nickfrommaryland - Slashdot User

Comment Not Making Decisions? (Score 1) 374

by nickfrommaryland on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @05:24PM (#29030103) Attached to: MS — Dropping IE6 Support "Not an Option"

Microsoft wants to see IE6 gone as much as anyone else, but the company isn't going to make the decision for its users anytime soon.

I'm pretty sure they make decisions for their users all the time. How is this any different?

Comment Re:Crackfix please (Score 1) 414

by nickfrommaryland on Monday May 11, 2009 @01:16PM (#27909411) Attached to: Windows 7 RCs Shut Down To Force Updates

Because while Microsoft has every right to disable their software, they have NO LEGAL RIGHT to turn my computer on or off. That is *MY* hardware. You turn it off without my permission and I will have you in court for unlawful trespass, unauthorized computer access, unauthorized use of property, and a whole slew of other Federal charges.

You'll be laughed out by the first judge to hear your case, too. If MS has decided to disable Windows 98 because they no longer support it, then MS would likely have been in breach of contract and paying out the nose. However, the RCs were distributed with clear notice that the software would only function for so many days and not intended for production use. You gain no superior right to Windows by installing it on your home hardware. In short, MS has every right to shutdown the RCs. If you don't like it, ask any /. reader to help you install a Linux distro.

Comment Re:not if they're using email... (Score 5, Informative) 341

by nickfrommaryland on Tuesday August 14, 2007 @08:16PM (#20231709) Attached to: RIAA Short on Funds? Fails to Pay Attorney Fees

What, a letter via registered mail was too expensive?

Registered mail is only necessary when you are trying to give someone notice. The RIAA already has notice of the order. From this point, it doesn't really matter how they try to contact them about collecitng. They could send messages to them via singing telegram.

Submission + - Perfect crystals grown by cancelling out gravity (newscientisttech.com)

Submitted by

willatnewscientist

on Saturday August 11, 2007 @10:56AM

willatnewscientist writes: "Researchers in the Netherlands and Japan have found a way to grow perfect crystals in 'zero gravity' here on Earth. By exploiting the way a powerful magnet influences diamagnetic materials they have been able to grow protien crystals without the defects normally introduced as a result of gravity (The same trick has been used to levitate a frog before). Normally, such crystals are grown in space, aboard the International Space Station, for example."

Submission + - Sun lowers barriers to open-source Java

Submitted by Shyane on Friday August 10, 2007 @03:10AM

Shyane writes: Sun Microsystems is making it easier for open-source programmers to ensure their Java versions meet the company's compatibility requirements, but the deal extends only to those involved in Sun's own open-source Java project. The program grants access to its Java Technology Compatibility Kit to anyone with an open-source Java project that is based substantially on Sun's open-source Java software and governed by the GPL. Programmers need access to the test kit to prove that a project is in compliance with the Java specification. Projects that pass Sun's compatibility kit tests also can use the official Java logos for free, said Rich Sands, OpenJDK community marketing manager at Sun.

KDE 4.0 Beta 1 Released 249

Posted by Zonk on Thursday August 02, 2007 @05:06PM from the and-they-are-just-giving-it-away-this-time dept.

dbhost writes "Along with this morning's cup of coffee and log reviews, I discovered that the KDE team is moving forward with a long awaited beta release of KDE 4.0 beta release of KDE 4.0. The most interesting item I found in the notes is that the file manager in KDE is being separated from Konqueror into a component called Dolphin. Also, according to the announcement, konsole has been treated to a number of improvements such as split view, and history highlighting."

Submission + - Mac users' Internet experience to remain seamless 2

Submitted by thefickler on Thursday August 02, 2007 @05:00PM

thefickler writes: Mac users will continue to see the Internet as it was intended, thanks to the renewal of a font licensing agreement between Microsoft and Apple. At TypeCon2007 Microsoft and Apple announced they have renewed their font licensing agreement, giving Apple users ongoing use of the latest versions of Microsoft Windows core fonts.

Back in 1996 Microsoft started the "Core fonts for the Web" initiative. The idea of this initiative was to create a a standard pack of fonts that would be present on all or most computers, allowing web pages to be displayed consistently on different computers. While the project was terminated in 2002, some of the fonts defined as core fonts for the web have gone on to become known as "web safe fonts", and are therefore widely used by Internet developers.

Submission + - Remote Control To Prevent Aircraft Hijacking

Submitted by

Snad

on Tuesday March 06, 2007 @10:03PM

Snad writes: "The UK's Evening Standard is reporting that Boeing plans to roll out aircraft remote controls systems in a bid to eliminate the threat of terrorist hijackings, and prevent any repetition of the events of September 11 2001.

"Scientists at aircraft giant Boeing are testing the tamper-proof autopilot system which uses state-of-the-art computer and satellite technology. It will be activated by the pilot flicking a simple switch or by pressure sensors fitted to the cockpit door that will respond to any excessive force as terrorists try to break into the flight deck.
Once triggered, no one on board will be able to deactivate the system. Currently, all autopilots are manually switched on and off at the discretion of pilots. A threatened airliner could be flown to a secure military base or a commercial airport, where it would touch down using existing landing aids known as 'autoland function'.""

Slashdot Top Deals