Joren - Slashdot User

More From Canonical Employee On: "Why Mir?" 337

Posted by Unknown Lamer on Tuesday March 12, 2013 @12:04AM from the not-invented-here dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Canonical Desktop and Mobile Engineer Christopher Halse Rogers explains in more detail the decision for Mir as apposed to Wayland. Although Halse Rogers 'was not involved in the original decision to create Mir,' he's had 'discussions with those who were.' 'We want something like Wayland, but different in almost all the details.' 'The upsides of doing our own thing — we can do exactly and only what we want, we can build an easily-testable codebase, we can use our own infrastructure, we don't have an additional layer of upstream review.' In a separate post Halse Rogers answer the question: Does this fragment the Linux graphics driver space?"

Instagram Loses Almost Half Its Daily Users In a Month 250

Posted by samzenpus on Monday January 14, 2013 @06:47PM from the here-we-go-again dept.

redletterdave writes "Instagram scared off a lot of users back in December when it decided to update its original Terms of Service for 2013. But even though the company reneged on its new terms after a week of solid backlash, Instagram users are still fleeing the photo-sharing app in droves. According to new app traffic data, Instagram has lost roughly half of all its active users in the month since proposing to change its original Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. In mid-December, Instagram boasted about 16.3 million daily active users; as of Jan. 14, Instagram only has about 7.6 million daily users." Towards the end of December data showing a 25% drop in Instagram's daily active users came out. While it caused quite a bit of discussion online, it was suggested that the decline was due to the Christmas holiday or an inaccuracy in the data.

Cree Introduces 200 Lumen/Watt Production Power LEDs 421

Posted by timothy on Saturday December 29, 2012 @11:48PM from the want-some-dagnabbit-super-lights dept.

ndverdo writes "Cree just announced production power LEDs reaching 200 lumen/watt. Approximately doubling the previous peak LED light efficiency, the new LEDs will require less cooling. This should enable the MK-R series to finally provide direct no-hassle replacements to popular form-factors such as MR-16 spots and incandescent lighting in general. The LEDs are sampling and it is stated that 'production quantities are available with standard lead times.'"

New York Paper Uses Public Records To Publish Gun-Owner Map 1232

Posted by timothy on Tuesday December 25, 2012 @11:17AM from the verified-no-gun-map-would-be-more-interesting dept.

New submitter Isaac-1 writes "First it was the sex offenders being mapped using public records, now it seems to be gun owners — I wonder who will be next? It seems a newspaper in New York has published an interactive map with the names and addresses of people with [handguns]." It's happened before: In 2007, Virginia's Roanoke Times raised the ire of many gun owners by publishing a database of Virginia's gun permit holders that it assembled based on public records inquiries. (The paper later withdrew that database.) Similarly, WRAL-TV in North Carolina published a database earlier this year with searchable map of (partially redacted) information about permit holders in that state, and Philadelphia made the news for a similar disclosure — complete with interactive map and addresses — of hundreds of gun permit applicants and holders.

Pakastani Politician Detained By US Customs Over Opposition To Drone Strikes 560

Posted by samzenpus on Sunday October 28, 2012 @01:40PM from the think-differently dept.

First time accepted submitter Serious Callers Only writes "According to reports, Imran Khan was detained yesterday by US officials for questioning on his views on United States drone strikes in Pakistan. Glenn Greenwald writing for the guardian: 'On Saturday, Khan boarded a flight from Canada to New York in order to appear at a fundraising lunch and other events. But before the flight could take off, U.S. immigration officials removed him from the plane and detained him for two hours, causing him to miss the flight. On Twitter, Khan reported that he was "interrogated on [his] views on drones" and then added: "My stance is known. Drone attacks must stop." He then defiantly noted: "Missed flight and sad to miss the Fundraising lunch in NY but nothing will change my stance."'"

Majority of Americans Think Obama Is Better Suited To Handle an Alien Invasion 305

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday June 27, 2012 @07:33PM from the lock-and-load dept.

Geoffrey.landis writes "At last, a public opinion poll that gets the opinions of ordinary Americans on the issues that matter! Apparently, two thirds of Americans polled think that Barack Obama is better suited to defend against an alien invasion than Mitt Romney, according to a survey from National Geographic Channel, done to tout their upcoming TV series 'chasing UFOs'. In follow-up questioning, Americans would rather call on the Hulk (21%) than either Batman (12%) or Spiderman (8%) to save the day. No word on which candidate is most fit to defend America against shambling hordes of undead seeking to destroy civilization in the zombie apocalypse (perhaps that will be brought out in the debates)." The real question of course is how Obama would handle Galactus.

Comment Re:Interesting methodology... (Score 1) 357

by Joren on Friday November 04, 2011 @05:20PM (#37952500) Attached to: Hardware Running Android Fails More Than iPhone, BlackBerry Hardware

So... what this study is telling me is that, if I want my phones to be considered reliable, I can just create a mobile operating system that's so confusing and has so many software problems, that any hardware calls I DO get will be dwarfed by the sheer quantity of calls from people stymied by crashing programs and bad interface designs, and will therefore have a lower percentage of hardware-related calls. I suppose it's too much to ask for something like support calls per thousand units sold, broken down by problem type?

And yes, the actual article uses percent of support calls made as the sole deciding factor to rank which platform is most unreliable. I'm beginning to understand why nobody reads the articles here... you really aren't missing much.

Comment Interesting methodology... (Score 1) 357

by Joren on Friday November 04, 2011 @05:14PM (#37952438) Attached to: Hardware Running Android Fails More Than iPhone, BlackBerry Hardware

So... what this study is telling me is that, if I want my phones to be considered reliable, I can just create a mobile operating system that's so confusing and has so many software problems, that any hardware calls I DO get will be dwarfed by the sheer quantity of calls from people stymied by crashing programs and bad interface designs, and will therefore have a lower percentage of hardware-related calls.

I suppose it's too much to ask for something like support calls per thousand units sold, broken down by problem type?

Hardware Running Android Fails More Than iPhone, BlackBerry Hardware 357

Posted by Soulskill on Friday November 04, 2011 @03:31PM from the almost-as-if-they-weren't-all-made-by-the-same-company dept.

hazytodd writes "Repairs to Android smartphones cost wireless carriers $2 billion per year according to a new year-long WDS study that tracked 600,000 support calls around the globe. Android's popularity and the introduction of a number of low-cost smartphones has put a strain on the wireless business model, WDS noted in its report. 'Deployment by more than 25 OEMs and lower-cost product coming to market is leading to higher than average rates of hardware failures and, in turn, return and repair costs.'"

Comment Formatting errors galore... (Score 1) 3

by Joren on Saturday October 22, 2011 @10:15PM (#37807502) Attached to: UMG uses DMCA to get Bad Lip Reading parody taken

Formatting errors galore...but I think you get the idea. If we are blessed by the presence of an editor, would you mind making the title say "taken down"? Thanks.

Submission + - UMG uses DMCA to get Bad Lip Reading parody taken 3

Submitted by

Joren

on Saturday October 22, 2011 @10:11PM

Joren writes: "Bad Lip Reading is an independent producer known for anonymously parodying music and political videos by redubbing them with his humorous attempts at lip-reading, such as Everybody Poops (Black Eyed Peas) and Trick the Bridesmaid (Obama). According to an interview in Rolling Stone , he creates entirely new music from scratch consisting of his bad lip readings, and then sets them to the original video, often altering the video for humorous effect and always posting a link to the original off which it is based. Although his efforts have won the respect of parody targets Michael Bublé and Michelle Bachman, not everyone has been pleased. Two days ago, UMG succeeded in getting his parody Dirty Spaceman taken down from YouTube, and despite BLR's efforts to appeal, in his words UMG essentially said "We don't care if you think it's fair use, we want it down." And YouTube killed it.So does this meet the definition of parody as a form of fair use? And if so, what recourse if any is available for artists who are caught in this situation? Are UMG's actions a justifiable attempt to defend their rights under the law, or should this be seen as an attempt to get content they don't like removed from the Internet?"

Comment Re:Silly. (Score 1) 247

by Joren on Tuesday September 27, 2011 @01:06PM (#37528212) Attached to: Returning Power From Electric Cars To the Grid

Only application that I can figure for this being anywhere remotely useful would be to use vehicles as generators when grid power is out

There was a documentary about this on NHK (Japanese broadcaster)... In the aftermath of the disaster in Japan, some of the victims were using electric cars as portable generators to power chargers for cell phones so that people could call home. There was even some kind of ad hoc relief organization set up around people bringing in EVs from outside in order to do this.

Mitsubishi has also released a device for its iMiev vehicle that allows homes to use power from the car. Nissan's Leaf also got a lot of press coverage because of a similar adapter they were developing (may be out now, I don't remember) - supposedly an electric vehicle at full charge can power a Japanese home for an entire day (including nonessentials like TV). This is also getting a lot of attention due to the power crises in Japan; the car can be used as a power source during peak hours and recharge while off-peak. Not sure how smart that is for battery life, though, nor do I know how they deal with the grid issues you mentioned. I imagine it would be similar to using a home solar panel as a supplemental source, which is becoming more common in Japan. Again, not sure what they do to interface with the grid, but I know they can sell power back to the grid as well as use it for themselves.

-- Joren

WordPress.org Hacked, Plugin Repository Compromised 110

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday June 22, 2011 @09:19AM from the ok-that's-kinda-scary dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Back in April hackers gained access to the WordPress.com servers and exposed passwords/API keys for Twitter and Facebook accounts. Now, hackers gained access to Wordpress.org and the plugin repository. Malicious code was found in several commits including popular plugins such as AddThis, WPtouch, or W3 Total Cache. Matt Mullenweg decided to force-reset all passwords on WordPress.org. This is a great reminder for all users not use the same password for two different services."

Libyan Rebels Weaponize Power Wheels Toys 310

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday June 15, 2011 @11:37AM from the play-time-is-over dept.

Danny Rathjens pointed out a story about the DIY weapons created by Libyan rebels. One of the more interesting is a machine gun drone created from a Power Wheels-style ATV. Rebels outfit the toys with a small cannon and attach controls via long wire. A solider can hide while he uses a small television and simple controls to move the vehicle and fire the gun. A similar system is also outfitted to a toy truck with a machine gun on top.

CIA Declassifies Pages From Their Cookbook 119

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday April 20, 2011 @11:49AM from the my-spell-checker-exploded dept.

AngryNick writes "The Washington Post reports today on the declassification of some of the CIA's oldest secrets: Do you want to open sealed envelopes without getting caught? According to one of the six oldest classified documents in possession of the Central Intelligence Agency: 'Mix 5 drams copper acetol arsenate. 3 ounces acetone and add 1 pint amyl alcohol (fusil-oil). Heat in water bath — steam rising will dissolve the sealing material of its mucilage, wax or oil.... Do not inhale fumes.'"

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