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The Almighty Buck

Submission + - High Tech Misery in China

theodp writes: "Think you've got a bad job? Think again. You could be making keyboards for IBM, Microsoft, Dell, Lenovo and HP at Meitai Plastic and Electronics, a Chinese hardware factory. Prompted by the release of High Tech Misery in China by a human-rights group, a self-regulating body set up by tech companies will conduct an audit of working conditions at the factory. In return for take-home pay of 41 cents per hour, workers reportedly sit on hard wooden stools for 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. Overtime is mandatory, with workers being given on average two days off per month. While on the production line, workers are not allowed to raise their hands or heads, are given 1.1 seconds to snap each key into place, and are encouraged to "actively monitor each other" to see if any company rules are being transgressed. They are also monitored by guards. Workers are fined if they break the rules, locked in the factory for four days per week, and sleep in crowded dormitories. Okay, it's not all bad news — they're hiring."
Cellphones

Submission + - EU wants standard for mobile phone connectors (www.nu.nl) 1

Jantastic writes: "European Commissioner Günter Verheugen (Industry) wants manufacturers of mobile phones to come up with a standard connector for chargers and microphones. If companies fail to do so, proposed legislation should speed up this process. Original story in Dutch here, funny English translation here. In theory, this could improve competition, while enabling longer lifecycles for these devices."
Privacy

Submission + - Are you ready for road tolls anywhere? (and-still-i-persist.com)

bfwebster writes: "Here in Denver, we have E-470, a toll section of the 470 beltway that uses the usual transponder attached to your windshield. Fair enough, and I make use of it, particularly in driving to the airport. But they've just implemented new technology on E-470 that allows anyone to drive through the automated toll gates. If you don't have a transponder, it takes a photo of your license plate and sends a monthly bill to your house. As a result, the company that runs E-470 plans to close all human-staffed toll booths by mid-summer. And as an article in this morning's Rocky Mountain News notes, "Such a system could be deployed on other roads, including some that motorists now use free. The result: a new source of money for highways and bridges badly in need of repair." You can bet that legislators, mayors, and city councilpersons everywhere will see this as an even-better source of income than red-light cameras. You've been warned.""

Comment KDE prior art (Score 5, Informative) 250

Take a look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KDE_1.0.jpg see the view of the virtual desktops on the top right? KDE has had this feature since at least 98 and I think the beta's had even more. Gregory Swartz just patented someone elses work likely seen while working as a consultant in the working environments of his clients.
User Journal

Journal Journal: Chrome on Windows 2000!

I've been playing with Chrome on Windows XP, and like the speed. However, My Win2k box is what i'm usually on just because it's faster. When I first tried to install Chrome I got the usual error message about how it's for XP and Vista only. I was looking for some kind of guidance to help me get it installed, when I ran across a Japanese page where a guy got Chrome working on win2k. Following his instructions, and using his hacks, it's now installed and running. Coolness!
Microsoft

Submission + - Mac users' Internet experience to remain seamless 2

thefickler writes: Mac users will continue to see the Internet as it was intended, thanks to the renewal of a font licensing agreement between Microsoft and Apple. At TypeCon2007 Microsoft and Apple announced they have renewed their font licensing agreement, giving Apple users ongoing use of the latest versions of Microsoft Windows core fonts.

Back in 1996 Microsoft started the "Core fonts for the Web" initiative. The idea of this initiative was to create a a standard pack of fonts that would be present on all or most computers, allowing web pages to be displayed consistently on different computers. While the project was terminated in 2002, some of the fonts defined as core fonts for the web have gone on to become known as "web safe fonts", and are therefore widely used by Internet developers.
User Journal

Journal Journal: Spammers find a hole to send email through Google

The last few days i've been getting spam sent through google's picasa web albums email server and verified through yahoo's domain keys system. I called google to let them in on it, and the girl who answered the phone told me "oh, somewhere on google.com there's a place to report spam, you'll have to find it." "we don't take reports over the phone" and then she hung up. Well, I'm not going to dig for their spam report page, It's easier just to mark it as spam, and block all emails from google.

Feed Mini DNA replicator costs $10 (engadget.com)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

If we had a dime for every time we've been lounging around the HQ, thinking to ourselves about how much easier life would be with a DNA replicator of our very own, we could probably afford one of these $10 DIY versions. Some researchers at Texas A&M University have applied lava lamp-esque convection flow technology to the previously complicated, large and expensive field of DNA replication, with this pocket-sized replicator. The unit costs $10 to make and has no moving parts. To generate billions of identical DNA copies, it runs "polymerase chain reactions" by treating DNA at three different temperatures, running DNA-filled fluid through a tube wrapped around three metal rods heated to the different necessary temperatures. Doesn't sound too exciting when you put it that way, but the device should pave the way for DNA and RNA tests for HIV levels or tuberculosis diagnosis in developing countries.

[Via Digg]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!


Spam

Journal Journal: EU Law and searching through *my* computers

It was a hard decision, but I think that this story should, oddly enough, come under the subject of spam, because thats where the whole problem really stemmed from. I'll try to keep it short, and as such will probably omit some details. Questions are welcomed. I apologize that my post may be quite "jumbled" - I'm trying to type as thoughts come to me, and occasionally may insert paragraphs here and there... but I'm sure you'll get there in the end.

On to the story:

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