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+-   Is There An Encrypted Net For The Everyman? on Tuesday November 03, @04:06PM BenEnglishAtHome

Submitted by BenEnglishAtHome on Tuesday November 03, @04:06PM
BenEnglishAtHome writes "It's easy to predict that the Tarkin Effect will someday lead to ubiquitous net encryption. Perhaps a global DMCA will be enough to push the process over the top, leading the everyman to insist on Freenet-like ubiquitous net encryption. So, Slashdot, survey the myriad projects out there and tell me: What is the current and future state of encrypted networks for the masses?"
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+-   Rise of the Robot Squadrons[->] on Tuesday November 03, @11:27AM Velcroman1

Submitted by Velcroman1 on Tuesday November 03, @11:27AM
Velcroman1 writes "Taking a cue from the Terminator films, the US Navy is developing unmanned drones that network together and operate in 'swarms.' Predator drones ahve proven one of the most effective — and most controversial — weapons in the military arsenal. And now, these unmanned aircraft are talking to each other. Until now, each drone was controlled remotely by a single person over a satellite link. A new tech, demoed last week by NAVAIR, adds brains to those drones and allows one person to control a small squadron of them in an intelligent, semiautonomous network."
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+-   The tech aboard the International Space Station[->] on Tuesday November 03, @11:20AM CNETNate

Submitted by CNETNate on Tuesday November 03, @11:20AM
space
CNETNate writes "With its own file server for uploaded Hollywood blockbusters, a 10Mbps Internet connection to Earth and a stock of IBM ThinkPad notebooks for sending emails, the amount of consumer technology aboard the $150 billion International Space Station is impressive. Yet it's the responsibility of just two guys to maintain the uptime of the Space Station's IT, and they have given an in-depth interview with CNET to explain what tech's aboard, how it works and whether Windows viruses are a threat to the astronauts. In a related feature, the Space Station's internal network (which operates over just bandwidth of just1Mbps) and its connected array of Lenovo notebooks is explained, along with the future tech we could see aboard the traveling colony as it traverses the future."
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+-   Can Net Neutrality Be Legislated Locally?[->] on Monday November 02, @11:26PM newscloud

Submitted by newscloud on Monday November 02, @11:26PM
internet
newscloud writes "It's nice that the current FCC supports Net Neutrality, but what's to prevent a future administration from pursuing a path more like Republican Rep. Marcia Blackburn's Real Stimulus Act of 2009, that would prohibit the FCC from "needlessly imposing regulations [sic] on the Internet". Tomorrow, Spokane, Washington votes on Proposition 4, a community Bill of Rights which sets up an enforceable legal framework that city government and corporations must abide by, including the right to affordable preventive healthcare, the right for residents to determine the future of their neighborhoods, the right to employer neutrality when unionizing, and the right to constitutional protections within the workplace. As more cities contemplate similar efforts, should online rights such as net neutrality be part of the discussion?"
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+-   Vonage down[->] on Monday November 02, @03:53PM Caffeinated Geek

Submitted by Caffeinated Geek on Monday November 02, @03:53PM
Caffeinated Geek writes "The Register is reporting that Vonage has been down (at least in the UK) since about lunch. It seems that customers who have managed to make it through to tech support are being told that there is no scheduled time to have the problem fixed and the entire network is down."
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+-   No snoring: High-tech solution to sleep apnea[->] on Monday November 02, @01:54PM coondoggie

Submitted by coondoggie on Monday November 02, @01:54PM
coondoggie writes "What do you get when you combine the smarts of a computer scientist and a doctor of sleep medicine? A cool, less invasive way to figure out if patients have sleep apnea, a common problem that causes a snoring a person to momentarily stop breathing while sleeping.

The new test, known as thermal infrared imaging (TIRI), uses a thermal infrared camera to monitor breathing waveforms and airflow as a patient breathes in and out of his or her nose. The measurements are processed using computer algorithms and produce results that have proved to be as accurate as traditional test for apnea known as a polysomnography.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/46982"
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+-   IT Snake Oil: Six Tech Cure-Alls That Went Bunk[->] on Monday November 02, @11:06AM snydeq

Submitted by snydeq on Monday November 02, @11:06AM
it
snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Dan Tynan surveys six 'transformational' tech-panacea sales pitches that have left egg on at least some IT department faces. Billed with legendary promises, each of the six technologies — five old, one new — has earned the dubious distinction of being the hype king of its respective era, falling far short of legendary promises. Consultant greed, analyst oversight, dirty vendor trick — 'the one thing you can count on in the land of IT is a slick vendor presentation and a whole lot of hype. Eras shift, technologies change, but the sales pitch always sounds eerily familiar. In virtually every decade there's at least one transformational technology that promises to revolutionize the enterprise, slash operational costs, reduce capital expenditures, align your IT initiatives with your core business practices, boost employee productivity, and leave your breath clean and minty fresh.' Today, cloud computing, virtualization, and tablet PCs are vying for the hype crown."
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+-   Free 3G Wireless for Nintendo's Next Handheld? [->] on Monday November 02, @10:21AM itwbennett

Submitted by itwbennett on Monday November 02, @10:21AM
nintendo
itwbennett writes "'Nintendo is feeling the sting of competition from the iPhone,' writes blogger Peter Smith in a recent post. 'At least, that's the feeling one gets when reading Nintendo president Satoru Iwata's thoughts on the future of Nintendo handhelds. According to a Financial Times piece, Iwata suggests the next Nintendo handheld (and to be clear, he isn't talking about the big screen DS launching in Japan next month) might include free 3G wireless, much like the Amazon Kindle does. The challenge is to offer the immediacy of downloading an inexpensive new game, anywhere, anytime, without forcing the user into some kind of monthly data plan.' From the FT piece: 'Only people who can pay thousands of yen a month [in mobile phone subscriptions] can be iPhone customers. That doesn't fit Nintendo customers because we make amusement products,' Mr Iwata said."
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+-   Skype for Linux Open-sourced "in nearest future"?[->] on Monday November 02, @08:24AM rysiek

Submitted by rysiek on Monday November 02, @08:24AM
linux
rysiek writes "Seems like there might be a revolution in the works, as far as VoIP software for Linux is concerned — after mailing Skype support about Skype providing Mandriva RPM packages, Olivier Faurax got an answer that seems to suggest that Linux Skype client will be open-sourced. After asking for verification, if that is the case, the tech support answer claimed it is going to happen, and that it's supposed to happen "in nearest future". Now, this probably only means the client (underlying protocol will probably be handled by a binary-only library), but even if that's the case, seems like there is still reason to celebrate."
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Comments: 1 +-   Gmail users howl over Halloween outage[->] on Sunday November 01, @04:43AM Anonymous Coward

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 01, @04:43AM
google
An anonymous reader writes "Gmail has been completely down for a large number of users (including me) for 36 hours straight, though Google refuses to acknowledge any problem. I linked to an early article in the Register about this, which reports that service is down even for many users who paid for the $50 Premier service, and that Google isn't answering its tech support line (which is advertised as being 24/7). Here's a support forum

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/gmail/thread?tid=0344ccd8b53d5cd3&hl=en&fid=0344ccd8b53d5cd3000477486340a663

where users from all over (incl. Denmark, Israel, South Africa) are reporting the problem and commiserating. No one from Google seems to be listening — indeed, Google's Apps Status Dashboard

http://www.google.com/appsstatus#hl=en

still reports "No Issues" with Gmail.

Scott Aaronson, MIT CSAIL
(temporary email address I created: ghh1729@gmail.com
my blog entry about this: http://scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=428)"
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+-   Microsoft's Lost Decade on Saturday October 31, @04:03PM theodp

Submitted by theodp on Saturday October 31, @04:03PM
microsoft
theodp writes "Newsweek's Daniel Lyons explains Why Steve Ballmer is no Bill Gates, arguing that what most hurt Microsoft was BillG's decision to step down as CEO in January 2000: 'Gates was a software geek. He understood technology. Ballmer is a business guy.' And the problem with putting nontechies in charge of tech companies, concludes Lyons, is that they have blind spots. So while Microsoft's revenues nearly tripled from $23B to $58B under Ballmer's helm, says Lyons, the company became bureaucratic and lumbering, slowing down while the rest of the world — including Google, Apple and Amazon — sped up."
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+-   Geek-Friendly Video Cameras for Young Children on Friday October 30, @10:27PM Alaren

Submitted by Alaren on Friday October 30, @10:27PM
Alaren writes "My daughter, almost 7 years old, is fascinated by YouTube and has declared that she wants a video camera. This strikes me as an opportunity to teach about videography and video technology and to show her that computers do more than just play games. Unfortunately, most tech review sites don't deal in technology aimed at children, and most sites that do are uninformative SEO sewage bobbing through the intertubes. I was intrigued by the announced Lego camcorder but it does not appear to have reached production. The Discovery Kids line of video cameras looked promising, but reviews (especially of the software) are in short supply. Most of the other brands I've found are clearly aimed at helping kids feel like they're using a video camera without providing the functionality I want: reasonable quality (VGA or better), expandable storage (like an SD card), easy YouTube uploading, and some straightforward software for trimming and merging video files (and, maybe, audio tracks). Part of me thinks what I'm really looking for is a Flip, but of course with children durability is an added concern, and I'd like to minimize adult interference where possible. So, Slashdot, help me finish my Christmas shopping early: what experience do you have with child-friendly video equipment and software? What brands do you recommend? Or should I just buy the grown-up version and a pack of stickers?"
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+-   "Dead" Facebook User Gets Better[->] on Thursday October 29, @05:27AM Two9A

Submitted by Two9A on Thursday October 29, @05:27AM
idle
Two9A writes "With the recent introduction of memorial accounts on Facebook, the potential arises for hilarity and abuse. Simon Thulbourn's Facebook page has been marked as "in memorial", on the word of a report submitted by one of his friends; unfortunately, the closest the report gets to Simon is that the funeral service in question was officiated by "Revd Simon Thorburn", which seems to be enough for Facebook to mark an unrelated user's profile as dead. Questions have previously been raised about the standard of proof required by Facebook for this service; it seems that those questions were pertinent, if the lax attention paid to these reports by Facebook staff continues."
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+-   ARM vs. Atom: Battle for the Next Digital Frontier[->] on Wednesday October 28, @10:10AM snydeq

Submitted by snydeq on Wednesday October 28, @10:10AM
intel
snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Neil McAllister examines how the ongoing rise of netbooks, decline of desktops, and the smartphone explosion are reconfiguring the processor market, putting Intel's Atom processor on a clear collision course with ARM. And here, on the low end of computing, Intel may have finally met its match. Thanks to a unique licensing model, ARM will ship an estimated 90 chips per second this year, and the catalog of OSes and apps available for ARM has been growing for decades, including several complete Linux distributions such as Google's Android OS and Chrome OS when it ships. 'One thing ARM doesn't have, however, is Windows,' McAllister writes, something that could ultimately stymie ARM's plans to compete on the low end of the netbook market. And yet Intel's bet on Windows and its x86 compatibility appeal among developers could backfire, McAllister writes. In the end, it's all about performance. Thus far, Intel has yet to demonstrate a model with power characteristics comparable to those of the current generation of ARM chips, which are fast proving their ability to handle high-performance applications."
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+-   Study: US Needs Fewer, Not More Science Students[->] on Wednesday October 28, @10:07AM cremeglace

Submitted by cremeglace on Wednesday October 28, @10:07AM
education
cremeglace writes "It's an article of faith: the United States needs more native-born students in science and other technical fields. But a new paper by sociologists at the Urban Institute and Rutgers University contradicts the notion of a shrinking supply of native-born talent in United States. In fact, the supply has actually remained steady over the past 30 years, the researchers conclude, while the highest-performing students in the pipeline are opting out of science and engineering in greater numbers than in the past, suggesting that the threat to American economic competitiveness comes not from inadequate science training in school and college but from a lack incentives that would make science and technology careers attractive. Cranking out even more science graduates, according to the researchers, does not give corporations any incentive to boost wages for science/tech jobs, which would be one way to retain the highest-performing students."
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+-   "Three strikes" to go ahead in Britain[->] on Wednesday October 28, @08:00AM David Gerard

Submitted by David Gerard on Wednesday October 28, @08:00AM
David Gerard writes "Lord Peter Mandelson has carefully ignored the Gowers Report and the Carter Report, instead taking the advice of his good friend David Geffen and three strikes and you're out will become law in Britain. The Open Rights Group has, of course, hit the roof. Oh, and never mind MI5 and the police pointing out that widespread encryption will become normal, hampering their efforts to keep up with little things like impending terrorist atrocities. Still, worth it to stop a few Lily Allen tracks being shared, what?"
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+-   AT&T 3G Microcell use limitations on Tuesday October 27, @09:52AM paddlingbear

Submitted by paddlingbear on Tuesday October 27, @09:52AM
paddlingbear writes "AT&T's 3G Microcell advertising in BIG LETTERS offers "up to 5 bars in your home". In type almost as large it says the microcell must be used in an area where AT&T is licensed to provide service. Only in small print in the TOS does it mention that the use of a microcell is restricted to four metropolitan areas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Columbia SC. When I bought my microcell at an AT&T store in Atlanta, I asked the clerk if it would be useable in the mountains of Western North Carolina where I had a second home but where AT&T service is zero because I'm in a valley with two mountains between me and the nearest AT&T tower. He said yes. Tech support says no...too bad. The TOS reserve the right for AT&T to restrict national network deployment, so who knows when if ever AT&T will be able to compete with Verizon in the Carolinas, even in a situation where I'm trying to dump AT&T's data load onto my Verizon DSL line."
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+-   Can Nintendo really be planning another DS variant[->] on Tuesday October 27, @08:43AM itwbennett

Submitted by itwbennett on Tuesday October 27, @08:43AM
games
itwbennett writes "'There was a lot of talk yesterday about an article in the Japanese publication Nikkei which claimed that Nintendo was readying a new iteration of its DS line of handheld gaming systems,' writes blogger Peter Smith. 'The report claims the new unit will have 4" screens (the current unit has 3.25" screens) and is designed for older gamers who have trouble seeing the small screens of the current DSi. This new model is otherwise identical to the existing DSi and will ship by end of year in Japan.' As an 'older gamer' himself, Smith calls on Nintendo to stop this annual upgrade madness and do something truly innovative for a change, and he calls on gamers to put some pressure on Nintendo and not buy the new DS."
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+-   Netflix Coming to Sony PS3[->] on Monday October 26, @08:26AM itwbennett

Submitted by itwbennett on Monday October 26, @08:26AM
sony
itwbennett writes "'Microsoft has always seemed rather enthusiastic when it comes to throwing around the word 'exclusive' and here is another case in point,' says blogger Peter Smith. Netflix and Sony have announced that Netflix streaming is coming to the Sony Playstation 3 as early as next month. Back in August when Microsoft was rolling out its new dashboard update, one of the features it was talking up was Netflix streaming, says Smith, and it said 'This exclusive partnership offers you the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from Netflix to the television via Xbox 360. Xbox 360 will be the only game console to offer this movie-watching experience...' Apparently, in Microsoft parlance, 'exclusive partnership' means 'we launched it first' and not 'we inked a deal with Netflix preventing this feature from appearing on the competition's hardware.' All this is good news for PS3 owners who can now sign up to be notified of Netflix availability for their system."
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+-   Peering Disputes Migrate to IPv6[->] on Friday October 23, @11:22AM 1sockchuck

Submitted by 1sockchuck on Friday October 23, @11:22AM
1sockchuck writes "As more networks prepare for the transition to IPv6, we're seeing the first peering disputes (sometimes known as "Internet partitions") involving IPv6 connectivity. Slashdot readers will be shocked (shocked!) to learn that the dispute involves Cogent, which has previously been involved in high-profile IPv4 peering spats with Sprint, Level 3 and Telia. Hurricane Electric, which has been an early adopter on IPv6, says Cogent won't peer with it over IPv6. Hurricane has extended an olive branch by baking a cake bearing a message of outreach for Cogent."
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