Comment Re:Yes schools should come up with their own polic (Score 1) 102
According to the legal counsel for the school, probably...
This law had a lot of unintended consequences.
Comment Re:Yes schools should come up with their own polic (Score 1) 102
Your solution for a mailing list wouldn't have worked; ALL online communication was prohibited, regardless of the medium or format.
Comment Re:Yes schools should come up with their own polic (Score 2) 102
This law was much more far reaching than just Facebook; it effectively prohibited ALL online communication between students and teachers. My mom is a high school teacher, and after the law was passed, they were prohibited from using their school provided email accounts to communicate to students via their school provided email accounts.
Comment Unintended consequences (Score 1) 102
My mom is a high school teacher in Missouri, and this law has far reaching effects, not just with regards to Facebook.
For one, the school district provides students and teachers email addresses in order to facilitate school related communication between the two in regards to homework, etc. My mom would have students email their papers and assignments regularly. Not anymore, according to this law.
What about school clubs wishing to create a Facebook page or other online presence? If it's a school-sponsored club, the school can be held liable for anything put online, yet the faculty sponsor would be putting him/herself at risk by accessing the page to ensure that everything's ok.
Our legislators need to stop trying to legislate for every little thing, and start ensuring that our government has the resources it needs to enforce the laws we already have.
Comment sounds dirty (Score 4, Funny) 37
Big auroras? Coronal mass ejections? not sure if this is safe for work.
Comment I'm scared (Score 1) 470
being a web developer, this frightens me.
Comment Re:No surprise here... (Score 1) 272
Sorry, the above AC post was me. Apparently, if you type in the wrong password,
Submission + - Building a better spam trap (nytimes.com)
SpiritGod21 writes: "Steven T. Kirsch, the developer of the optical mouse, has been thinking about the spam problem for a number of years. After filing several patents covering other approaches, Mr. Kirsch hit on the idea underlying his latest invention, Abaca, quite by accident.
The approach underlying the Abaca technique is the recognition that the ratio of spam to legitimate e-mail is individually unique. It is also a singular identifier that a spammer cannot manipulate easily. By assessing the combined reputations of the recipients of any individual message, the Abaca system determines the "spaminess" of a particular message. Mr. Kirsch asserts this provides a high degree of accuracy in deciding whether the message is spam."
The approach underlying the Abaca technique is the recognition that the ratio of spam to legitimate e-mail is individually unique. It is also a singular identifier that a spammer cannot manipulate easily. By assessing the combined reputations of the recipients of any individual message, the Abaca system determines the "spaminess" of a particular message. Mr. Kirsch asserts this provides a high degree of accuracy in deciding whether the message is spam."
Bookmark Firefox 2.0 contains 'highly critical' security flaw (blorge.com)
Comment oh noes! sharks!!! (Score 1) 137
_____|\_____\o/_____ oh noes!! SHARK!!!
China Readies Royalty-Free DVD Format 183
An anonymous reader writes with an InfoWorld article on China's new attempt to introduce a royalty-free format to rival the DVD. The article is not sanguine on China's chances of getting the EVD format used outside of its own borders (they tried once before in 2003). The submitter is more optimistic, asking: "Is this the future and the effective end of DRM — to be taken and co-opted by nation-states?" From the article: "The DVD player makers plan to switch to EVD (enhanced versatile disk) in an attempt to avoid paying patent royalties on the DVD format, according to published reports. The world's largest producers of DVD players, Chinese electronics companies would use the format instead of standards such as MPEG-4. Last week, 20 top manufacturers including Haier announced their plans to switch from DVD to EVD entirely by 2008, according to a report in China Economic News."
Why Does Everyone Hate Microsoft? 1540
MrSplog asks: "I'm doing a short project on Microsoft and its impact on society. A considerable part of this project has been looking into people's perceptions of Microsoft and the heavily negative bias of that perception. Since Slashdot is one of the world's forefront leaders on Microsoft hatred, I wanted to know: just why do you hate Microsoft? Please be as descriptive and as thorough as you like. Counter arguments and positive comments are also appreciated."
Old Mobiles — the Bad and the Ugly 108
CrazyPhrog writes "File under nostalgia? This round up of mobile hardware from days of yore includes the Dynatac ("the world's first proper mobile phone"), which looks like something likely clamped to Joan Collins' cheek in an episode of Dynasty; the frankly violent-on-the-eye jade T10, courtesy of a pre-Sony Ericsson; and the unwonderful Siemens Xelibri which looks as if it was designed to give simultaneous ear, eye and finger ache. Thankfully they really don't make 'em like they used to."
