Comment G'dammit (Score 1) 43
I'm pretty sure they did this because I finally relented and switched to Workspaces this weekend. YOU'RE WELCOME, EVERYONE.
Decoding the Inscrutable Logos On Your Electronics 140
jfruhlinger writes "If you've bought a piece of electronic equipment — a computer, a printer, even a lowly power supply — you've no doubt noticed a host of inscrutable logos festooned all over it — UL, CE, FCC, TUV, RoHS, ENERGY STAR, and the like. What do they mean? Each of these compliance marks tell a story about your gadget's operation or lifecycle, and knowing what they mean can let you in on the hidden life of the gizmos you buy."
Comment Re:The Joys of employeehood.... (Score 1) 509
Just to clarify, it has nothing to do with if you're a "sole shareholder". If you're an employee-owner, you have to pay yourself fair compensation for the work you do, regardless of if there are other shareholders. If you attempt to funnel salary through shareholder profit distribution and don't maintain what the IRS considers a reasonable salary, you'll get nailed for it dodging SE tax. If you're a shareholder that is not an employee and does not do work for the company, you have nothing to worry about.
The typical advice on "fair salary" is to research a bunch of salary survey websites, print the information out and save it in a file, and then pick something about in the median. If the IRS comes asking, it's up to you to provide backing documentation that the salary you're paying is considered reasonable. If your profit distributions are still unreasonably high due to working twice as many clients as is standard and you don't pay yourself extra salary, that can also be viewed as SE tax avoidance.
What 'IT' Stuff Should We Teach Ninth-Graders? 462
gphilip writes "I have been asked to contribute ideas for the preparation of a textbook for ninth graders (ages circa 14 years) in the subject of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Could you suggest material to include in such a text? More details below."
Quite a few details, actually — how would you add to the curriculum plan outlined below?
Comment Re:Learning Without a Negative Response? (Score 5, Informative) 329
The problem isn't that this picture was posted. The problem is that the school board over-reacted to something that really had absolutely no bearing on her ability to teach.
Also wrong.
While I agree about the general point your making, this woman should not be your torchbearer for this cause. The "Drunken Pirate" picture was just one example of many issues this student-teacher had, and not even the most egregious. Bad classroom management (yelling "shut up!" at the students), unprofessional conduct (telling them about an encounter with her ex-husband while on a date with her boyfriend), blurring personal-professional boundaries (telling her kids about her MySpace account), poor grammar skills (while teaching an English class!), inability or unwillingness to prepare for the lessons, making up answers to students' questions, etc.
The picture wasn't even the main thing the school took issue with. Nor was its "Drunken Pirate" caption. Along with the picture, she posted a public note talking about problems she had with her supervising teacher as the real reason she wouldn't apply at the school after completing her student teaching. Reading the judge's ruling (or even just the findings of fact) on this case puts it in a whole new light.
Comment Re:Perspective anyone? (Score 1) 184
The story felt less credible to me. The interview read more like one guy asking questions and then answering them in guise, rather than two people going back and forth. It lacked authenticity and felt more like manufactured drama. I'm sure the overall information about how scams work is based on fact, but the relating of it just felt off.
Comment Re:O RLY? (Score 5, Informative) 602
What post history are you looking at? I just looked through the recent comments on her profile and couldn't see much mention of gender.
There was this thread and one other post about TSA data exchange specification that mentioned gender along with numerous other data fields. Other than that, it seemed like pretty typical nerdy chatter about malloc() jokes and energy through sewer tunnels.
Can I Be Fired For Refusing To File a Patent? 617
An anonymous reader writes "I am a developer for a medium-sized private technology company getting ready for an IPO. My manager woke up one morning and decided to patent some stuff I did recently. The problem is, I'm strongly opposed to software patents, believing that they are stifling innovation and dragging the technology industry down (see all the frivolous lawsuits reported here on Slashdot!). Now, my concern is: what kind of consequences could I bring on myself for refusing to support the patent process? Has anybody been in a similar position and what was the outcome?"
Comment Too late (Score 5, Informative) 270
It'll be interesting to see whether Dutch-style openness or Soviet-style secrecy prevails in Las Vegas.
Injuction was already granted. Insert Soviet joke here.
Bootleg Tron 2 Trailer Is Out In the Wild 216
An anonymous reader writes "Gizmodo and Filmstalker are showing the Tron 2 (aka Tr2n) teaser from Comic-Con 08. From the Giz article: 'It's a tiny bootleg video, but I don't care. You can see that the 3D looks amazing, the new lightcycles are stunning (and move like real bikes), the world and the whole mood is Batman-like dark. And Jeff Bridges ... well, he is Jeff Bridges. What can I say, he looks like a badass version of The Dude. "It's just a game!" he shouts. No, it's not. It's Tr2n. At last. Note: excuse the excitement, but I saw the original in the movie theater, and 200 times after that. With War Games, it's what got me into technology when I was a kid, and ultimately here in Giz. The only thing that has me worried is that the characters in the computer world are fully 3D.'"
Microsoft's Decade-old Patent On Tree-view Mode! 183
BhaKi writes "Remember the Tree-View mode in many file management applications? It's shocking to know that this omnipresent feature was patented by Microsoft back in 1995 (granted in 1997). I'm not very sure about the implications, though. The patent is so general that it can be related to many things from tree-mode to virtual filesystems. Check out claim no. 3 of the patent for the most clear part."
More Skype Back Door Speculation 210
An anonymous reader writes "According to reports, there may be a back door built into Skype, which allows connections to be bugged. The company has declined to expressly deny the allegations. At a meeting with representatives of ISPs and the Austrian regulator on lawful interception of IP based services held on 25th June, high-ranking officials at the Austrian interior ministry revealed that it is not a problem for them to listen in on Skype conversations."
Five Ways Microsoft Could Change After Gates 304
Might Squirrel noted a perfectly mediocre story to chat about on a boring post-holiday weekend Monday. This one is a look at 5 ways Microsoft could change after Gates. From accepting Open Source to serious interoperability work, there are definitely 5 things on that list there. Nothing about my solid gold rocket car.
Gaining System-Level Access To Vista 412
An anonymous reader writes "This video shows a method by which a user can use a Linux distro called BackTrack to gain system access to Windows Vista without logging into Windows or knowing the username or password for any accounts. To accomplish this, the user renames cmd.exe to Utilman.exe — this is the program that brings up the Accessibility options for users without sight or with limited vision. The attack takes advantage of the fact that the Utility Manager can be invoked before the user logs into the system. The user gains System access, which is a level higher than Administrator. The person who discovered this security hole claims that XP, 2000, 2003 and NT are not vulnerable to it; only Windows Vista is."
Quickies — MIT's Intelligent Sticky Notes 124
Iddo Genuth writes to mention that MIT researchers have made their first pass at bringing the common yellow post-it note into the digital age. Using a combination of artificial intelligence, RFID, and ink recognition, the team hopes to make the digital version as ubiquitous as possible. "The Quickie application not only allows users to browse their notes, but also lets users search for specific information or keywords. Using a freely available commonsense knowledge engine and computational AI techniques, the software processes the written text and determines the relevant context of the notes, categorizing them appropriately. "The system uses its understanding of the user's intentions, content, and the context of the notes to provide the user with reminders, alerts, messages, and just-in-time information" - said the inventors. Additionally, each Quickie carries a unique RFID tag, so that it can be easily located around the house or office. Therefore, users can be sure never to lose a bookmarked book or any other object marked with a Quickie."
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