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+-   Microsoft's GPL code because of breach.[->] on Thursday July 23, @03:36AM ozmanjusri

Submitted by ozmanjusri on Thursday July 23, @03:36AM
microsoft
ozmanjusri writes "While Microsoft presented its recent embrace of the GPL as "a break from the ordinary", and the press spoke of them as going "to great lengths to engage the open source community", as is often the case with Microsoft, it turns out they had an ulterior motive.

According to Stephen Hemminger, an engineer with Vyatta, Microsoft's Hyper-V used open-source components in a network driver and the company released the code to avoid legal action over a GPL violation.

Microsoft's decision to embrace the GPL was welcomed by many in the open source community, but their failure to honestly explain the reason behind the release will have squandered this opportunity to build trust, something which is sadly lacking in most people's dealings with Microsoft."
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+-   Spengler. redux.[->] on Tuesday July 14, @11:47PM aqk

Submitted by aqk on Tuesday July 14, @11:47PM
aol
aqk writes "Now that his cover is finally blown...
SPENGLER REDUX

OK.. So I've had a few, you linux weenies.

AMERICA ONLINE?? (hysterical laughter)"
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+-   Flare Up over Fireball Data Cooling Down on Wednesday July 08, @06:31PM Hugh Pickens

Submitted by Hugh Pickens on Wednesday July 08, @06:31PM
space
Hugh Pickens writes "Space.com reports that scientists' concerns about a purported clamp down on meteor data from US military spacecraft may be coming to a happy conclusion. Brigadier General Robert Rego of the Air Force Space Command says that there was no intent, and in fact, no change to the data sharing policy and that the USAF is taking a fresh look at ways to improve the relationship and data flow to make it more valuable to scientists. "The data is out there. It's not impacting military operations to gather the data that's important to the scientific community," says Rego. "Let's take a look at how we can do that in a timely and collegiate manner." The flare up about the fireball data release policy received the attention of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, the California lawmaker with a long-time passionate interest in the entire Near Earth Object issue. "I have been keeping a close eye on this situation, and I am confident the Department of Defense, in cooperation with the scientific community, will find a solution that permits the release of scientifically valuable data without compromising national security," says Rohrabacher. Rego emphasized that there was no intent, and in fact, no change to the data sharing policy. "I would encourage you to keep your eye out or your ear to the ground with the scientific community...to see if we haven't done some improvements here over the next few months.""
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Comments: 1 +-   The Pirate Bay Tries DDDA[->] on Monday May 11 2009, @11:30AM Drivintin

Submitted by Drivintin on Monday May 11 2009, @11:30AM
humor
Drivintin writes "The Running Tally has an article on The Pirate Bay, and their way of paying their fine. "The guys from the Pirate Bay have a a 30million SEK fine which they say they won't pay. However they have come up with a plan where all their users can join in which works like this. Everyone sends a small amount of money in an electronic transfer to the law firm that represnted the music industry. Suggested amount is 1 SEK (equivalent to 0.13 USD. Apparently the law firm's bank account is only allowed 1000 electronic transactions before it starts to cost them, the account holder money."
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+-   Columbine-10 years later on Monday April 20 2009, @09:10PM ppanon

Submitted by ppanon on Monday April 20 2009, @09:10PM
slashback
ppanon writes "Ten years ago, two students shot and either killed or wounded dozens of other students and teachers at Columbine High School in Colorado. There was a great deal of soul searching and argumentation in the media over the effects of bullying and how the killings were reprisals for misfits. Many students who fit the goth or misfit "profile" at other schools were singled out and discriminated against or suspended as potential risks to the student body. Commentators like Slashdot's John Katz wrote lengthy diatribes on bullying at Columbine and in other environments.

However, in the last ten years, more research has indicated that most of the assumptions those actions and discussions were based on were incorrect. They didn't make it far into a poorly self-critical media though. Some people are hoping the 10th anniversary is an opportunity to set the record straight. Eric Harris was a psychopath and Dylan Klebold was suffering from depression. They weren't members of the Trenchcoat Mafia or social outcasts, and they didn't target any groups in particular."
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+-   Update: EPA Reaches Goal on Data Center Study[->] on Monday June 30 2008, @09:39AM 1sockchuck

Submitted by 1sockchuck on Monday June 30 2008, @09:39AM
government
1sockchuck writes "After initially struggling in its effort to find data center operators willing to share data about their energy usage, the EPA extended the program by a month and has managed to recruit 215 facilities to participate in its program to help the government develop an Energy Star program for data centers. An EPA official says there are no plans to regulate the data center industry."
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+-   Petition the UK PM to 'Save Bletchely Park'[->] on Wednesday May 28 2008, @07:14AM dmcgk

Submitted by dmcgk on Wednesday May 28 2008, @07:14AM
government
dmcgk writes "As discussed a couple of weeks back, Bletchley Park is facing a pretty bleak future. The UK Government has an online petition mechanism for raising issues which we, the people, think they need to take another look at. Lets use this petition to take them at their word and see if it works. At the very least we need to give them an idea of the level of geek outrage."
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+-   OMG!!1! Ponies!!![->] on Tuesday April 01 2008, @05:45AM jd

Submitted by jd on Tuesday April 01 2008, @05:45AM
humor
jd writes "Cute ponies! OMG! This just soooo reminds me of another site and an earlier related pony story."
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+-   Cringely (infoworld) on Google & IP addresses[->] on Monday February 25 2008, @12:36PM dtwood

Submitted by dtwood on Monday February 25 2008, @12:36PM
privacy
dtwood writes "Infoworld's Cringely on Google and whether IP addresses are 'personal' information: "After all, Google is one of the most open companies on the Net. Also: I'm the father of Jamie Lynn Spears' love child, and I give handsome lessons to George Clooney....The problem with that last paragraph is that none of those statements are true. Google is one of those companies that seems completely open — 'here, come in and have a oat bran muffin while we massage your feet' — until you ask them a question about what they do or why they do it. Then they cinch up tighter than a frog's nether regions." Worth checking out."
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+-   Cambelt cover service[->] on Friday February 22 2008, @04:40PM Yorga

Submitted by Yorga on Friday February 22 2008, @04:40PM
portables
Yorga writes "Worried about potential engine failure?"
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+-   Plays and Players presents The Rarely Heard Aspect[->] on Monday February 11 2008, @02:19PM AndrewAllshouse

Submitted by AndrewAllshouse on Monday February 11 2008, @02:19PM
AndrewAllshouse writes "StageMagazineOnline.com review by Arnie Finkel of The Rarely Heard Aspects of Love, which is now playing through February 23rd at Plays and Players. The music for this show was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Don Black and Charles Hart. The show is directed by Lance Moore and stars Ken Sandberg, Jen Rosario-Kent, Dallas Drummond, and Marie Efie. To read this review, as well as find ticket and location information for this theater, click on the link!"
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Comments: 1 +-   Programming as Art: 13 of the best code demos ever[->] on Monday January 28 2008, @11:11PM cranberryzero

Submitted by cranberryzero on Monday January 28 2008, @11:11PM
programming
cranberryzero writes "The demo scene has been around for 20-some years now and it's grown and leaps and bounds since then. From programmers pushing the limits of Ataris and Amigas to creating beautiful and haunting landscapes with full lighting, mapping and motion capture, demo groups have done it all and done it under 100k. And here's 13 of the best of recent years... Flash video links included, but most of the fun is downloading them and giving your processor something fun to chew on."
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Comments: 5 +-   fist ever ANSI art show[->] on Monday December 17 2007, @07:52PM kevin olson

Submitted by kevin olson on Monday December 17 2007, @07:52PM
media
kevin olson writes "I'm curating a gallery show based on ANSI and ASCII artwork, this is artwork that was made back in the late 80's and early 90's using text characters before we had GUI's like Windows, etc. Back in the days of BBSES (before the internet was really used).

All sorts of people are starting to come out of the woodwork for this, Jason Scott who directed the BBS documentaries is flying out from Utah for this, Christian Wirth, who ran the biggest art group during the ANSI era, and who still tours the world this day giving speeches on ANSI and ASCII artwork will be there, I think the main reason being this has never really been done before. And anyone who was into computers and networking at this time definately remembers ANSI and ASCII artwork.

I threw up a general description of ANSI here http://ansi.notchill.com/article/1/about . The opening will be on January 12th, 7-11PM, at 20 goto 10 (http://www.twentygoto10.com/).

Also the general blog on the progress of the show is http://ansi.notchill.com/, we will presenting the artwork on 4 to 6 feet tall lightboxes, and LCD screens w/ these parallax boards mounted against the wall.

-kevin"
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+-   Asus corrects Eee PC source code issue.[->] on Wednesday November 28 2007, @01:12AM ozmanjusri

Submitted by ozmanjusri on Wednesday November 28 2007, @01:12AM
portables
ozmanjusri writes "Asus has corrected the availability of source code for its Eee PC, and reaffirmed its commitment to meeting the requirements of open source licenses, including the GPL.

They also announced the upcoming release of a new SDK to assist the Open Source community development on the Eee PC."
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+-   UI shifts classes to Friday to curb drinking[->] on Thursday September 06 2007, @04:29PM Lucas123

Submitted by Lucas123 on Thursday September 06 2007, @04:29PM
education
Lucas123 writes "Associated Press is reporting that The University of Iowa is shifting some mandatory classes to Friday in the hopes that it can curb binge drinking by its students. The story states that "The U.S. Surgeon General recommends more Friday classes." In other news, the university's website states it's holding a "block party" on Thursday."
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+-   Microsoft managed to buy the vote of Sweden in ISO[->] on Monday August 27 2007, @02:30PM

Submitted by on Monday August 27 2007, @02:30PM
microsoft
An anonymous reader writes "It seems like Microsoft rigged todays SIS meeting in Sweden by bringing in about 20+ new members, all voting Yes to Microsofts OOXML document standard proposal. To be a voting member they had to pay 17 000 SEK, about $2500, which they for sure will be reimbursed by Microsoft for their services. Several previous members, for example IBM, left the meeting in disgust.

Read more here: http://stupid.domain.name/node/382"
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+-   NDAs... are they really worth it? on Friday June 15 2007, @02:39PM Vijay

Submitted by Vijay on Friday June 15 2007, @02:39PM
business
Vijay writes "Maybe I've been drinking too much FOSS Kool Aid, but I do ponder the relevance of NDAs. With situations like The Consumerist being told that some pretty straightforward items described were proprietary secrets and the Fantastic Four reviewer losing his job, is it seriously worth it for these companies to be so aggressive with their legal departments? If the legal departments were looking to pursue NDA violations for non-obvious things, that is one situation... but for issues such as telling consumers that they need to search and compare for deals on the Dell site, or to tell potential movie-goers that the Fantastic Four may not live up to its hype... c'mon — gimme a break! The backlash from consumers against these businesses is going to be much worse than any harm that was done by the purported NDA violators.
What do fellow slashdotters think?
Full Disclosure: I recently lost my job for discussing with a client an obvious flaw in my employer's software which the client has repeatedly asked about."
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+-   Microsoft plays monopoly again with Vista! on Friday May 25 2007, @12:59AM mike95

Submitted by mike95 on Friday May 25 2007, @12:59AM
windows
mike95 writes "I just started playing around with voice recognition on Windows Vista and I was very happy with the results — at last, accurate dictation ...UNTIL. I tried with OpenOffice Writer. Complete failure. I was stumped. Is this an OS feature or a Word feature? It's promoted as an OS feature. I pulled out the trusty notepad and the accuracy and results were the same as in Word 2007! What the heck?

I double checked, I triple checked and quite frankly it cannot be so obvious they are wielding their monopolistic practices by being biased when making this operating system feature available.

How many people would cry foul loudly if the network connectivity OS feature was crippled for Firefox? I just cannot see a valid argument here so I created a video of my experience and just posted it on youtube.

I used the same microphone to record the video as dictation, so what you hear in the video is same sound offered to both the video recording software and voice recognition and any claims to background noise, etc. are without merit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMdbbvzocuU

Sincerely,
Michael Olivero"
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+-   Interesting article on page rankings manipulation on Friday March 16 2007, @12:01AM Ayal Rosenthal

Submitted by Ayal Rosenthal on Friday March 16 2007, @12:01AM
google
Ayal Rosenthal writes "March 14, 2007 (Computerworld) — Rand Fishkin knows how valuable it is for a Web site to rank high in a Google search. But even this president of a search engine optimization firm was blown away by a proposal he received at a search engine optimization conference in London last month, where he was a panelist. The topic — Can a poker Web site rank high on a Google search using purely white hat tactics — meaning no spamming, cloaking, link farms or other frowned-upon "black hat" practices. Fishkin answered yes, provided the site also added other marketing techniques and attracted some media attention. The rest of the panel scoffed. "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight," one chided. After all, this is the cutthroat online gambling sector. But one poker Web site owner was intrigued, and he later approached Fishkin. "He said, 'If you can get us a search ranking in the top five for online poker or gambling [using white hat methods], we'll buy that site from you for $10 million,'" http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command =viewArticleBasic&articleId=9012943&pageNumber=1"
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+-   YouTube Banned Again: Time to RethinkWeb 2.0 on Sunday March 11 2007, @03:59PM vikrantsharma1

Submitted by vikrantsharma1 on Sunday March 11 2007, @03:59PM
announcement
vikrantsharma1 writes "After Brazil & Turkey, YouTube seems to have got a similar treatment in Thailand. Beginning past Friday till Saturday evening, YouTube users in Thailand got redirected to website of MICT, the government agency responsible for Internet censorship. The site was later restored. The ban in Brazil and Turkey was lifted only when YouTube removed the videos which lead to the controversy. The kind of reaction YouTube has faced from government and judges looks bizarre.

This series of bans on YouTube and subsequent judgements raises certain concerns in mind about user generated content and the future of web 2.0 companies. The freedom for users and user-generated content around which the entire Web 2.0 concept revolves goes for a toss when sharing and viewing is banned by force. Users should be deciding what should be shared & seen and what not; however, the democracy of Internet takes a backseat when interest of government or authorities comes forward. Like in case of Thailand, Mashable reports that, the ban could be related to clips from a CNN interview featuring Thailand's ex-Prime Minister Thaksin who was ousted by the Thai military. It seems that the current regime is not happy about the media exposure Thaskin is getting.

This does not imply that there should not be any censorship on the content but solutions need to be explored to involve users in filtering objectionable content. Although, the voting system used by Digg and other sites is a similar soulution but that does not seem to be enough. Suggestions are welcome...!

If we look from a Web 2.0 company's perspective, these kind of situations are really discouraging for startups and headache for established ones. When a giant like YouTube could not stand their ground, in a situation which should not have lead to a ban in the first place, what will happen to a smaller companies. Startups, generally, don't feel comfortable entering areas with lot of legal hassles. If these kind of bans keep coming in, not many startups
will dream of getting into video sharing arena.

I will not be surprised if these kind of activities and judgements, which have set a precedent now, are used as weapons by companies to pull their competitors in court or probably getting banned!!!

Let me know your opinion on this and probable solutions to content moderation if any has come to your mind.

http://vikrantweb.blogspot.com/2007/03/youtube-ban ned-again-time-to-rethink.html"
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