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Comment Welcome, Lords of the Underworld! (Score 1) 495

Apple has every right to guard their monopoly, as does Adobe. I just hope that Adobe announces very soon that they're going to stop developing Creative Suite for Macs, and watch the Windows-only CS6 force Mac users into buying PCs. Then Apple will either have to develop their own version of CS, or go to Microsoft to buy their creative apps. That will indeed signal the end times.

Comment Nothing New, but Glad to Hear It Discussed (Score 2, Interesting) 338

I've heard this same issue come up from two different bio researchers - one doing post-doc work (French), and the other finishing his PhD (American) here in the US. They both related the same 'joke' about Chinese research, something like, "A non-PRC scientist approaches science to seek a result...a PRC-trained/educated scientist asks, "What result do you want to see?" Faking data is rampant among the Chinese students here in the US according to them, so much so that the non-Chinese are being passed over for grants here because they're shackled by such pesky things as 'ethics' and the scientific method. Afterward, when the grant donors see results blow up in their faces when reviewed by peers, they're usually too chagrined to make an issue out of it, having been made thorough fools of.

Submission + - Chicago's Camera Network Is Everywhere (wsj.com)

DesScorp writes: "Over the past few years, the City of Chicago has installed video cameras all over the city. Now the Wall Street Journal reports that the city has not only installed its own cameras for law enforcement purposes, but with the aid of IBM, has built a network that possibly links thousands of video surveillance cameras all over Chicago. Possibly, because the city refuses to confirm just how many cameras are in the network. Critics say that Chicago is becoming the city of Big Brother.

"The city links the 1,500 cameras that police have placed in trouble spots with thousands more—police won't say how many—that have been installed by other government agencies and the private sector in city buses, businesses, public schools, subway stations, housing projects and elsewhere. Even home owners can contribute camera feeds. Rajiv Shah, an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago who has studied the issue, estimates that 15,000 cameras have been connected in what the city calls Operation Virtual Shield, its fiber-optic video-network loop."

There are so many camera feeds coming in that police and officials can't monitor them all, but when alerted to a situation, can zoom in on the area affected. The ACLU has requested a total number of video feeds and cameras, but as of yet, this information has not been supplied. Worries have been raised about the possible abuses of the system... other cities have had cases where male police officers would follow females via video even though no suspicious behavior was exhibited. Chicago Police brush off such criticism, saying that all use of the system is logged, and that the benefits of public safety and law enforcement are huge."

Comment I count myself lucky... (Score 4, Informative) 304

...that they called and told me that I had a zombie PC. I run updates, antivirus software and am very careful about where I go on the web, and what I download. Despite all my precautions, though, my PC got infected via an infected CD from my office (autorun is now turned off, btw). I got a call from Comcast saying that they'd noticed some odd traffic. The tech guy said it looked like my PC had been infected although it didn't seem to be actively sending/receiving any unusual data. After a quick re-scan with my antivirus software, it was gone, and all was right with the world (well, my tiny corner of it, anyway). I was used to Comcast sucking hardcore before this happened. Now my attitude is a little better toward them -- the Comcast tech guy knew his stuff, and was very helpful.
Displays

Submission + - New failsafe graphics mode for Ubuntu (arstechnica.com)

ianare writes: Ubuntu Xorg maintainer Bryce Harrington recently demonstrated the BulletProof-X feature that is planned for inclusion in Ubuntu 7.10. It provides a failsafe mode which will ensure that users never have to manually configure their graphics hardware settings from the command line. If Xorg fails to start, the failsafe mode will initiate with minimalistic settings, low resolution, and a limited number of colors. The failsafe mode also automatically runs Ubuntu's new GTK-based display configuration utility so that users can easily test various display settings and choose a configuration that will work properly with their hardware. Features like BulletProof-X deliver tangible usability improvements that contribute to a more positive user experience.
Music

Submission + - Doom and Gloom for web radio (dailytech.com)

An anonymous reader writes: DailyTech posted interviews with the founder of Pandora and management from Proton Radio (and Proton Music) asking them what SoundExchange's latest rulings mean to them. A lot of net radio stations are dreading the upcoming changes in royalty rates, which are said to be around 400%... a number that would bankrupt most of the industry. An interesting read for anyone who uses online radio...
Privacy

Submission + - Online shoppers will pay more for privacy (pressesc.com)

Caroline Matische writes: "People are willing to pay more to buy items from online retailers who make their privacy policies clear, a new Carnegie Mellon University study showed. People were more likely to buy from online merchants with good privacy policies and were also willing to pay about 60 cents extra on a $15 purchase when buying from a site with a privacy policy they liked."
Censorship

Submission + - Censorship is changing the face of the Internet (bbc.co.uk)

Lucas123 writes: "Amnesty International is warning that the Internet "could change beyond all recognition" because state-sponsored censorship has spread from a handful of countries to dozens of governments that apply mandated net filtering, and because companies such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have remained complicit, according to a BBC story. '"More and more governments are realising the utility of controlling what people see online and major internet companies, in an attempt to expand their markets, are colluding in these attempts,"' said Tim Hancock, Amnesty's campaign director."
The Internet

Submission + - Web 2.0 'distracts good design'

stevedcc writes: "The BBC is running a story about web 2.0 and usability, including comments from Jakob Nielsen stating "Hype about Web 2.0 is making web firms neglect the basics of good design".

From the article:

He warned that the rush to make webpages more dynamic often meant users were badly served.

He said sites peppered with personalisation tools were in danger of resembling the "glossy but useless" sites at the height of the dotcom boom.
"
Businesses

Submission + - Handling Interviews after being a Fall Guy

bheer writes: "Salon's Since You Asked column is carrying an interesting question right now — what do you say in interviews after getting fired as a fall guy at your last job? Cary Tennis, who writes the column, admits he may not be the best person for this sort of question. So I thought I'd ask Slashdotters what they thought about this. Software developers are sometimes able to get away blaming the business requirements/analysis process, but anyone with any experience in this business probably has had nightmares about being the fall guy and may even have a strategy or two up their sleeve. How would deal with being in such a crummy position?"
Power

Submission + - SHPEGS: DIY Solar/Geothermal Electricity

rohar writes: "SHPEGS is an open design not-for-profit project to design and prototype a base load renewable electrical generation system suitable for moderate climates and built from common materials. The design centers around creating a local geothermal source with an efficient solar thermal water heater system and can be scaled from the single residence to the mega-project. The project was recently featured in an in-depth The Future of Things article. The heliostat system used in Europe's First Solar Thermal Plant could be used in a scaled down SHPEGS system with Practical Solar's small scale heliostats."

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