wiseandroid - Slashdot User

How Can I Contribute To Open Source? 332

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday December 22, 2009 @05:15PM from the in-kind dept.

rtobyr writes "I work for a state government agency. That means we can't donate money, because it's a 'gift of public funds.' I had the idea to put up a Web page stating that we 'use the following free software to save tax dollars,' as a way to help spread the word about open source software, but management calls this an 'endorsement.' A mirror server is a no-go as well. I'm certainly not a talented enough programmer to help with development. I've donated $10 here and there out of my own pocket, but I'm hoping you Slashdotters have some creative ideas about how my organization could give something back to the teams that create free software we benefit so much from."

Submission + - 'Nexus One' Is First Google's Android Phone (wiseandroid.com)

Submitted by xchg on Sunday December 13, 2009 @02:55PM

xchg writes: It's still not called the "Google Phone", but the Nexus One — to be made by HTC — is as close as I think we're going to get. The WSJ cites sources familiar with Google's plans and says that Google has designed this handset and plans to sell it directly to consumers, unlocked.

Submission + - Android goes to Battlefield (wiseandroid.com)

Submitted by wiseandroid on Friday October 23, 2009 @06:00PM

wiseandroid writes: Google's mobile operating system Android has won plenty of adherents among cellphone makers and gadget manufacturers since its 2007 debut. Now defense contractor Raytheon is preparing it for a more urgent mission: saving lives in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Submission + - Sparc sends Sparkfun.com C&D letter. (sparkfun.com) 1

Submitted by moogied on Friday October 23, 2009 @12:35PM

moogied writes: Sparkfun.com, a electronics component provider, has been sent a cease and desist letter by Sparc. The letter states "Because the dominant portion of the SparkFun mark, namely, SPARK, is phonetically identical and nearly visually identical to SI's SPARC mark, and because it is used in connection with identical goods, we believe confusion is likely to occur among the relevant purchasing group." Sparkfun.com has provided the entire contents of the letter on its front page, with a breakdown of points it feels are most relevant.

Submission + - SPAM: How To Stretch Your Security Dollar 1

Submitted by itwbennett on Friday October 23, 2009 @11:20AM

itwbennett writes: Taking an aspirin a day will keep you headache-free but it will also reduce your risk of heart attack. You're definitely getting your money's worth out of that bitter little pill. But experts say you can also get additional ROI from security, business continuity, disaster recovery and compliance investments, writes Daniel Dern in a recent article. In fact, you can get 'double or triple the value from 'side effects,'" observes Jim Cuff, VP of strategy, Iron Mountain Digital. For example, tools purchased for compliance management can also help identify redundancies and other inefficiencies. Security appliances don't just provide security; they can also be used for performance and bandwidth management, and enforcing acceptable use policies. Or take the next step and use disaster recovery resources 'for part of your active environment, like load balancing, test and develop and QA, and backup, not something you have just in case,' urges Greg Schulz, founder and senior analyst of the StorageIO Group. And for the ultimate bang for your buck, take your facilities and knowledge and turn them into an external business offering.
Link to Original Source

Submission + - Apple seeks patent on operating system advertising (ipwatchdog.com)

Submitted by patentpundit on Friday October 23, 2009 @08:50AM

patentpundit writes: On April 18, 2008, Apple Computer applied for a patent relating to an "invention" that allows for the showing of advertisements within an operating system. The first named inventor on the patent application is none other than Steve Jobs, the CEO and co-founder. The patent application published and became available for public inspection on October 22, 2009. If implemented the invention would make it possible for advertisements to be displayed on a variety of devices, including a desktop computer, cell phones, PDAs and more. In one alarming aspect, the device could be disabled during the running of advertisements, thereby forcing users to not be able to use the device and be forced to let the advertisement run its course before the system would unlock and allow further use. In an even more invasive version explained in the patent application the user could be required to do something, such as click to continue, in order to verify that they are actively watching the advertisement and haven't simply walked away to let the ad run its course. Whether Apple would implement such an invention is unknown, but it is possible that they think there are others out there who might want to implement such invasive advertising. It is possible Apple wanted to get ahead of the curve and file this patent so that if an company is silly enough to engage in Big Brother advertising they will have to be paid a royalty. I sure hope this is not the future of advertising.

Submission + - Symbian MicroKernel finally goes Open Source (ostatic.com)

Submitted by ruphus13 on Thursday October 22, 2009 @01:25PM

ruphus13 writes: Symbian announced over a year ago that they were going to Open Source their code, and the industry has been patiently waiting for that to happen. Well, it finally has. According to news on Wednesday, "Symbian has released its platform microkernel, and software development kit (SDK), as open source under the Eclipse Public License. The Symbian Foundation claims that it is moving quickly toward an open source model, which is questionable, but the release of the EKA2 kernel is a signal that Symbian still means business about adopting an open source model. Accenture, ARM, Nokia and Texas Instruments contributed software to the microkernel, Symbian officials said. "

Yahoo Offered Lap Dances At Hack Event 572

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday October 22, 2009 @09:50AM from the whos'-next-it's-you dept.

Fotograf writes "Yahoo's latest embarrassment seems like a sign that the company is just trying too hard to be cool. The latest debacle is earning the company some additional publicity. After Yahoo hosted Taiwan Open Hack Day, a special event for engineers and developers that was held last weekend, a series of photos found their way onto the internet — as ill-thought out decisions often do. Yahoo offered lap dances to the attendees of the hack event. Since the pictures have come out the company has decided to apologize."

Comment Re:In Soviet Russia... (Score 2, Funny) 356

by stoolpigeon on Wednesday October 21, 2009 @01:23PM (#29826443) Attached to: Volunteers Wanted For Simulated 520-Day Mars Trip

so close
yet so very far.

Comment Re:Wait until He Finds Out (Score 1) 4

by stoolpigeon on Wednesday October 21, 2009 @01:16PM (#29826341) Attached to: Hitler Finds Out Balloon Boy Was a Hoax

I wish I had to ask who bat boy is. but i don't

Comment Re:Power Steering failure? (Score 1) 609

by stoolpigeon on Wednesday October 21, 2009 @12:42PM (#29825789) Attached to: Toyota Experimenting With Joystick Control For Cars

I don't remember the exact setup in mine. I do know it happened between Chicago, IL and Kalamazoo, MI and I made it there without any problems. Put a new belt on and all was fine. That Celica was a phenomenal car. I accidentally ran it for over a week with no transmission fluid in it - filled it up after I realized it and never had a problem. I only owned it for a little over a year after that, but still. It was pretty impressive to me.

Journal SPAM: Hitler Finds Out Balloon Boy Was a Hoax 4

Journal by stoolpigeon on Wednesday October 21, 2009 @12:21PM

All right - I'll confess this right up front. The alternate subtitles over the Hitler outburst things still absolutely crack me up. I don't know why, and it is probably proof of what a simpleton I am, but they just kill me. So this one about balloon boy had me cracking up. I will probably watch this one a few times.

Submission + - Sun Microsystems to cut 3,000 jobs (cnn.com)

Submitted by afgun on Tuesday October 20, 2009 @07:00PM

afgun writes: Once great tech leader Sun will shed 3,000 jobs due to the delays in the Oracle acquisition; is this the first cry of the death-spiral?

Journal SPAM: SR-71 Break-Up

Journal by stoolpigeon on Tuesday October 20, 2009 @02:08PM

What happens when you are traveling mach 3.2 at 78,000 feet and have "catastrophic departure from controlled flight"? Amazingly enough there is a man that could tell you and you can read all about it by clicking the link.

Submission + - Element 114 Verified (physicstoday.org)

Submitted by

ExRex

on Tuesday October 20, 2009 @01:49PM

ExRex writes: "A team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has confirmed the results of researchers at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, who first reported producing the superheavy element 114 in 1999. Such independent verification is important, particularly given evidence of fabricated results for other superheavy elements.
If you're a subscriber to Physical Review Letters you can download the full article."

Slashdot Top Deals