======================================================================
Demand for networking skills is growing. Cisco Certifications
differentiate you in the market bringing valuable, measurable rewards.
Take a complimentary Learning@Cisco Self-Assessment and learn
more about Cisco Certifications, training, and career opportunities.
http://p.sf.net/sfu/cisco-sdnews======================================================================
Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* Next-Gen Low-Latency Open Codec Beats HE-AAC
* NZ MP Enjoys Copyright Infringement, Votes For 3 Strikes
* Firefox 5 In Aurora Channel
* New Nintendo HD Console Rumors Abound
* 1Gbps Fiber Optic Network For Rural Britain
* Game Developer Group Warns Against Amazon Appstore
* Maqetta: Open Source HTML5 Editor From IBM
* Computer Factories Are the Energy Hogs
* Hypertext Creator: Structure of the Web 'Completely Wrong'
* E-Book Sales Have Tripled In the Last Year
* Couple Sends Record Player Wedding Invitations
* All Languages Linked To Common Source
* GIMP 2.7.2 Released — Another Step Toward 2.8
* Who Killed Spotify?
* Crowdsourcing the Censors: A Contest
* Skype For Android Can Leak Data To Malicious Apps
* Rivals Mock Microsoft's 'Native HTML5' Claims
* Solar Breakthrough Could Provide Power Without Solar Cells
* Book Review: Linux Shell Scripting Cookbook
* Students Build Life-Sized Trojan Horse For Class Project
* OpenOffice.org To Be Given Back To the Community
* <em>Portal 2</em> Bringing Steam To the PS3, Possible Early Release
* DOJ Seizes Online Poker Site Domains
* Apple Faces Class-Action Suit For In-App Purchases
* TSA Investigates... People Who Complain About TSA
* Why Google Should Buy the Music Industry
* Cheaper, More Powerful Alternative To FPGAs
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Next-Gen Low-Latency Open Codec Beats HE-AAC
| from the ogg-still-rocks-anyhow dept.
| posted by timothy on Thursday April 14, @20:26 (Communications)
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/14/2345238/Next-Gen-Low-Latency-Open-Codec-Beats-HE-AAC?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aldenissin writes "From the [0]Xiph.org developers, [1]Opus is a
non-patent encumbered codec designed for interactive usages, such as
VoIP, telepresence, and remote jamming, that require very low latency.
When they started working on Opus (then known as [2]CELT), they used the
slogan 'Why can't your telephone sound as good as your stereo?', and they
weren't kidding. Now, [3]test results demonstrate that Opus's performance
against HE-AAC, one of the strongest (but highest-latency) codecs at this
bitrate, bests the quality of two of the most popular and respected
encoders for the format, on the majority of individual audio samples
receiving a higher average score overall. [4]Hydrogenaudio conducted a
[5]64kbit/sec multiformat listening test including Opus, aoTuV Vorbis,
two HE-AAC encoders, and a 48kbit/sec AAC-LC low anchor. Comparing 30
diverse samples using the highly sensitive [6]ABC/HR methodology, Opus is
running with 22.5ms of total latency but the codec can go as low as 5ms."
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/14/2345238/Next-Gen-Low-Latency-Open-Codec-Beats-HE-AAC?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. https://people.xiph.org/~greg/opus/ha2011/
1. http://www.opus-codec.org/
2. http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/celt/demo.html
3. http://listening-tests.hydrogenaudio.org/igorc/results.html
4. http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/
5. http://listening-tests.hydrogenaudio.org/igorc/Public%20Multiformat%20Listening%20Test%20@%2064kbps.htm
6. http://ff123.net/abchr/abchr.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| NZ MP Enjoys Copyright Infringement, Votes For 3 Strikes
| from the one-law-for-the-lion-and-the-ass dept.
| posted by timothy on Thursday April 14, @23:28 (Media)
| https://politics.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/0027244/NZ-MP-Enjoys-Copyright-Infringement-Votes-For-3-Strikes?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "As New Zealand politicians are looking to
[0]rush through a new copyright law, 92A, which imposes a 'three strikes'
regime on people accused of file sharing, some New Zealanders were a bit
amused to see Parliament Member Melissa Lee stand up to speak in favor of
the bill just hours after tweeting how she was enjoying a [1]compilation
of music put together for her by a friend. Does that count as her first
strike?"
Discuss this story at:
https://politics.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/0027244/NZ-MP-Enjoys-Copyright-Infringement-Votes-For-3-Strikes?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://slashdot.org/story/11/04/13/1310255/NZL-Govt-Rushes-Thru-Controversial-Anti-Piracy-Law
1. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110413/18085213885/new-zealand-politican-tweets-how-shes-violating-copyright-law-night-before-supporting-three-strikes-copyright-law.shtml
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Firefox 5 In Aurora Channel
| from the versioning's-tough dept.
| posted by timothy on Friday April 15, @02:22 (Firefox)
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/0114254/Firefox-5-In-Aurora-Channel?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
blair1q writes "[0]Mozilla.org has added a new intermediate development
state, [1]Aurora, to its Firefox development chain. Coming between
Nightly-Build and Beta, it adds a fourth sense to the meaning of 'the
current version of Firefox' (the Release version fills out the trope).
And now they have populated the Aurora channel with [2]what will
eventually become Firefox 5. The intent is to reduce release-version
cycle times by allowing more live testing of new features before the
integrated code gets into a Beta version. The inaugural Aurora drop
includes 'performance, security and stability improvements.' Firefox 5 is
scheduled to enter Beta on May 17, and Release on June 21. Downloads of
all of the active channels are available from the [3]Firefox channels
webpage."
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/0114254/Firefox-5-In-Aurora-Channel?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.mozilla.org/
1. http://blog.mozilla.com/blog/2011/04/13/new-channels-for-firefox-rapid-releases/
2. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215818/Mozilla_kicks_off_Firefox_5_faster_release_schedule
3. http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/channel/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| New Nintendo HD Console Rumors Abound
| from the control-it-with-your-brain dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @03:32 (E3)
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/0446233/New-Nintendo-HD-Console-Rumors-Abound?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]pcgfx805 writes "Game Informer has reportedly received word from
'multiple sources' that [1]a new HD console from Nintendo will be
debuting at this year's E3. They report on conflicting information
regarding the power of the console compared to the other current-gen
consoles, but go on to speculate that 'Either way it will offer
competitive specifications.'" This year's E3 is scheduled for June 7-9.
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/0446233/New-Nintendo-HD-Console-Rumors-Abound?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. mailto:pcgfx805@hotmail.co.uk
1. http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2011/04/14/new-nintendo-console-at-e3.aspx
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| 1Gbps Fiber Optic Network For Rural Britain
| from the saves-on-petrol dept.
| posted by timothy on Friday April 15, @05:19 (The Internet)
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/0056246/1Gbps-Fiber-Optic-Network-For-Rural-Britain?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cylonlover writes "Economies of scale mean that densely populated cities
have generally been the ones to benefit from the roll out of superfast
broadband networks, while those in rural areas have missed out. Following
Google's recent announcement that it will build and test 1Gbps
fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) networks in selected cities with between 50,000
and 500,000 residents in the US, starting with Kansas City, Kansas,
Fujitsu has unveiled plans to create a similar [0]superfast FTTH
broadband network for five million homes and businesses in rural Britain
to bridge the digital divide between city and country."
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/0056246/1Gbps-Fiber-Optic-Network-For-Rural-Britain?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.gizmag.com/fujitsu-plans-1gbps-fiber-optic-network-rural-britain/18392/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Game Developer Group Warns Against Amazon Appstore
| from the money-vs-control dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @06:41 (Businesses)
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/0459204/Game-Developer-Group-Warns-Against-Amazon-Appstore?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The International Game Developers Association has posted a warning to the
game development community about the Amazon Appstore's distribution
terms, detailing several unfavorable situations possible under the rules
and saying, "Amazon has little incentive not to [0]use a developer's
content as a weapon with which to capture marketshare from competing app
stores." "Amazon does not need the terms it has established for itself in
order to give away a free app every day. Nor does it need the powers it
has granted itself to execute a wide variety of price promotions. Other
digital games platforms, such as Xbox LIVE Arcade and Steam, manage to
run effective promotions very frequently without employing these terms.
Amazon may further argue that its success depends on the success of its
development partners, and therefore, that it would never abuse the terms
of its distribution agreement. Given that Amazon can (and currently does)
function perfectly well without these terms in other markets, it is
unclear why game developers should take a leap of faith on Amazon���s
behalf. Such leaps are rarely rewarded once a retailer achieves
dominance."
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/0459204/Game-Developer-Group-Warns-Against-Amazon-Appstore?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://igdaboard.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/important-advisory-about-amazon%E2%80%99s-appstore-distribution-terms-2/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Maqetta: Open Source HTML5 Editor From IBM
| from the so-there-would-be-these-images dept.
| posted by timothy on Friday April 15, @08:02 (IBM)
| https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/016225/Maqetta-Open-Source-HTML5-Editor-From-IBM?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PybusJ writes "IBM has released an online HTML5 editing tool called
[0]Maqetta, hosted by the Dojo Foundation. eWeek calls it an [1]open
source answer to Flash and Silverlight. That remains to be seen, but it
does look interesting."
Discuss this story at:
https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/016225/Maqetta-Open-Source-HTML5-Editor-From-IBM?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://maqetta.org/
1. http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Application-Development/IBM-Launches-Maqetta-HTML5-Tool-as-OpenSource-Answer-to-Flash-Silverlight-669762/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Computer Factories Are the Energy Hogs
| from the fewer-drills-more-glue dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @08:44 (Portables)
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1218225/Computer-Factories-Are-the-Energy-Hogs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]coondoggie writes "The main idea behind saving energy in the high-tech
world has been to buy newer, more energy efficient devices, but
researchers say that may be the wrong way to look at the issue, since as
much as 70% of the energy a typical laptop will consume during its life
span is [1]used in manufacturing the computer ([2]abstract). More energy
would be conserved by reducing power used in the manufacturing of
computers, rather than reducing only the amount of energy required to
operate them, say researchers from Arizona State University and Rochester
Institute of Technology."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1218225/Computer-Factories-Are-the-Energy-Hogs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. mailto:mcooney@nww.com
1. http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/computer-factories-eat-way-more-energy-runnin
2. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VFX-52CYKH7-1&_user=10&_coverDate=03%2F15%2F2011&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=eb4c6b8dfb073fb018093ccb28b40376&searchtype=a
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Hypertext Creator: Structure of the Web 'Completely Wrong'
| from the then-just-build-a-new-one dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @09:25 (The Internet)
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1314228/Hypertext-Creator-Structure-of-the-Web-Completely-Wrong?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]angry tapir writes "The creator of hypertext has [1]criticized the
design of the World Wide Web, saying that Tim Berners-Lee's creation is
'completely wrong,' and that Windows, Macintosh and Linux have 'exactly
the same' approach to computing. Ted Nelson, founder of first hypertext
project, Project Xanadu, went on to say, 'It is a strange, distorted,
peculiar and difficult limited system... the browser is built around
invisible links ��� you can see something to click on but you���ve got
nowhere else to go.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1314228/Hypertext-Creator-Structure-of-the-Web-Completely-Wrong?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.computerworld.com.au/
1. http://www.cio.com.au/article/383395/hypertext_creator_says_structure_world_wide_web_completely_wrong_/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| E-Book Sales Have Tripled In the Last Year
| from the now-we-only-kill-trees-out-of-spite dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @10:08 (Books)
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1341221/E-Book-Sales-Have-Tripled-In-the-Last-Year?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
destinyland writes "The Association of American Publishers revealed today
that [0]e-book sales have tripled in the last year. Sixteen publishers
reported that in February e-book sales totaled more than $90.3 million, a
202.3% increase over e-book sales in February of 2010. Meanwhile, sales
of adult hardcover books have dropped 43%, while mass-market paperback
sales dropped 41.5% (earning just $46.2 million and $29.3 million,
respectively). The book publishing association acknowledged that readers
have 'made e-books permanent additions to their lifestyle,' arguing that
publishers 'are constantly redefining the timeless concept of "books"'
and identifying new audiences they can serve through emerging
technologies. 'It's nice to see that book publishers are [1]aware of the
changes rocking their industry,' notes one e-book blog, 'and that they're
approaching it with a sense of history.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1341221/E-Book-Sales-Have-Tripled-In-the-Last-Year?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.publishers.org/press/30/
1. http://www.beyond-black-friday.com/2011/04/14/e-book-sales-have-doubled-in-the-last-year/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Couple Sends Record Player Wedding Invitations
| from the music-makers dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Friday April 15, @10:44 (Music)
| https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/133206/Couple-Sends-Record-Player-Wedding-Invitations?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]kfogel writes "Karen Sandler (a lawyer at the [1]Software Freedom Law
Center) and Mike Tarantino (a professional musician) are getting married
in May. They've sent out the coolest wedding invitation ever: a
beautifully packaged flexidisc record where [2] the invitation itself is
the record player. The [3]song was written by Mike, is performed by Karen
and Mike together, and FTW is released under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike license. The person who designed the invitations ���
a friend of the couple's ��� has [4]blogged about it."
Discuss this story at:
https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/133206/Couple-Sends-Record-Player-Wedding-Invitations?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.red-bean.com/kfogel/
1. http://softwarefreedom.org/
2. http://mashable.com/2011/04/13/singing-wedding-invitation/
3. http://karenandmike.us/song.mp3
4. http://kellianderson.com/blog/2011/04/a-paper-record-player/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| All Languages Linked To Common Source
| from the mitochondrial-chomsky dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @10:50 (Science)
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1423233/All-Languages-Linked-To-Common-Source?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Old Wolf writes "A New Zealand evolutionary psychologist, Quentin
Atkinson, has created a scientific sensation by claiming to have
[0]discovered the mother of all mother tongues. 'Dr Atkinson took 504
languages and plotted the number of phonemes in each (corrected for
recent population growth, when significant) against the distance between
the place where the language is spoken and 2,500 putative points of
origin, scattered across the world ([1]abstract). The relationship that
emerges suggests the actual point of origin is in central or southern
Africa, and that [2]all modern languages do, indeed, have a common root."
Reader NotSanguine points out [3]another study which challenges the idea
that the brain is [4]more important to the structure of language than
cultural evolution.
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1423233/All-Languages-Linked-To-Common-Source?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/4891397/Kiwi-discovers-mother-of-language
1. http://www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6027/346
2. http://www.economist.com/node/18557572?story_id=18557572
3. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature09923.html
4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13049700
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| GIMP 2.7.2 Released — Another Step Toward 2.8
| from the slowly-but-surely dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @11:11 (Graphics)
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1445201/GIMP-272-Released-mdash-Another-Step-Toward-28?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "The developers of GIMP have finally
[0]released a new development version on the way to GIMP 2.8. GIMP 2.7.2
includes a huge bunch of changes ��� but it is not intended for production
use. 'The new release comprises layer groups (which were introduced after
2.7.1), an almost done text-on-canvas feature, the all-new brush engine
and of course the new single window mode.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1445201/GIMP-272-Released-mdash-Another-Step-Toward-28?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.gimpusers.com/news/00360-gimp-2-7-2-development-release
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Who Killed Spotify?
| from the video-turns-out-to-be-a-serial-killer dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @11:34 (Advertising)
| https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/152207/Who-Killed-Spotify?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "The BBC reports that ad-supported music
service Spotify is [0]bringing strict limits to its service, allowing
users ten hours listening time per month and a lifetime total of five
plays per track. Rory Cellan-Jones discusses [1]how much their hand was
forced by the labels, and how much it was down to their own desire to
move more than the current 15% of users to their paid subscriptions. The
overwhelming reaction from users seems to be straightforward
disappointment at the loss of a service which managed to bridge the
commercial radio business model and modern listening habits. As the first
response to [2]the announcement said: 'So long Spotify. It was nice
knowing you. Guess I'll go back to pirating music again then.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/152207/Who-Killed-Spotify?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13078302
1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/rorycellanjones/2011/04/spotify_not_so_free_as_it_was.html
2. http://www.spotify.com/uk/blog/archives/2011/04/14/upcoming-changes-to-spotify-free-open/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Crowdsourcing the Censors: A Contest
| from the people-love-to-vote dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @12:15 (Social Networks)
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1545213/Crowdsourcing-the-Censors-A-Contest?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frequent contributor Bennett Haselton is back with an article about how
sites with huge amounts of user-generated content struggle to deal with
abuse complaints, and could benefit from a crowd-sourced policing system
similar to Slashdot's meta-moderation. He writes "In The Net Delusion,
Evgeny Morozov cites examples of online mobs that filed phony abuse
complaints in order to shut down pro-democracy Facebook groups and
YouTube videos criticizing the Saudi royal family. I've got an idea for
an algorithm that would help solve the problem, and I'm offering $100 (or
a donation to a charity of your choice) for the best suggested
improvement, or alternative, or criticism of the idea proposed in this
article." Hit the link below to read the rest of his thoughts.
This story continues at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1545213/Crowdsourcing-the-Censors-A-Contest?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1545213/Crowdsourcing-the-Censors-A-Contest?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Skype For Android Can Leak Data To Malicious Apps
| from the we-know-what-you're-really-doing-with-skype dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @12:58 (Communications)
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1651256/Skype-For-Android-Can-Leak-Data-To-Malicious-Apps?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "It appears that Skype account information on
an Android phone [0]remains readable by all in a standard installation,
at least for certain versions of Skype out in the wild. That allows
another potentially malicious app to know everything about you that Skype
knows (contacts, history of whatever you've chatted about or who you
called, phone numbers, personal information). Skype is said to be
[1]working to fix for what appears to be a simple file permissions issue.
This sheds some more light on how much private information everybody
gives away for free by just owning a phone with half a wrong chmod."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1651256/Skype-For-Android-Can-Leak-Data-To-Malicious-Apps?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/04/14/exclusive-vulnerability-in-skype-for-android-is-exposing-your-name-phone-number-chat-logs-and-a-lot-more/
1. http://blogs.skype.com/security/2011/04/privacy_vulnerability_in_skype.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Rivals Mock Microsoft's 'Native HTML5' Claims
| from the framing-the-narrative dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @13:40 (The Internet)
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1716234/Rivals-Mock-Microsofts-Native-HTML5-Claims?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]CWmike writes "Mozilla and Opera [1]are mocking browser rival
Microsoft's use of the term 'native HTML5' to describe Internet Explorer
9 and the in-development IE10 as an oxymoron, an attempt to hijack an
open standard and a marketing ploy. On Tuesday, Microsoft's Dean
Hachamovitch, the executive who runs the IE group, used the term several
times during a keynote at MIX, the company's annual Web developers
conference, and in an accompanying [2]post on the IE blog. Hachamovitch
claimed in his keynote that, 'The only native experience of the Web of
HTML5 today is on Windows 7 with IE9.' Asa Dotzler, Mozilla's director of
community development, [3]replied mockingly in Bugzilla: 'I'm pretty sure
Firefox 5 has "complete native HTML5" support. We should resolve this as
fixed and be sure to let the world know we beat Microsoft to shipping
*complete* native HTML5.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1716234/Rivals-Mock-Microsofts-Native-HTML5-Claims?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://twitter.com/mikeatcw
1. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9215825/Browser_rivals_mock_Microsoft_s_native_HTML5_claims
2. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/04/12/native-html5-first-ie10-platform-preview-available-for-download.aspx
3. https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=649408#c11
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Solar Breakthrough Could Provide Power Without Solar Cells
| from the bright-ideas dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @14:21 (Power)
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1731247/Solar-Breakthrough-Could-Provide-Power-Without-Solar-Cells?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader tips a University of Michigan news release about the
creation of [0]what's being called an "optical battery" that could lead
to the use of solar power without traditional solar cells ([1]abstract).
Quoting: "Light has electric and magnetic components. Until now,
scientists thought the effects of the magnetic field were so weak that
they could be ignored. What Rand and his colleagues found is that at the
right intensity, when light is traveling through a material that does not
conduct electricity, the light field can generate magnetic effects that
are 100 million times stronger than previously expected. Under these
circumstances, the magnetic effects develop strength equivalent to a
strong electric effect. 'This could lead to a new kind of solar cell
without semiconductors and without absorption to produce charge
separation,' Rand said. 'In solar cells, the light goes into a material,
gets absorbed and creates heat. Here, we expect to have a very low heat
load. Instead of the light being absorbed, energy is stored in the
magnetic moment. Intense magnetization can be induced by intense light
and then it is ultimately capable of providing a capacitive power
source.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1731247/Solar-Breakthrough-Could-Provide-Power-Without-Solar-Cells?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=8368
1. http://jap.aip.org/resource/1/japiau/v109/i6/p064903_s1?isAuthorized=no
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Book Review: Linux Shell Scripting Cookbook
| from the read-all-about-it dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Friday April 15, @15:05 (Books)
| https://books.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1353219/Book-Review-Linux-Shell-Scripting-Cookbook?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
vellorean writes "I have been reading Linux Shell Scripting Cookbook by
Sarath Lakshman, published by Packt, for a while. While most people I
know learn shell scripts themselves, I was looking to refresh my concepts
a little as well as have a reference lying around on the table for fast
access." Read below for the rest of vellorean's review.
This story continues at:
https://books.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1353219/Book-Review-Linux-Shell-Scripting-Cookbook?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
Discuss this story at:
https://books.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1353219/Book-Review-Linux-Shell-Scripting-Cookbook?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Students Build Life-Sized Trojan Horse For Class Project
| from the if-we-built-a-wooden-badger dept.
| posted by samzenpus on Friday April 15, @15:39 (Education)
| https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1614201/Students-Build-Life-Sized-Trojan-Horse-For-Class-Project?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A good old-fashioned Iliad diorama just wasn't big enough for a group of
Chicago area students. They decided to [0]build a life-sized Trojan Horse
for their class project instead. From the article: "As Newsradio 780s
Mike Krauser reports, their teacher couldn���t believe it. 'It was a
surprise and it was a big surprise,' said teacher Bob Pomykala. The
students wouldn���t tell Pomykala what they were up to. 'They said they had
a great idea, but they wouldn���t tell me what it was,' he said. What they
did was build a giant Trojan Horse, which, according to Greek mythology
was used to sneak soldiers into the city of Troy for a triumphant battle.
They built it in senior Sergio Aguilar���s yard, and then moved it right in
front of Marengo Community High School.
Discuss this story at:
https://idle.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1614201/Students-Build-Life-Sized-Trojan-Horse-For-Class-Project?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/04/14/marengo-students-decide-to-go-big-or-go-home/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| OpenOffice.org To Be Given Back To the Community
| from the that's-what-it's-all-about dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @15:47 (Oracle)
| https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/194235/OpenOfficeorg-To-Be-Given-Back-To-the-Community?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Oracle has stated they will [0]give back the
OpenOffice.org productivity suite to the community. Edward Screven,
Oracle's Chief Corporate Architect, said the company intends upon '[1]working
immediately with community members to further the continued success of
Open Office.' Because there was a 'breadth of interest in free personal
productivity applications,' the company believes the OpenOffice.org
project would be 'best managed by an organization focused on serving that
broad constituency on a non-commercial basis.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/194235/OpenOfficeorg-To-Be-Given-Back-To-the-Community?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/Oracle-OpenOffice-org-to-become-a-Community-based-Project-1228831.html
1. http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Oracle-Announces-Its-Intention-to-Move-OpenOfficeorg-to-a-Community-Based-Project-NASDAQ-ORCL-1428324.htm
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| <em>Portal 2</em> Bringing Steam To the PS3, Possible Early Release
| from the i'm-making-a-note-here dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @16:04 (PC Games (Games))
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1916212/Portal-2-Bringing-Steam-To-the-PS3-Possible-Early-Release?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]itwbennett writes "Portal 2 is [1]breaking some new ground ��� at least
the PlayStation 3 version is. 'Portal 2 marks the first time that Valve's
social gaming network (and digital distribution system), Steam, will
appear on consoles,' writes blogger Peter Smith. What this means is that
once you link your Playstation Network [PSN] and Steam accounts 'you'll
be able to keep tabs on what your Steam friends are up to from within a
game of Portal 2 on the PS3,' says Smith. And, you'll be able to play
Portal 2 with friends playing on PC or Mac. 'I can think of at least one
other example of cross-platform gaming (Shadowrun supported both PC and
Xbox players in the same game servers),' says Smith, 'but it's still very
rare.'" This afternoon Valve launched [2]a countdown to Portal 2 which
[3]can be accelerated by playing any of a group of indie games.
Discuss this story at:
https://games.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1916212/Portal-2-Bringing-Steam-To-the-PS3-Possible-Early-Release?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.itworld.com/
1. http://www.itworld.com/personal-tech/155919/portal-2-brings-steam-playstation-3-video
2. http://www.aperturescience.com/glados@home/
3. http://store.steampowered.com/news/5308/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| DOJ Seizes Online Poker Site Domains
| from the know-when-to-fold-em dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @16:30 (Censorship)
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1956243/DOJ-Seizes-Online-Poker-Site-Domains?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "Federal authorities have [0]seized Internet
domain names used by three major poker companies. The indictment
[1]charges eleven defendants (PDF), including the founders of PokerStars,
Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker, with bank fraud, money laundering and
illegal gambling offenses, according to Federal authorities in New York.
The United States also filed a civil money laundering and in rem
forfeiture complaint against the poker companies, their assets, and the
assets of several payment processors for the poker companies."
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/1956243/DOJ-Seizes-Online-Poker-Site-Domains?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2011/04/15/goes-versus-online-poker-sites/
1. http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/pressreleases/April11/scheinbergetalindictmentpr.pdf
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Apple Faces Class-Action Suit For In-App Purchases
| from the deposit-three-slashbucks-to-continue-reading dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @17:11 (Iphone)
| https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/2046244/Apple-Faces-Class-Action-Suit-For-In-App-Purchases?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
suraj.sun writes with this excerpt from Ars Technica: "Garen Meguerian
and a team of lawyers are [0]taking Apple to task for 'inducing' children
to spend hundreds of dollars of their parents' money on in-app game
purchases. Meguerian filed a class-action lawsuit this week in
California, acknowledging that Apple has already [1]addressed the problem,
but saying that the company continues to unfairly profit from sales of
virtual 'smurfberries' and 'fish bucks.' The issue at hand is related to
games that rely on a 'freemium' business model, giving away the game for
free on the App Store and relying on in-app purchases of virtual
currency, extra levels, or other add-ons as a revenue stream."
Discuss this story at:
https://apple.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/2046244/Apple-Faces-Class-Action-Suit-For-In-App-Purchases?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/04/apple-facing-class-action-lawsuit-over-kids-in-app-purchases.ars
1. http://slashdot.org/story/11/03/16/2016209/Apple-Moves-To-Stop-Kids-Racking-Up-iTunes-Bills
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| TSA Investigates... People Who Complain About TSA
| from the stay-classy-guys dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @17:53 (Government)
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/2051220/TSA-Investigates-People-Who-Complain-About-TSA?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Hugh Pickens writes "CNN has obtained a list of roughly 70 'behavioral
indicators' that TSA behavior detection officers use to identify
potentially 'high risk' passengers at the nation's airports, and report
that [1]arrogant complaining about airport security is one indicator TSA
officers consider when looking for possible criminals and terrorists.
When combined with other behavioral indicators, it could result in a
traveler facing additional scrutiny. 'Expressing your contempt about
airport procedures ��� that's a First Amendment-protected right,' says
Michael German, a former FBI agent who now works as legal counsel for the
American Civil Liberties Union. 'It's circular reasoning where, you know,
I'm going to ask someone to surrender their rights; if they refuse,
that's evidence that I need to take their rights away from them. And it's
simply inappropriate.' Interestingly enough, some experts say terrorists
are much more likely to avoid confrontations with authorities, saying
[2]an al-Qaeda training manual instructs members to blend in."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/2051220/TSA-Investigates-People-Who-Complain-About-TSA?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/slashdot/
1. http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/04/15/tsa.screeners.complain/
2. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/network/alqaeda/manual.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Why Google Should Buy the Music Industry
| from the alright-larry-here's-a-project-for-you dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Friday April 15, @18:33 (Google)
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/2118220/Why-Google-Should-Buy-the-Music-Industry?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Glyn Moody writes "According to one story about Google's attempts to
launch its own music service, '[1]the search giant is "disgusted" with
the labels, so much so that they are seriously considering following
Amazon's lead and launching their music cloud service without label
licenses.' So here's a simple solution: [2]Google should just buy the
major record labels ��� all of them. It could afford them ��� people tend to
forget that the music industry is actually relatively small in economic
terms, but wields a disproportionate influence with policy makers. Buying
them would solve that problem too."
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/2118220/Why-Google-Should-Buy-the-Music-Industry?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/
1. http://www.waynerosso.com/2011/04/11/rumor-google-%E2%80%9Cdisgusted%E2%80%9D-with-record-labels/
2. http://opendotdotdot.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-google-should-buy-music-industry.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Cheaper, More Powerful Alternative To FPGAs
| from the even-more-field-programmable dept.
| posted by timothy on Friday April 15, @19:28 (Hardware)
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/2238259/Cheaper-More-Powerful-Alternative-To-FPGAs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]holy_calamity writes "Technology Review takes a look at [1]a
competitor to FPGAs claimed to be significantly faster and cheaper.
Startup Tabula recently picked up another $108m in funding and says their
chips make it economic to ship products with reconfigurable hardware,
enabling novel upgrade strategies that include hardware as well as
software."
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/04/15/2238259/Cheaper-More-Powerful-Alternative-To-FPGAs?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.technologyreview.com/
1. http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/37406/?p1=A1&a=f
Copyright 1997-2010, Geeknet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
======================================================================
You have received this message because you subscribed to it
on Slashdot. To stop receiving this and other
messages from Slashdot, or to add more messages
or change your preferences, please go to your user page.
http://slashdot.org/prefs/messages
You can log in and change your preferences from there.
Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni was kidnapped on Thursday 14 April, 2011, in Gaza by a Salafi-Jihadi group, who said that they would kill him if Sheikh Abu Al Waleed Al Maqdisi, recently arrested by the Hamas government, was not released. Long before the deadline set by his captors arrived, kidnapped Italian activist Vittorio Arrigoni was killed, apparently hanged. Bloggers in Gaza and elsewhere have reacted with disbelief, anger and sorrow.
As global food prices continue to remain high, with potential increases on the horizon because of soaring oil prices and supply concerns, experts says there is one often-overlooked solution for fighting hunger: women.
Since their capture on April 11, 2011, pictures of former Côte d'Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo, his wife, and their entourage have spread on the web and via international newspapers. One picture in particular provoked a strong reaction: an image of Simone Gbagbo being humiliated by her captors.
Young people in Kibera, Kenya, which is known to some as Africa's largest slum, are determined to show a different face of the place where they live. With video cameras in hand, they scout the streets for stories to show the world how Kibera sees itself.
Just a few months ago, many Egyptians might have wished to see the country's then-President Mubarak in jail, yet almost certainly none of them imagined this wish might come true one day. However, on Wednesday April 13, 2011, Egyptians woke up to the news of Mubarak's detention first thing in the morning. Here is how the moment was documented in the Egyptian social media scene.
