ZD Net Blog (Free subscription) | 6 hours ago
A user on Slashdot asked yesterday for summer science fiction reading suggestions for his preteen kids. There were, of course, plenty of great thoughts from other Slashdot members that included all of the usual suspects from Bradbury to Asimov to Pratchett to Douglas Adams. However, the Slashdot set tends towards Gen X and older, from the days when people still read books. One reader unfortunately,...
Techdirt (Free subscription) | 10 hours ago
Slashdot points us to the amusing story of technology "solving" a theft of an irrigation controller on a farm, thanks to a wireless connection . The irrigation controller was stolen, which was first noticed when it sent an error message to the guy who runs them. A few weeks later, though, he was surprised to get a signal from the controller, and he was able to communicate with the device and get the...
AterSlash (Free subscription) | 2 hours ago
I realize being a language Nazi is nerdy, even by Slashdot standards, but this summary is just shockingly awful!The headline reads ”\“New\” Words From The Geek Culture”. So the summary starts off with a single line on it, then randomly rambles on about CNet focusing on ‘mondegreens’.
Network Performance Daily (Free subscription) | yesterday
Part three of a series. by Brian Boyko Editor, Network Performance Daily Recently, a posting on Slashdot linked to a story from PC Magazine called “ Texas PC Repair Now Requires PI License .” Obviously, this story has gathered tons of attention, and if strictly true, would have a major impact on IT departments across the state, if not the nation. Earlier, we posted a summary of the controversial law...
Privacy Digest (Free subscription) | yesterday
DHS Official Considered Shock Collars For Air Travelers - Via Slashdot : "The Washington Times is reporting that the DHS wants to replace your boarding pass with a GPS-enabled shock bracelet . Plans for the device include subduing passengers remotely as well as onboard interrogation. There's even a promotional video ." Perhaps Paul Ruwaldt (the official named in this story) has been watching "The...
Privacy Digest (Free subscription) | yesterday
The Privacy Paradox - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online : Dekortage writes "The NYTimes has a piece up about the paradox of privacy: 'Normally sane people have inconsistent and contradictory impulses and opinions when it comes to their safeguarding their own private information.' More specifically, it's all how you ask: if you don't talk about privacy, people won't worry about it. In one survey, 'When...
Privacy Digest (Free subscription) | yesterday
Telecom Amnesty Opponents Back New Amendment - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online : I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "With the telecoms all but assured of amnesty for their participation in illegal spying, there's now one last amendment in their way — the Bingaman amendment. Because President Bush is unwilling to sign FISA reform without immunity, and because Blue Dog Democrats fear for...
Slashdot (Free subscription) | 2 hours ago
An anonymous reader writes "As some of you may know, HP is negotiating with DPWN, parent company of DHL, to take on outsourced parts of DPWN's global IT Services business unit. As a worker in that business unit, I and my colleagues are part of what HP is negotiating for. I moved into my current position fresh out of university and so far haven't experienced corporate shake-ups or outsourcing initiatives....
Slashdot (Free subscription) | 11 hours ago
o2binbuzios writes "I have two pre-teen boys who are avid readers, and I am going through my mental catalog for great sci-fi & fantasy books for them. What are some of the classics (and maybe new additions to the classics) that would be great for them to read? I am asking because some of the 'straight-up' classics I remember actually seem kind of dark & cynical for younger readers. Starship Troopers...
Privacy Digest (Free subscription) | yesterday
Avi Rubin Has Some Optimistic Words About E-Voting - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online : An anonymous reader writes "For more than a decade, Aviel "Avi" Rubin, a professor of computer science at Johns Hopkins University in the US and an e-voting activist, has been a vocal critic of e-voting systems. In this interview Rubin talks about the recent US presidential primary election cycle and his thoughts...
Privacy Digest (Free subscription) | yesterday
Ray Gun Puts Voices Inside Your Head - Via Slashdot : Sportsqs writes "The Sierra Nevada Corporation claimed this week that it is ready to begin production on the MEDUSA, a damned scary ray gun that uses the 'microwave audio effect' to implant sounds and perhaps even specific messages inside people's heads." ( Read Original Article - Via Slashdot .) read more »
Techdirt (Free subscription) | yesterday
It was just a couple weeks ago that we (skeptically) noted that there were a bunch of companies trying to create systems to use things like a "FriendRank" to use "influence" to help advertise . However, it looks like those companies may have to deal with a bit of a patent block. Slashdot points out that Google has applied for a patent on just such a process to establish a sort of "FriendRank." Of course,...
ZD Net Blog (Free subscription) | yesterday
From Slashdot: tpaudio writes "The ACLU and the EFF are suing the Department of Justice over how the government might be using GPS and location data from cell phones. With over 200 million Americans carrying cell phones, this could be pretty important for setting guidelines. We have already seen other frightening powers related to cell phones, such as 'cell mic tapping.'" The ACLU press release is...
Venture Chronicles (Free subscription) | yesterday
Hans Reiser, creator of the open source ReiserFS file system, was convicted of murdering his wife back in April despite having not recovered the victim’s body. They have it now. This trial was a pretty big deal here because of the tech connection (the comments on Slashdot following the guilty verdict were mildly amusing at times, [...]
Slashdot (Free subscription) | yesterday
AC writes "Upper management of the company I work at recently declared that all new development should be done with a single combination of development tools, language, and framework. The main rationale is that people can be relocated from one group / project to another faster, because they don't need to learn a new environment when they switch. Of course the chosen language / framework used by everybody...
