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Comment Debian for servers (Score 2) 627

by SatiricComet (#44520703) Attached to: Your preferred Linux distribution for 2013?

Since I've given up on using Linux on the desktop, choosing Debian is pretty easy for me. Ubuntu Server doesn't provide me with any features that Debian stable does not, and I quite like the extremely conservative nature of Debian for my simple uses.

On the desktop, I would still prefer Ubuntu (or Xubuntu/Kubuntu/...), mostly just for being so extremely mainstream. If you need something stupid to work, be it binary blob drivers for graphics cards or experimental research projects, chances are someone decided to either package it directly for Ubuntu or they made a how-to specifically for Ubuntu. Distributions like Arch and Slackware provide this strangely satisfying experience of setting up your system exactly how you want it, but continually tweaking the system is a very addictive time sink.

Comment Re:My best windows admin tips come from *nix (Score 1) 503

by SatiricComet (#41720199) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Securing a Windows Laptop, For the Windows Newbie?

Yes, security is all about layers, but more layers wont matter at all, when what you're trying to protect is in the outer layers. In this case, the user data is all that anyone cares about. If you loose that, it doesn't matter. The extra layer will then save you from spending a couple of hours reinstalling Windows, assuming you trust the rest of the system to be clean? I wouldn't.

GP actually had pretty reasonable advice, but I guess it wouldn't be slashdot unless good advice was modded down in favor of folklore about swap partitions.
Microsoft

Windows 8 Mail Leaves Users Pining For the Desktop — or Even Their Phones 308

Posted by Soulskill from the you've-got-mail dept.
jbrodkin writes "The e-mail client in Windows 8 is the shell of a potentially good application — but Microsoft hasn't given it the proper care it deserves. With less than a month before Windows 8 hits RTM, Mail is a mess that doesn't support IMAP, can't connect to servers with self-signed certificates, and lacks basic features like flagging messages for followup. Metro Mail is feature-deficient compared not just to other desktop and tablet apps — it's behind Microsoft's own phone platform. Whether used on a tablet or desktop, this in-depth look concludes that Metro Mail in its current form will have users pining for a real desktop application."

Comment Define loudspeaker (Score 2) 135

by SatiricComet (#37834490) Attached to: Loudspeakers around my home:

You need to define what you mean by loudspeaker in the context. In the strictest sense, it could be any box with the sole purpose of reproducing sound. You could also interpret it as being any device with the purpose of producing sound given electrical input, in which case my laptop has two, my washing machine has one and every pair of headphones has two (more if it's one of those fancy 'surround' headphones).
Medicine

Human Brain Is Sensitive To Light In Ears 130

Posted by timothy from the also-to-the-name-of-the-devil dept.
vuo writes "Finnish researchers have shown that the human brain contains photoreceptors that react to intracranial illumination. Light is provided through the ear canal with bright-light headsets by Valkee. These devices, much like earphones or should we say 'earlumes,' are registered medical devices. Retinal illumination or bright-light therapy has been previously assumed to be the only way light indirectly affects brains. Light therapy helps with mood swings, seasonal affective disorder, jetlag and other circadian rhythm disruptions."

$500,000 Worth of Bitcoins Stolen 622

Posted by CmdrTaco from the good-luck-with-that dept.
olsmeister writes "A Bitcoin user allegedly has had $500,000 worth of Bitcoins stolen from him. A hacker supposedly gained access to the user's home computer and managed to get the user's wallet.dat file, which contained the cryptographic keys that allowed him to drain the user's balance."
Cloud

Google Asks 'Who Cares Where Your Data Is?' 241

Posted by timothy from the dumbwaiter-for-bits dept.
mask.of.sanity writes "The chief security officer for Google Apps, Eran Feigenbaum, said popular concerns over data sovereignty in outsourced environments are unwarranted. He said businesses should worry about security and privacy of data, rather than where it is stored. The comments clash with those made by IT pros including Gartner, who said cloud providers like Google can't be trusted with sensitive data."
Censorship

Fedora Project Drops SQLNinja 'Hacker' Tool 159

Posted by kdawson from the dual-use dept.
simonb writes, "In what can only be described as a fit of insanity, the Fedora Board have declared a 'hacker tool' not fit for entry into their software repositories. Today your SQL injection tools, tomorrow your nmap?" The Register links the Fedora board's meeting minutes. From the story: "The move came on Monday in a unanimous vote by the Fedora Project's board of directors rejecting a request that SQLNinja be added to the archive of open-source applications. It came even as a long list of other hacker tools are included in the bundle and was harshly criticized by some security watchers. 'It seems incredibly short sighted to reject software based on perceived legal usage,' said Jacob Appelbaum, a full-time programmer for the Tor Project. 'They have decided to become judges of likely usage based on their own experience. That is a path of madness.' ... [T]he board unanimously decided to add a new statement to Fedora's legal guidelines concerning the inclusion of hacking tools. ... Smith said the language is intended to clarify its stance on a class of software that can be used both to secure and penetrate protected networks."

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