Comment Re:also (Score 1) 249
Does this mean we can keep our shoeson at the airport now?
Comment Re:new user-interface is a bad idea and may slow d (Score 2) 534
You're missing the point. By introducing the ribbon UI to the Windows Explorer shell, it makes the UI more touch friendly, ala TABLETS. MS has had a tablet debacle on its hands for years now, and this iPad thing is shifting the market and killing a cash cow. They have to get into the tablet market, but they can't do it with a different OS.
That's why Windows Professional on ARM is so exciting to some (for app compat reasons) but the user experience with using a stylus on a Windows tablet still sucks balls if you ask the consumer buying public. To fix the UI, they've got to make the Windows Explorer shell touch friendly. They've spent a boat load of money on the ribbon, and the corpoate space is somewhat used to it, regardless of what many
I still love my iPad, it's the perfect couch top. But no Flash and certain vertical market websites used within my business make it hard for my company to adopt them as a laptop replacement for some user groups. If MS can kill the stylus and make a touch UI on top of the Windows Explorer shell that doesn't suck, they could have something. The harder part will be wowing over the consumer market, which seems to be driving tablets to the workplace in the first place. It's all about getting a Windows tablet on ARM that people wil want... We'll see if Windows 8 is that product or not.
Comment I've seen this play out already (Score 2) 520
When the iPod came out, we had tons of competitors trying to develop an MP3 player that would match its grace and simplicity. Now, we're looking at the iPad 2 jump on the market, and everyone else is running around trying to build a better tablet that matches it grace and simplicity. We're all talking about price point, but Apple has already shown that price point isn't the real truth here.... it's about getting the user experience for the end user right, and Apple's found one that the also-rans can't quite meet up to. I'm no Apple fanboi, but I've seen this story play out before. Am I wrong?
Comment Re:That virus will fail on Vista/7 (Score 1) 366
RWA2, I really like this example. It's instructional and non-destructive. This kind of example could be used in a simple scripting lesson earlier in the course regarding how simple software installation scripting works. I think you could defend this example against the "what were you thinking when you taught them this?" rhetoric (see above "DON'T DO IT. You'll get fired" thread).
Comment Re:Can't run in GT2 (Score 1) 196
Unless they have dealerships in place for 2011, they can't run in a GT class.
Assuming Green GT isn't going to have a model in the dealerships by 2011, then doesn't that mean they'll have to run in the LMP2 class against the Spyders, Acuras, and the Lolas?
Submission + - Masters or not? 2
mx12 writes: With the semester finishing up, I have been thinking about my education future. I am currently an undergrad in computer engineering and I am thinking about getting my masters. I have a year left in school, and most of my professors seem to think that getting a masters is a great idea, but I wanted to hear from people out in the working world. If I could get my masters paid for by the lab I work in, is a masters in computer engineering better than two years of experience at a company?
Thanks everyone!
Thanks everyone!
Comment You mean I almost survived... (Score 1) 1
a time in my life without listening to my floppy drive grind away at nothing?
Comment Re:Wrong focus (Score 1) 205
This previous post echoes the overall problem with trying to use Linux as a home/personal desktop system for the masses.
Server side, everything is close to ideal. There are thousand here who can tell you what's superior about Linux as a server OS (and do so every day).
On the desktop side, there's just something missing. Yes, I'm talking about pretty GUIs and driver support, but it's more about taking the desktop paradigm to the next level. Why has Linux clearly architected what so many of us believe is a better server platform, but not really wow'd the general populace on the desktop side? (I'm not talking to you who have used Linux as a desktop OS for many years and have learned to work around its limitations. I'm talking about the average Joe user.)
I've got 60,000 PCs 90% ready to take to some Linux desktop distro, but it's the last 10% where is where Microsoft is still superior that's holding me back. I haven't taken a look at Leonidas, and maybe I should, but the complaints in this thread talk about sound issues and Ext4 flaws that put Firefox config files in jeopardy.
When will the Linux community build a desktop distro that wows the pants off of average Joe user?
Submission + - AT&T has begun issuing RIAA takedown notices (cnet.com)
suraj.sun writes: AT&T, one of the nation's largest Internet service providers, confirmed on Tuesday the company is working with the recording industry to combat illegal file sharing.
At a digital music conference in Nashville, Jim Cicconi, a senior executive for AT&T told the audience that the ISP has begun issuing takedown notices to people accused of pirating music by the Recording Industry Association of America, according to one music industry insider who was present.
In December, the RIAA, the lobbying group of the four largest recording companies, announced the group would no longer pursue an antipiracy strategy that focused on suing individuals, but rather would seek the help of broadband providers to stem the flow of pirated content. The RIAA said an undisclosed number of ISPs had agreed to cooperate but declined to name them.
This is important because the RIAA has said that repeat offenders faced the possibility of losing service--at least temporarily--as part of the music industry's "graduated response" plan.
CNET News : http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10203799-93.html
At a digital music conference in Nashville, Jim Cicconi, a senior executive for AT&T told the audience that the ISP has begun issuing takedown notices to people accused of pirating music by the Recording Industry Association of America, according to one music industry insider who was present.
In December, the RIAA, the lobbying group of the four largest recording companies, announced the group would no longer pursue an antipiracy strategy that focused on suing individuals, but rather would seek the help of broadband providers to stem the flow of pirated content. The RIAA said an undisclosed number of ISPs had agreed to cooperate but declined to name them.
This is important because the RIAA has said that repeat offenders faced the possibility of losing service--at least temporarily--as part of the music industry's "graduated response" plan.
CNET News : http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10203799-93.html
Submission + - An Old Man with a Computer Science Degree 1
GrApHiX42 writes: I pissed away my 20's and now I want to go to school and get a bachelors degree in computer science. The thing is, I'll be 35 when I get out of school and I've read on numerous sites that there seems to be some ageism going on in the IT industry when it comes to older geeks. What have some of the "older" Slashdot readers experienced as far as being replaced or just plain not getting hired because IT is a "young mans game"?
Submission + - Google Voice fixes security flaw, almost (voxilla.com)
gardel writes: "Google appears to have fixed a significant security hole in its two-week-old Voice calling service though some vulnerabilities remain. Until about 7pm PDT Tuesday, an unauthorized party could use a SIP device to spoof a phone number attached to a Google Voice account to call the Google Voice number, giviing the spoofer access to greetings and voicemail, and the ability to make outbound calls, including expensive international calls. Though spoofing via SIP is no longer possible, continued existence of some vulnerability was still apparent Tuesday night. Voxilla was able to set the caller ID of a PBX extension to a mobile number attached to Google Voice account and call in, using a business VoIP trunk, to gain access. (Note: posted by a Voxilla editor)"
Microsoft Unveils Open Source Exploit Finder 310
Houston 2600 sends this excerpt from the Register about an open-source security assessment tool Microsoft presented at CanSecWest:
"Microsoft on Friday released an open-source program designed to streamline the labor-intensive process of identifying security vulnerabilities in software while it's still under development. As its name suggests, !exploitable Crash Analyzer (pronounced 'bang exploitable crash analyzer') combs through bugs that cause a program to seize up, and assesses the likelihood of them being exploited by attackers. Dan Kaminsky, a well-known security expert who also provides consulting services to Microsoft, hailed the release a 'game changer' because it provides a reliable way for developers to sort through thousands of bugs to identify the several dozen that pose the greatest risk."
BT Shows First Fiber-Optic Broadband Rollout Plans 119
MJackson writes "BT has revealed new details about the roll-out of its £1.5bn programme to deploy super fast fibre optic broadband to as many as 10 million UK homes (40%) by 2012. Scotland will become one of the first places to benefit from next-generation broadband services, with more than 34,000 homes and businesses in Edinburgh and Glasgow receiving speeds of up to 40Mbps and potentially 60Mbps from early next year (2010). Overall, BT Openreach, which is responsible for ensuring that all rival operators have equality of access to BT's local network, aims to deploy Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC) based next generation broadband services next summer (2010) to 500,000 homes and businesses in the UK."
TomTom Sues Microsoft For Patent Infringement 166
CWmike writes "GPS device maker TomTom has shot back at Microsoft with a claim of patent infringement, after the software giant raised concerns in the Linux community with a recent lawsuit against TomTom. In a suit filed earlier this week, TomTom alleges that Microsoft infringes on four patents in mapping software Microsoft Streets and Trips. TomTom is asking for triple damages for willful infringement, since it says it had notified Microsoft about its alleged infringement. Microsoft said it was reviewing TomTom's filing and that it remains committed to a licensing solution and has been for more than a year."
How Many Open Source Licenses Do You Need? 276
jammag writes "Bruce Perens, who wrote the original licensing rules for Open Source software in 1997, notes that there are a sprawling 73 open source licenses currently in existence. But he identifies an essential four — well, actually just two — that developers, companies, and individuals need. In essence, he cuts through the morass and shows developers, in particular, how to protect their work. (And yes, he favors GPL3 over GPL2.) For his own coding work, he's fond of the 'sharing with rules' license, which stays true to the Open Source ethos of shared code yet also enables him to get paid by companies who use it in their commercial products."
