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There are numerous free and opensourced replacement desktop shells for windows. Some are old linux ports.

They are good, because they work and run inside the free MS HyperVisor VM. Which boots into a cmd line plain gui, but no shell. Its easy to install these new shells, to create a working desktop thats linux like, but in windows.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/five-apps/five-replacements-for-the-windows-7-desktop/1327

Given that their password system is case insensitive that seems rather unlikely... they also haven't had major issues with their login servers since release.

If you paid any attention, the need for a Battle.Net account and the DRM was pretty obvious - they didn't exactly hide it, and there was a lot of outcry over it.

I used to use Net tamer (a combination PPP client, e-mail client, and web browser) on my 80286 over a 2400 baud modem. This was in 1996... ah the anguish. Seriously though if you want credit for having the least powerful online machine, you have to be able to do something useful with something less powerful than an 80286. Turns out you can browse the web with a Comodore 64. http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/classic-tech/surf-the-web-on-your-commodore-64/182

Apparently, it's a time-limited offer.

Also note that even with the Media Pack, you only get DVD playback in Windows Media Center. You still don't get it in Windows Media Player, which I personally find somewhat annoying.

Now hopefully they actually write an app that uses Android properly instead of some stupid iOS port - I've seen so many that are hard to use on Android because of this.

Which version of Android would that be? Development often revolves around the least common denominator, which in Android's case is 2.2. In the real world ~15% of the market is still a significant figure. What new and useful features have been added since then? Are you aware of how many different implementations which are vendor specific, things like graphics, button functionality (interesting related blog post illustrating these points) which might hamper development? I know this isn't an end user concern but you're experiencing the symptoms of Android fragmentation. What version of Android are these handsets running? Take a look at the SDK usage and OS versions as of this month. Looks like Gingerbread, which is from December 2010, in handset terms that's nearly a generation or two.

At least with IOS you're dealing with pretty current hardware since Apple (love it or hate it) makes it a point to support only the last two releases, and over 2/3 of devices upgraded to the newest version within a month, wish it were the same for Andorid.

Now have an other look on mobile, where the new IE is all the different forks of Webkit that do not get updates. Replacement rate of mobiles was about ones every 2 years, with smartphones (because they are more expensive) this is going to be higher.

And webdevelopers already use webkit only features. Or are using it in a way which make it webkit only (-webkit *). Even though it already is a standard and other browsers support it.

* http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/australia/the-webkit-prefix-will-ruin-the-mobile-web/669

Yes there are three types of Virtual Switches in Hyper-V. http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/networking/how-to-create-an-external-virtual-switch-in-hyper-v-on-the-windows-server-8-beta/5410

There's hoops in earlier versions of Windows, but Server 2008 introduces a group policy object that makes it pretty easy:

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/datacenter/disable-removable-media-through-windows-server-2008s-group-policy-configuration/452

And more usefully, starting with Windows 7, you can force the use of BitKeeper on removable media via Group Policy:

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/using-bitlocker-encrypt-removable-media-part2.html

There's hoops in earlier versions of Windows, but Server 2008 introduces a group policy object that makes it pretty easy:

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/datacenter/disable-removable-media-through-windows-server-2008s-group-policy-configuration/452

“Open source is the only credible producer of software and now hardware that isn’t bound to a single company’s economic interest,”

Well, where is this open source hardware? Every time something comes up on Slashdot reported to be "open source hardware" there's a whole slew of comments about how it's not truly open source. Anything from "where are the schematics" all the way down to the verilog/VHDL compilers and place/route algorithms being closed source. I've seen a 3D printer but not much else that meets the most stringent requirements. So tell me, where is this seemingly mythical "open source hardware" that will now free me from a single company's economic interest?

The question is: Can you trust the source?

TechRepublic noted this a while ago and provided detailed instructions on how to work-around the issue.

A waterbed patent was rejected due to it appearing in a Heinlein novel [1]. Prior art is any publication (journal article, blog post, novel, movie, etc.) or public release (software, hardware), no matter how obscure that describes the patent in sufficient detail so that it can be reproduced by someone skilled in the art prior to the application of the patent.

For example, the UI interaction in Minority Report cannot be patented as it is described in the movie sufficiently, but a holographic touchscreen display to realize that UI would be patentable (the film does not sufficiently describe the tech involved).

[1] http://www.techrepublic.com/article/geek-trivia-strange-waterbedfellows/6098825

1. Get him a new e-mail address & don't associate it with any social media apps, especially facebook

2. Change his phone number, unlisted

3. backup data to a HDD

4. repartition & format primary HDD, install OS (assuming win32)

5. install an "Internet Security Suite" from either: Kaspersky, BitDefender, Eset

6. install SOHO Deep Packet Inspection Firewall with VPN (~$300), ie. Sonicwall TZ100 (recently acquired by Dell):

http://www.sonicwall.com/us/products/TZ_100.html

- review of TZ100: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/products/review-sonicwall-tz-100-router/989

- this might be astroturf comparison of Sonicwall vs. Cisco, but worth a read:

http://www.firewalls.com/sonicwall_vs_cisco

The obvious ones are WebKit and CUPS, but finding each project that an Apple employee is involved with is not simple.

Apple resources: https://developer.apple.com/opensource/ http://www.apple.com/opensource/
Commentary: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/opensource/steve-jobs-effect-on-open-source/3101 http://trac.webkit.org/wiki/Companies%20and%20Organizations%20that%20have%20contributed%20to%20WebKit http://blog.openinnovation.net/2011/10/apple-contributions-to-open-innovation.html
And, for a negative to balance things out, http://www.h-online.com/open/features/Kernel-Log-Apple-streamlines-CUPS-1435991.html

Google Mail? It might be good, but companies better check their contracts. Since the small companies usually don't have public stock, Sarbanes-Oxley may not be an issue, but with clients is may be. To boot, not all mail providers be able to furnish documentation of SOX compliance. Come audit time, you really want that stuff ready to go when the auditor is present and requesting documentation.

You would think that a company like Genentech with 11,000 employees would know a thing or two about whether or not their Google Apps email solution meets all of the regulatory requirements they are subject to.

Finally, who is the customer with Google Apps, the people using it... or the advertisers? Google might have a conflict of interest in that department. I'd rather stick with a mail provider paid for completely by the end user.

You seem to be confusing the free version of Google mail with the paid Google Apps for Business which defaults to not serving ads.

Zimbra may be good enough for a college student to get their latest Facebook confirmation E-mail, but in a professional environment, it is not up to the task. This isn't to say OWA is perfect, but there are a lot of business functions that are Exchange-only:

Zimbra has Outlook and mobile device integration, all secured by TLS/SSL

Connectors. Yes, these are nothing more than just TLS connections with known certificates, but a lot of companies feel better when their clients are able to have a dedicated, encrypted connection.

I don't even know what that means in the context of an email server? Are you talking about a persistant connection between Outlook and the email backend or a VPN?

In any case, Zimbra can do more than deliver Facebook status messages, they have a pretty broad customer list

Policies. Almost all devices work with Exchange, and fewer and fewer lie to it about capabilities. If a device went missing, triggering a remote erase will work regardless of which maker or OS is on the device. No other E-mail system has this in place.

Data at rest encryption. Exchange can pretty much guarantee that any device touching it either lies convincingly about encryption (like earlier Android versions), or actually implements it.

Zimbra has had remote wipe for years. Even Google Apps has remote wipe capability. And they can also enforce encryption and other ActiveSync security policies.

If one wants to play GSA contracts, this might be a major factor for state or Federal business.

Maybe Google doesn't know anything about the government sector.

Believe it or not, there is competition in the email server market, but most companies don't bother because once they buy the CALs and build a server infrastructure to run their other Microsoft applications, Exchange doesn't add much more to their Microsoft cost. But some companies are still finding it cost effective.

OK so you've done nothing wrong and just want to ensure your personal data is removed. Delete everything you know of. Clear cache and cookies. and reset IE settings including personal data. Also do the same with any other browsers you have. Run Spider scan as described here this should pickup and cc/bank details you might have missed and plenty of false positives too but you should be safe to remove all. Then ensure recycle bin is empty and run eraser to erase free space and choose to erase cluster tips and one of the DoD levels of wiping just to be sure. This should do the trick

I've never used an iPhone, but don't they have widgets? Widgets aren't apps. Tiles are pretty much like widgets aren't they? I haven't used a Windows phone either so these are honest questions, but your griping sounds more like an attempt to convince yourself that your iPhone is totally sweet.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sorry, dude I just looked it up, and this page

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/hiner/15-android-widgets-that-will-make-iphone-users-jealous/5649

says that no, iPhone doesn't have widgets. Seriously? Ha, if true that is hilarious! How do you use your pods then? The amount of time I spend inside of apps is less than half. Most of the time I just flip on my pod, click Play in one of a couple widgets, and flip the pod off again. I'll drop into an app if I need to manage data or something.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not at all interested in the Windows phone, but if your reason is "because it has widgets" then take it from me, you're missing out because you are stuck on iPhone.

How to Use KDE Plasma Activities (a little old)

The Mystery of KDE Activities (apparently you aren't alone)

How to use KDE 4 Desktop Activities (really short if you are in a hurry)

A Bit on KDE Activities (More recent, more critical. I like it)
 
I've been using KDE for quite a while and I'll admit I don't really use Activities a whole lot right now. I do on multi-monitor setups but that's because it does it automatically. But in the sense of setting them up - I've only played with it and I'm not 100% sold on how useful it will be to me personally but these my help you get a handle on whether or not you think they are good for your style of computing.

So add them to the "Quick Access Toolbar" up at the top of the window and you're golden. Don't like the toolbar there? Click on the drop-down and have it displayed below the ribbon. Don't like the ribbon taking up space? Click that same drop-down and minimize the ribbon.

Want to copy them from computer to computer? You can do that too!

Copying Office Quick Access Toolbars

When I first saw the ribbon in Office 2007 I was apprehensive but I've come to really like it.

Women used to make up %40 of CS students in the 1980s (Camp 2001) and make up on average a little over %35 of Israeli undergrads in CS ( Vilner 2006) and vary all over the globe. This indicates that the current US rate of about %20 is due to culture because if there was something biological going on, then the rates around the world should be roughly the same.

I'm sorry, but you have just violated the DMCA. I demand you take your post down immediately! ROT13 is an industry standard for secure communications, and your post constitutes a circumvention device!

Yeah, we should all read up on HTML5, because 2022 will be here before you know it.

First hit on DDG
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/security/how-to-spoof-a-mac-address/39

Right clicking the network connection and calling up Properties, or even the Device Manager will let you change the MAC on Windows.

Easy as Pi.[sic]

The truth is that the tolerances inside these devices is so astoundingly tight

That's the truth is it? In spite of all the counterexamples

Very, very different?

> even as the standards â" and how browsers implement them â" are still in flux

HTML5 won't be done until 2022, apparently:

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/programming-and-development/html-5-editor-ian-hickson-discusses-features-pain-points-adoption-rate-and-more/718

-----
This may look ridiculous *(2003 to 2022 is 19 years!), but itâ(TM)s worth considering how this compares to HTML4, DOM2 HTML, and XHTML1, the three specifications that HTML5 is intended to update and replace.
-----

*Yep.

So plenty of time for writing the thousands of books required to master the placement of text and graphics within a webpage.

Ghost is so simple its effective almost anywhere, the command line version is still available and works for OS independent operations. It's too low level for this scope though, norton does add the GUI, and the OS support.

dd is great except it can't be done to a live OS as far as I know, and if your doing file level copies rather than system, dd isn't the fastest either. Then again Linux has apps that allow anybody to back it up.

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-outstanding-linux-backup-utilities/895

I like Rsync, it's not easy to use, nor does it have a lot of overhead, an acceptable tradeoff.

Here and here.

So, A tablet in A movie, that doesn't look like the iPad or Galaxy Tab, is prior art?

A movie is prior art at all? I guess the emphasis is on the word "art", not "prior".

I think that is the sign that there really is no admissible prior art, eh?

Well a waterbed patent was refused because of pior art in a Robert Heinlein novel which described such a bed.

Which is a good point in the false assumption that microsoft would come out with similar reports instead of covering the thing up and accusing whistleblowers of being terrorists.

But let's assume MS can indeed keep their servers secure. Closed source might help if the source is bulletproof. Realise, though, that a secure netboot system over the internet needs a trusted path between your pc and ms server which must be protected from the user too; if it weren't bad enough, nothing then technically prevents MS to send whatever data about the user to its server through this path masqueraded as validation or authorization procedures.

PS. I first read "windows 8 to fight PRIVACY with the cloud", am I good or what :)

But many of the problems can and should be fixed if possible. For example, remember the Blizzard real name fiasco? Guess what this article uses as an example?

Eventually, someone will figure out an even more private method, like some kind of wire.

Surely you're not talking about fibre optics, since we already know those can be tapped. There is always at least one weak point in any data transmission medium. Anyone persistent enough will get whatever information they want from anyone they want.

I don't advocate real name policies, but this doesn't mean the problems with using real names shouldn't be fixed if possible. For example, remember the Blizzard real name fiasco? Guess what this article uses as an example?

Because the passwords stored in the cloud are encrypted, they aren't in the clear. A service like LastPass cannot send you your plaintext password. All they have is the encrypted version. If they are hacked, all the hacker will get is a bunch of random looking data.

The downside is that if you lose your master password, you are screwed.

The upside is that the passwords that LastPass generates are very strong. Much stronger than what people typically use (like "pa55word"). And because you don't have to remember the password, there's no reason to reuse one password among sites.

This interview with one of the LastPass guys lays it out fairly well:
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/security/lastpass-is-it-the-password-manager-for-you/3291

Are the Chinese running their stuff on Kylin-on-clusters? a FreeBSD officially sanctioned by the government as "the" official OS, see:

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/security/china-chooses-freebsd-as-basis-for-secure-os/1682

http://www.freebsdnews.net/2011/01/04/kylin-chinese-freebsd-based-secure-os/

In this case, blaming it on IT might be accurate. The photos were apparently snapped by anti-theft software LANRev, now rebranded as Absolute Manage. The LANRev feature set has been permanently dropped from the product line in response to these lawsuits.

For those out of the loop: this is funnier when you are aware of a certain alarmingly long schedule proposed by Ian Hickson, which would not see HTML 5 completely finished until 2020 or 2022 depending on your definition.

Incidentally, this problem is similar to why the Athenians abandoned democracy (lack of rapid response) and has been presented as an explanation for why Lisp isn't as popular as it once was (endless disagreements about how to do things.)

The really remarkable part, though, is that they're making any progress at all with HTML5, so some kudos is in order.

Apple doesn't need stores, they make enough money from the 30% they get from App Store sales that they could probably give iPads away and still come out on top.

It's like game consoles, sell them at a loss and make up for it in licensing fees. Motorola can't do that because they make nothing from Android app sales. RIM and HP could do that since they own their app stores but Apple's store has millions of sales a month already, RIM and HP would have to hemorrhage money for years to catch up.

Unless someone comes out with a ~$200 Android tablet (Nook, I'm looking at you) I really don't see anyone offering any competition to Apple.

Oh good idea! Why didn't I think of that. Duh!

Apparently a SNOW account is a type of bank checking account for people wealthy enough to leave a $10K minimum in there account. Wait, that doesn't seem right.

Oh, OK, it's about sorting permissions on a certain release of Mac OS X. Hmm, still doesn't seem to fit.

Help me out here, there's a bunch more; stuff about a Megan Snow, more about Mac OS X, none of them seem to fit the nature of the article. At which result in this "google" search you suggested am I supposed to be looking?

Okay, let's look at this one issue at a time:

1. The great majority of small sites (which an earlier poster has said "wouldn't notice the extra load") run on shared servers. The hosting company certainly would notice the extra load, they'd need more servers, therefore more electricity and floorspace, therefore higher costs, therefore hosting price goes up. Probably rather substantially.

2. HTTPS requires 1 IP address for every site you host. (There is the SNI extension but if this article is to be believed, it's not supported under IE on Windows XP, or for that matter Safari on any version of OS X prior to 10.5.6 - which means it's really not much of a solution yet).

3. Cost and Complication. Sure, hosting providers could bake into their control panel a process to generate a CSR, get it signed by a trusted CA and install the signed certificate without all the messing around this normally entails, but virtually every reputable CA that already has their root certificate in widespread use charges for signing. Oh look, more cost.

Indeed, but we also have to recognize that HMMs and all more modern "number crunching" techniques still haven't reached human-level performance, at least not in general language processing, and do not offer anything to solve other problems, such as reasoning.

I submit to you, sir, a computer that had better-than-the-best human performance in the arena of general language processing and reasoning.
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/geekend/ibm-watson-supercomputer-beats-jeopardy-champs-in-practice-round/6546

Exactly. The guy in charge doesn't think that HTML 5 will be a real standard with two complete, interoperable implementations until 2022.

Forgot to add this: back in 2007 MS had 90% OS share in China, which makes 'which Linux penetration do you have' just an exercise in futility.

How much market share might MS have lost to Red Linux / People's OS supposing the govt mandate did take effect after that techrepublic article was written 3 years ago?

just look at linux GUI's just a rip of, of Windows.

-1 uninformed, at best
Classic Gnome with customization
Gnome Shell (useful screenshot)
Enlightenment (no screenshots on official site)
GNUstep
Fluxbox
Xfce

To continue on-topic: wasn't it just last week when we noted that the Windows Phone marketplace specifically excludes GPL software?

What's with the double line spacing, /.?

Have any quotes or links to back that up, Mr. Submitter?

Why would the submitter need to provide those? It's not his claim, it's a direct quote from the article itself.

And yes, among security researchers the general consensus indeed does seem that OSX is quite poor from security standpoint and I applaud Apple on their efforts in trying to beefen it up. It's hard to point one to some direct quotes on this as it's mostly just a comment here or there, but here's atleast two links:

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/security/security-vs-popularity/4403
http://pcworld.about.com/od/securit1/The-Truth-About-Apple-Securit.htm

This is step one. Step two might be to take a page from Russia and make encryption software without LE backdoors illegal to possess or have installed.

Then, at a given LE agency's discretion, presence of encryption software (as noted by encrypted traffic in logs that they cannot decrypt) is not only presumptive of a guilty conscience, but is itself a crime in itself that can be used, leveraged against citizens at will in the adversarial system of law.

It is a pretty good site and they have a lot of people on that site that do the question answer stuff. And some really good articles written by the staff on all sorts of things techie.

Duke

There has been some excellent coverage on BSA audits over at TechRepublic (free reg, blah). Nothing in depth about the legal aspect, but who really expects to get a legal defense strategy from Ask Slashdot?

There has been some excellent coverage on BSA audits over at TechRepublic (free reg, blah). Nothing in depth about the legal aspect, but who really expects to get a legal defense strategy from Ask Slashdot?