Free Republic

Sun has finally found an American partner for its Java Desktop System (JSD), the company's Linux-based alternative to Microsoft Windows: über-retailer Wal-Mart.Wal-Mart on Tuesday began selling low-cost Microtel PCs pre-loaded with JDS, offering several systems at prices ranging from $298 to $698.Java Desktop System, which runs on Linux, includes the Gnome desktop, StarOffice productivity suite, Mozilla Web browser, and the Evolution e-mail client, and is Sun's pitch as a replacement for Windows and Microsoft Office in both the consumer and enterprise arenas.On Tuesday, Sun said that it was seriously considering Wal-Mart as the sole PC supplier for JDS-equipped computers.To prove...

'Witty' Worm Wrecks Computers The worm targets Windows computers that run specific security firewalls. By Brian Krebs washingtonpost.com Staff Writer Saturday, March 20, 2004; 7:02 PM A quickly spreading Internet worm destroyed or damaged tens of thousands of personal computers worldwide Saturday morning by exploiting a security flaw in a firewall program designed to protect PCs from online threats, computer experts said.

<p>Regulators say software maker broke antitrust rules, to propose hundreds of millions in fines.</p> <p>BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Microsoft has broken European Union antitrust law and could face sanctions and hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, according to a draft decision expected to win endorsement on Monday from an advisory committee to the 15 EU states.</p>

Ok, you computer people. I'm at my neighbor's right now, because I need your help. Without warning, my computer died. It just stopped. The power light stayed on, but then after unplugging it and plugging it back in after finding I had no control over the thing, the power light does not come on anymore, nor do I hear the sound from the harddrive. Just silence. Is this a power supply failure? (neighbor's opinion) If so, could it have damaged more components? Do I need a new computer, or can just the power supply be replaced? How common is this?...

Outsourcing: A New Occupational Hazard Paul Craig Roberts Wednesday, Mar. 10, 2004 Who does Bill Gates think he is fooling? Microsoft's chairman spent the last week of February on the college stump trying to talk up computer engineering. But nothing he can say can overcome the fact that students have been reading announcements from every American high-tech company, including Microsoft itself, about thousands of engineering and research jobs being moved to Asia. On Feb. 16, The Associated Press reported that Siemens announced that the firm will move most of the 15,000 software programming jobs from its offices in the...

<p>GOP staff members of the Senate Judiciary Committee had free access to sensitive Democratic computer files because of what investigators termed a “significant lack of security” on the committee’s network.</p> <p>A report by the Senate sergeant at arms has blamed the poor controls on the IT administrator’s inexperience and lack of training.</p>

I created a thread here a couple weeks back. I was asking for help with a Web site that I was planning on building for the OSU College Republicans. Well I have now built that Web site, and you can view it here. Let me know what you think of it. But I do have another problem I would like some help with. Our Public Relations manager somehow made it to where the Web site is now also available at www.osurepublicans.comBUT when you go to that one...it brings up an error. It says that a run time error has occured,...

New variants of Mydoom, Netsky, and Bagle seen as evidence of escalating feud. Antivirus experts have identified new versions of three major e-mail worms and say that a "war" between rival virus writers may be to blame for the rash of outbreaks in recent weeks. New versions of the Mydoom, Netsky, and Bagle have all appeared on the Internet in the last 24 hours. Antivirus researchers have uncovered text messages in two of the worms that suggest a battle is underway between virus writers, antivirus companies say. Examples of Netsky.F, Bagle.K ,and Mydoom.H were isolated on Wednesday, according to antivirus...

E-mail tries out a sense of smell An e-mail would contain a code for a particular scent You could soon be able to spice up your e-mails with your favourite perfume. UK net provider Telewest Broadband is testing a system to let people to send aromatic e-mails over the internet. It has developed a kind of hi-tech air freshener that plugs into a PC and sprays a smell linked to the message. Telewest say it could be used by supermarkets to tempt people with the smell of fresh bread or by holiday companies seeking to stir up images of...

Here is my issue: I have a Dell and I am running Windows XP. A few months ago, I began getting a small window popping up on my desktop basically saying, "Winnet error, must close, send error report, blah, blah..." But that was no big deal. NOW, whenever I am on the internet and I click on something, on every third click or so the internet window will simply close and I will have to begin again. I have tried to go through the manufacturer but their hours are useless and they won't help me without my 24 (yes, 24)...

The email has the following characteristics: From: (Spoofed) Subject: (One of the following) hi hello read it immediately something for you warning information stolen fake unknown Message: (One of the following) anything ok? what does it mean? ok i'm waiting read the details. here is the document. read it immediately! my hero [here is that true? is that your name? is that your account? i wait for a reply! is that from you? you are a bad writer I have your password! something about you! kill the writer of this document! i hope it is not true! your name is...

What are thoughts on the relative strengths and weaknesses of both products? Thanks.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Hackers broke into a state agency's server containing the sensitive personal information of tens of thousands of people who work as nannies, butlers, and gardeners, and those who employ them. Evidence of a computer break-in at the Employment Development Department was discovered Jan. 20 during a routine check and immediately shut down the server that holds information on household workers and their employers, spokesman Kevin Callori said Friday. The server houses information on about 90,000 people. The hackers gained access to employee's names, Social Security numbers and wage records, and some employers' Social Security numbers, Callori...

<p>Orange County's new $11 million computer system to track Medi-Cal bills doesn't work.</p> <p>Instead, tens of thousands of bills are being processed partially by hand and by an old computer system once labeled by county officials as "obsolete with major deficiencies."</p>

<p>Facing a drop in funding and a tough job market for technology professionals, the Department of Labor is poised to kill a program that trains Americans to fill positions held by foreign guest workers.</p> <p>The department created the H-1B Training Program in the late 1990s as a way for Americans to learn skills in high demand by employers. The funding came from fees employers of foreign workers paid to get H-1B visas, which allowed the foreigners to take technical jobs that went unfilled during the dot-com boom. The Labor Department used those fees and other funding to pay $328 million in scholarships and grants to community groups to develop training programs for U.S. citizens and permanent residents.</p>

<p>Think technology is just applied science? You're wrong. It's the other way around.</p> <p>In November 1944, as the Allies were moving toward victory, President Franklin Roosevelt asked Vannevar Bush, his director of US wartime research and development, to outline a program for the role of government in postwar science and technology. World War II had led to radar, sonar, and the atomic bomb, all of which would play a major role in the eventual Allied victory. But Roosevelt was concerned about how the nation's newly science-dependent economy would fare once the conflict ended. War-ravaged Europe could no longer be counted on to provide fresh scientific knowledge.</p>

<p>Getting transferred from one automated message to another while stuck in a company's convoluted telephone system is enough to make even the most unflappable individual's blood boil.</p> <p>A solution that may prevent violence against handsets comes in the form of a new software program designed to detect callers' frustration and transfer them to a human operator.</p>

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — That computer on your desk is just your helper. But soon it may become a very close friend. Now it sends your e-mails, links you to the Web, does your computations, and pays your bills. Soon it could warn you when you’re talking too much at a meeting, if scientists at Sandia National Laboratories’ Advanced Concepts Group have their way. Or it could alert others in your group to be attentive when you have something important to say. Aided by tiny sensors and transmitters called a PAL (Personal Assistance Link) your machine (with your permission) will become...

This is another neat toy. Create imaginary landscapes with this program. Below are a few I made in just a few minutes with Tarragen and PhotoShop Elements Sunset In Tiu Vallis, Mars Mars Another Addy for a guy who does neat Mars pics.. http://home-1.worldonline.nl/~veenen/terragen/mars/mars.html Just cut and paste the addy.

The first copycat of the widespread Mydoom worm appeared Wednesday on the Internet, and some analysts are warning it may be even more dangerous than the original. Dubbed Mydoom.b by most security firms, the variant strongly resembles the Mydoom, now tagged as Mydoom.a, but adds some new disturbing traits. Some of the subject lines used by Mydoom.b depart from the original, including new headings of 'Delivery error' and 'Returned mail,' both which try to trick users into believing that the message is legit and can safely be opened. Another change in Mydoom.b is the addition of microsoft.com as a target...