Comment Re:MacBook Pro (Score 1) 237
I second that. On the other hand Linux runs out of the box and the hardware is cheap! Add good back up and you are golden if you live near a pawn shop.
Comment Bender (Score 1) 530
I suppose the robots can be recycled into iphones.
Comment Bender (Score 1) 530
Didn't bender try to commit suicide? Those robots are tearing trough the nets.
Submission + - Facebook Spammers Make $20M, Get $100K Fine (itworld.com)
jfruh writes: "Adscend Media, which has been making up to $20M a year from so-called "likejacking" spam on Facebook, has reached agreement with the Attorney General of Washington to stop those activities and pay $100,000 in court costs. Among other nefarious techniques, Adscend would overlay Facebook "like" buttons with provocative photos to spread links to ads from which Adscend would earn referral fees. Adscend also settled out of court with Facebook for an undisclosed amount."
Submission + - Privacy Simplified (yale.edu) 1
An anonymous reader writes: Not everyone can read legalese. Websites ought to have clearer, more transparent, and simpler privacy policies.
One important step in this direction is a simple way of summarizing a privacy policy’s features, to make it easy to see how a website will use and protect user data. Inspired by Creative Commons and the Mozilla Privacy Icon Project, we (a group of Yale undergrads) have designed a set of icons, as well as simple descriptions, to describe common features of privacy policies.
Additionally, we have built a generator to make it easy for websites to add these icons to their own sites. To further encourage awareness, we have reviewed several popular websites’ privacy policies, so that users can see for themselves how they fare.
One important step in this direction is a simple way of summarizing a privacy policy’s features, to make it easy to see how a website will use and protect user data. Inspired by Creative Commons and the Mozilla Privacy Icon Project, we (a group of Yale undergrads) have designed a set of icons, as well as simple descriptions, to describe common features of privacy policies.
Additionally, we have built a generator to make it easy for websites to add these icons to their own sites. To further encourage awareness, we have reviewed several popular websites’ privacy policies, so that users can see for themselves how they fare.
Submission + - Controlling Bufferbloat with Queue Delay (acm.org)
CowboyRobot writes: "We all can see that the Internet is getting slower. According to researchers, the cause is persistently full buffers, and the problem is only made worse by the increasing availability of cheap memory, which is then immediately filled with buffered data. The metaphor is grocery store checkout lines: a cramped system where one individual tasks can block many other tasks waiting in line. But you can avoid the worst problems by having someone actively managing the checkout queues, and this is the solution for bufferbloat as well: AQM (Active Queue Management). However, AQM (and the metaphor) break down in the modern age when Queues are long and implementation is not quite so straightforward.
Kathleen Nichols at Pollere and Van Jacobson at Parc have a new solution that they call CoDel (Controlled Delay), which has several features that distinguish it from other AQM systems.
"A modern AQM is just one piece of the solution to bufferbloat. Concatenated queues are common in packet communications with the bottleneck queue often invisible to users and many network engineers. A full solution has to include raising awareness so that the relevant vendors are both empowered and given incentive to market devices with buffer management.""
Kathleen Nichols at Pollere and Van Jacobson at Parc have a new solution that they call CoDel (Controlled Delay), which has several features that distinguish it from other AQM systems.
"A modern AQM is just one piece of the solution to bufferbloat. Concatenated queues are common in packet communications with the bottleneck queue often invisible to users and many network engineers. A full solution has to include raising awareness so that the relevant vendors are both empowered and given incentive to market devices with buffer management.""
Submission + - FDA May Let Patients Buy Drugs Without Prescriptions 1
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "The Washington Times reports that the Food and Drug Administration may soon permit Americans to obtain some drugs used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes without obtaining a prescription allowing patients to diagnose their ailments by answering questions online or at a pharmacy kiosk in order to buy current prescription-only drugs for conditions such as high cholesterol, certain infections, migraine headaches, asthma or allergies. Some pharmacists embrace the notion that they should be able to dole out medication for patients’ chronic conditions without making them go through a doctor. “This could eliminate the need for a physician visit for certain meds that may have been prescription prior to this change,” said Ronna Hauser, vice president of policy and regulatory affairs for the National Community Pharmacists Association. “However, there may be circumstances when a patient might need a physician visit and diagnosis and original prescription to start therapy but could continue on that therapy with pharmacist refill authorization capabilities.” Medical providers at public hearings to obtain input on a new paradigm urge caution, saying the government should not try to cut health care costs by cutting out doctors. “Patients rely on physicians to provide sound diagnosis and treatment information and to help them meet their unique health needs," says Peter W. Carmel, President of the American Medical Association. "Expanding many prescription medications to OTC interferes with that important relationship without offering any real benefits to improve patients' health or reduce their costs.""
Submission + - Government Asks When It Can Shut Down Wireless Communications (arstechnica.com)
Fluffeh writes: "Around nine months ago, BART Police asked to have wireless communications disabled between Trans Bay Tube Portal and the Balboa Park Station. That was because they knew a public protest was to take place there — and the service to the underground communication system was disabled. This affected not only cellphone signals, but also the radio systems of Police, Fire and Ambulance crews within the underground. This led to an even larger protest at a BART station and many folks filed complaints along with the American Civil Liberties Union and Electronic Frontier Foundation. The FCC responded by launching a probe into the incident with the results being a mixed bag of "To protect citizens!" and "Only in extreme cases.", not to mention the classic "But Terrorists use wireless communications!", but even if the probe doesn't lead to a full proceeding and formal order, the findings may well be used as a guide for many years to come."
Submission + - The Great Outdoors Is Good for Allergies (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes: A new study reveals that people who grow up in more rural environments are less likely to develop allergies. The reason may be that environments rich with species harbor more friendly microbes, which colonize our bodies and protect against inflammatory disorders.
