Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×
Microsoft

Nathan Myhrvold, Do-Gooder 109

theodp writes "Perturbed by a GigaOm item which likened him to 'Darth Vader doing some charity work as he completes the Death Star,' Intellectual Ventures CEO Nathan Myhrvold talks about the goals of his 'Global Good' program and fires back at critics in an interview with GeekWire's Todd Bishop. The technology industry is a little too obsessed with 'sending little messages to each other and having fun on a social network' for Myhrvold, who hopes to tackle bigger problems like malaria, polio, and HIV with the help of funding from buddy Bill Gates. 'I don't mean to call Zynga out in a negative way,' says Myhrvold, 'but is Zynga doing God's work? Is Facebook doing God's work? Even setting aside what God's work means, I think it's pretty easy to say, those companies are doing wonderful things, but they are for-profit ventures. It's either tools or toys for the rich.' BTW, if you're ready to do God's work, IV's looking for a Vice President, Global Good."

Comment Re:CSIRO actually does RESEARCH (Score 1) 161

That is, indeed, the question. If we stipulate that the patent in question is 100% legitimate, then why was the lawsuit filed in East Texas when none of the defendants have any connection with that jurisdiction? I'd be much more sympathetic to CSIRO in this case if it had been filed in the Northern District of California.

Comment O RLY? (Score 2) 443

Texas has nothing to worry about. Until we actually start building more nuclear plants, the energy for all those electric cars you want to see on the roads will come from coal and natural gas. The EPA just introduced some more rules to favor natural gas over coal, and guess which state produces the most natural gas. (HInt: Its capital is Austin.)

The Saudis don't have to worry that much, either. Only 60% of petroleum is used for transportation, and much of that is for aviation. They'd be more worried about their pets in DC failing to block the Keystone pipeline.

Politics

Video Edward Teller: Father of the Hydrogen Bomb 352

pigrabbitbear writes "Edward Teller, the father of the hydrogen bomb, had a thing for nuclear bombs. He wanted them bigger, smaller, faster, used in ways that no one had thought of before or since, and always more of them. He suffered no fools, and though he would be more vilified than any other American scientist in the 20th century, he always dismissed his critics as lacking in common sense or patriotism. Amid Cold War paranoia and fears of the Soviet nuclear program, the stakes were simply too high: for the free world, building the most powerful weapon in history was a matter of life and horrible death."
Japan

Ask Slashdot: Radiation Detection For Tokyo Resident? 371

An anonymous reader writes "I'm an American who is living in Tokyo. Stories have started popping up about 'radiation hot spots' in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures so I have begun to worry. I live on the first floor of my apartment building and right by our washing machine there is a gutter out there that is clogged with rain water and mud, which has me especially worried because my wife and I are planning to have kids soon. Obviously no one from the government is going to come by to check our gutter so I feel the need to take matters into my own hands. I have absolutely no idea so I'm asking you guys. What kind of radiation detector should I get? A Geiger Counter? If it measures Gamma rays is that enough? Are alpha and beta dangerous too? I know no one has all the answers regarding radiation but any advice you guys could give me would be great."

Slashdot Top Deals

Kleeneness is next to Godelness.

Working...