SlashSpam - Slashdot User

Comment Harmless convenience or rotting cancer? (Score 1) 1

by SlashSpam on Sunday December 09, 2012 @07:21AM (#42232479) Attached to: Ubuntu 13.04 Will Allow Instant Purchasing, Right From The Dash

I can see how it can be convenient, to be able to order books, CD's, online music, etc. from the core of your desktop. However, what I don't want, is Canonical to depend on you, the users, to buy DRM'ed music, and/or proprietary software.

I have been somewhat worried about the software center offering proprietary software, however, it seems convenient in the cases, where there is no free alternative, or when the free alternative is considerably less convenient than the proprietary version. However, the user should be properly warned, that this is proprietary software, that doesn't respect his or her freedom.

However, the idea that Canonical gets a dime or whatever, when someone uses Ubuntu to buy a new book, doesn't worry me. I wish they would extend their support on free software instead. I am sure people concerned about free software, would be willing to pay for support. We also need Canonical to offer governments, schools and stuff like that a proper alternative to the proprietary stuff, they use today.

If the idea with this thing, however, is merely to go for the money of random GNU/Linux users, who stumble on Ubuntu by coincidence, to buy proprietary software, DRM'ed music, and stuff like that, then it may very well be a cancer in the core GUI of the default Ubuntu install.

Submission + - How corruption is strangling US Innovation (hbr.org) 1

Submitted by

hype7

on Friday December 07, 2012 @08:39PM

hype7 writes: "The Harvard Business Review is running a very interesting piece on how money in politics is having a deleterious effect on US innovation. From the article:
if you were in any doubt how deep inside the political system the system of contributions have allowed incumbents to insert their hands, take a look at what happened when the Republican Study Committee released a paper pointing out some of the problems with current copyright regime. The debate was stifled within 24 hours. And just for good measure, Rep Marsha Blackburn, whose district abuts Nashville and who received more money from the music industry than any other Republican congressional candidate, apparently had the author of the study, Derek Khanna, fired. Sure, debate around policy is important, but it's clearly not as important as raising campaign funds.
"

Security Researcher Finds Hundreds of Browser Bugs 145

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday January 01, 2011 @06:50PM from the going-for-the-gusto dept.

An anonymous reader writes "PC Magazine reports on a very understated late night post to the full-disclosure mailing list, in which security researcher Michael Zalewski shared a fuzzing tool reportedly capable of identifying over a hundred browser bugs. Some of these bugs, he says, may be already known to third parties in China. The report also includes an account of how browser vendors fared fixing these flaws so far. Not surprisingly, Microsoft's response timeline appears depressing."

Submission + - Pirate Party founder steps down after 5 years

Submitted by ktetch-pirate on Saturday January 01, 2011 @04:29PM

ktetch-pirate writes: 5 years to the day after he created the first Pirate Party, Rickard Falkvinge has stepped down as leader of Piratpartiet, the Swedish Pirate Party. The announcement was made in a webcast with Falkvinge and his deputy Anna Troberg, with Troberg taking on his duties effective immediately.

Hungarian Officials Can Now Censor the Media 185

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday January 01, 2011 @04:28PM from the constant-bleeping dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Hungary is set to regulate the media, including web-published content, under a new law applicable today. The law requires all the media to provide a 'balanced view' and must not go against 'public morality,' and places all publications under the control of a new regulating body, whose top members have all been nominated by Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban, whose strong ways have been compared to Putin's, has been tightening his grip over Hungary. 'In the seven months since Orban came to power with a two-thirds parliamentary majority, he has implemented retroactive taxes in violation of the constitution, curbed the Constitutional Court's power, effectively nationalized private pension funds and put ruling-party allies in charge of at least four independent institutions, including the audit office.' Citizens sentenced in application of the new law can still challenge it at the European Court of Human Rights — see you in a few years."

Comment Re:What about other people's data about me? (Score 1) 200

by SlashSpam on Saturday November 06, 2010 @08:09AM (#34146480) Attached to: EU Commission Says People Have a 'Right To Be Forgotten' Online

Facebook is not hosted in Europe, and therefore not governed by EU law.

Submission + - Danish Expert Declares Vinland Map Genuine (newsdaily.com)

Submitted by

MBCook

on Saturday July 18, 2009 @06:36PM

MBCook writes: "A Danish expert named Rene Larson has finished a study of the infamous Vinland Map and declared it genuine. "All the tests that we have done over the past five years — on the materials and other aspects — do not show any signs of forgery," he said at the press conference. He and his team studied the ink, the paper, and even insect damage. They believe that the ink, which was discovered to contain titanium dioxide in 1972 and thus supposedly too new for the map to be genuine, was contaminated when it was being dried, causing the contamination."

Comment Re:Shockwave? (Score 1) 256

by SlashSpam on Monday August 15, 2005 @03:30AM (#13319724) Attached to: Linux For Supervillains

macromedia doesn't release for linux

It runs fine on my GNU/Linux system though. The trouble with flash is that there was no free (as in freedom) flash plugin. However, I guess our friends at the FSF can point you to a project that is working on just that.

/Spam .

Slashdot Top Deals