Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror

Comment Perspectives (Score 1) 322

by ay2b (#27263129) Attached to: Making Sense of Mismatched Certificates?

There's a FireFox plugin called "Perspectives" which is designed to deal with this sort of thing. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~perspectives/ Basically what Perspectives does is fill in when FF decides that a cert doesn't match. Perspectives then contacts a bunch of other hosts to check the certificate. If the cert is the same as everyone else sees, and hasn't changed in a "long time", then the assumption is that the cert is valid, even if it's self-signed, or doesn't match. Read the perspectives site for more details. (I am not affiliated with this plugin, but I do use it and like it.)

Comment Write to him (Score 1) 597

by ay2b (#27071631) Attached to: Calif. Politican Thinks Blurred Online Maps Would Deter Terrorists
When politicians make bad recommendations like this, one of the best things you can do is contact them and let them know. Also contact your local representative and let them know. If you are in said politician's district, tell them you will be voting against them when they come up for reelection; if you are not in their district, tell them you'll be donating to their opponent. Be polite and to the point. Let them know why you do not support their recommendation.

A quick search for "California Assemblyman Joel Anderson" shows that he represents the 77th district, which is south and east of San Diego. He can be reached at his district office at:

500 Fesler Street, Suite 201
El Cajon, CA 92020
(619) 441-2322

Comment Foods that begin with "Q" (Score 1) 1397

by ay2b (#26702381) Attached to: Why Do We Name Servers the Way We Do?

The first computer that I named, I named "quiche", based on the old saying "Real Programmers don't eat quiche." After that, I developed the naming scheme of "foods that begin with the letter 'Q'". This may seem rather limiting, but you'd be surprised at how many names there are:
    quiche, quail, quesadilla, quince, quahog (I have a list of a several more, somewhere...)

I eventually decided to relax my naming scheme slightly, and added some other "food related" words:
    quaff, quinine

For devices, I decided to go with more descriptive names:
    My printer is "quill".
    My firewall is "quisling" (Quisling was a person in WWII who pretended to be on one side, but was controlled by the other).
    My cell phone is "quetzel" (quetzel is a bird with colorful plumage -- I first got my cell phone just for show).

For a different set of machines, I decided to go with names of vehicles from Halo: ghost, scorpion, warthog, banshee

My favorite naming scheme from a lab back in college was names of Muppets.
GNU is Not Unix

Submission + - First U.S. GPL Lawsuit Heads for Quick Settlement 1

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: The first U.S. GPL-related lawsuit appears to be headed for a quick out-of-court settlement. Monsoon Multimedia admitted today that it had violated the GPLv2 (GNU General Public License version 2), and said it will release its modified BusyBox code in full compliance with the license. Monsoon Multimedia has stated that it is currently in settlement negotiations with the BusyBox project to resolve the matter without going to court. The product at the heart of the lawsuit, filed by SFLC, is the Hava, a place- and time-shifting TV recorder that is based on Linux and includes BusyBox in its embedded software stack.
Businesses

Submission + - Programmers and overtime

Submitted by Maximum Prophet
Maximum Prophet writes: Programmers and System Administrators typically don't get overtime. Here's and article about a lawyer who's challanging that:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20908975/

From the 2nd page:

Computer workers of various stripes, for example, have commonly not been paid for their extra hours. ... But under California law, the exemption applies only for workers whose primary function involves "the exercise of discretion and independent judgment." In numerous lawsuits, Thierman and other plaintiffs' attorneys have alleged that legions of systems engineers, help desk staff, and customer service personnel do no such thing. Of programmers, Thierman says, "Yes, they get to pick whatever code they want to write, but they don't tell you what the program does.... All they do is implement someone else's desires."
The takeaway: Everyone start recording your hours now. Even if you don't sue, someone else might, and documentation about your overtime will go a long way. towards getting your piece of the pie.
Space

Submission + - New Theory Explains Periodic Mass Extinctions

Submitted by i_like_spam
i_like_spam writes: The theory that the dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid impact, the K-T extinction, is well known and supported by fossil and geological evidence. Asteroid impact theory does not apply to the other fluctuations in biodiversity, however, which follow an approximate 62 million-year cycle. As reported in Science news, a new theory seems to explain periodic mass extinctions. The new theory found that oscillations in the Sun relative to the plane of the Milky Way correlate with changes in biodiversity on Earth. The researchers suggest that an increase in the exposure of Earth to extragalatic cosmic rays causes mass extinctions. Here is the original paper describing the finding.
Portables

Submission + - Recovery of lost/stolen gadgets

Submitted by gurps_npc
gurps_npc writes: The explosion of portable electronic devices, can really weigh you down. Carrying a pager, phone, ipod, camera, and game is quite a lot. Worse, it gives you many more such things to misplace, or worse get stolen. This CNN story discusses some of the retrieval services that help you keep what belongs to you. I particularly like the first one, about a new singapore based software that when you download it to your phone, messages everyone in your phone's database whenever a new chip with a new phone number is installed in the phone. This makes it very hard for someone to steal your phone as all your friends get their new phone number.
Businesses

Submission + - Is cash no longer legal tender? (uic.edu)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: I attend the University of Illinois at Chicago. Last semester my housing arrangements went smoothly. I put down my application fee, and my deposit just fine, got a room for the semester and life went on. This semester, because there was supposedly a large number of students who did not check into their rooms last semester, we were required to make a $100 prepayment, in addition to the application fee and deposit. No problem, I think, I see the university is trying to make a quick buck off people who don't follow through with their plans. Now I do NOT have a checking account, a credit card, or anything. I am one of the few people who do EVERYTHING in cash. I don't trust the banks, I don't trust credit card companies. I also had a trip planned for out of the country, so I get my cash, and on my way to the airport, I stop by the housing office to make my prepayment. They refuse to take cash. They will not charge my university account (so I can pay the bursar or whoever I need to) in cash, and they want a check or money order. Nowhere in their letter did they say that. I fear out of technicality I am going to loose my housing since I cannot get them their money on time because they do not take cash. Is it legal for a state-owned university, let alone any business to not take legal tender?
Patents

Submission + - USPTO Increases Scope Of Amazon's 1-Click Patent

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: While the patent office had rejected earlier attempts by Amazon to get a continuation patent on its infamous "1-click" patent, it appears that an impatient USPTO examiner has approved the continuation, apparently because of the failure of BountyQuest to come up with prior art. This continuation adds claims like contacting the recipient of an order via e-mail or a phone call to obtain additional info. Time for the USPTO to be reformed.
Mozilla

Submission + - Hacking Firefox: The secrets of about:config

Submitted by jcatcw
jcatcw writes: While Firefox is very customizable, many of its settings aren't in the Options. Each setting is named and stored as a string, integer or Boolean in a file called prefs.js, accessed via about:config from the nav bar. Computerworld provides instructions on 20 tweaks for speeding up page loads, making tabs behave, reducing memory drain and making the interface behave the way you want. Customization also comes through the must-have FF extensions, but be sure to skip these.
Censorship

Submission + - Digg.com Attempts to Supress HD-DVD Revolt

Submitted by
fieryprophet
fieryprophet writes: "An astonishing number of HD-DVD encryption key releated stories have gone MIA, in many cases along with the digger who submitted it. As a result, many in the digg community are becoming disillusioned with the "democratic" news site and retaliating in clever and inventive ways. Search digg for HD-DVD song lyrics, coffee mugs, shirts, and more for a taste of the rebellion."
Space

Submission + - NASA tackles ethics of deep space exploration

Submitted by TheTony
TheTony writes: With long-term projects like manned Mars exploration on the horizon, NASA has begun discussing previously taboo subjects. Ethical and practical questions involving illness, death, genetic profiling and astronaut relations and behavior in space need to be addressed, as NASA begins to consider new policies with these extended missions in mind. http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/05/01/death.in. space.ap/index.html
Biotech

Submission + - Redefining what "dead" is

Submitted by
FlyByPC
FlyByPC writes: "According to a NewsWeek article, oxygen deprivation doesn't necessarily kill patients as much as the resumption of oxygen does. This could bring about new ways of, as TFA puts it, 'treating the dead'.

As Monty Python might say, perhaps some patients really 'aren't dead yet!'"

Slashdot Top Deals

Ocean: A body of water occupying about two-thirds of a world made for man -- who has no gills. -- Ambrose Bierce

Close