central Narcotics Bureau late last week. If found guilty, he faces between five and 20 years in jail and between five and 15 strokes of the cane. Under the city-state's tough drug laws, trafficking 500g of cannabis would be punishable by death. A Department of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said Mr Karras and his family in Australia were being provided consular assistance. Mr Karras's mother, Irene, said she could not discuss the charges levelled against her son. "You need to respect my wishes as a mother," she said from her Adelaide home. "It's a small community and I have to live here." Australian Van Tuong Nguyen was hanged in 2005 after his conviction for trafficking heroin, despite pleas for his life from John Howard and international human rights groups. Nguyen was caught three years earlier at Changi Airport carrying nearly 400g of the drug while in transit from Cambodia to his home in Melbourne. Singapore has regularly refused to buckle to international pressure on its legal system, not only turning down repeated requests for clemency in the Nguyen case, but also rejecting international appeals on other cases. The appropriateness of the death penalty is a taboo subject in Singapore, where executions receive little media attention. In 1994, the island nation caned American teenager Michael Fay, accused of vandalising cars, while in 1997 it sentenced a New Zealander to jail and caning for overstaying his visa and taking drugs. Probably the most controversial case was the 1994 execution of Filipina maid Flor Contemplacion, convicted of murder. Her death caused a diplomatic row between Singapore and The Philippines, but Singapore refused to budge. Amnesty International says Singapore has the highest rate of executions per capita in the world, hanging eight people last year. By Simon Hayes and Pia Akerman @ The Australian January 17, 2007 01:00am http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,21071250-2,00 .html?from=public_rss"

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