From The Slashdot Heap

Well, there's been a number of things piling up in my Slashdot folder on Bloglines that I've been wanting to write about and share with y'all. So instead of trying to write an article on each of them, I'll just highlight them here for ya this morning.

• First, there's The 7 Ways That People Search The Web, which is entertaining, if nothing else. I'm pretty sure I'd be classified as an Omnivore myself.
  
• Then there's the article about how cable companies are falling behind the technology curve, and it looks like many of them are going to need some major upgrades to keep up with their demanding clientelle.
• Teenager's, unsurprisingly, don't seem to think that CD copying is a crime.
• Do companies have to start opening up their internet restrictions in order to avoid losing staff who expect more freedoms? It's definately something I prefer, but I'm not the kind of person to waste the day away on IM.
• Is Windows Vista going to be the last OS of it's kind? It's an interesting thought, because many organizations were very slow to even upgrade to XP and Linux has made leaps forward in the recent years. With current OS complexities, it may need a community of developers to keep up with the needs of people, and that would be a strength of Linux.
• Can Faraday cages be used as a solution for WiFi security? With some of the insecurities that have been exposed, any company using WiFi will need some kind of solution. Though, most WiFi security breaches come because the users don't know how to secure their own systems.
• The Mystery of Oregon's 'Dead Zone' is an interesting article about an area of the Oregon coast that is very hypoxic (shortage of oxygen in the water). Researchers from Oregon State University have been studying the area for the last few years, and things have been getting worse. They're afraid that it may even reach a point of apoxia, or complete lack of oxygen in the water.
• A company by the name of Freeload Press in St. Paul, Minnesota, has begun distributing free ad-supported electronic versions of their textbooks. Is this the next logical step in the medium, or just a bump in the road on the way to the answer? I know I'd prefer to just keep my textbook as is for reference reasons, or maybe it's just that I'm not a big fan of ad-supported services. Usually, you get a sub-par product in the end.
• Lastly, an article about how Strategy Guides have lead to game developers creating more difficult games. I'd agree to a large extent, but I still hate using Strategy Guides. Part of the fun is finding the secret stuff, and not having it spelled out for you.