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jrsimmons asks: "I'm running performance tests on IDE interface configurations for my company. I've discovered that disk to disk I/O is significantly faster (in the realm of 30%-40%) when only a single IDE interface is active versus when two IDE interfaces are active. This is significant as our servers are used to provide Point-of-Sale availability for registers in the retail environment, which is heavily dependent on disk i/o performance for efficiency. I have run the tests under both Windows and our retail OS (sorry, no Linux) with similar results. What are some possible explanations for the detrimental effect the second active ide controller has on disk I/O speed?" Has anyone measured this deficiency on Linux and other Unices?

shanenewsom sent in linkage to a story running on the BBC which talks about the new Xybernaut Poma. A little light on the specs, although the headmounted screen is 640x480 and it runs WinCE. But it really does look like the first practical wearable. It should be available in March. Update: 01/21 18:52 GMT by T : Reader Eureses points out that the display is actually 800x600 rather than 640x480.

kraut_juice writes: "The West Antarctic Ice Sheet just may have stopped melting, scientists reported on Thursday. Experts have been saying there is little evidence that global warming is responsible for melting the ice sheet."

Ryn asks: "I've been looking around for a nice and easy to use 3D desktop/window manager for Linux, and the choice seems to be extremely limited. 3dwm seems to be more of an application framework than anything else. On the Windows side, there are applications like rooms3d and my favorite, 3dtop. Are there any Linux apps like these?"

ennuiner writes: "NetworkWorld is running a story this week about the IETF's efforts to help create a universal standard for multimedia messaging. According to the article, a new protocol is needed because the volume of mp3 traffic on AOL could reach the point "to either swamp out the rest of the Internet or to require major engineering.""

David Harris writes: "Newsbytes and the folks over at DotcomScoop.com have good stories about VeriSign's proposal to start a "Wait Listing Service" (WLS) that would allow consumers to buy domain names before they expire. As with anything that has to do with VeriSign/Network Solutions the "WLS" ain't all it cracked up to be and there is opposition from the ICANN community. I'm not sure I like the idea of auctioning off domains before they expire either." CD: To quote Don Marti: "DNS is a consensus reality."

WAD-Dawg writes: "Linux security is a topic of much concern and investigation lately. Here are a few white papers that cover important Linux security topics. This white paper contains informtaion, code examples, and proven strategy on securing Linux Servers for Service Providers. And this article covers PKCS #11 openCryptoki, an API that is rapidly becoming the de facto, non-Windows-platform industry standard for interfacing between cryptographic hardware and user space applications. Both are very well written and provide important and timely information on Linux security."

Robert Rwebangira writes: "There is an article in The New York Times (free reg required), discussing college students 'insatiable demand for bandwidth.' Of particular interest is the continuing prominence of file-sharing (inspite of the demise of Napster) and the amount of bandwidth consumed in even 'legitimate' activities. It seems students demand for bandwidth just keeps growing."

Jonathan Campbell writes: "According to the article, subscribers will get over the sticker shock preferring convenience over price." Yay, it'll be so convenient having one company control my television, internet access and phone service. I can hardly wait.

King Of Chat asks: "We have a project underway which involves Suns, A/S400s, 390s and the jewel in the crown, a COM application on NT. Given all these different platforms, the powers that be have decided the MQSeries is to be the middleware. The problem is the NT server app which some executive decided was going to be a strategic purchase. The NT app is all COM components so the question is: how do we get MQSeries to talk to them?"

"Options as we see it are:

• Use an off-the-shelf MQSeries/MSMQ bridge. Problem here is that this is a high(ish) volume web app so extra latency == bad.
• Write a bit of C++ which picks the messages out the queue and then services them from a thread pool (my favourite but will generate fear and loathing from our VB coders).
• Use the triggering to start apps to service the messages. I don't see this working under heavy load due to limits in NT.
• Anything else?

Has anyone out there any experience in trying to do such a thing? I don't like the look of it much as the NT app looks like the weakest link."

coonsta queries: "Being able to embed a Web browser is critical to the success of a platform (and the browser). High Stakes, No Prisoners argues this quite eloquently. Windows has an embeddable IE (and Mozilla to boot); Linux has Mozilla; wxWindows has wxHTML; etc. But what does Java have? I can forsake cross-platform support and embed IE, but that won't interact well with Swing; I can embed Mozilla, if Webclient is ever released in a usable form (and what about OS X?); I can use a JTextPane, and forget about nice-looking pages or script; I can Runtime.exec the browser and forget about being able to control it or interact with it; I can use CalPane and forget about JavaScript; or I can buy a component from Company X-dot-com, and subsequently price the software out of the market. Do any developers know if I can have my cake and eat it to? That is, does anybody know of a cheap, cross-platform Web browser component for Java with a reasonably modern feature set?"

PeteCool asks: "Lately my phone calls, mostly the technical ones, are getting longer and longer. The usual phone set isn't acceptable, and the 'shoulder trick' to hold the phone when using the keyboard isn't enough anymore. I've been looking in stores in the area for all-in-the-headset handless cordless phones - the ones with a little box wired to the headset that holds on your belt don't look comfortable at all - but I haven't found anything really great. I've found this all-in-one model from GN Netcom, but it's way too expensive for me. I'm certainly not the first one looking for that kind of phone. What have you guys found, what do you use, what do you recommend?"

WalterGR asks: "There are plenty of resources available for writing operating systems, e.g. Tanenbaum's Modern Operating Systems, the Dinosaur Book, and countless web sites. For those of us who aren't interested in low-level issues, and prefer focusing on human-computer interaction, what resources are available for designing windowing systems (a la X Window)? Issues like the object hierarchy, event management, modularity, redefining behavior at runtime (e.g. for skins) etc. Any suggestions?"

HarlanC writes: "The NY Times has an article (registration required) discussing the famous meeting between Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg in Copenhagen in 1941. The conclusion is that Heisenberg revealed to Bohr the existance of a Nazi atomic program in an attempt to obtain assistance from Bohr. The Times of London article is here (long registration process required)" The play "Copenhagen" was based on a fictionalization of this meeting, it was much better than "Proof", I assure you.

Mechel Conrad writes: "Heise Online(German) writes about a Virus called SWF/LFM-926. It consists of a Macromedia Flash movie and seems to be the first of its kind. It uses Flash's scripting language in order to open a debug terminal creating and executing a file called V.COM, which infests other .SWF Files. Although the virus is not very dangerous and not widespread yet, it suggests clear security holes in Flash." The translation of the Heise article is quite readable, too. Update: 01/08 22:47 GMT by T : bdavenport adds: "this report on Yahoo lists a new Shockwave virus as low grade due to the need of manual downloading. infoworld is reporting that McAfee has upgraded to high risk after several Fortune 500 firms have reported it in the wild, arriving as an email attachment."

dknight asks: "Ok, a friend of mine recently has his computer die on him. Rather than go out and buy a computer, we thought we'd try converting his DreamCast to fit the bill. We've got the keyboard and mouse, and now have Linux running on it successfully(we're working on getting the network adapter). The problem we're running into, however, is that it's REALLY painfully slow. I'm figuring this is due to the meager 16 Megs of RAM it comes with. My question is: Is it possible to upgrade the RAM on a DreamCast? Has anyone else attempted this feat?" I highly doubt this is possible, but if this can be done, this might breathe new life into those unused DC consoles that are lying around.

deglr6328 writes "The Gemini North Telescope has, for the first time, directly imaged a planet like body orbiting a star. The object is a brown dwarf, 55 to 78 times the mass of planet Jupiter and 14 AU distant from its parent star 15 Sge. It was imaged using adaptive optics(see also here) that correct for the blurring effect of the atmosphere using deformable mirrors. Cool!"

Dan Reetz asks: "As a PC based musician, mobility is critical. However, most laptops have horrible soundcards. PCMCIA cards like a VXPocket cost about 700 clams. A friend of mine recommended I look into 'lunchbox' style computers as a portable solution. A few searches revealed them to be quite expensive and they are hard to find used. Does anyone know of a source for used Lunchbox PC's (even just the diplay would be fine) or a better low latency/noise audio solution for laptops?"

spacey girl asks: "A start-up company i worked for was recently shut down. I've been looking for a new company for quite some time now. i've been offered something at two new startup companies (established in 2000) and I can't find too many references on the web for them. These companies are not exactly computer related but more science related in biotech (pharmaceuticals and such). What kinds of tools are available for evaluating stability and potential of these two companies? I tried looking for the investors but that was a no-go. Also, I'm referring to international companies, not just companies in the US."

wyldchild37 writes: "Business 2.0 has an article on an interesting new technology - TV That Works Like the Web. A new startup wants to make all television content archived, indexed, and searchable."

davidsmind writes "Former KDE hacker and creator of the much acclaimed Liquid theme, Mosfet(AKA Daniel M. Duley ) is back in the spotlight. The Dot was the first one with the story. 'Many in the KDE community are aware of some rocky history between KDE hacker Mosfet and other KDE developers. Fortunately, it looks like things have taken a great turn for the better: Mosfet wrote in to tell us that "I've decided to donate 20 effects I ported to KDE/Qt for PixiePlus to KDE3." Waldo Bastian promptly added them to CVS.'" The list of effects is long, impressive, and under a BSD-style license. Mosfet has done a lot of the work that makes my desktop pretty, so I'm very happy to hear about this.

An Anonymous Coward throws this spanner into the works by asking: "OK, a response to another Slashdot question has made me wonder... Can techies fix cars? I know computers very well, I can fix VCRs, and I can wire home theater systems but I don't know the slightest thing about my car. I am not sure I even want to but I thought some other Slashdoters might want to way in on that. Could it be the whole "getting dirty" thing with cars? What do you think? How well do you know the inner workings of that thing that sits in the driveway?" I used to think I liked taking anything apart, not just computers, but after spending a few frustrating afternoons maintaining my car, I figured such things were best left to the professionals. However, I may be a minority in this, based on the responses from the last auto-related question.

RJ asks: "I would like to get some advice from others that may be going through the same situation I am. I am currently 19 and will be turning 20 in 1 week. I have held my current job, as Systems-Network Administrator, for almost a year now in very good standing according to my direct boss, the IT Manager. I have 5 years industry experience and a few certifications, yet I am more then qualified for my current position according to previous employers (and my work history/experience). It has recently come to my attention that our IT Director is trying to either find a way to get rid of me or transfer me into a miserable job position, all because of my age. My Boss explained to me he thinks it has to do with a bit of jealousy. Everyone I work with is over the age of 30 and the IT director is in his mid 40's." Either your too old, or your too young, or it's racial issues, sexual preference, and sometimes it can even be religion. Despite the fact that it's the 21st century discrimination still exists and many of us have had to face it in our careers. For most, it basically amounts to a career roadblock, while for others, it can also turn into an extremely humiliating and terrible experience. What options exist for those who experience it in any of the many forms it can take in the workplace?

"The IT Director has never approached me about any of this and treats me fine to my face, but seems to talk bad about me around my Boss, though my boss does his best to defend me. I have had no work problems (documented or not) and have a clean HR record. It's to the point I can't trust anyone at work anymore. Everywhere I work people like me but as soon as they learn my age they automatically hate me, become jealous, or try to find ways to get rid of me. I have learned to deal with this problem as I figured it went with the territory. However, I also have a new baby daughter and a new wife to support and I can't lose my job, especially in this economy. Needless to say I am polishing up the resume and starting to look for a new job, but can anyone offer any sound advice, or legal actions which I can take if I do get fired, or even suggest employers in the industry that are friendly to my age bracket?"

Ben Mayer asks: "I work for a company that is looking to start using Linux on our servers along side of the Windows 2000 boxes that we already have. We have been looking at tools like HP OpenView and IBM Tivoli for package distribution and backups. They both support Windows and a variety of U*IX but not Linux. I have spent a couple of days searching but have not found any products that support Win 2k and Linux and are of enterprise quality. Is Linux lacking in this area?"

peter_gzowski writes "Well known film critic and closet otaku, Roger Ebert, has a bi-weekly segment on his website where he reminisces about the greatest films of all time (in his opinion, anyway). The most recent installment covers My Neighbor Totoro. This is the second anime to make the list, joining Grave of the Fireflies. For those unfamiliar, Totoro is a film by anime master Hayao Miyazaki, the man behind Princess Mononoke, amoung many other great films (Castle of Cagliostro being my favorite)." Always pleased to see anime get more mainsream cred. And Miyazaki always deserves it.

szcx writes: "Two days after the code release, Dan East has ported Quake II to the Pocket PC. With NeoMagic's 3D chipset for handhelds and XScale on the horizon, how long is it going to be until we're playing Quake III: Arena on the train into work?"

Dwarf_Sibling writes "Hard to believe but with over 11,000 votes tallied LoTR:FoTR has displaced "The Godfather" as the highest rated movie at IMDB. Over time I'd guess this will fall lower, but this is an amazing accomplishment for a fantasy movie."

chicagothad asks: "I help to run large internet systems for a few Fortune 500 companies. We are running several clustered systems, comprised of both Microsoft and Linux technologies. We have run into several problems with what is known as a 'mega-proxy'. A mega proxy is a way that large internet providers distribute their outbound traffic via a pool of IPs. AOL/Compuserve is the largest example of this. We are having fits with session management right now. Does anyone have any ideas on the best system structure or design to manage these beasts or any other tips that may be helpful?"

Apostata asks: "As more and more people migrate (or consider migrating) to Linux, I'd like to know what Slashdot readers would vote for as their top picks for Linux-friendly games (either native or commercially ported) for 2001."

The updates tonight (below) are on the industrially appealing sliMP3 player (get in line, buddy), the U.S. government's continuing War on Copyright Violation, the pricy but cool-sounding Audigy sound card from Creative Labs, what you'll find at mysql.org, and more. Enjoy!

It seemed like a good idea at the time, though. GeekLife.com writes: "After 20 months, Ford has ended (technically "deferred") their "Model E" free computer and discounted Internet access for their employees (announced here and discussed here). Employees who already have computers will be able to keep them, and their Internet service will not be affected."

I sure hope that Ford (like many large companies) at the very least gives Ford employees dibs on any computers that are being replaced within the company to make up for each new round of Windows.

Sounds like a slimple decision, if you like the look. rockwood writes: "We've all been waiting for this for quite some time, but it appears that now for only $269.00 Slim Devices, Inc. is now shipping their sliMP3. Though they state quantity is limited, due to a component shortage. Last minute Christmas gift for the tech on your list!"

For that price, it better read aloud in a very sexy voice. The other day we linked to a review of the new all-singing, all-dancing Audigy sound card on 3D Spotlight; in case that wasn't enough to help you choose whether to spend or save your money, LinkDJ writes: "This card is great for those with older sound card in their systems, but if you have a Sound Blaster 5.1, there is no real need to upgrade. The cool things about this card are that it has integrated SB1394 Firewire, thus eliminating the need for a separate Firewire add-in card. Read the full review."

WhoseSQL? gwynnebaer writes "A friend of mine just pointed out to me that the contentious www.mysql.org now points to the main MySQL AB site. If you remember, there was much gnashing of lawsuits over trademark issues this past summer. So, looks like at least one part of the battle is over, but for the life of me, I can't find any articles or newsworthy information to explain what happened. Anyone know the scoop?"

Free software might be a good way to lessen your legal liability. MooRogue writes: "Looks like the Feds are raiding Universities and corporate offices for more pirated software. They're questioning people and seizing computers to gather digital evidence in 'Operation Buccaneer.' Here's the article on the NY Times (free reg, blah blah)"

Vindi submitted a New Scientist story about a CPU fan that flaps in the breeze. 2cm metal or polyester fan blades, and use less power then a traditional rotary fan. They move less air then the traditional fan, but for laptops, using 99% less power can't hurt. Update Hey its a duplicate from saturday! Guess I shouldn't post while planning my trek to see LotR tomorrow. Go ahead, flame on.

Apostata writes "The following story from the Globe and Mail outlines a proposal of the head of the Canadian Space Agency to seek renewed funding for the recently stripped-down NASA budget for the ISS. He makes an interesting point that - contrary to the belief that the ISS is a NASA brainchild/braintrust - many countries have poured $billions$ into it's development and should thus have a say in whether there should be any cutbacks. Read all about it here."

The_THOMAS (and many others) writes: "A day after major anti-virus firms waffle on their support for 'Magic Lantern', and nine days after Thomas C Greene of The Register tried to throw cold water on it's existence, the FBI Confirms the 'Magic Lantern' Project Exist. Welcome to a Brave New World!"

steddyj asks: "With the release of the Gamecube and X-Box, along with the slew of games for said consoles, I've been contemplating whether or not to buy one, and keep running into one major roadblock: the TV in my room is on top of the hutch of my desk. This is not only the only place I have room for it, but also the best place for viewing. But, at a mere 13", having the screen 4 feet away and 3 feet above eye level makes gaming all but impossible without standing. However, my computer monitor is considerably larger and, of course, in a much better position for viewing the details needed to play modern games along with the occasional productive stuff." I know that the X-Box supposedly supports VGA out, but do you need an adapter for it? There were adapters available for Dreamcasts to output to VGA, and I'm not quite sure whether such things were relased for the PS2 or the Gamecube. Has anyone used such adaptors, if so, how have your experiences been?

"I remember a time when monitors used to include composite inputs, and my grandfather had his Nintendo (that's the original *8-bit* system) hooked up to his. But alas, those days are long gone. Does anyone else know of any hack or device that will allow me to hook a game console to my monitor? Barring this, I cannot justify the $300 for a system I can't enjoy, and I want to play Obi-Wan and Starfighter!"

It's been a long time coming, so lets start off the quickies with some acts of senseless damage. Old Wolf sent us a link to a bunch of pictures of someone Defrosting a Freezer in the best way ever, and an anonymous reader sent in a site that shows what happens if you put a CD in Microwave. Don't use AOL CDs., send them to this lady who collects them (from gr8fulnded). On to the sex! An anonymous reader submitted a story about the Robot Pet Vibrator which is I guess AIBO gone wrong. elkm discovered Computerized Contraception. And with all this digital doin' it going on, its good know that MITs Erotic Computation Group is here to research it (thanks Chris Moon) The world is full of strangeness, but little of it is as scary as MissNachos's link to the Hello Kitty laptop, srini's link to the Single Pixel Webcam, and aneanti's link to a collection of the strangest canned foods you'll ever see. Finally, since it is the holidays, check out mrv's link to LED Christmas Lights which sure beats the hell out of finding the broken bulb.

TeknoDragon asks: "The Linux Quake3 SDK for version 1.17 is missing! Since Loki isn't supporting quake3 anymore they have dropped all files from their site. Unfortunately this included the only known linux binary for q3lcc! The source code for q3asm has been released (about a year ago) and with some effort it compiles under linux, but mod developing will not take place natively under linux without q3lcc. LCC is a lightweight c compiler written by princeton university. ID used the latest version (4.1 release rcs version 4.27) but made some "slight modifications". The Polish(ed) Linux Distribution offers an rpm for lcc, but I haven't yet discovered how to make it produce quake3 asm code."

"I have assurances from ttimo at id that releasing q3lcc for Linux is 'on the todo list' (wether that means source or binary I'm not sure), but for the mean time does anyone have a copy of the Linux q3 sdk v1.17 (with q3lcc binary included) downloaded form Loki before they removed it? If there is a way for princeton standard lcc to compile Quake3 asm code that would be another option."

hhutkin writes "Business 2.0 has an article in their latest issue on Bill Joy and Sun's peer-to-peer play, Jxta." A bit light on details but still good to know progress is being made in the field of peer to peer apps. But don't expect anything useful any time soon.

legLess writes "Scott Rosenburg, Salon's VP of operations, wrote an interesting article for Web Techniques about Salon's subscription system. It goes into a fair amount of technical detail (JavaBeans and JSP on Linux for login and authentication; Perl, HTML::Mason and MySQL (CD: and oracle) for content). He also talks about their subscription numbers, what drove them to do it, and their plans for the future (technical and operational). A little fluffy, but still a good read."

Darvin Pope asks: "I have a rather disconcerting problem at work: the environment is uncomfortable. Its not your standard, 'I hate my job' type of uncomfortable, its more of a general physical and mental issue than that. The entire place is done in earthtones, its dark and it can be noisy. My cube is situated across the room from most others, but still, its hard to acquire a peaceful, zenlike state of mind, neccesary for me to write my best code, with all the disturbances around. I was wondering if any of the slashdot folks had any hints - ranging from a change of seating posture to color schemes, desk clutter, music/white noise, herbal suppliments, dietary changes, lighting, and so on. What works best for the rest of you?"

kabanossen writes "News.com reports that AOL is joining the Liberty Alliance, which is a coalition of tech companies who are creating an alternative to Microsoft's Passport. Other members of the alliance are Sun, Nokia, Real Networks and General Motors "This provides a common language for authentication to ensure no one company controls the single authentication network" said a rep. " Mmmm...open standards. Hopefully.

whee writes: "Through a $160 million deal, it looks like Comcast users will have Excite@Home supplied access for at least more three months (press release). Comcast anticipates moving existing customers over to a new Comcast-owned and managed network before the new contract expires." As well, it appears that the folks who were using AT&T's brand of Excite@Home are back online - as this press release said. T: CNET also has a story on the 3-way deal.

Dave (picked at random) and 8000 other slashdot readers wrote in to tell us that they too had been overcome by the relentless hype machine that is IT, Ginger, Segway, whatever. Read about IT in your favorite hype-dispensing media outlet, each of which thinks that it has an exclusive on the story of IT. Flash diagram of IT. Time. NY Times. Reuters. And don't forget to watch the advertisement, errr, "demonstration" of IT on Good Morning Consumers tomorrow. Update: 12/03 13:37 GMT by T : Segway's webmaster John Grohol points out the segway website as well.

josquint asks: "I'm on a building/remodel committee for a local non-profit organization. I've been playing with a few CAD programs for Linux (QCad, etc.) and, like their Windows counterparts, they are geared for the professional. I have no serious problems useing this software, but would much rather use something geared toward the amateur. I've used Windows programs from Punch Software, which are quite good, and have utilites for landscaping, framing, wireing, and so forth, and was wondering if there are any Linux counterparts. Punch's software is good, but it won't run on my box, and I don't want to shell out US$89 for a one-time project. Any suggestions?"

corby writes: "Bioware Corp., developer of the highly anticipated multiplayer Dungeons & Dragons game Neverwinter Nights, is escalating the conflict with their troubled publisher Interplay. In September, they filed a lawsuit against the publisher, and now they have terminated their contract with Interplay to distribute Neverwinter Nights. The problem is, these guys need each other. The loss of Neverwinter Nights means that Interplay will lose out on substantial revenue from a surefire hit, but Interplay is apparently the only company with rights to distribute games under the AD&D license."

hp9000 asks: "I've been asked to work on a project that will involve data migration from Sybase to PostgreSQL. I'd like to know if there's any tool, similar to Oracle's Migration Workbench, or even a shell script, to move all data from Sybase tables to PostgreSQL tables, creating the tables/tablespaces/etc in the process or at least generating a script to do so. Any kind of tool, so to speak, that would allow me to perform the migration will be great. I'm not interested in the sql code migration (that will come later if necessary), only tables, indexes, etc. at this point."

David Harris writes: "A bankruptcy court ruled today that the @Home network will be shutdown at midnight, unless the company reaches new deals with its cable partners and creditors. The decision is a victory for bondholders, owed $750 million by Excite@Home, whose motion asked the court to shutdown the network on grounds that AT&T's $307 million offer to acquire @Home's broadband network is not adequate and fair value for the network could only be found if a shutdown was forced." Read about it on excite.com, while you can. CNet has a good analysis of where things stand. 45% of the cable modem users in North America! Ouch.

Hugh asks: "I work for a company that requires all its employees to use Internet Explorer, but they have no problem with "alternative" operating systems. As such, I would like to run FreeBSD but because there is no BSD IE binary, I would need to run the Solaris binary. BSD has a great Solaris compatibility layer, but I have not had any success getting it to work with IE. I was wondering if anyone else had any input on the topic?"

robvasquez writes: "According to this CNET article, excite @home could be pulling the plug on cable modem subscribers. What's your providers back up plan? Could milions of trolls and Nimda spreaders be taken off line?"

Sean-O writes " Shattering the myth of the faultless programmer, this article dismantles the uninspired software group and then builds it up again into a synchronized, nergized ensemble. It's full of tips to improve your Perl skills, ranging from best programming practices to code debugging."

bstadil writes: "There is an interesting debate over at SiliconValley.com about the right of researchers funded by Universities to make their IP Open Source. It's not at all simple. On one side Universities claiming their derive 5% of their Budget from IP licenses and it's vital for continued high level of 'Output,' on the other hand researcher who claim the public is billed twice by licensing the output."