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Submission + - Pidgin/Adium/libpurple shut out by Yahoo (pidgin.im)

Submitted by bsdguy
bsdguy writes: For the last several weeks I have had trouble connecting to the Yahoo instant message servers. It started to become hit or miss about 4 weeks ago, and became more and more of a problem as time passed. Finally today I have to say that I can no longer connect to Yahoo with clients that are based on libpurple. There is noise all over various forums about this problem. If one does a web search there seem to be loads of reports of the problem, but no resolution yet. The symptoms are similar to the monkey wrench from 2009 where all things libpurple stopped working due to a Yahoo change. So far Yahoo is not owning up to changing anything, but in as much as better than 99% of libpurple users have made no changes on their client software it would seem the change is from the other end.

For those folks that use pidgin or adium for the OTR encryption feature I can say the current version of the java based client jitsu (https://jitsi.org/) seems to still interoperate with Yahoo.

This of course teaches us why non-centralized open standards based solutions are better. It is a shame that some of us have to interact with clients who do not understand or accept that there are better ways to do things than Yahoo Messaging.

If anyone has figured out what changed on Yahoo's end I am sure the folks at pidgin.im would love the input, even if as of now they are still not admitting there is an issue. Since Jitsu still works I can only guess that the libpurple problem was caused by counting on edge case use, or using something that "worked" but was outside the yahoo spec.

Comment PLEASE NO! (Score 1) 1191

by bsdguy (#45014461) Attached to: Come Try Out Slashdot's New Design (In Beta)

Way too heavy on graphics and way too slow for people in rural areas without access to the kind of bandwidth people in large cities have! With the heavy graphics it will probably run me over my Hughesnet bandwidth allotment to use the new design.

I am not sure who came up with the idea of the redesign, but it will not work for folks with lower speed links. It is so painful on my satellite link that I have to believe that it will be worse on 2G or 3G wireless links (much of rural America does not have anything faster). I know most of my neighbors are still working on dialup because where we live there is NO DSL and NO CABLE. High speed in these parts is called a T1 at $500/month.

Slashdot readers do not visit the site for eye candy, we visit the site for the information. Please scrap the beta before wasting too much time and money on it. The only good thing I can say about beta.slashdot.org is that it seems to work properly in lynx. Maybe I will be forced to use lynx to view slashdot in the future.

-Brett

Networking

Athena's Free Firewall Browser 23

Posted by timothy from the should-you-choose-to-accept-it dept.
athenasec writes "Firewall Browser is a free configuration analyzer (download here), released by Athena Security, which works on Cisco, Check Point, and Netscreen firewalls for searching rulebases based on address or service ranges — the way change requests are actually made. The tool is available as a free download with no limitations, user license restrictions, or registration hurdles. Users can slice and dice any firewall-related question about the network, service objects, and security rules for a multi-vendor environment from a single flexible interface. There is also this how-to guide for applying the tool to day-to-day operational tasks."
Hardware

Startup's Submerged Servers Could Cut Cooling Costs 147

Posted by timothy from the alliteration-alternation dept.
1sockchuck writes "Are data center operators ready to abandon hot and cold aisles and submerge their servers? An Austin startup says its liquid cooling enclosure can cool high-density server installations for a fraction of the cost of air cooling in traditional data centers. Submersion cooling using mineral oil isn't new, dating back to the use of Fluorinert in the Cray 2. The new startup, Green Revolution Cooling, says its first installation will be at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (also home to the Ranger supercomputer). The company launched at SC09 along with a competing liquid cooling play, the Iceotope cooling bags."
Government

Secret Service Runs At "Six Sixes" Availability 248

Posted by timothy from the only-need-half-as-many dept.
PCM2 writes "ABC News is reporting that the US Secret Service is in dire need of server upgrades. 'Currently, 42 mission-oriented applications run on a 1980s IBM mainframe with a 68 percent performance reliability rating,' says one leaked memo. That finding was the result of an NSA study commissioned by the Secret Service to evaluate the severity of their computer problems. Curiously, upgrades to the Service's computers are being championed by Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who says he's had 'concern for a while' about the issue."
Science

Why Time Flies By As You Get Older 252

Posted by kdawson from the like-a-banana dept.
Ant notes a piece up on WBUR Boston addressing theories to explain the universal human experience that time seems to pass faster as you get older. Here's the 9-minute audio (MP3). Several explanations are tried out: that brains lay down more information for novel experiences; that the "clock" for nerve impulses in aging brains runs slower; and that each interval of time represents a diminishing fraction of life as we age.

Submission + - Sprint/Nextel Nationwide text messaging failure

Submitted by
bsdguy
bsdguy writes: "Sprint has been keeping this under wraps. There is no notice on their web site about the issue, but starting Tuesday 18 September I was no longer able to retrieve text messages on my IDEN handset. Sprint support made me go through the normal routine of reboot, reset, power off, power on and so forth. At last they gave up and opened a network ticket. When I called Thursday to get the status I was told that the problem was nationwide with all IDEN (nextel) users. So it seems the "Now Network" has become the "Not Now Network". For me this is becoming a big issue because automated alerts that are sent as email to my Nextel handset can not be read!

How many of you are having your normal operations disrupted by this issue? As of today Sprint still has no idea when IDEN text messaging will be back online. Is this a way for Sprint to force NEXTEL customers off of their beloved IDEN equipment?"

Submission + - Sharp NetWalker Sub-Netbook to be released 9/25 (sharp.co.jp) 1

Submitted by
Kagetsuki
Kagetsuki writes: "The Sharp NetWalker (http://www.sharp.co.jp/netwalker/), a tiny netbook with an ARM Cortex core, OpenGL ES2.0, running a custom version of Ubuntu Netbook Remix will be released in Japan on September 25th. Yes, an ARM netbook with standard OpenGL ES 2.0 that runs a fully vendor supported Linux distrobution — and it fits in your pocket! It features a unique optical pointing device that is sort of like a track pad for your thumb (which works great and takes little getting used to), and of course includes a stylus and touchscreen as well. Sharp claims battery life of about 10 hours and the unit includes UBS 2.0 and WLAN. In store demo units can be found all across Japan, and I've personally confirmed it can play full screen ogg theora/vorbis files without dropping frames, ran some GL demos very nicely, and generally found no lag in application response time at all. Perhaps most impressive is application start up time, FireFox started within seconds and gnome-terminal almost instantaneously. I found the keyboard a bit difficult to use due to size, but the keys have a solid click to them which I liked. Prices range from 39,000 Yen to 45,000 Yen (about $400US to $460US) depending on what store you purchase from. I've got mine reserved already."

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