Acererak - Slashdot User

Submission + - World's oldest computer is even older than thought (newscientist.com)

Submitted by

Calopteryx

on Wednesday July 29, 2009 @11:52AM

Calopteryx writes: "A word in ancient Greek deciphered on a dial of the Antikythera mechanism — the world's first computer — suggests the device, the iPhone of the ancient world, may date to the early second century BC."

Submission + - Apple: iPhone Jailbreaking Could Hurt Cell Towers (wired.com) 1

Submitted by AHuxley on Wednesday July 29, 2009 @08:51AM

AHuxley writes: Apple notes nation's cellphone networks could be open to "potentially catastrophic" cyberattacks by iPhone-using hackers at home and abroad if iPhone owners are permitted to legally jailbreak their wireless devices.
The Copyright Office is considering a request by the Electronic Frontier Foundation to legalize the widespread practice of jailbreaking.
Apple feels that if the "baseband processor" software, which enables a connection to cell phone towers is exposed then a user could crash the tower software, or use the Exclusive Chip Identification number to make anonymously calls.
Apple feels its closed business model is what made the iPhone a success.
Costas Tsalikidis, the Greek telco (Vodafone) whistleblower did show what could be done within the Greek telco network but that was from within and he was later found hung.
What do slashdot readers think? Is Apple playing the "evil genius" hacker card or can "anyone" with a smartphone and a genius friend pop a US cell tower?

Submission + - The world's most toxic video game consoles (pcauthority.com.au)

Submitted by

SwiftyNifty

on Wednesday July 22, 2009 @03:29AM

SwiftyNifty writes: "Is the world's addiction to cheaper and more affordable gaming consoles ruining our environment? Greenpeace have cited Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo as among the worst environmental offenders, when it comes to using toxic materials in their manufacturing. According to Greenpeace, the world's most popular video game consoles are also among the world's most toxic. And the effects of these seemingly harmless materials on our bodies might not be so benevolent after all. Gamers might want to take note."

Submission + - WoW gamer earns Federal Investigation achievement.

Submitted by barnyjr on Sunday July 19, 2009 @04:53PM

barnyjr writes: A teenager could face federal charges after investigators say he made online threats to kill Americans on a plane from Indianapolis to Chicago. According to investigators, a monitor of the online interactive game World of Warcraft saw the alleged threats in an on-line chat and called Johnson County authorities. She told investigators the chatter didn't seem like a game. Full Story

Submission + - Evolution of Multiplayer Games and Online Play (gamerzunite.com)

Submitted by

Ranga14

on Friday July 10, 2009 @09:53PM

Ranga14 writes: "The recently announced Command & Conquer 4 seems to be following the same path of Blizzard's Starcraft 2 in having no Lan/offline multiplayer. They will require users to be logged in at all times to even be able to play any facet of the game. What will this mean for Lan Parties, Gaming Events and those who don't play online? Is this a sound business decision or do EA & Blizzard not get that this method of attempting to thwart piracy will fail like others have?"

Comment Re:1 GB/$, ouch (Score 1) 250

by Acererak on Monday April 21, 2008 @12:31PM (#23146090) Attached to: Western Digital's VelociRaptor 10K RPM SATA Drive

Well, Maximum PC took a look at RAID performance of the Velociraptor as compared to a RAID of Raptor X drives (and two SSD drives). Still, it's going to be hard to beat the $300 price/performance equation, even if you string a series of cheaper drives together.

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