g8orade - Slashdot User

Submission + - Best Space Photo captured at Mount Palomar (letsgodigital.org)

Submitted by Ilse Jurrien on Monday September 03, 2007 @05:09PM

Ilse Jurrien writes: This is a scoop, check out LetsGoDigital A team of astronomers led by Cambridge University have taken some of the best space photos of the stars that are sharper than anything produced by the Hubble telescope, at 50 thousandths of the cost. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), used a technique called "Lucky Imaging" to take the most detailed space photos of stars and nebulae ever produced — using a camera based on the ground at Mount Palomar. Space Photos from ground based telescopes are usually blurred by the Earth's atmosphere — the same effect that makes the stars appear to twinkle when we look at them with the naked eye. http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/16544/best-space-p hoto-picture/

Submission + - Public rallies behind free wireless broadband

Submitted by thefickler on Monday September 03, 2007 @04:19PM

thefickler writes: A proposal to deliver free wireless broadband to 95% of the US population is finding public support, even as it looks like it will be rejected by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). According to the company behind the proposal, M2Z Networks, more than 1000 people from 49 states have written to the FCC in an attempt to reverse a draft order by FCC Chairman Martin that is believed to deny the application.

Submission + - France rejects OOXML but proposes convergence (vnunet.fr)

Submitted by

neutrino38

on Monday September 03, 2007 @04:11PM

neutrino38 writes: "Following internal meetings, the French national standardization organisation AFNOR rejected OOXML standard [fr] as member of the relevant ISO comitee.

The decision was mainly based on the fact that an equivalent standard ODF is already approved. However, in a detailed comment, the organisation proposes to work on a convergence path:

OOXML would be split into two parts, the core would be a simplified version that would be rendered ISO compliant on date format metric system adoption, by adoptiong other existing relevant XML DTD already in force and by excluding the proprietary VML vector graphic description.

Then, ODF would be revised to converge with this Core-OOXML. Finally, compatibility with existing Microsoft documents would be described in a Extended OOXML which would not be mandatory as a standard."

Submission + - Eric S. Raymond on Microsoft's bahavior (opensource.org)

Submitted by

walterbyrd

on Monday September 03, 2007 @02:39PM

walterbyrd writes: "According to ESR's blog: "Microsoft's behavior in the last few months with respect to OOXML has been egregious. They haven't stopped at pushing a "standard" that is divisive, technically bogus, and an obvious tool of monopoly lock-in; they have resorted to lying, ballot-stuffing, committee-packing, and outright bribery to ram it through the ISO standardization process in ways that violate ISO's own guidelines wholesale.""

Submission + - August a Dead Season for Virus Epidemics (net-security.org)

Submitted by BaCa on Monday September 03, 2007 @02:29PM

BaCa writes: August once again turned out to be "dead season" for virus epidemics in 2007. Since August 2003, when the Lovesan worm caused the biggest epidemic in history, the final month of summer has typically been the quietest and most uneventful, as it is a period when both virus writers and antivirus professionals often go on holiday. Even the waves of mass-mailings sent out by the Warezov and Zhelatin worms were missing in action in August. Warezov.pk, the leader in July, disappeared suddenly from our virus radar screens.

Submission + - I misspelled Combating in a pending submission

Submitted by

g8orade

on Tuesday July 31, 2007 @09:56AM

g8orade writes: "Not sure how to contact someone about this question — Since you cannot edit a pending submission (lesson learned!) can someone change Combatting to Combating, if my prior submission is accepted? Else rejected, no issue. g8orade"

Submission + - Data partition as Linux PC value add?

Submitted by

g8orade

on Tuesday July 31, 2007 @08:48AM

g8orade writes: "As the

Open Document Format forces compete with Microsoft OOXML,

Applications via the internet become possible (terminal applications),

PC makers start offering Linux pre-loaded but the "distro wars" continue, and

some writers think package management is a true Linux differentiator,

wouldn't it be a good idea for the Linux PCs to come set up with a data partition separated from the OS / Applications partition? Alternately even a separate (portable) data drive / data port for your files?

It wouldn't hurt for consumers to get used to the idea of their files being separate from the programs that use them. This would also allow them to put any OS and applications on that partition over any timeframe, but leave their files alone.

Why don't PC makers do this by default, does MS not want it? Because, wouldn't this advance the cause of open document formats?"

Submission + - Linux Fund

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 31, 2007 @07:20AM

An anonymous reader writes: The all-new Linux Fund Visa Card was launched on 7/24. The Linux Fund was established in 1999 to provide grants to free and open source software projects from funds raised via a credit card. This credit card was offered through MBNA America Bank, which was purchased in 2006 by Bank of America. Earlier this year Bank of America announced the Linux Fund MasterCard would be discontinued. The new Linux Fund Visa Card is offered through U.S. Bank

Submission + - Gene for left-handedness is found

Submitted by

Klaidas

on Tuesday July 31, 2007 @07:12AM

Klaidas writes: "The BBC report that scientists have discovered the first gene which appears to increase the odds of being left-handed.. The Oxford University-led team believe carrying the gene may also slightly raise the risk of developing psychotic mental illness such as schizophrenia. The gene, LRRTM1, appears to play a key role in controlling which parts of the brain take control of specific functions, such as speech and emotion. Lead researcher Dr Clyde Francks, from Oxford University's Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, said the next step would be to probe the impact on the development of the brain further. He said: "We hope this study's findings will help us understand the development of asymmetry in the brain.
Australian research published last year found left-handed people can think quicker when carrying out tasks such as playing computer games or playing sport, and French researchers concluded that being left-handed could be an advantage in hand-to-hand combat. However, being left-handed has also been linked to a greater risk of some diseases, and to having an accident."

Submission + - Top 5 Linux Myths Dispeled (osweekly.com)

Submitted by

slashy

on Tuesday July 31, 2007 @06:50AM

slashy writes: "OSWeekly.com publishes a list of Top 5 most common myths and dispels them once and for all. Matt Hartley comments, "Ah, this is one of my favorites. It seems that Linux users have long since been seen as cheap, despite the fact that so many of them in the States earn up to six figures. First, define cheap? Are we cheap because we choose not to buy brand new everything with every release of our selected OS? It certainly shines some light on why hardware manufactures have been less than excited to provide better driver support, doesn't it?"

Submission + - Model Driven Development: Are MDD models assets or (ibm.com)

Submitted by

on Tuesday July 31, 2007 @06:49AM

An anonymous reader writes: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/rational/library /jul07/lennhamn/index.html

Submission + - New Mouse Replaces Scroll Wheel With Scroll Zone (cooltechzone.com)

Submitted by tackyDUCK on Tuesday July 31, 2007 @06:43AM

tackyDUCK writes: Gundeep Hora of CoolTechZone.com has reviewed the world's first slim mouse that replaces the standard scroll wheel with a scroll zone, much like the notebook's trackpad. Is it effective? He writes, "In addition, Rocketfish has kept things simple with two buttons and a scroll zone, which is an interesting addition, to say the least. Despite the unique addition of the scroll zone, it failed to impress us. The performance was a bit lackluster, since we had to apply more pressure to scroll through webpages and documents. And also, since it's not a physical button, you will definitely miss the middle click functionality of the device. It's a great effort on Rocketfish's part, but expecting users to change otherwise normal behavior is asking for a little too much.

Submission + - What's Wrong With A Windows Subscription Model (osweekly.com)

Submitted by

synony

on Tuesday July 31, 2007 @06:36AM

synony writes: "What if Microsoft switched its business model from licensing to a subscription model with Windows? Would it be a feasible model? Brandon Watts doesn't think so. He concludes, "Finally, a lot of people are using Windows right now simply because they have it on their computer. If their usage of Windows expired at the end of some sort of a subscription, then you can count on the fact that they'd be more inclined to examine other operating system options rather than signing on to another usage period of a desktop experience that they may not even be pleased with. Also, if Windows technically expires, then what happens to all of the data? Will the computer just become a useless box unless Linux or an older version of Windows is installed on it, or will the installed version just continue to run as is? As you can see, a lot of questions still have to be answered, and we won't fully know what to expect until that final version of Windows 7 is released."

Submission + - Sigma doesn't just make lenses! 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 31, 2007 @03:59AM

An anonymous reader writes: If you've ever owned an SLR, digital or film, you've probably bought a Sigma lens at some point. Sigma makes lenses for pretty much all makes of SLR bodies from Canon to Nikon, but now Sigma has decided to make a DSLR body of its own. The SD14 is a 10mp DSLR with enviable image quality, but would you be willing to buy a Sigma over a Nikon? http://www.trustedreviews.com/digital-cameras/revi ew/2007/07/31/Sigma-SD14-Digital-SLR/p1

Submission + - solar powered turtle tracking (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by The Great Pulgoso on Tuesday July 31, 2007 @03:56AM

The Great Pulgoso writes: A team of researchers from the University of Massachusetts have begun testing the Turtlenet a decentralized network created with the specific purpose of tracking the population of snapper turtles. By attaching a wi-fi enabled solar powered GPS system to a turtle, they can track his movements throughout the area where the sensor is. Should the turtle leave the area, it will transmit the information to other turtles nearby so that the turtle nearest to the receiver downloads everything to the server.

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