43457497
submission
Time_Ngler writes:
Scientists have developed a new method to utilize the power from coal, by having it chemically react with iron-oxide pellets. Working over a span of 10 years with a budget of $15 million, barring any unforeseen problems, the new process should be ready to go into commercial production within the next 5 years. The reaction does not produce carbon dioxide and leaves water and coal ash as its byproducts. Furthermore, the iron used in the reaction can be recycled.
43456823
submission
43456539
submission
sciencehabit writes:
During the presidential campaign last fall, a single message was repeated endlessly in Appalachian coal country: President Barack Obama and his Environmental Protection Agency, critics said, had declared a "war on coal" that was shuttering U.S. coal-fired power plants and putting coal miners out of work. Not so, according to a newly-presented analysis of coal plant finances and economics. Instead, coal is losing its battle with other power sources mostly on its merits.
43455141
submission
sc30317 writes:
Dear Slashdotters,
I am in a bit of an unusual conundrum; my house got robbed on Friday, and all of our electronics got stolen. Everything. Now, I have to go out and buy all new electronics with the insurance money. We had 5 TVs (don't ask), 3 Laptops, a Bose Sound dock with iPod, a digital camera and a Desktop stolen. It's looking like I am going to get around $10K from the insurance company to replace everything. What would you do if you had to replace ALL of your technology in your house at once?
I'm thinking:
* Replace TVs
* Nice Desktop
* New speakers
* New, cool stuff I don't know about (suggestions welcome)
I already added a DVR security system, so hopefully the new things won't get burgled!
Looking for suggestions to utilize my money in order to get the best stuff. Also, no windows computers allowed in my house [because this IS slashdot, after all]
Thanks,
sc30317
43454527
submission
Copper Nikus writes:
An article at the BBC makes a shocking claim about mosquitoes. It appears some individual insects in the wild have developed the ability to ignore the very popular DEET repelent after a first exposure. Imagine what misery this will bring to the human race if this trait spreads to the general mosquito population through the process of evolution through natural selection (or through divine intervention if you happen to be a creationist).
43454367
submission
littlesparkvt writes:
Millionaire Dennis Tito became the first paying customer to make a trip to the International Space Station and now he wants to launch a privately funded mission to Mars in 2018. Dennis paid a reported 20 Million to ride aboard a Russian rocket to the International Space Station and has since stayed out of the spotlight, until now.
43453875
submission
alphadogg writes:
Microsoft Azure's cloud outperformed Amazon Web Services in a series of rigorous tests conducted by Nasuni, a storage vendor that annually benchmarks cloud service providers (CSPs). Nasuni uses public cloud resources in its enterprise storage offering, so each year the company conducts a series of rigorous tests on the top CSPs' clouds in an effort to see which companies offer the best performing, most reliable infrastructure. Last year, Amazon Web Services' cloud came out on top, but this year Microsoft Azure outperformed AWS in performance and reliability measures. AWS is still better at handling extra-large storage volumes, while Nasuni found that the two OpenStack powered clouds it tested — from HP and Rackspace — were lacking, particularly at larger scales.
43452959
submission
An anonymous reader writes:
A White House petition to make unlocking cell phones legal again has passed the 100,000 signature mark. Passing the milestone means the US government has to issue an official response. On January 26th, unlocking a cell phone that is under contract became illegal in the U.S. Just before that went into effect, a petition was started at whitehouse.gov to have the Librarian of Congress revisit that decision. "It reduces consumer choice, and decreases the resale value of devices that consumers have paid for in full. The Librarian noted that carriers are offering more unlocked phones at present, but the great majority of phones sold are still locked."
43451555
submission
hochl writes:
The Blender Foundation has announced a new release of the popular, free 3D design program Blender. From the release page: The Blender Foundation and online developer community is proud to present Blender 2.66. This release contains long awaited features like rigid body physics simulation, dynamic topology sculpting and matcap display. Other new features include Cycles hair rendering, support for high pixel density displays, much better handling of premultiplied and straight alpha transparency, a vertex bevel tool, a mesh cache modifier and a new SPH particle fluid dynamics solver.
43445269
submission
cylonlover writes:
If Joseph Zawodny, a senior scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center, is correct, the future of energy may lie in a nuclear reactor small enough and safe enough to be installed where the home water heater once sat. Using weak nuclear forces that turn nickel and hydrogen into a new source of atomic energy, the process offers a light, portable means of producing tremendous amounts of energy for the amount of fuel used. It could conceivably power homes, revolutionize transportation and even clean the environment.
43438879
submission
Nyder writes:
In a move that is sure to bring tears to the eyes of kids everywhere, Connecticut State Senator Toni Harp proposed a bill in January that would ban anyone younger than 18 from playing "violent point-and-shoot" video games in arcades or other public establishments.
The bill also called for research into the effects of violent video games on young minds, through a committee called the Violent Video Game Task Force within the Department of Children and Families. The task force would advise the Governor and General assembly on state programs that "may reduce the effects of violent video games on youth behavior," suggesting before the research was done that violent video games have an effect on children's actions.
Hopefully this won't pass, I guess the video game lobby hasn't paid this Senator enough "funds" for his campaign.
