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Windows

Future Holds Large Updates Instead of Stand-Alone Windows Releases 199

Posted by samzenpus from the new-way-of-doing-things dept.
jones_supa writes: Jerry Nixon, a Microsoft developer evangelist, said at the Ignite conference in Chicago that Windows 10 "is the last version of Windows, so we're always working on Windows 10." Saying that is only half true. In fact, Microsoft will start working on large updates instead of stand-alone Windows releases, so the company would switch from a model that previously brought us new versions of Windows every three years, to a simpler one that's likely to bring big updates every two months. The company will also change the naming system for Windows, so instead of Windows $(version), the new operating system would be simply called Windows.
Mars

Submission + - Curiosity Scrubs a Mars Rock Clean (discovery.com)

Submitted by
astroengine
astroengine writes: "NASA's newest rover on Mars has recently used its Dust Removal Tool for the first time, clearing away a patch of rust-colored dust coating its latest target: a slab of rock called "Ekwir_1." The Dust Removal Tool, or DRT (yes, the rover's cleaning instrument is called "dirt") is a motorized brush with stainless steel wire bristles located on Curiosity's multipurpose Robotic Arm turret — a veritable Swiss Army knife of planetary exploration tools."
Blackberry

Submission + - The BlackBerry typo that landed a man in jail (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by
Barence
Barence writes: "A British man was jailed for 18 months for accidentally sending an explicit text message to his entire address book.

24-year-old swimming coach, Craig Evans, intended to send a text message to his girlfriend asking her for sex. Instead, the message was accidentally sent to his entire BlackBerry address book, including two girls, aged 13 and 14, from his swimming class.

He was subsequently arrested and charged with “causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity”, and – incredibly – jailed for 18 months at Birmingham Crown Court in July. Yesterday, an appeal's court freed Evans, although he wasn't cleared — the sentence was merely reduced to a nine-month suspended jail term."

Comment Re:US gov't insurance (Score 1) 173

by InspectorGadget (#37307330) Attached to: Floating Houses Designed For Low-Lying Countries

That doesn't seem to stop people in the UK building in flood plains. I think you'll find people will keep on building in risky areas, accept the financial hit in case of a flood, and keep an eye on extreme weather warnings.
After all, properties built in such areas will be cheaper as a result.
But then bricks & mortar houses don't tend to float away in floods.
United States

Submission + - How to Make Science Popular Again?

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Ars Technica has an interesting look at the recent book Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future, a collaboration between Chris Mooney, writer and author of The Republican War on Science, and scientist Sheril Kirshenbaum. While it seems the book's substance is somewhat lacking it raises an interesting point; how can science be better integrated with mainstream culture for greater understanding and acceptance? "We must all rally toward a single goal: without sacrificing the growth of knowledge or scientific innovation, we must invest in a sweeping project to make science relevant to the whole of America's citizenry. We recognize there are many heroes out there already toiling toward this end and launching promising initiatives, ranging from the Year of Science to the World Science Festival to ScienceDebate. But what we need--and currently lack--is the systematic acceptance of the idea that these actions are integral parts of the job description of scientists themselves. Not just their delegates, or surrogates, in the media or the classrooms."
Handhelds

Pandora Console Ready For Pre-Orders 309

Posted by kdawson from the thinking-outside-pandora's-box dept.
Croakyvoice writes "Finally, months after the official announcement, 3,000 lucky people can now pre-order Pandora, possibly the world's fastest handheld console. It boasts a processor capable of up to 900 MHZ, PowerVR 3D graphics, a large 800x480 LCD touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB, dual SD card slots, TV out, dual analogue and digital controls, a clamshell DS Lite-style shape, and a 43-button mini keyboard. The console already boasts an amazing amount of ready-for-release software such as Ubuntu and many full-speed emulators for systems such as Snes, Amiga, Megadrive, and many more that are not publicly announced yet. The console is as powerful as the original Xbox and on a par with the Nintendo Wii. Those interested should visit OpenPandora.Org. For the full history of Pandora from inception until the present, check out the Pandora Homebrew Site."
Microsoft

Microsoft Responds to EU With Another Question 545

Posted by Zonk from the dismantling-from-the-ground-up dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft has responded to the latest round of EU requests by asking how much the EU thinks they should charge for Windows Server Protocols. The EU has stated the Microsoft should charge based on 'innovation, not patentability' and that they have 'examined 160 Microsoft claims to patented technologies' concluding 'only four may only deserve to claim a limited degree of innovation.' The EU is also starting to discuss structural remedies as opposed to the behavioral remedies they are currently enforcing. At what point has/will the EU overstepped its bounds?"

Feed U.S. Balks at Climate Talks (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
All delegates agree on the critical need to cut emissions, but the United States still worries about its economy and the contributions from developing countries. By the Associated Press.


Handhelds

Submission + - Legislators Ponder BlackBerry Pileups

Submitted by
WSJdpatton
WSJdpatton writes: "During the morning rush hour on Dec. 5, the driver of a blue Dodge Caravan was traveling north on Interstate 5 outside Seattle when he took his eyes off the road to scan an email on his BlackBerry, the State Patrol says. And that's how he hit the white Mazda, which clipped the green Honda, which rammed the black Toyota SUV before spinning into the other lane and plowing into a city bus. Nobody was seriously hurt. But the episode sparked a chain reaction of a different sort in the state legislature, in the form of a bill that would make it a crime to "operate a motor vehicle while reading, writing or sending electronic messages."
Forget DWI. The big new traffic-safety issue is DWT: driving while texting. As electronic devices become ever more important in people's lives, lawmakers are wrestling with a whole new class of modern "distracted driving" issues."
Windows

Submission + - Windows Vista keygen is a hoax

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: The author of the Windows Vista keygen that was reported yesterday on Slashdot has admitted that the program does not actually work. Here is the initial announcement of the original release of the keygen, and here is the followup post in which the same author acknowledges that the program is fake. Apparently, the keygen program does legitimately attack Windows Vista keys via brute force, but the chances of success are too low for this to be a practical method. Quote from the author: "everyone who said they got a key a probably lying or mistaken!"

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