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All Rights Reserved. 2009-12-25T00:13:12+00:00 Geeknet, Inc. help@slashdot.org Technology hourly 1 1970-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicslashdot.gif http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl //slashdot.org/submission/1140012/PC-Seasons-Greetings?from=rss Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2010, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. 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Anonymous Coward 2009-12-25T00:12:23+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1140010/Software-fraudster-fooled-CIA-into-terror-alert?from=rss The Register, citing this Playboy article, reports that a Nevada man named Dennis Montgomery was able in 2003 to connive his way into a position of respectabilty at the CIA on the basis of his company's claimed ability, using software, to "detect and decrypt 'barcodes' in broadcasts by Al Jazeera, the Qatari news station." Montgomery was CTO of Reno-based eTreppid Technologies, which produced bucketloads of data purported to represent "geographic coordinates and flight numbers." All of which, it seems, were hokum, finally debunked in cooperation with a branch of the French intelligence service — but not, says the article, before the fabricated information, chalked up to "credible sources," was used as justification to ground some international flights, and even evacuate New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. timothy 2009-12-25T00:11:53+00:00 //slashdot.org/journal/242976/A-Modest-Proposal-For-The-About-to-Be-Released-Gitmo-Detainees?from=rss ABC News has reported that a USAF drone attack on an Al Qaeda base in Yemen killed a terrorist released from Gitmo by the Bush administration. He was supposed to have been rehabilitated from terrorism in Saudi Arabia, but which didn't happen. And according to the ABC story the Obama administration is going to release to Dr_Ken 2009-12-24T23:01:52+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8067144&from=rss While some other countries have caved to pressure from the entertainment industry and US diplomats to implement ridiculously draconian copyright laws, it's always nice to hear of some pushing back. Nicolas A. Barriga points us to the news that despite several attempts by Chile's president to pass extremely draconian copyright laws, that would force ISPs to actively police their networks and block access to content that was accused (not proven) of being infringement, the provision was definitively rejected (Google translation of the original). Apparently, it was rejected in such a way that the President can no longer re-introduce it. What's interesting here (beyond a victory for user rights) is that a big part of the argument pushed by the entertainment industry representatives, was that this law was necessary to remain in compliance with trade agreements (there they are again) with the US. However, it appears that Chilean politicians recognized this was a load of bunk. Nothing in their trade obligations required such a solution. This sound similar to pressure put on countries like Canada and Israel, where they're told they need to introduce copyright laws well beyond anything in the US just to live up to their international obligations. So far, both Canada and Israel have pushed back, and it's good to see Chile doing so as well. Permalink | Comments | Email This Story techdirtfeed 2009-12-24T22:52:25+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8067136&from=rss In a crowded tower defense genre, the humor and fast and furious gameplay of Knights Onrush stands apart as an interesting and engaging take on a now standard game. macworldfeed 2009-12-24T22:52:10+00:00 //slashdot.org/journal/242974/Wow-look-a-journal?from=rss I had no idea. Thus, I don't journal here. I do journal elsewhere, however. :) Femetal 2009-12-24T22:47:48+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8066862&from=rss The wait has been long, but now there's finally a means by which to connect your dear, yet almost buttonless, iPhone or iPod touch to a Bluetooth keyboard for some more intense finger tapping action. The project that delivered us this teasing video back in February has at long last reached the application stage, where simple commoners like us can use it to synergize our gear -- provided we've had the wherewithal to free it from Cupertino's overbearing clutches first. The BTstack Keyboard app is now available in exchange for $5 at the Cydia store, so if you want to be the first to write a bestseller on his or her iDevice, there's no time like the present. Want to connect your iPhone and Bluetooth keyboard? There's a (jailbroken) app for that originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | BTstack Keyboard |Email this|Comments engfeed 2009-12-24T22:32:28+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8066858&from=rss On rumors of a January Apple tablet unveiling, the company's stock closes as an all time high Thursday of $209.04, up 3.43 percent. cnetfeed 2009-12-24T22:32:08+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139994/Comcast-no-longer-allows-you-to-use-your-own-email?from=rss Whether or not this is Comcast's way to force users to use something of their products after the recent ruling on subscribers not having to use their box anymore, the change to forcing users to do something is usually never a good idea. micahfk 2009-12-24T21:16:31+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139992/Track-Santa-Theres-An-App-For-That?from=rss With the help of NORAD, children can track Santa's current location via Google Maps on an iPhone or iPod Touch on Christmas Eve. Less-privileged children can still use the family laptop to track Santa or follow his Tweets. theodp 2009-12-24T21:11:50+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139988/Holiday-E-Commerce-DDOS-Attack-hits-EC2-Cloud?from=rss Holiday DDOS attack targets west-coast DNS provider, known for serving large-scale E-Commerce sites (incl. amazon.com, walmart.com).In a message posted on Twitter, Jeff Barr of Amazon Web Services wrote that the retailer's outages were mostly in the US West Coast, and took down S3 and EC2 — as well as Amazon.com in "many places."! ARos 2009-12-24T20:56:15+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139980/Really-misleading-ads-from-broadband-providers?from=rss From the I-really-wish-they-asked-me-before-getting-into-that-contract department: Gizmodo has put together a good compilation of the — seemingly almost criminally — misleading (largely plain wrong) advertising from our favorite local monopolies. My personal favorite is from At&t which states you need 3 mbps to use social networking sites like facebook (an accurate but still absurd requirement might be a something to effect of needing a multiple core processor if you allow of the javascript & flash to run on said sites) Bourdain 2009-12-24T20:37:24+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064956&from=rss The journey of an electronic scrapbook page to printer and back. macworldfeed 2009-12-24T20:13:19+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064954&from=rss AT&T, the network ieveryone to loves to hate, has unseated Sprint as the fastest 3G data service in a test by tech Web site Gizmodo. nytfeed 2009-12-24T20:13:06+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064952&from=rss Whether crafted out of elaborate, immersive worlds or built upon the simplest of ideas, these videogames made their mark on the '00s. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T20:12:54+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064950&from=rss Whether documenting the real world or merely aping it, television took an unbelievable turn for the believable in the '00s. From compelling disaster coverage to Battlestar Galactica's gritty space operatics, TV grabbed us by the eyeballs and wouldn't let go. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T20:12:44+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064946&from=rss Head trips, brooding superheroes and dark fantasies take Hollywood for a wild ride in a decade indelibly imprinted with the horrors of 9/11. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T20:12:33+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064940&from=rss From Radiohead to El-P, these powerful and innovative bands and musicians laid down some of the '00s finest tracks. Give them a listen and nominate your own favorites. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T20:12:22+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064938&from=rss If you deck your halls with a Christmas tree, take a moment to note how a small flame can set its flammable foliage ablaze — possibly torching your entire living room in under a minute. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T20:12:10+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1139978/Testing-network-changes-when-no-test-labs-exist?from=rss The ugly truth is that many network guys secretly work on production equipment all the time, or test things on production networks when they face impossible deadlines. Management often expects us to get a job done but refuse to provide funds for expensive lab equipment, test circuits and for reasonable time to get testing done before moving equipment or configs into production. How do most of you handle such situations, and what recommendation do you have for creating a network test lab on the cheap, especially when core network devices are vendor-centric, like Cisco? vvaduva 2009-12-24T20:08:44+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064646&from=rss Nearly 62 years after researchers at Bell Labs demonstrated the first silicon transistor, scientists say they have created a functional molecular transistor that could help computing move to the next level. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T19:52:35+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064636&from=rss Ursula K. Le Guin is a very famous author who many people insist is one of the best -- though, I have to admit never having read her stuff. Yet, she is one of those who is rather aggressive in policing the copyrights on her work, and who does not tend to side with those who believe in concepts like "fair use." Most certainly, she is not a fan of open culture. A few years ago, she got into a bit of a scrap with Cory Doctorow, because he dared to publish a single paragraph of hers in a blogpost as part of a larger (positive!) commentary. Her latest scrap with the world of copyright is to publicly resign from the Authors Guild. I'm no fan of the Authors Guild myself, and find that it tends to take a rather antiquated view on things -- from its absolutely ridiculous claim that a Kindle with text-to-speech software infringes on authors' copyrights, to its equally backwards take on Google's book scanning project, which helped index books and make them more findable which many authors have found helps increase sales. While I am not a fan of the (still ongoing) settlement efforts between Google and the Authors Guild, it is this settlement that has upset Le Guin so much. In her resignation letter, she claims refers to Google as "the devil," and claims that the Guild has abandoned "the whole concept of copyright." Of course, nothing is further from the truth, as the Authors Guild notes in its reply (found via Michael Scott). As the Authors Guild points out, Google had a more than decent chance of winning the lawsuit because of something called fair use, which Le Guin still doesn't appear to recognize as a key part of copyright law. In her own introduction to copyright law, fair use makes no appearance whatsoever. It really is a shame. Many people tell me that Le Guin is a fantastic writer, but I have no desire to read works by someone who is afraid I might like it so much I might share that joy with someone else. I also have no interest in reading works by a science fiction author who seems to hate technology to the point of calling a tool like Google "the devil." Permalink | Comments | Email This Story techdirtfeed 2009-12-24T19:52:15+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064334&from=rss Mozilla is challenging its users to envision the best use of the browser's new dedicated "Home" tab. The winning design will be incorporated into Firefox 4.0, due to arrive next summer. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T19:33:53+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064328&from=rss Male Muskovy ducks have impressively long, screw-shaped penises that move rather quickly, as can be seen in scientists' high-speed video. Now it appears females may have evolved oddly shaped, curved vaginal tracts to defend against unwanted males. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T19:33:42+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=8064326&from=rss BlackBerry users faced a service outage that made e-mail, text messages and web services such as Twitter and Facebook inaccessible on their devices. wiredfeed 2009-12-24T19:33:32+00:00