Dont miss LinuxCon - a new technical conference providing an unmatched collaboration
and education space covering all matters Linux. September 21-23, 2009 in Portland, OR.
Speakers include Linus Torvalds and Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu.
Register by the early registration deadline of August 15th and attend for US$399.
http://p.sf.net/sfu/linuxcon
======================================================================
Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* Times Are Tough For Nigerian Scammers
* Printable Batteries Should Arrive Next Year
* OnLive and Gaikai — How To Stop a Gaming Revolution
* Are Information Technology's Glory Days Over?
* What Questions Should a Prospective Employee Ask?
* Rival Green Groups Bid To Snatch .eco Domain
* Strange New Objects Seen In Saturn's Rings
* Pitching Ideas At Gen Con Indy
* Is Intel Killing 12-Inch Displays On Netbooks?
* Dogs As Intelligent As Average Two-Year-Old Children
* FTC May Cast A Closer Eye On How Businesses Share Personal Data
* The Outing of Pranknet
* AT&T Makes Its Terms of Service Even Worse, To Discourage Lawsuits
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Times Are Tough For Nigerian Scammers |
| from the so-tough-they're-considering-transferring-money-to-you d|
| posted by timothy on Saturday August 08, @22:13 (Spam) |
| http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/08/2349245 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]The Narrative Fallacy writes "The Washington Post reports that online
swindling takes dedication even in the best of times but [1]succeeding in
the midst of a worldwide economic meltdown takes patience, resolve, and
hard work. 'We are working harder. The financial crisis is not making it
easy for them over there,' said Banjo, 24, speaking about Americans,
whose trust he has won and whose money he has fleeced, via his Dell
laptop. 'They don't have money. And the money they don't have, we want.'
US authorities say Americans ��� the easiest prey, according to Nigerian
scammers ��� still lose hundreds of millions of dollars a year to
cybercrimes, including a scheme known as the Nigerian 419 fraud, named
for a section of the Nigerian criminal code. 419 is cemented in Nigerian
popular culture. and the scammers, known as 'yahoo-yahoo boys,' are
[2]glorified in pop songs such as 'Yahoozee,' which gained even more fame
after former secretary of state Colin L. Powell danced to it at a London
festival last year."
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/08/2349245
Links:
0. http://narrativefallacy.com/
1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/06/AR2009080603764.html
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMpYSviFd9I
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Printable Batteries Should Arrive Next Year |
| from the return-to-the-goodness-of-aa dept. |
| posted by timothy on Sunday August 09, @01:19 (Power) |
| http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/0049214 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
FullBandwidth writes "[0]Paper-thin batteries that can be printed onto
greeting cards or other flexible substrates have been demonstrated at
Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems in Germany.
The batteries have a relatively short life span, as the anode and cathode
materials dissipate over time. However, they contain no hazardous
materials."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/0049214
Links:
0. http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218400704
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| OnLive and Gaikai — How To Stop a Gaming Revolution |
| from the and-in-this-corner dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday August 09, @04:36 (Businesses) |
| http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/0522223 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]happierr writes "The gaming industry has been [1]struggling in the
last few months, and it is about to [2]struggle even more when OnLive and
Gaikai launch later this year. The new services are both a step in the
right direction to counter piracy and provide easily-accessible gaming to
people with low-end PCs. They might even do for PC gaming what the Wii
did for casual gaming; greatly expand the market and draw interest from
people who would not ordinarily play games. The services are a real
threat for the Big Three video game companies (Microsoft, Sony, and
Nintendo). How will they combat these revolutionary services? There are a
few steps that the Big Three are taking to combat the New Two, such as an
increased reliance on peripherals and vision cameras, exclusivity deals,
and more online multiplayer features, which OnLive and Gaikai will have a
hard time matching."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/0522223
Links:
0. http://ablegamers.com/
1. http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/07/17/1316233&tid=84
2. http://ablegamers.com/general-game-news/626-onlive-and-gaikai-how-to-stop-a-gaming-revolution.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Are Information Technology's Glory Days Over? |
| from the incentives-attract-takers dept. |
| posted by timothy on Sunday August 09, @07:49 (Businesses) |
| http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/0442225 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that [1]computer science
students with the entrepreneurial spirit may want to look for a different
major, because if Thomas M. Siebel, founder of Siebel Systems, is right,
IT is a mature industry that will grow no faster than the larger economy,
its glory days having ended in 2000. Addressing Stanford students in
February as a guest of the engineering school, Siebel called attention to
20 sweet years from 1980 to 2000, when worldwide IT spending grew at a
compounded annual growth rate of 17 percent. 'All you had to do was show
up and not goof it up,' Siebel says. 'All ships were rising.' Since 2000,
however, that rate has averaged only 3 percent. His explanation for the
sharp decline is that 'the promise of the post-industrial society has
been realized.' In Siebel's view, far larger opportunities are to be
found in [2]businesses that address needs in food, water, health care and
energy. Though Silicon Valley was 'where the action was' when he finished
graduate school, he says, 'if I were graduating today, I would get on a
boat and I would get off in Shanghai.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/0442225
Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/business/09digi.html
2. http://blog.etl.me/?p=19
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| What Questions Should a Prospective Employee Ask? |
| from the what-is-your-stance-on-monday-and-friday-absenteeism dep|
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday August 09, @09:16 (Businesses) |
| http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/1241220 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Mortimer.CA writes "Even though things aren't great in the economy, it's
prudent to plan ahead to when things (hopefully) pick up. In light of
that, I'd like to update a [0]previously asked question in case things
have changed over the last four years: What do you ask every new
(prospective) employer? When you're sitting in the interview room after
they've finished grilling you, there's usually an opportunity to
reciprocate. There will be some niche questions for specializations (sys
admin, programming, PM, QA, etc.), but there are some generic ones that
come to mind, such as: what is the (official) dress code?" Similarly,
what questions should you avoid? Read on for the rest of Mortimer.CA's
thoughts.
This story continues at:
http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/1241220
Discuss this story at:
http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/1241220
Links:
0. http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/18/1651231&tid=22
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Rival Green Groups Bid To Snatch .eco Domain |
| from the it's-always-about-the-green dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday August 09, @10:50 (Earth) |
| http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/1426244 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Peace Corps Library writes "BBC reports that two rival environmental
groups are lining up supporters to try to [1]take control of the new .eco
domain aimed at green groups. In March, former US vice president Al Gore
backed a bid by the California group Dot Eco to operate the .eco TLD, but
now a Canadian environmental group known as Big Room has launched a
competing bid to manage it. 'We're two different applicants with two
different business ideas. Ours is to sell domain names to raise funds for
organizations who can effect change,' says Minor Childers, co-founder of
[2]Dot Eco. The group has already entered into contracts with its
supporters ��� such as the Sierra Club and the Alliance for Climate
Protection ��� to give away 57% of its profits from sales. Big Room also
plans to [3]generate money from the sale of .eco domain names to fund
sustainability projects around the world, however, the consortium, which
includes WWF International and Green Cross International ��� founded in
1993 by former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, also believes that
.eco could be used as a labeling system to endorse companies with green
credentials. Despite having differences about a model for .eco, both
groups will 'definitely have to sit down' together at some point, says
Childers. 'We could be one of the biggest contributors to environmental
causes anywhere in the world.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/1426244
Links:
0. http://peacecorpslibrary.org/
1. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8189586.stm
2. http://www.supportdoteco.com/background/
3. http://www.bigroom.ca/news/2009/06/16/big-room-launches-application-for-dot-eco-top-level-domain
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Strange New Objects Seen In Saturn's Rings |
| from the cue-monolith-jokes dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday August 09, @12:10 (Space) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/1549233 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Every 15 Earth years, Saturn has its equinox ��� the time during which its
rotational axis is perpendicular to the rays from the sun, so that the
sun is always directly "overhead" of Saturn's equator. This is
significant because Saturn's rings orbit over the equator, so during the
equinox, [0]light from the sun hits them edge-on. This means that any
objects wider than the rings, or orbiting above or below them, cast long
shadows and are much easier to see. For the first time, we're able to get
detailed images of these objects, thanks to Cassini. A moonlet, perhaps
1,300 feet in diameter, has been [1]discovered in the B-ring, and the Bad
Astronomy blog points out another object that [2]seems to be bursting
through the F-ring. Quoting: "The upward-angled structure is definitely
real, as witnessed by the shadow it's casting on the ring material to the
lower left. And what's with the bright patch right where this object
seems to have slammed into the rings? Did it shatter millions of icy
particles, revealing their shinier interior material, making them
brighter? Clearly, something awesome and amazing happened here.
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/1549233
Links:
0. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/whycassini/cassinif-20090807.html
1. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/08/aturnmoonlet/
2. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/08/09/like-the-fist-of-an-angry-god/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Pitching Ideas At Gen Con Indy |
| from the knowing-is-half-the-battle dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday August 09, @13:31 (Role Playing (Ga|
| http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/1642255 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]teknoviking writes "[1]Gen Con Indy is coming up on August 13-16th,
and if you are planning on attending, especially if you have an idea you
want to pitch to one (or many) of the vendors, artists, or developers at
the Con, you should check out this great series of articles by writer and
game designer Jess Hartley. She covers the basics of proper planning and
[2]making a good impression, and she has some [3]practical tips about how
to promote your idea, and what you should do to [4]follow up afterward."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/1642255
Links:
0. http://www.teknoviking.com/
1. http://www.gencon.com/2009/indy/default.aspx
2. http://www.jesshartley.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=166:in-which-we-offer-part-two-preparation&catid=38&Itemid=62
3. http://www.jesshartley.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=167:inwhich-we-offer-part-three-at-the-con&catid=38&Itemid=62
4. http://www.jesshartley.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=168:in-which-we-offer-part-four-follow-ups-and-follow-through&catid=38&Itemid=62
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Is Intel Killing 12-Inch Displays On Netbooks? |
| from the 12"-seems-a-bit-easier-on-the-eyes dept. |
| posted by timothy on Sunday August 09, @14:40 (Portables) |
| http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/189226 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]HangingChad writes "Dell has [1]retired their 12-inch Intel
Atom-powered netbooks, they said today. The official reason ��� 'It really
boils down to this: for a lot of customers, 10-inch displays are the
sweet spot for netbooksLarger notebooks require a little more horsepower
to be really useful.' [2]Or is the real reason that 12-inch displays on
netbooks [3]cut into Intel's more profitable dual-core market and Dell's
profit margins on higher-end machines?"
Discuss this story at:
http://mobile.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/189226
Links:
0. http://www.dangercollie.com/
1. http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/direct2dell/archive/2009/08/08/dell-retires-the-mini-12.aspx
2. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/08/08/why-is-dell-really-discontinuing-12-inch-netbooks/
3. http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/06/here-come-the-12-inch-netbooks-and-intel-isnt-happy-about-it/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Dogs As Intelligent As Average Two-Year-Old Children |
| from the buddy-the-dog-is-hiding-his-smarts dept. |
| posted by timothy on Sunday August 09, @15:52 (Science) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/1951243 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Ponca City, We love you writes "The Telegraph reports that researchers
using tests originally designed to demonstrate the development of
language, pre-language and basic arithmetic in human children have found
that dogs are capable of understanding up to 250 words and gestures, can
count up to five and can perform simple mathematical calculations
[1]putting them on par with the average two-year-old child. While most
dogs understand simple commands such as sit, fetch and stay, a border
collie tested by Professor Coren showed a knowledge of 200 spoken words.
'Obviously we are not going to be able to sit down and have a
conversation with a dog, but like a two-year-old, they show that they can
understand words and gestures,' says Professor Stanley Coren, a leading
expert on canine intelligence at the University of British Columbia in
Vancouver. Dogs can tell that one plus one should equal two and not one
or three,' says Coren, adding that dogs 'can also deliberately deceive,
which is something that young children only start developing later in
their life.' Coren believes centuries of selective breeding and living
alongside humans has helped to hone the intelligence of dogs. '[2]They
may not be Einsteins, but are sure closer to humans than we thought.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/1951243
Links:
0. http://poncacityweloveyou.com/
1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/5994583/Dogs-as-intelligent-as-two-year-old-children.html
2. http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/08/07/smart.dogs/index.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FTC May Cast A Closer Eye On How Businesses Share Personal Data |
| from the you're-saying-you-didn't-read-the-even-finer-print dept.|
| posted by timothy on Sunday August 09, @16:57 (Privacy) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/2048259 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Personal information shared by users with corporate websites is nothing
new; you probably routinely log in to sites to which you've provided
information about your age and location, or provided a credit card number
in order to buy merchandise. At least sometimes, some of that information
is [0]shared in ways that the typical user would probably neither
anticipate nor appreciate. David Vladeck, new head of the Federal Trade
Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection, has [1]signaled recently that
he's interested in tighter regulation of personal information shared
online, even when it falls under the often-sweeping language of privacy
agreements and sites' terms of use. An [2]interview at the New York Times
provides some insight into the regulatory environment that companies
operating online may face in the course of the present administration ���
and it looks more stringent than online businesses have faced before,
even while Vladeck shies away from saying that he supports "new rules."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/2048259
Links:
0. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/business/09privacy.html?_r=1
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/business/media/05ftc.html
2. http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/05/an-interview-with-david-vladeck-of-the-ftc/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The Outing of Pranknet |
| from the richly-deserved dept. |
| posted by timothy on Sunday August 09, @18:00 (The Almighty Buck)|
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/2138207 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "The Smoking Gun recently published a story on
their [0]investigation and outing of Pranknet, an online cabal that aims
to take pranks to the next level. Their legacy includes thousands of
dollars of damage, and many harassed souls. Many of the pranks have clear
criminal implications. Reading their report may send chills down your
collective spines." From the linked article: "Coalescing in an online
chat room, members of the group, known as Pranknet, use the telephone to
carry out cruel and outrageous hoaxes, which they broadcast live
around-the-clock on the Internet. Masquerading as hotel employees,
emergency service workers, and representatives of fire alarm companies,
'Dex' and his cohorts have successfully prodded unwitting victims to
destroy hotel rooms and lobbies, set off sprinkler systems, activate fire
alarms, and damage assorted fast food restaurants. But while Pranknet's
hoaxes have caused millions of dollars in damages, it is the group's
efforts to degrade and frighten targets that makes it even more odious
..."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/2138207
Links:
0. http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2009/0803091pranknet1.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| AT&T Makes Its Terms of Service Even Worse, To Discourage Lawsuits |
| from the even-more-fine-print-to-read dept. |
| posted by timothy on Sunday August 09, @19:06 (The Courts) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/08/09/2232233 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
techmuse writes "[0]AT&T has changed its terms of service (including for
existing contracts) to prevent class action suits. Note that you are
already required to submit your case to arbitration, a forum in which
consumers are often at a substantial [1]disadvantage. Now you must go up
against AT&T alone." This [2]post on David Farber's mailing list provides
a bit of context as well.
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=09/08/09/2232233
Links:
0. http://www.att.com/
1. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_24/b4088072611398_page_2.htm
2. http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/2009/08/sort/time_rev/page/1/entry/1:48/20090809121534:DA6C85D8-84FF-11DE-A331-D2E511F6C9C8/
Copyright 1997-2008 SourceForge, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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