padamj - Slashdot User

Integrate iPod with Car or Risk Death 200

Posted by Hemos on Monday July 17, 2006 @11:20AM from the give-me-music-or-give-me-traffic-fatality dept.

An anonymous reader writes "CNET has talked to Apple about its big plans for the car. Apple say they're keen to save the lives of anyone who risks death by "reaching into the footwell of his car to retrieve an iPod nano at around 90mph" and anyone who "considered skipping tracks on his iPod more important than the lives of multiple humans". Apple are also said to be "delighted by the efforts of Mac users who retrofit the Mac Mini into cars" and are "keeping an eye on what these hackers are up to with their Macs." The writer also pitched his own design ideas to Apple's director of global product marketing, Bob Borchers: "We suggested to Borchers that Apple should allow drivers to use their car steering wheel as a giant Clickwheel interface, so that you can change tracks by changing lanes. Borchers foresaw certain safety problems with such a device and rejected the concept.""

Cutting out the Naughty Bits Ruled Illegal 1329

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 10, 2006 @12:23AM from the people-against-goodness-and-normalcy dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Some of you may recall the lawsuit brought by several Hollywood directors against companies which edit movies for sex, language, and violence. The companies would trade consumers an off-the-shelf DVD for an edited one. Well, the CBC is reporting that Judge Richard P. Matsch has found that this practice violates U.S. copyright law, and 'decreed on Thursday in Denver, Colo., that sanitizing movies to delete content that may offend some people is an "illegitimate business." [...] The judge also praised the motives of the Hollywood studios and directors behind the suit, ordering the companies that provide the service to hand over their inventories.'''

The Myth of the New India 378

Posted by Zonk on Saturday July 08, 2006 @01:22AM from the would-be-nice-though dept.

theodp writes "An NYT op-ed on The Myth of the New India reports that only 1.3M Indians are participating in the so-called new economy of BPO, leaving 400M have-nots without a piece of the pie. Despite recent gains, nearly 380M Indians still live on less $1 a day, setting the stage for rural and urban conflict." From the article: "No labor-intensive manufacturing boom of the kind that powered the economic growth of almost every developed and developing country in the world has yet occurred in India. Unlike China, India still imports more than it exports. This means that as 70 million more people enter the work force in the next five years, most of them without the skills required for the new economy, unemployment and inequality could provoke even more social instability than they have already."

Internet Giving Homeless a Home 261

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday June 26, 2006 @07:35AM from the long-reach-on-that-outreach dept.

Wired is reporting that many individuals currently without permanent housing still manage to stay connected via a cellphone, laptop, or some other gadget. Many homeless have email addresses and find that it offers them a way to get their foot back in the door of 'normal' society. From the article: "Hellerich slept on benches but she frequented a women's shelter with a cluster of internet-connected computers used mostly by the children who arrived at the safe house with their mothers. She started blogging and conducting a business. As an independent internet marketer, she was able to maintain bank accounts, nurse existing client connections and forge new business relationships. The business brought in only about $100 a month, but that was enough to help get her life back on track."

Immunizing the Internet 181

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday June 26, 2006 @05:21AM from the shot-in-the-keister dept.

jonny4001 writes "The Harvard Law Review has published a student-written article that argues that hackers, worms, and viruses are good for network security and that the law and public policy should encourage 'beneficial' hacking. From the article: 'Exploitation of security holes prompts users and vendors to close those holes, vendors to emphasize security in system development, and users to adopt improved security practices. This constant strengthening of security reduces the likelihood of a catastrophic attack -- one that would threaten national or even global security [...] Current federal law, however, does not properly value such strategic goals.'"

Smithsonian Removes EV1 Exhibit 420

Posted by Zonk on Friday June 16, 2006 @08:25PM from the wave-good-bye dept.

johnMG writes to mention a Seattle PI article on the Smithsonian's move to remove the EV1 electric sedan from display. From the article: "The upcoming film 'Who Killed the Electric Car?' questions why General Motors created the battery-powered vehicles and then crushed the program a few years later. The film opens June 30th. GM happens to be one of the Smithsonian's biggest contributors. But museum and GM officials say that had nothing to do with the removal of the EV1 from display."

Future(?) Design of Mobile Phones 162

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday June 14, 2006 @09:23AM from the well-ok-not-quite dept.

Sad Loser writes "The future of the mobile phone is here, or at least a bunch of Nokia-sponsored industrial design students' take on the problem. The BBC also has more pictures." Most of these designs are quite silly (a necklace with squeezable beads for an address book?) but at least amusing.

Razer's New Mouse Optimized for MMO and RTS 218

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wednesday June 14, 2006 @05:29AM from the does-it-farm-for-me dept.

An anonymous reader writes "XYZComputing has a review of Razer's new Krait mouse which is specifically designed for massively multiplayer online gaming as opposed to the usual design focus of first-person shooters. From the article: 'The criteria for an appropriate mouse for each style of gaming are different, or at least Razer would want you to think that this is the case. With the market starting to accept products like gaming mice and gaming keyboards, it was only a matter of time until someone introduced a mouse for a certain type of game. While it is easy to be skeptical of such an idea, Razer has a great reputation and may actually be onto something here.'"

Philips Recalls Almost 12,000 Flat Panel TVs 173

Posted by CowboyNeal on Thursday March 16, 2006 @11:58PM from the unsafe-at-any-speed dept.

wh0pper writes "Arcing capacitors have caused Philips to recall select Ambilight flat panel (read plasma) TVs. Because the TVs make use of flame retardant materials, damage was only sustained to the TVs and not homes. This is the first time I've heard of TVs having this type of issue. How safe are LCD and DLP TVs from this type of thing?"

Comment Re:I love running Linux on my old TOshiba Satellit (Score 1) 379

by padamj on Tuesday February 28, 2006 @12:35AM (#14814540) Attached to: Linux On Older Hardware

I do not do any heavy compiles on this laptop.... for that I use one of the servers in my office, and transfer the compiled binaries. RPMs work pretty well too. It would have taken a few days at least to compile X... but thanks to an dual xeon linux server in my office, it takes a jiffie. Also, you need to keep an eye on your swap usage. Too much of it, and it will take your system down to a crawl.

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