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Unusual, Obscure, and Useful Linux Distros

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 23:26
angry tapir writes "Most people will be familiar with some of the big names when it comes to Linux — distributions like Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Debian, and Mandriva. Most of the well-known Linux distros are designed to be used as general-purpose desktop operating systems or installed on servers. But beyond these distros are hundreds of others either designed to appeal to very specific audiences or to fulfill the somewhat niche needs of some users. We rounded up some of the most interesting Linux distributions that you might not have heard of."

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Categories: Tech News

Three Ground-Breaking Miniature Biosensors

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 22:39
kkleiner writes "Over the past few years, several research teams have developed increasingly smaller and cheaper biosensors with improved detection capabilities and faster turnaround times. Whether you are a doctor diagnosing patients in the rural areas of Africa or a Homeland Security agent working to thwart an act of bioterrorism, one of these little devices should be your sidekick."

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Categories: Tech News

Automated Language Deciphering By Computer AI

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 20:42
eldavojohn writes "Ugaritic has been deciphered by an unaided computer program that relied only on four basic assumptions present in many languages. The paper (PDF) may aid researchers in deciphering eight undecipherable languages (Ugaritic has already been deciphered and proved their system worked) as well as increase the number of languages automated translation sites offer. The researchers claim 'orders of magnitude' speedups in deciphering languages with their new system."

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Categories: Tech News

Empathy Is For the Birds

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 19:30
grrlscientist writes "Common Ravens have been shown to express empathy towards a 'friend' or relative when they are distressed after an aggressive conflict — just like humans and chimpanzees do. But birds are very distant evolutionary relatives of Great Apes, so what does this similarity imply about the evolution of behavior?"

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Categories: Tech News

Microsoft Kills the Kin

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 17:27
adeelarshad82 writes "The Microsoft Kin is dead, or at least it doesn't have a future as a standalone product. Microsoft released a statement suggesting that it's cutting bait on the Windows Phone 7 spinoff and folding the project's staff and technologies into the main body of Windows Phone 7. For now, it seems like Verizon Wireless will continue to sell Kin phones. But with the Kin team essentially disbanded, it's hard to see future updates and support for the line being a priority within Microsoft."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


Categories: Tech News

Russian Spy Ring Needed Some Serious IT Help

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 16:10
coondoggie writes "The Russian ring charged this week with spying on the United States faced some of the common security problems that plague many companies — misconfigured wireless networks, users writing passwords on slips of paper, and laptop help desk issues that take months to resolve."

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Categories: Tech News

Fark Creator Slams 'the Wisdom of Crowds'

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 14:32
GovTechGuy writes with some harsh words from Fark.com founder Drew Curtis, speaking at a conference Tuesday in Washington, DC: "'The "wisdom of the crowds" is the most ridiculous statement I've heard in my life. Crowds are dumb,' Curtis said. 'It takes people to move crowds in the right direction, crowds by themselves just stand around and mutter.' Curtis pointed to his own experience moderating comments on Fark, which allows users to give their often humorous take on the news of the day. He said only one percent of Web comments have any value and called the rest 'garbage.' Another example Curtis pointed to is the America Speaking Out website recently launched by House Republicans to allow the public to weigh in on the issues and vote for policy positions they support. Curtis called the site an 'absolute train wreck.' 'It's an absolute disaster. It's impossible to tell who was kidding and who wasn't,' Curtis said."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


Categories: Tech News

IEEE Supports Software Patents In Wake of Bilski

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 13:47
Mark Atwood points out this critical commentary on the IEEE's response to the outcome of In Re. Bilski, which points out the contrast between work done by IEEE luminaries like Donald Knuth and lobbying for software patents.

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Categories: Tech News

Some Google Searches Now Blocked In China

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 13:00
bannable writes with this from the Wall Street Journal: "Google Inc. said that its Web search service in mainland China was partially blocked Wednesday, the deadline for the company to extend its Internet operating license in the country. The company said the blockage appeared to affect only search queries generated by mainland China users of the company's Google Suggest function, which automatically recommends search queries based on the first few letters a user types into the search box."

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Categories: Tech News

France Says D-Star Ham Radio Mode Is Illegal

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 12:15
gyrogeerloose writes "Citing 'national security concerns,' the French Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques et des Postes (ARCEP, France's equivalent of the US's FCC) has ruled that D-Star, an amateur radio digital signal mode used world-wide, is illegal because it could allow operators to connect to the Internet.The ARCEP also cites alleged concerns regarding cryptography and national security as well as the use of a proprietary codec. While it's true that the D-Star codec is proprietary, its owner has openly licensed it (for a fee, of course) to any manufacturer who wants to build it into their equipment. Any licensed amateur radio operator who lives within the EU can sign an online petition protesting this decision."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


Categories: Tech News

Doubled Yield For Bio-Fuel From Waste

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 11:51
hankwang writes "Dutch chemical company DSM announced a new process for production of ethanol from agricultural waste. Most bio-fuel ethanol now is produced from food crops such as corn and sugar cane. Ethanol produced from cellulose would use waste products such as wood chips, citrus peel, and straw. The new process is claimed to increase the yield by a factor of two compared to existing processes, thanks to new enzymes and special yeast strains."

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Categories: Tech News

Liberal Watchdog Questions White House Gmail Use

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 11:32
MexiCali59 writes "Liberal watchdog CREW has joined Republican Congressman Darrell Issa in calling for an investigation into whether White House staffers regularly use private email accounts to communicate with lobbyists. The allegations, first reported last week by the New York Times, would likely constitute a violation of federal law as well as an ethics pledge created by Obama upon taking office last year."

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Categories: Tech News

Exoplanet Reports Exaggerated

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 10:50
The Bad Astronomer writes "The reports of the first direct picture of an exoplanet are misleading. The real news is that an image of a probable exoplanet taken in 2008 using a telescope in Hawaii have been confirmed — it's a planet. In fact, exoplanets have been directly imaged before; the first was in 2005. More images of other planets were released in 2008. To be specific: this new planet is the first to be directly imaged orbiting a sun-like star using observations made from the ground. That's actually still quite a technological achievement, but don't be misled by hyperbolic headlines."

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Categories: Tech News

Regular Domains Have More Malware Than Porn Sites

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 10:06
SnugglesTheBear writes "New research pours scorn on the comforting but erroneous belief that Windows surfers who avoid smut and wares on the Web are likely to avoid exposure to malware. A study by free anti-virus firm Avast found 99 infected legitimate domains for every infected adult website. In the UK, Avast found that more infected domains contained the word 'London' than the word 'sex.' Among the domains labeled as infected by Avast was the smartphones section of the Vodafone UK website. The mobile phone operator's site contained a malicious JavaScript redirect script that attempted to take advantage of an unpatched Windows Help and Support Centre flaw (CVE-2010-1885) to infect the machines of visiting surfers."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


Categories: Tech News

Plone 3 Products Development Cookbook

Slashdot - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 09:18
RickJWagner writes "This book takes an interesting path to teaching Plone 3 development. Unlike most software instructional books, it starts way back in the often-unread Preface by listing 10 requirements a mythical customer is asking the reader to implement in Plone 3. The requirements are realistic and I think would probably be quite a stretch for an inexperienced Plone developer. The rest of the book is dedicated to implementing those 10 features, and coaching the reader on Plone 3 development along the way." Read on for the rest of Rick's review.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.


Categories: Tech News

Re: UiBinder - VerticalPanel not applicable for the argument SelectElement ...

GWT Group - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 00:00
try:

<g:VerticalPanel>
<g:Label>Discovery</g:Label>
<g:ListBox ui:field="discovery"/>
</g:VerticalPanel>

or:

<g:HTMLPanel>
<table>
<tr><td>discovery</td></tr>
<tr><td>
<select ui:field="discovery"/>
</td></tr>
</table>
</g:HTMLPanel>

HTML-elements and widgets can only be mixed in a HTMLPanel...

Categories: Google Code

Re: Dynamic UI rendering using GWT

GWT Group - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 00:00
I have used UiBinder in a twisted way. Create a base user interface
using UIBinder with ALL widgets that you will ever need on the page.
Based on the run time data, hide/remove from parent the unwanted
widgets. Ofcourse it depends on the application as to whether this
design is feasible.
Prashant
Categories: Google Code

Re: GWT.setUncaughtExceptionHandler not working

GWT Group - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 00:00
Dear Isaac,
Wonderful!. Your solution is working well.
Thanks a lot!.
-Moorsu
Categories: Google Code

Re: More than one module

GWT Group - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 00:00
Yes, you can have more than one module.
If you use Maven, you can view gwt maven plugin for detail.
Categories: Google Code

Re: GWT htaccess to disable cache

GWT Group - Wed, 06/30/2010 - 00:00
Thanks for the clarification.
Categories: Google Code
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