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NASA

NASA Decides No Fix Needed for Endeavor's Tiles 209

bhmit1 writes "It looks like NASA is reporting that no repairs are needed for Endeavor. 'After meeting for five hours, mission managers opted Thursday night against any risky spacewalk repairs, after receiving the results of one final thermal test. The massive amount of data indicated Endeavor would suffer no serious structural damage during next week's re-entry. Their worry was not that Endeavor might be destroyed and its seven astronauts killed in a replay of the Columbia disaster — the gouge is too small to be catastrophic. They were concerned that the heat of re-entry could weaken the shuttle's aluminum frame at the damaged spot and result in lengthy post-flight repairs.'"
Security

Ubuntu Servers Hacked 330

An anonymous reader noted that "Ubuntu had to shutdown 5 of 8 production servers that are sponsored by Canonical, when they started attacking other systems. Canonical blames the community, saying they were community hosted, and were poorly maintained. However, kernel upgrades couldn't be done because of poor backwards compatibility with the very hardware that Canonical had sponsored! While people point fingers at each other it is pretty clear that both sides are equally to blame, the community administrators for practicing bad security practices, such as using unencrypted FTP transfers with accounts, not properly maintaining the system. However Canonical should have been well aware of what they are hosting. The question remains, if any of the files distributed to users have been compromised. A major blow for Canonical though who are attempting to enter the business market with Ubuntu Server."

Comment Re:Holy crap! People can see me? (Score 1) 109

Way to contribute to the very same problem you are complaining of being treated with (prejudice and irrelevant facts being taken into account).

Someone mod this guy up. If I had mod points to give you...I would give you all of them because you just served the parent thread his ass on a silver platter.

I can't agree with you more. They also will give an 18 year old female cheaper insurance than an 18 year old male because studies show males are more likely to have wrecks and speed. Did they ever think that maybe guys drive more often than females? Think about this, when you go out with your girlfriend or wife...Who drives more often? That's what I thought.

Operating Systems

Submission + - iPhone Not Compatible With any Windows 64 bit (engadget.com)

Mizled writes: "After buying a new iPhone yesterday and bringing it home to sync and activate it, I found out that Windows 64 bit is NOT supported. I get the message "The software required for iPhone is not installed. Run the iTunes installer to remove iTunes, then install iTunes again." I do a bit of research on the Apple forums and I found out I'm not the only one. Neither XP 64bit nor Vista 64bit works with the iPhone. Luckily, I do have a Windows XP SP2 32bit version installed on a computer so I can activate and sync my new phone. Some iPhone users are left with no way to activate their phone and use it due to only having 64bit Windows. I called the Apple support line and one of the support representatives said I needed to DOWNGRADE my computer from a 64bit Operating System because Apple will NOT be supporting 64bit Windows on the iPhone. Why should I have to downgrade from 64bit? Why can't they get with the times and upgrade their software to work and function properly? This article on Engadget talks about it briefly. I even spoke with several AT&T employees yesterday who stated the iPhone would be supported on any XP SP2 or Vista editions. I also made a post about my concerns on the Apple iPhone discussion forums which was then removed."
Music

Submission + - iTunes tracks embed all your personal account info

Jaknet writes: The BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6711215.stm today reported that the new DRM free music available from iTunes contains embedded within them the full name and account information, including e-mail address, of who bought them.

The BBC goes on to speculate... It suggested that this information could be an anti-piracy measure as it could help work out who was putting downloads on file-sharing sites. But it also added that the user information was found on all the tracks that people buy on iTunes whether free of DRM or not.

The BBC has contacted Apple seeking comment but so far the company has not responded.

Other websites said it was only a matter of time before a utility program was produced that which stripped out the identifying information. At this point it is not yet clear how deeply the user data is buried in the track or how easy it is to remove. Lets hope it's soon
Privacy

MySpace Age Verification - for Parents 391

unlametheweak writes "North Carolina is thinking of the children by passing a law requiring parents to verify they are parents before letting their children onto social networking sites. Notwithstanding the whole concept of an Internet ID for people in general; children are now being tracked by cellular phones with GPS, spied upon with Parent Controls (MS Vista has built-in parental spyware), and also strategically placed Nanny Cams, keyboard loggers, etc. 'Few of the proposals we've seen so far seem like good ways to [protect children], but North Carolina's approach at least has the virtue of novelty--unlike most video game legislation, which relies on similar rhetoric but has been almost universally struck down by the courts, sometimes at great cost to the states.' Is the zoo-like Minority Report world in which children are growing up in today doing more harm than good? How will this affect a 14 year old, much less a 17 year old "child"?"
Programming

Facebook Opens Pages to Outside Developers 76

prostoalex writes "Facebook is now allowing third-party developers to create pages within the site. Developers can use a combination of the Facebook API and a subset of HTML to create interactive pages accessible from within Facebook. Users retain complete control over which applications they want to have installed, and which applications they want to see on other people's profile. Developers can build on top of Facebook's social grid, and in case of a popular application gain distribution through Facebook newsfeed."
Enlightenment

Where Do You Get Your IT News? 85

whiggy asks: "I am a network admin in a small company with predominantly Windows systems, with minimal Linux exposure. I am attempting to organize myself in order to be more productive. Of course, one of the things on my list is to keep up with the latest technology trends. I have several sites in my bookmarks that I visit daily, but I am just curious what other good resources are out there. What are your favorite sites (or other resources) you get your morning news from? Which ones are the 'must haves'?"
Media (Apple)

Apple Sues Over iGasm Ads 342

funkeymonkeyman writes "Apple is less than pleased with an interesting new peripheral for the iPod which promises to 'take your appreciation of music to a whole new level.' Legal action has been taken against Ann Summers, the manufacturers of the new device, specifically for the similarity of the iGasm advertisements to the iconic iPod silhouette ads. The CEO of the adult retail chain replied to the threat cheerily, 'Perhaps I can send them an iGasm to put a smile back on their faces.'"
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft offers Vista upgrade pricing to all

SlinkySausage writes: "With a vague whif of desperation, Microsoft is offering anyone who downloaded one of the betas or release candidates of Vista upgrade pricing for the full version. The 'special' deal is a sweetener for the fact that the betas will start expiring and becoming non-functional from May 31st. APC Magazine in Australia writes: "Windows Vista is starting to look like those Persian rug stores which are always having a 'closing down' sale. 'Full' prices are set laughably high only to make you think you're getting an amazing discount, because no-one pays the marked price. All stock has been slashed, save $$$, why pay more?"
Bug

Vista Slow To Copy, Delete Files 494

Bruce Schneier has said that trying to make digital files uncopyable is like trying to make water not wet. With Vista, Microsoft seems to have done a pretty good job of making premium content files not copyable. Now a few readers have tipped us to a new wrinkle: Vista also makes it very, very slow to copy, rename, or delete ordinary files. Here is a Microsoft TechNet thread on the problem. The Reg reports that Microsoft has a hotfix for what sounds like a subset of the more general problem complained about on TechNet; but they will only give it to customers who ask nicely. And a hotfix is fussier to install than a proper patch.
The Media

Protests Move From the Streets To YouTube 156

weighn writes "One factor driving the move of political statements to YouTube, and away from old-style street protest, is that on the Internet the chances of being personally associated with a protest are lower. Mounting your political message online is also safer in countries where taking part in a protest can result in your death or injury at the hands of your country's army. We've seen how street protests and online polls alike are being shunted aside and ignored. What is the future for the common person who yearns to be heard?"
Privacy

Submission + - Death threats or freedom of speech?

magman writes: Kathy Sierra, author of several java books, posted on her blog about death threats and sexual harassment from several named "prominent" bloggers. Is it easier to cross the line between freedom of speech and harassment online than it is in real life?

"For the last four weeks, I've been getting death threat comments on this blog. But that's not what pushed me over the edge. What finally did it was some disturbing threats of violence and sex posted on two other blogs... blogs authored and/or owned by a group that includes prominent bloggers. People you've probably heard of. People like respected Cluetrain Manifesto co-author Chris Locke (aka Rageboy)."

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