sleepycow - Slashdot User

Google Home Speakers and Chromecast Are Down Worldwide, Company Confirms (washingtonpost.com) 65

Posted by msmash on Wednesday June 27, 2018 @01:55PM from the internet-of-things dept.

"Sorry, something went wrong. Try again in a few seconds." That's the response that Google smart speaker users around the world heard Wednesday when they asked their devices to play music, get the weather or even respond to its "Hey, Google" prompt. From a report: Google confirmed there's a problem with both their smart speakers and the Chromecast, the plug-in video casting dongle for televisions. While the company did not say how many people are affected or what caused the issue, it did confirm it's working on a fix. "We're aware of an issue affecting some Google Home and Chromecast users. We're investigating the issue and working on a solution," Google said in a statement. Google Home and Chromecast owners started reporting issues to Google early Wednesday morning, according to online help forums for both devices. Devices affected by the problem have lost their normal functions.

Target Hackers Have More Data Than They Can Sell 118

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday January 14, 2014 @10:02PM from the embarrassment-of-riches dept.

itwbennett writes "The hackers who stole millions of credit card numbers from Target customers are probably 'laying low knowing that everyone is looking for them,' says Alex Holden, who runs cybercrime consultancy Hold Security. But it's also likely that they can't sell them: 'You can imagine that having a lot of stolen credit cards will not net the hackers, say $35 per card for all 40 million,' said Holden. 'Even if the hackers are willing to sell cards for $1 a card, no one will buy the stolen goods in these amounts.'"

Comment HP LaserJet 2200DN (Score 1) 310

by sleepycow on Wednesday May 25, 2011 @11:51AM (#36239654) Attached to: My current printer has printed ...

462K+ pages (so far), Got for free from an office cleanout / upgrade a few years ago, still running strong. One of the last really good HP printers (Long live the Laserjet 4!), and it works with every O/S. Added a JetDirect card and 32mb of RAM for about $20 and haven't looked back.

Social Security Information Systems Near Collapse 279

Posted by Soulskill on Sunday January 09, 2011 @06:11AM from the not-unlike-social-security dept.

matty619 writes "An Information Week article warns that the computer systems that run the Social Security Administration may collapse by 2012 due to increased workload, and a half-billion-dollar upgrade won't be ready until 2015. One of the biggest problems is the agency's transition to a new data center, according to a report (PDF) by the SSA's Inspector General. The IG has characterized the replacement of the SSA's National Computer Center — built in 1979 — as the SSA's 'primary IT investment' in the next few years."

Flash Builder 4 — Defective By Design? 66

Posted by timothy on Friday April 02, 2010 @06:46PM from the mote-in-your-eye dept.

ApolloX writes "Adobe has released its new version of the Flex Builder, now renamed Flash Builder 4. This version is radically different from previous versions of Flex, introducing the new Spark architecture and theme support. While I am pleased Adobe has finally added support for Eclipse 3.5, I am disappointed with some of the new architecture changes that make doing simple things, such as skinning a button, now quite cumbersome."

Time To Discuss Drug Prohibition? 1367

Posted by kdawson on Sunday December 07, 2008 @10:55PM from the with-your-remaining-brain-cells dept.

gplus writes "December 5th was the 75th anniversary of the end of alcohol prohibition in the US. The Wall Street Journal has an op-ed which argues that now may be the time to discuss our war on drugs and the drug prohibition currently in place. The article argues that the harm caused by the banned substance must be balanced against the harms caused by the prohibition. As to why Americans in 1933 finally voted to end prohibition, while we barely even discuss it: 'Most Americans in 1933 could recall a time before prohibition, which tempered their fears. But few Americans now can recall the decades when the illicit drugs of today were sold and consumed legally. If they could, a post-prohibition future might prove less alarming.'"

Comment Re:Linux preinstalled (Score 1) 379

by sleepycow on Wednesday December 06, 2006 @04:07AM (#17125812) Attached to: Linux Desktops Catching On In Education

... but again, there is no real *price* advantage for the end-user to buy a Linux box. I can get a Sempron 3400+/512mb/80gb/DVD-ROM with XP Home for $279 shipped to my door. I've tried to find machines with no O/S to beat that price (first thing I do when I open the box is indeed wipe the hard drive. Anyone wanna actually help me get about $5000 back from Microsoft?) but I can't even come close.

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