compiled by SpikeSource

Collecting the weird and wonderful
techy stories from in and around the interweb.

read about this blog

RSS Feeds








QuickPicks

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" new title

Author JK Rowling has revealed the title of the seventh and final Harry Potter book. It will be called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Clicks: 1330

OScar - Open Source Car

What do you get if you apply the open source model to the car industry?
Clicks: 1100

madbean » JarWars

For the Java fans out there, here comes a nicely produced JarWars, as found by Kirk.
Clicks: 1069

Cisco owns iPhone, not Apple

Cisco is relaunching its Linksys VOIP range as iPhone, to capitalise on the trademarked name it owns, despite the rumors that Apple would be creating their own iPhone.
Clicks: 1184

Disco Dancing Santa Claus

My 6year son is now giving me links for compiledby! He found this great disco dancing santa that is very funny.
Clicks: 1097

Skype users to get lie detectors

You better watch out; Skype will be offering lie detecting software to its users to measure stress levels. Hope it will filter out the stress of dropped connections and poor quality.
Clicks: 1197

What Can't Open Source Achieve in the Next 10 Years? | Linux Journal

Gly Moody writes a blog on what he sees could be the next 10 years after reviewing just how far it has come in the last.
Clicks: 1154

Festive return for singing sheep

Its the season of novelty records, and there is nothing more novel than a singing christmas sheep!
Clicks: 1216

Bush's daughter's phone on 'eBay'

We noted last week how the President's daughters phone was snatched. Well it has popped up on an auction site!
Clicks: 1084

From the desk Santa

A very funny letter found by Joe illustrating just how the whole present giving system works.
Clicks: 1128

Five reasons to forget about C

Well, Joe found this article on why C should go the way of the dodo
Clicks: 6673

Open source Java presents world of opportunities

Now that Java is open source what can we do with it?
Clicks: 1317

Is IBM Happy Over Sun's Open Source Java?

An interesting piece on IBM's feelings about Sun's recent open sourcing of Java
Clicks: 1245

Golden Gate Bridge considers corporate sponsors

Come on Cisco, time to step up and offer some money to the very symbol that has inspired your corporate logo for years
Clicks: 1226

'Hairy Fairy' treats shoppers

A modern day fairy, albeit a middle aged man in a pink dress, is handing out free lunches and good deeds in Cornwall England
Clicks: 1000

Million Dollar Challenge

Need to earn $1M? Then simply prove the existence of the paranormal and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank. Come forth all soothsayers.
Clicks: 1026

Rocky Balboa Trailer

Rocky is back! Trailer looks promising
Clicks: 1050

Beyonce and Eva Longoria as lesbians next film

My wife found this news nugget - Sophia Coppola will be thanked by men worldwide if her next film gets the go-ahead. :)
Clicks: 1355

The Conference Community

Andy found this conference site where you can review and discover all about past and future conferences. Pretty neat idea.
Clicks: 1066

Digging Deep into the Sun/GPL Announcement

James Turner writes a beautiful piece on the reality of the announcement that Java is now GPL. Well worth the read.
Clicks: 891

[Friday] FireFox 1.5 flaw found already, Yahoo goes head2head with Skype, Linux Server in your pocket, Christmas Fact #16

« H E email
posted Fri 09 Dec 05

It didn't take long for the latest FireFox browser to get a security risk lodged against it.  If a user visits a page that has a long enough title, then the browser has a tendency to lockup and not take any further input from the user requiring a restart.  It is unclear whether or not this opens up an opportunity to run some naughty code via an overrun attack.  The problem here is that the Mozilla can't confirm or deny the pressence of this bug as they can't reproduce it too readily.

Yahoo is getting into the Skype business, sorry, VOIP business.  They are going to be offering high quality PC-2-PC calls for free in addition to a low cost alternative for PC-to-LandLine calls.  Maybe a little late to the party on this one, but they do have a huge userbase with their Instant Messager and if the quality is as good as they say it is, then it could be a major rival to Skpe.  Recently Kirk flew from Europe to the States and bought himself some onboard broadband.  It was awesome to see him on IRC chat at 37,000ft, and had his battery last any longer we were about to do a midair Skype!!!

In the continued quest to make things increasingly smaller (see yesterdays post), Ars Technical have an interesting article about 2 minature Linux servers that are no bigger than a ballpoint pen.  Complete servers in your pocket, with specs like 400Mhz processors and up to 512MB flash ram available these little devices could form the basis of some sort of Hollywood spy thriller. Not sure how practical they really are though!

Countdown to Christmas Fact#16:
The modern image of a red and white Santa Claus, contrary to popular belief, was not a Coca-Cola marketing invention.
Courtesy of http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/santa.asp

For some seasonal Santa fun, Scottish style, try this out:
http://s1jobsxmas.mmidev.co.uk/s1.html

tags:          

links: digg this    del.icio.us    technorati    reddit


comments

Sign-up for our automatic alert when we post a new entry

Related Items

Mummy ... i killed Santa

I heard this story on the radio this morning and thought how awful on a couple of levels. The first is that an 82 year old died while playing the role of Santa and handing out toys to the children.

Santa was considered a Disney character

A male tourist visiting the Orlando Disney park was told to stop impersonating Santa. James Wooley, with his fat belly and bushy white beard, had to vend off kids who kept coming up to him asking him if he was Santa.

First Open Source Linux Embedded Media Center

Neuros, has launched, what they claim to be the first ever open source linux embedded media center, allowing you to do a whole host of interesting things with video and music.

Is Microsoft picking up where SCO left off?

Steve Ballmer of Microsoft fame has warned business users of Linux that they probably Microsoft some money for use of their patents within the Linux operating system.

Did Microsoft dangle a carrot to kill an open source deal?

Did Birmingham Council jump to Microsoft or where they pushed?

From robots to xbox .. Linux is going everywhere

Silicon.com has compiled a list of the Top 10 Linux kit.

FireFox Browser Security Password Flaw

The FireFox browser has a major password flaw that can send your username and password to a 3rd party site; with very little ease!

Linux guy gets £55.23 from Dell for removing WindowsXP

Dave Mitchell decided to take the small print in the Microsoft license for a test drive. Surprisingly, it worked, netting him a £55.23 refund.

Redhat takes the heat for legal protection

Redhat is now offering to step into the legal ring and offers free IPR protection.

The browser war stalled before it gets going

With both of the browsers launching their new versions last week, neither party can claim any sort of victory. Security holes lodged with both browsers and memory problems still bog FireFox.

Christmas will cost business £7bn this year in surfing

Spare a little thought for your employer, he's set to lose around £7bn over the festive period while you sit idly surfing Amazon trying to figure out which book to buy Auntie Sue

Oracle announces Unbreakable Linux 2.0

Larry Ellison stands up announces Unbreakable Linux with full Redhat support, and Redhat shares take 16% plunge!

Computer the size of a packet of chewing gum

Full Linux powered computer, with ethernet, for under $200

ubuntu's Edgy Eft Release Candidate goes on general release

The ubuntu linux distribution gets its final release candidate before going on general release next week

You heard the one about FireFox and Javascript?

It was a hoax! The whole bally thing was just one big joke by the speakers of last weeks conference. FireFox is as secure as it ever was!

[Thursday] Dark Kong on xbox360, Microsoft+Google+Sun together at last, illegal to die, Christmas Fact #10

Ubisoft makers of the King Kong game say their XBOX is too dark to play, don't buy it. Sun, Google and Microsoft all come together to fund Internet lab. Brazil town outlaws death. Jesus won't be 2005 on the 25th.

[Wednesday] Amazon opens doors to search engine, Intel's new mobile Centrino chip Napa announced, IBM charges for access to their patents, Christmas Fact#11

Amazon has opened its doors for the Alexa search engine at $1 per CPU/hr. IBM has launched a patent program aimed at startups. Intel has announced the new mobile chip Napa which uses 25% less power and is dual core. Only 11 days to go to Christmas

[Tuesday] A new Mailman released, Real Processor Power is too much, a true wallet sized USB key, Christmas Fact#12

c|net writes about power consumption in modern processors. Mailman releases 2.1.7a. A wallet sized USB key, that actually fits in your wallet, holding up to 2GB is released. Christmas fact; Red nose Rudolph is an American department store creation!

[Monday] Why is OpenOffice so buggy? Intel not a fan of the $100 PC, Sun invites Novell and Redhat to the party, Christmas Facts #15, #14, #13

The Guardian online asks why OpenOffice is so buggy. Intel believes the worlds poorest don't want a $100 gadget. Sun wants to Redhat and Novell to port their distributions to the new Sun processor.

[Friday] FireFox 1.5 flaw found already, Yahoo goes head2head with Skype, Linux Server in your pocket, Christmas Fact #16

Denial Of Service attack found on FireFox 1.5 just days after its release. Yahoo offers VOIP services including PC-to-Landline features. Linux Servers that are no bigger than a ballpoint pen are reviewed. Some seasonal Santa fun.

[Thursday] Give your team a hug - your security could depend on it, Lennon 25th Deathday, Why men always think of sex, Christmas Fact #17

John Lennon was shot dead in New York 25 years ago today. New research shows that men with large testicles have smaller brains. Sophos has released a report detailing 16,000 new threats in 2005 and employees are being targeted. Christmas bells.

[Wednesday] Why Ubuntu? Matt Harrison is Alan Cox, Year in Open Source, Christmas Fact#18

Ubuntu is taken for a review. SpikeSource's Matt Harrison pretends to be Alan Cox for a while. Was 2005 a good year for open source?

[Tuesday] Wikipedia tightens control, USB key with LCD, Christmas Fact #19

Wikipedia attempts a half-hearted attempt at censorship. A new usb key comes with a display to let you know how much data you have left.

[Monday] Apache releases Axis and net commons, Internet addiction, A gay uk day, Christmas Candle Facts #22, #21, #20

New versions of Apache Axis and commons-net are released. Internet addiction is growing at an alarming rate. The UK offers civil-partnerships from the 21st December opening the door to gay weddings. 3 Christmas Candle facts.

[Friday] Charles and Camilla Christmas card, Koders plugin for Eclipse, Open Source and flying, Christmas Card Fact #23

Christmas card from Charles and Camilla? A new plugin for Eclipse lets you find source code very easily using Koders. A wonderful rant on open source and flying. Finally some christmas card facts.

[Thursdays News] Daily reports on FOSS, Open source cars, Terabyte Linux, No Blackberry in the US? Christmas Fact 24

Matt Harrison is over at FOSS reporting the daily goings on. Greg Gianforte talks about open source cars. Linux Journal has an article on a terabyte server. Blackberry has problems in the US as court rules against it. Christmas Cracker origins.

[Wednesday Roundup] Security holes in Java patched, Teenagers repelled by sound, Creative types get more sex, Christmas Fact #25

Sun has released security patches for Java. A new device that can repell teenagers. A report from the BBC, shows that creative types are luckier in love. Wearing of Christmas party hats.

[Tuesday Roundup] Fingerprint USB key, Love lasts only 12months, Linux Podcasting, White House gets Christmas Tree

Listening to Podcasts on Linux. USB key that protects your data via a fingerprint reader. Italian scientists have figured out that love only lasts for around 12 months.

[Monday Roundup] Andrew Morton Interview, Beer and ugly ducklings, Christmas Facts #29, #28, #27

Linux kernel maintainer is interviewed in LinuxFormat. Scientists have worked out a formula to why after drinking beer, that ugly people turn into beauties. Three christmas facts surrounding the Christmas pudding.

[SpikeFri] What else should be Open Sourced Walk your bike, Christmas Fact#30

Does the open source principal stretch to other mediums? A bike that you walk! Christmas fact 30.

[SpikeThurs] Blackberry 8700 on sale tomorrow, Linux Russian dolls, ThanksGiving Myths, Christmas Fact#31

The new Blackberry model will be onsale tomorrow in the US. Linux is the perfect hot swappable operating system. Some myths surrounding ThanksGiving.

[SpikeWed] Solaris is not dead yet, Asterisk 1.2 released, FireFox 1.5 coming 29th Nov, MySQL takes fork in the road, Christmas Facts #33, #32

The open source PBX software Asterisk has had a new release. FireFox coming to a desktop near you soon. Solaris is gaining traction. Countdown to Christmas continues with a couple of more interesting facts on Christmas Tree's.

[SpikeMon] FireFox nuggets, Pixelate the porn, Christmas Facts #36, #35, #34

FireFox book is about to be launched revealing lots of hidden secrets that can be done. PixAlert makes it easier for Network Adminstrators to find quality porn.

[SpikeFri] Open Source Patching Problems, Sony's rootkit uses VideoLAN code, Christmas Fact#37

Just because a patch is released that doesn't translate to the problem being solved. Sony's problems are really only beginning as it violates open source licenses. More Christmas facts.

[SpikeThurs] Geeks are badly dressed, Robbie at your wedding, Cell phone flushing, Christmas Fact #38

Geeks are considered the worst dressed industry. You can now have Robbie Williams sing at your wedding in England, Finland has major problem with cell phones in the sewars, and the countdown to Christmas coninues with Christmas Fact#38

[SpikeWed] Life without SF, SpikeSource facelift, Microsoft says Open Source is just a developer phenomenon

What would happen if SourceForge could no longer provide their service. SpikeSource launches new web site. Microsoft while talking up their new LIVE platform, dismisses open source as just a developer movement.

[SpikeTues] Leave my Blackberry, chatter utility, Bring out your dead, Christmas Fact#40

The chattr utility gets some exposure. The number of people executed in the US (legally) has fallen from last year, while the UK government warns there isn't enough dead bodies for medical research. Related?

[SpikeFri] Open Dependency Hell, Transparent Screens, SAP don't care much for open source, Christmas Fact#44

Dave Rosenberg fights with dependency hell. Engadget shows off new transparent monitor screens. SAP chief takes a broad swipe at open source. Christmas Fact 44 as we continue our countdown to Santa's arrival.

[SpikeThurs] Linux Group are buying up patents, Let sleeping cows lye, buy your own LOST complex, Christmas Facts#45

Linux group are buying up patents. How to tip a cow, and fancy a complete underground complex for your own desire? Our christmas facts series focuses on mistletoe today.

[SpikeWed] Apache2.2 released, Worse software bugs in history, Worlds longest flight, Christmas Fact#46

Apache releases new beta of its web server. Wired profiles the worst software bugs in history, and Boeing attempts worlds longest flight from Hong Kong to London, the long way around! Christmas Fact 46 in our series.

[SpikeTues] CA offloads Ingres, Pirates on the open sea, Interview with Google's Open Source Guy, Christmas Fact#47

CA have sold Ingres to a VC firm to create Ingres Corp Inc.

[SpikeMon] Cerf and Kahn given medals, Walk out of jail, Christmas Facts 50/49/48

Man walks out of high secure jail, and catch up on our Christmas facts.

[SpikeFri] Open Exploitation? Is that 8GB in your pocket or you just happy to see me? Cartoon in Space and Christmas Fact#51

Neuros Audio is getting flack for open sourcing its API. USB pens push the 8GB barrier now. 4th space tourist will go to space in a cartoon suit!

[SpikeThurs] Groklaw has new chapter, It's official; Gartner says VoIP is hot! Beer from coffee, Christmas Fact#52

Groklaw has published a new chapter for review. Gartner have released a report telling us that VoIP is hot. Nestle patents beer brewed from coffee.

[SpikeWed] Oracle worm spotted, SAM gets AJAXed, Glen takes on Open Source Innovation, Christmas Fact#53

A hacker has found a worm that will tunnel its way through an Oracle database. To tackle underage smoking in Japan, the tabaccoo companies get in on the act. Glen talks over the comments from Danny Rimer VC, and Christmas Fact#53.

[SpikeTues] Open Source can't be innovative, Microsoft loses IE Patent case, a soldiers joy, 54 days to Christmas

VC Danny Rimer claims an open source can't be innovative. Microsoft ordered to pay $565M to the Unversity of California for IE Patent infringement. A soldiers life was hard in the 1940's London. Christmas countdown begins.

[SpikeFriday] Looking at open source code, Next FireFox beta ready, Ssssh maybe people won't notice

Ever wondered what open source code actually looks like? Linux-Mag has an article to show you how to get a look at it. The latest FireFox beta is released. A local councillor gets the wrong sort of publicity when he attempts to close a blog.

[SpikeFriday] Too many Linux's, Microsoft loses patent case in court, $500 is not free, James Dean deathday

Linux-Watch wants the number of distributions to fall. Microsoft loses patent case in court regarding web extensions. SF transit officials attempts to patch PR nightmare it created. James Dean meets his fate on this day in 1955.

[SpikeThursday] Group editing with Gobby, Linux Laptop for $100, Laptop fuel cell

Developer together in real time with Gobby. MIT have developed a Linux laptop for $100. LG have announced they will have a fuel cell ready for commercial use at the end of the year.

[SpikeFriday] IE flatters Firefox, Glen is a father, Happy 30th Microsoft and geeks profile like terrorists

Microsoft releases more tools to emulate FireFox killer features. Glen Martin becomes a new father (without him knowing). Microsoft is 30 years of age today. Geeks have the same profile as terrorists.

[Round Up] JetBlue see's red, Pilot pull over here, Socket Programming and Oracle are spent

JetBlue pilot doesn't make a drama out of a crisis. Football fans get plane to land closer to the football match so they don't miss it. Hints and tips around the Linux Socket programming that apply for everyone and Larry pontificates at OpenWorld

SpikeNews: Top50 of 10years of search, FireFox security hole found and C++ Servlets

Just what have people been searching for in the last 10 years? Major FireFox security hole found on Linux and bringing the world of Servlets to C++ developers.

Cheap Linux Mobile Device, Free Opera, Google WiFi and rambling nude

Linux Multimedia player for only £124, Opera is finally ad-free, Google has new WiFi service to track your movements (sorry to secure your access) and a naked rambler gets nicked seconds after being released from prison.

More Daylight please, More votes please, FireFox as secure as IE, and a new Blackberry

New Blackberry model gets an airing, Congress wants us to goto bed earlier to say electricity, Angela Merkel wins in true American style; by 3 votes. Symantec claim that we are fooling ourselves into thinking that FireFox is any safer than IE

SpikeNews - Novell buys Indian company, Guide to IPSec, GPS Golf and toilet certification

Novell buys 50% of its Indian partner company. Steve Friedl publishes a good article on IPSec. Golfers up in arms regarding a new GPS device, they claim is akin to cheating and finally, Singapore opens Toilet College!

SpikeNews - Community roundup 25th August

TCO of open source verus commercial software; ActiveMQ released supporting Ruby. Microsoft Virtual Server released support Linux and Solaris. Movie execs finally twig that file swapping isn't their problem, and how easy it is to break captchas?

SpikeNews - Community roundup 24th August

Ex-Linux Journal big cheese takes up arms with us here at SpikeSource; Linux trademarking issues; The local power of User Groups, and the 700th anniversary of William Wallace.

Keep it Simple Balancing, Novell opens R&D in China, ServiceMix released and L'Oreal isn't worth it

Introduction to the command line utility, balance, for Linux. Novell opens office in China to look after R&D for its Linux distribution. ServiceMix reaches version 1.0, and L'Oreal told not to advertise its anti-aging cream.

IBM donates to FireFox, Sun announces Star Office 8, Lloyd's insures open source for $60 and be your own Ghostbuster

IBM donates DHTML code to the FireFox project. Sun announces September it will ship Star Office 8. Lloyd's provides insurance against litgation for opensource and a watergun that can blow you off your feet and make you feel like a ghostbuster.

History of FireFox, Making Open Source a success, Google goes to the moon, and Google in Court

ZDNet has a good write up regarding the history of FireFox. Dave Rosenberg writes an editorial on making open source projects succeed. Google launches mapping of the moon and a blogger gets a traffic offense thrown out using Google Maps.

Lessig on content culture, Bill brings Joy to SpikeSource, Linux powers 90,000CPUs, and bad boy movies in India

Lawrenece Lassig pops up on the BBC talking about amateur content. Bill Joy joins SpikeSource board of directors. Linux dominants the Top500 super computers and how police in India dealt with boys caught watching pornograhy in a cinema.

Microsoft hugs open source, Mr Linux Interview, Mr JBoss interview, and no more doodling at school

Microsoft helps out an open source project, humbling interview with Linus Torvalds, a realist interview with Marc Fluery and no more jotters at school.

Delta Debugging, Windows and Open Source, Mr Apache interview and Gordon Brown in a chatroom

Delta Debugging is a new way to debug code. Windows can exist in an open source world, Brian Behlendorf in a LinuxWorld interview and secret internet chatroom runs the financial world in London for the day.

Choice in the Linux world, payup for open source, Kaplan has another GO and Indepedence Day

Many distributions in the Linux space make it difficult for people to figure the right choice. Open source software doesn't mean free and this is bad for the future argues eWeek. Jerry Kaplan takes microsoft to court, and in the US its the 4th!

HP ships 10% Linux, Red Hat earnings up, worlds biggest catch, Slashdot work of the devil and Live8 begins

HP have shipped the millonth Linux server this month. Red Hat announced quarterly earnings, up 46%. Thai fishermen catch the worlds largest fish, Slashdot is the work of the devil declares a Utah man, and Live8 starts tomorrow.

OpenSolaris Release, IBM side steps JCP, Microsoft hires Linux creator and naked interviewing

OpenSolaris is available for download today, while IBM/BEA side step the JCP process. Microsoft hires the Gentoo creater and a naked man in Scotland gets probation for interviewing in the nude!

Apple vs KHTML, Sun is healthy (honest), Linux drives TCO down, wireless heart and USB massages

Last day of the month and therefore the last round up from May as we stare June right in the face trying to see what it has in store for us. We start off with an interesting piece from InfoWorld discussing the issue arising from Apple and the KHTML

Tag Cloud

                                                       

Top Reads

Mailing List

Sign-up to the mailing list to be alerted when a new news entry goes online.

SpikeSource tests, certifies, and supports open source software. We make open source more safe and reliable for enterprise use.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.

BlackBadger

blackbadger 0.9.2 released (Mon, 16 Oct 2006 15:58:58 GMT)

Released at Mon, 16 Oct 2006 15:58:58 GMT by alanwilliamsonIncludes files: blackbadger_0_9_2.zip (13900469 bytes, 50 downloads to date)[Download] [Release Notes]