notpaul - Slashdot User

Submission + - Intel working on 60-mile fixed-wifi

Submitted by davidwr on Tuesday March 27, 2007 @03:16PM

davidwr writes: Long-distance WiFi is nothing new, with distances over 200km possible.
Intel is working on a 60-mile version for use in rural parts of the 3rd world. Think WiMAX only a lot cheaper and no government license for the spectrum.
Assuming you can get 11Mbps, you can bring low-speed Internet plus several phone lines to rural communities that would otherwise be limited to radio. If you can get 54 or 108Mbps, the possibilities go way up. Of course, you still need electricity, something many small villages don't have.
One obvious downside: Indian programmers will now be expected to work all day in the office and all night at home, just like the American code-slaves they replaced.

Submission + - Students in Singapore Create Chameleon Suit

Submitted by SpectreBlofeld on Tuesday March 27, 2007 @02:47PM

SpectreBlofeld writes: Taking a page from Ghost in the Shell, students in Singapore have created a soldier's suit that can blend in with its surroundings. From the article: "Using what is called Electrochromism, the students created a soldier's uniform that can blend into any surrounding. They achieved this by using a material that can change colours. This is one of the many projects by secondary and JC students under the Young Defence Scientists Programme (YDSP), which has been running successfully for the last 15 years." Story is at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelo calnews/view/264786/1/.html

Samsung's 64-GB Solid-State Drive 249

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday March 27, 2007 @02:41PM from the we-don't-need-no-steenkin-RPMs dept.

Anonymous Howard writes "Just a couple of weeks ago Sandisk introduced a 32-GB solid-state drive. Now Samsung has one-upped them, unveiling a 64-GB solid-state drive. They are expecting to begin shipping in the second quarter of this year. Samsung says the device can read 64 MB/s, write 45 MB/s, and uses just 0.5 W when operating (0.1 W when idle). In comparison, an 80-GB 1.8-inch hard drive reads at 15 MB/s, writes at 7 MB/s, and consumes 1.5 W when either operating or idle. No pricing yet."

HP Dishonors Warranty If You Load Linux 702

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday March 27, 2007 @02:04PM from the caveat-installor dept.

darkonc points us to a writeup on linux.com about a very Linux-unfriendly policy at HP. A woman bought a Compaq laptop and loaded Ubuntu on it. Some time later, still well inside the 1-year hardware warranty, the keyboard started acting up. An HP support rep told her, "Sorry, we do not honor our hardware warranty when you run Linux." Gateway and Dell refused to comment to the reporter on what they would do in a similar situation. (Linux.com and Slashdot are both part of OSTG.)

Submission + - Go Ahead, Drop That Phone

Submitted by anthemaniac on Tuesday March 27, 2007 @01:53PM

anthemaniac writes: A Delft University of Technology researcher has shown that a new type of plastic with a ladder-like structure conducts electricity as well as silicon and so could be used to make chips in cell phones and other small devices more bounce-resistant. From the article: 'The reason iPods and cell phones stop working after pavement bounces is that the chips contain many nearly microscopic pathways that send operational signals throughout the device. Those pathways are disturbed by drops. Plastic chips could absorb bounces better.' Now when you drop a call, you can feel better about throwing the phone on the pavement.

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