Comment I have to ask... (Score 1) 42
... is 2024 the year for Linux on the desktop ?
(ducks)
Comment imagine... (Score 1) 48
... a Beowulf cluster of those!
Oh wait, wrong century.. Sorry.
Doing the Math On the New MacBook 783
Technologizer writes "Apple's new MacBook is a significantly different machine than its predecessor — a slicker laptop at a higher price point. But does it carry a large price premium over similar Windows PCs? I did a painstaking spec-by-spec comparison versus three roughly comparably-configured Windows machines, and came to the conclusion that the value it offers for price paid is not out of whack with the Windows world." The article uses the phrase "Mac tax," which one commenter points out is a recent Microsoft marketing canard.
Researchers Discover The Most Creative Time of Day 154
Creativity is least likely to strike in the afternoon, according to a survey that suggests office workers have little chance of solving problems after lunch. A poll of 1,426 people showed that a quarter of us stay up late when seeking inspiration. Taking a shower or just sitting in the bathroom proved to be a popular way of getting the creative juices flowing. The survey found that 10:04pm was the most creative time, while 4:33pm was the least. I'll think of something funny to write here later.
UK UFO Sightings Declassified, Still No Intergalactic Relations 319
schwit1 is just one of the massive flood of readers (and publications) writing to tell us about the recently declassified UK Ministry of Defense account of a supposed UFO sighting. Included are nineteen sightings between 1986 and 1992, with the most notable being a sighting in 1991 with a US Air Force pilot's first-hand account. Not that this lends an air of credibility to anything, just more papers with more words. "Almost 200 such files will be made available by the MoD over the next four years. [...] UFO expert and journalism lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, Dr David Clarke, said the documents would shed new light on relatively little-known sightings. He said some conspiracy theorists would already have decided that the release of the papers was a 'whitewash.' He added: 'Because the subject is bedevilled by charlatans and lunatics, it is career suicide to have your name associated with UFOs, which is a real pity. The National Archives are doing a fantastic job here. Everyone brings their own interpretation. Now you can look at the actual primary material — the stuff coming into the MoD every day — and make your own mind up.'"
Linux Ecosystem Is Worth $25 Billion 176
darthcamaro writes "How much is Linux worth today? That's a question the Linux Foundation is trying to answer in a new report expected to be released on Wednesday.
FireFox 3.1 Leaves IE in the Dust 435
Anonymous writes "Granted, FireFox 3.1 is just a beta and IE 8 is also in beta, but it looks like Microsoft has some ground to make up when it comes to browser performance. Given that Mozilla appears to be on a much faster cycle than Microsoft with this stuff, it's also possible that it could increase the gap even more before IE 8 is GA, no?"
Intellectual Property and Open Source 92
stoolpigeon writes "There isn't a person writing code in this country who is not impacted by US intellectual property laws. I think that it is safe to say, that not all coders have a strong understanding of just what those laws are, let alone what they mean. Stepping into this gap is programmer become lawyer Van Lindberg with his new book Intellectual Property and Open Source. Lindberg has really done something special with this volume. I don't think I've ever read a tech oriented work where I've felt so convinced that I was reading something that would become a standard by which others would come to be judged." Read below for the rest of JR's review.
Hubble Finds Unidentified Object In Space 716
Gizmodo is reporting that the Hubble space telescope has found a new unidentified object in the middle of nowhere. Some are even suggesting that this could be a new class of object. Of course, without actually understanding more about it, the speculation seems a bit wild. "The object also appeared out of nowhere. It just wasn't there before. In fact, they don't even know where it is exactly located because it didn't behave like anything they know. Apparently, it can't be closer than 130 light-years but it can be as far as 11 billion light-years away. It's not in any known galaxy either. And they have ruled out a supernova too. It's something that they have never encountered before. In other words: they don't have a single clue about where or what the heck this thing is."
Best Buy Coughs Up $54 Million For Napster 164
MarketWatch reports that Best Buy has decided to toss $54 million into an acquisition of Napster. All told, the deal amounts to around $121 million, with about $67 million headed towards getting cash and short-term investments from Napster's balance sheet. "The deal will give Best Buy an online digital music retail outlet as well as a subscription streaming service that has about 700,000 subscribers. That could help Best Buy to compete against retail giant Wal-Mart, which has its own online digital music offering."
Firefox's Market Share Hits 28% in Europe 254
Mitchell's Boy Toy writes "Firefox's market share has hit 28.0% in Europe as of December 2007, according to a French web metrics firm. That's a 20.7% increase from the beginning of 2007. 'Finland currently has the highest Firefox market share in Europe with 45.4 percent, followed by Slovenia with 44.6 percent and Poland with 42.4 percent.' IE share fell to just 66.1% in December, a 0.9 point loss in just a month. It should also be noted that Firefox's success could spell trouble for Opera's antitrust complaint: 'Firefox's continued success in Europe may undermine some of the arguments made by Norwegian browser maker Opera in an antitrust complaint filed against Microsoft in December of last year. Opera accused Microsoft of abusing its dominant position in the web browser market by tying Internet Explorer to Windows.'"
Comment Re:Low Slashdot IDs Please Post Here (Score 1) 435
As per that Jon Katz guy: he seemed to drop off the earth (well, at least slashdot) all of a sudden. I didn't have him blocked, cause I kinda liked his subjects, and still he disappeared without trace. If I were paranoidically inclined, I'd suspect a slashdot editor cover-up, they probably buried the body in the backyard under sheets of unused VA Linux call options, but really I can't be arsed to care.
I say I liked his stuff, but that'd be except for the "post-columbine world" and "the Net" nonsense. Oh, and his seemingly endless "quest to install linux" which was perhaps the worst tech writing/whining since Jerry Pournelle's monthly never-ending-stories on installing windows mouse drivers and shit like that in (the now defunct?) Byte magazine. Oh, and his movie reviews, which always had to tie in to columbine again and the net.
Anyhow, I googled for Katz once, and it seems now he is writing about dogs.
I say I liked his stuff, but that'd be except for the "post-columbine world" and "the Net" nonsense. Oh, and his seemingly endless "quest to install linux" which was perhaps the worst tech writing/whining since Jerry Pournelle's monthly never-ending-stories on installing windows mouse drivers and shit like that in (the now defunct?) Byte magazine. Oh, and his movie reviews, which always had to tie in to columbine again and the net.
Anyhow, I googled for Katz once, and it seems now he is writing about dogs.
Graph of Linux Vs. Windows System Calls 302
cgrayson recommends Richard Stiennon's blog on ZDNet — a post titled Why Windows is less secure than Linux shows a compelling graphical comparison between system calls on the two operating systems. The blogger tips Sana Security for the images. Quoting: "In its long evolution, Windows has grown so complicated that it is harder to secure... [T]hese images... are a complete map of the system calls that occur when a web server serves up [the same] single page of [HTML] with a single picture."
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