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Comment Re:So fine them money they already didn't spend? (Score 5, Informative) 46

I actually read some of the complaint. Surprisingly, it has nothing to do with the fact that they only offer unencrypted WiFi. It's the fact that they actually lied to consumers, saying they use "industry standard practices" to protect customers' privacy, but actually do nothing of the sort. In fact, their level of incompetence seems impressive.

Here are some of the salient details from the giant list of Wyndham security screwups (ellipses and emphases mine)

a. failed to use ... firewalls
b. allowed ... storage of payment card information in clear readable text;
...
d. ... permitted Wyndham-branded hotels to connect insecure servers to the ... network, including servers using outdated operating systems that could not receive security updates or to address known security vulnerabilities;
e. allowed ... well-known default user IDs and passwords ... easily available to hackers through simple Internet searches;
f. ... did not require the use of complex passwords for to ... property management systems ... Defendants used the phrase “micros” as both the user ID and the password;
g. failed to adequately inventory computers connected to the ... network;
h. failed to ... conduct security investigations;
i. failed to ... monitor ... network for malware used in a previous intrusion; and
j. failed to adequately restrict third-party vendors’ access to ... property management systems ...

Comment Re:Clearly... (Score 1) 367

There is a protocol for that now: it's called WebSockets. Sure, the protocol will be useful for other stuff too, but I can definitely see UI being one major use.

So, once WebSockets support starts to gain traction with developers (browser makers are already doing a pretty good job of supporting the draft specs), mark my words: the UI frameworks will come. I'd start building it now if I had the time.

Comment Re:Which is why... (Score 1) 286

I very much doubt that Canon law and Vatican law have anything to do with one another. Canon law governs the Church and all Catholics, not the Vatican state. The Church is distinct from and exists independent of the Vatican state, although it is physically seated there.

Now, the Vatican state law may or may not reference Canon law; I wouldn't know.

Comment Re:The purpose of confession, to the cynical (Score 1) 286

Thus the purpose of confession is so that the Church has the goods on everybody in the community.

This is such a load of rubbish, it's a crying shame that you got modded to +5 Insightful.

You can think what you will about the usefulness of confession, but you should find out what you're talking about before you show off your ignorance.

The fact of the matter is that if we Catholics had anything to fear after going to confession, we wouldn't do it. We're not as dumb as you seem to think.

You see, priests are not allowed to act on specific information they receive in confession in any way, so they don't. I have zero fear after I've gone to confession that the priest will reveal my sins to anyone. In fact, he's not even allowed to mention my own sins to me outside of confession. For that reason, most priests actively try to forget everything they've heard in the confessional.

But just in case you're uncomfortable (bearing your soul can be embarrassing), there's almost always an option to go to confession with a screen between you and the priest. You and the priest can't even see each other. So, unless you know the priest really well, he's going to have no idea who you are.

And, in conclusion: if a priest ever did break the seal of confession, his bishop would basically crush him to dust.

Google

Submission + - Apple Finally Approves Google+ App For iPhone (computerworld.com)

CWmike writes: "Apple approved the Google+ app for the iPhone on Tuesday, and posted it to the App Store. Only an iPhone version of Google+ was available. It's unclear whether Google has created an iPad-specific app. Still, the app may not be available to everyone immediately, said Vic Gundotra on Google+, who heads Google's social division. Two weeks ago, a Google employee said that the company had submitted Google+ to the App Store. 'The Google+ iPhone app has been submitted to the App Store (no not today, sometime prior to today) and is awaiting approval,' said Erica Joy on July 4. According to that timeline, Google's app took twice as long as the vast bulk of submitted apps to win Apple's approval."

Comment Re:Steam-punk appeal (Score 1) 505

In my experience, yuppie guys in the 25-35 range love analog wristwatches, and it has nothing to do with having a "novelty from a bygone era." Being in that demographic myself, I think it's ultimately about being a manly man. (And frankly, I think the analog wristwatch is a quintessentially manly sort of thing.)

What man doesn't like a simple accessory that is both functional and stylish? I love having an analog wristwatch because I know what time it is no matter where I go, and I don't have to look around like an idiot wondering where the clock is. I look in the same place every time, and I get the answer every time in half a second flat (no fumbling around with my smartphone required).

Furthermore, having an analog wristwatch says to the people around you, "I want to be taken seriously." As a professional, I think that's an important message to send, and you just can't send that message while wearing your Timex Ironman.

Besides, every girl's crazy about a sharp-dressed man, and wearing a classy watch makes a man look extra sharp.

Comment Whiskeys (Score 1) 722

I used to give my boxes human names that I liked (like "Peter" and "Vincent"), but lately I've decided to start naming them after whiskeys. I started with "wild-turkey". Next up:
crown-royal
bulleitt
knob-creek

Comment Bad Summary (Score 1) 11

The summary misquotes the original article as about drinking and polygamy. The original is about drinking and polygyny. The difference being that "polygamy" is having multiple spouses, while "polygyny" is having multiple wives. Contrast with "polyandry", which is having multiple husbands.

--Baile

Comment Re:TFA About Reading-Disabled Students (Score 2, Interesting) 630

TTS is not the same as an audiobook performance, nor does it have that possibility any time soon.

For many intents and purposes, TTS *is* the same as an audiobook. Nobody really believes that TTS is actually copyright infringement; not even the folks in the book industry. They just know that eBook + TTS will compete with their audiobook offerings for the people who like to, say, listen to a book while they drive. Crying "copyright infringement!" is just the most convenient tool at their disposal to protect their bottom line. Now, I'm not saying that I'd be satisfied with a robotic voice croaking out the text of my book, but when faced with a choice between re-buying your content in audiobook format and letting HAL read to you for no additional cost, a lot of people will put up with HAL.

Biotech

Louisiana Rep. Preps State Bill Banning Human-Animal Hybrids 422

mikeljnola writes with an excerpt from NOLA.com that says state senator Danny Martiny (R-Kenner) will introduce a bill to the Louisiana legislature on April 27 to "'make it illegal to "create or attempt to create a human-animal hybrid, ... transfer or attempt to transfer a human embryo into a non-human womb ... (or) transfer or attempt to transfer a non-human embryo into a human womb."' With budget cuts all around, our struggling state is concerned with the eminent danger of human-animal hybrids. The upside is that the odds of the Louisiana becoming the Bayous of Dr. Boudreaux are now even slimmer."
Biotech

Cracking the Code of Bacterial Communication 58

TEDChris writes "Microbiologist Bonnie Bassler explains her discovery of 'quorum sensing' — the amazing ability of bacteria to communicate with each other and coordinate attack strategies (video). By cracking the communication code, she has opened up potential for a new class of drugs tackling microbial diseases. The talk got a massive standing ovation at this year's TED and has just been posted. To quote one commenter: 'This is by far the most inspiring, amazing, and far-reaching talk I've seen in a very long time.'"
Image

Slashdot's Disagree Mail 126

Usually persistence is an admirable quality. There comes a time however when you reach that fine line between endeavoring to persevere, and drunk dialing your ex-girlfriend. The mail this week is from people who don't know when to say when. You have to admire their determination and feel a little bit bad that they don't have anything else to do. Read below to see how many times someone can click send in a day.
Communications

EA Forum Ban Will Now Mean EA Game Ban 549

An anonymous reader writes "A post on the EA Support Forums from APOC, online community manager for Electronic Arts, outlines a new policy for their new forums, saying users who earn a ban based on their behavior in the forums will be locked out of all of the EA games tied to that account: 'Well, its actually going to be a bit nastier for those who get banned. Your forum account will be directly tied to your Master EA Account, so if we ban you on the forums, you would be banned from the game as well since the login process is the same. And you'd actually be banned from your other EA games as well since it's all tied to your account. So if you have SPORE and Red Alert 3 and you get yourself banned on our forums or in-game, well, your SPORE account would be banned to. It's all one in the same, so I strongly recommend people play nice and act mature. All in all, we expect people to come on here and abide by our ToS. We hate banning people, it makes our lives a lot tougher, but it's what we have to do.'" Update: 10/31 12:36 GMT by T : Not so! Pandanapper writes "After a flood of complaints the EA community moderator APOC corrects his statement about how banning you from the forums bans you from your game access as well:"That said, the previous statement I made recently (that's being quoted on the blogs) was inaccurate and a mistake on my part. I had a misunderstanding with regards to our new upcoming forums and website and never meant to infer that if we ban or suspend you on the forums, you would be banned in-game as well. This is not correct, my mistake, my bad."

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