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Submission + - GUI Design Book Recommendations? 8

Submitted by jetpack
jetpack writes: I've always hated writing user interfaces, and graphical user interfaces in particular. However, I suspect that is largely because I have no clue how to write a *good* one. By this, I don't mean the technical aspects, like using the APIs and so on. I mean what are the issues in designing an interface that is clean, easy to understand and easy to use? What are things to be considered? What are things to be avoided? What are good over-all philosophies of UI design?

To this end, I'd like to pick up a book or two (or three) and get my learn on. I'd appreciate some book suggestions from the UI experts in the Slashdot crowd.
Security

Submission + - Domains May Disappear After Search 1

Submitted by
Ponca City, We Love You
Ponca City, We Love You writes: "A perfect domain name pops into your mind, a quick check at your registrar reveals that the domain is available, you put off the registration a few minutes and when you come back to register the domain, it's taken by someone else. How much time has elapsed between the search and the attempted registration — in one case, less than 90 seconds. Daily Domainer has an interesting story alleging that there may be a leak that allows domain tasters to intercept, analyze and register your domain ideas in minutes. "Every time you do a whois search with any service, you run a risk of losing your domain," says one industry insider. ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC ) has not been able to find hard evidence of Domain Name Front Running but they have issued an advisory (pdf) for people to come forward with hard evidence it is happening. Here is how domain name research theft crimes can occur and some tips to avoiding being a victim."
The Courts

Submission + - FBI zaps couple for shining laser at helicopter (networkworld.com) 3

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "The US attorney's office and the FBI this week charged a California couple with shining a laser into the cockpit of a sheriff's department helicopter, a federal criminal complaint that could land them in jail for up to 20 years and earn them a $250,000 fine. The federal criminal complaint was filed on December 13, against Jared Dooley and Kendra Snow. The complaint states that on November 8, 2007, at about 10:55 p.m., a green laser beam illuminated the cockpit of a Kern County Sheriff's Department helicopter, which was flying at 500 feet during routine patrol in Bakersfield, California. When the light hit the cockpit, it disoriented the Kern County Sheriff's pilot, causing pain and discomfort in his eyes for a couple of hours, the FBI said in a statement. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/23237"
Biotech

Submission + - Synthetic DNA on the Brink of Yielding New Life Fo (washingtonpost.com) 1

Submitted by mlimber
mlimber writes: The Washington Post has a story about the future of biotech: "The cobbling together of life from synthetic DNA, scientists and philosophers agree, will be a watershed event, blurring the line between biological and artificial — and forcing a rethinking of what it means for a thing to be alive.... Some experts are worried that a few maverick companies are already gaining monopoly control over the core 'operating system' for artificial life and are poised to become the Microsofts of synthetic biology. That could stifle competition, they say, and place enormous power in a few people's hands."
Security

Submission + - A Legal Analysis of the Sony BMG Rootkit Debacle

Submitted by
YIAAL
YIAAL writes: "Two lawyers from the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology look at the Sony BMG Rootkit debacle: "The Article first addresses the market-based rationales that likely influenced Sony BMG's deployment of these DRM systems and reveals that even the most charitable interpretation of Sony BMG's internal strategizing demonstrates a failure to adequately value security and privacy. After taking stock of the then-existing technological environment that both encouraged and enabled the distribution of these protection measures, the Article examines law, the third vector of influence on Sony BMG's decision to release flawed protection measures into the wild, and argues that existing doctrine in the fields of contract, intellectual property, and consumer protection law fails to adequately counter the technological and market forces that allowed a self-interested actor to inflict these harms on the public." Yes, under "even the most charitable interpretation" it was a lousy idea. The article also suggests some changes to the DMCA to protect consumers from this sort of intrusive, and security-undermining, technique in the future."
The Internet

Submission + - BBC iPlayer Welcomes Linux (and Macs) (bbc.co.uk) 2

Submitted by
h4rm0ny
h4rm0ny writes: "The story is brief but wonderful. After previously limiting their iPlayer only to the Windows platform (as covered on Slashdot here and here, the BBC's content is now available to users of Linux and Macs. From their site:

From today we are pleased to announce that streaming is now available on BBC iPlayer. This means that Windows, Mac and Linux users can stream programmes on iPlayer as long as their computer has the latest version of Flash. Another change is that you do not have to register or sign in any more to download programmes, and Windows XP and Vista users will have an improved version of Download Manager (formerly the Library) available to them.

It seems that the BBC have listened to people who petitioned them for broader support and an open format. Well Flash isn't exactly open but its a lot more ubiquitous than Windows Media and Real Player formats. Sadly for the rest of the World, you're going to have to go through the usual proxy Hell to get at this, as it's for us in the UK only. Now this sort of response to demand is why we pay our licence fee!"
Security

Submission + - a little .mac security flaw

Submitted by
deleuth
deleuth writes: "The de facto online connectivity software sold along with many Apple computers, .Mac, has a web interface through which users can check their "iDisk" whilst away from their own computer. However, there is no Log-Out button in this web interface, so most users just close the browser and walk away...not realizing that their iDisk has been cached by the browser and that anyone who wants to can open up the browser, go back to the link in History, and get into their iDisk completely logged in. From here, files can be downloaded and/or deleted. This seems like a minor security flaw via bad interface design, and podcaster Klaatu (of thebadapples.info) posted this on the discussion.apple.com site, only to have his post removed by Apple. Furthermore, feedback at apple.com/feedback has gone unanswered. The problem remains: there is NO way for the average computer user to log-out of their iDisk on public computers! The format of the link that will get you into an iDisk is this: http://idisk.mac.com/USERNAME?view=web So a quick review of any public terminal's browser history could bring up all kinds of interesting things."
Security

Submission + - FTC: payment processor schemes took millions (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "The Federal Trade Commission and seven states have charged a payment processor with violating federal and state laws by debiting, or attempting to debit from consumers' bank accounts on behalf of numerous fraudulent telemarketers and Internet-based merchants.Between June 23, 2004 and March 31, 2006, the payment processing company, Your Money Access, processed more than $200 million in debits and attempted debits to consumers' bank accounts and more than $69 million of the attempted debits were returned or rejected by consumers or their banks for various reasons, indicating the lack of consumer authorization, the FTC complaint alleges. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/22935"
Privacy

Submission + - Rogers Inserts Content Into Users' Webpages (bit-tech.net)

Submitted by geekmansworld
geekmansworld writes: It seems that Canadian ISP Rogers is inserting data into the HTTP streams returned by the websites requested by it's customers. Probably intended as a "feature", the unsolicited intrusion is nonetheless unsettling.
Space

Submission + - Saturn's Moons Harboring Water? (guardian.co.uk)

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "New bizarre images of Saturn's moons are exciting scientists as there may be some indication of water, possibly at very low depths in the frigid environment they possess. From the article, 'Titan's north pole is currently gripped by winter. And quite a winter it is, with temperatures dropping to -180C and a rain of methane and ethane drizzling down, filling the moon's lakes and seas. These liquids also carve meandering rivers and channels on the moon's surface. Finally, last week Nasa and Esa revealed images from Cassini which confirmed that jets of fine, icy particles are spraying from Saturn's moon Enceladus and originate from a hot 'tiger stripe' fracture that straddles the moon's south polar region. The discovery raises the prospect of liquid water existing on Enceladus, and possibly life.' You can find the images here."

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