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

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Software

Submission + - Adbrick - Adblock for IE7!

Submitted by boynerd
boynerd writes: http://adbrick.blogspot.com/

AdBrick 1.0 Pre-Release is available now. Though only confirmed to work on Windows XP SP2, there have been people able to install and use it on Vista 64-bit using the appropriate compatibility mode. Thought it currently has no pre-list of ad site's regexs for the program to block, it seems decent enough.
The Matrix

Submission + - 12 satellites working for high charge electrons (terradaily.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: A rare, timely conjunction of ground-based instrumentation and a dozen satellites has helped scientists better understand how electrons in space can turn into 'killers'. ESA's Cluster constellation has contributed crucially to the finding. 'Killer' electrons are highly energetic, negatively charged particles found in near-Earth space. They can critically, and even permanently, damage satellites in orbit, including telecommunication satellites, and pose a hazard to astronauts. The funny news from the scientists at the ESA can be found HERE
Movies

Submission + - Canadian Theatre Chain Sued for Abusive Search

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A Canadian theater chain has been sued for an abusive search for camcording equipment. A Montreal woman is seeking $60,000 in damages for the search, which comes after the Canadian government caved to U.S. pressure and enacted anti-camcording legislation.
Announcements

Submission + - Former Rockstar Marketer: Company Plagued by Horre (gamedaily.com)

Submitted by
njkid1
njkid1 writes: "If you believe one former Rockstar employee, working for the GTA publisher was pretty much a nightmare. He claims that management at the company often had big arguments, the company structure was inefficient, and Manhunt tore them apart. Stunning insight into the controversial gamemaker..."
Wireless Networking

Submission + - Kismac development discontinued due to German law. (kismac.de)

Submitted by BDaniels
BDaniels writes: Kismac is an excellent wireless sniffer app for OSX. The original developers announced today that they are ceasing development due to upcoming changes in German law that will make it illegal to possess this sort of 'hacking tool':

"German laws change and are being adapted for "better" protection against something politicians obviously do not understand. It will become illegal to develop, use or even posses KisMAC in this banana republic (backgound: the change of 202c StGB)."

They are asking for others outside Germany to take over the code and continue development.
Space

Submission + - Houston, We Have a Drinking Problem (hughpickens.com)

Submitted by
Pcol
Pcol writes: "Aviation Week reports that astronauts were allowed to fly on at least two occasions after flight surgeons and other astronauts warned they were so intoxicated that they posed a flight-safety risk. A review panel, convened in the wake of the Lisa Nowak arrest to review astronaut medical and psychological screening, also reported "heavy use of alcohol" by astronauts before launch, within the standard 12-hour "bottle to throttle" rule applied to NASA flight crew members. Dr. Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon, says it's a tradition for crew members to gather for a barbecue on the eve of a shuttle launch, and these gatherings sometimes include alcohol and a toast but that the greater problem is that preparation before a flight can leave astronauts sleep-deprived and overworked. Meanwhile at Frenchie's Italian Restaurant, a popular astronaut hangout in Houston, owner Frankie Camera disputed the reports. "The Mercury astronauts may have been a little more wild (than later ones) but I did banquets for them and never really saw any of them drink so much they were out of control or drunk.""
Utilities (Apple)

Submission + - Configuring MacOS X to compile and install open so (techsww.com)

Submitted by
shahryarghazi
shahryarghazi writes: "If you want to compile and install Open Source software on your MacOS X machine then you should install MacOS X's XCode tools. XCode tools provide the compilers and other software development kits (SDKs) to enable you to compile and install open source software on your computer. Click here to read the step-by-step simple installation instructions."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Psychology, design and economics of slot-machines (boingboing.net)

Submitted by
6
6 writes: "from the article... "Stanford design prof Michael Shanks has an online course unit about the design, politics, sociology and economics of slot machines that is flat-out fascinating, especially the manipulative psychology of slot and casino design. The layout also takes advantage of the differences between slot and table players. In general, table players do not like the noise of slot machines because they find it distracting. In addition, they may sometimes play a few rounds on slot machines spontaneously, but obviously prefer table playing. At the same time, however, spouses or partners of table players will often wile away time playing at a nearby slot machine. Thus casinos are planned such that there are slot machines lining walkways around tables. However, these slots are always tight. This cuts down on the noise and distraction to table players, and makes sense because the majority of players on these machines are playing spontaneously, with little expectation of winning. This demonstrates to what degree casino layouts are optimized — in this case, to the point that a complex system is implemented simply to clean up loose change from spontaneous players. "

the article on Boing-Boing

Design Class on Slot Machines"
Space

Submission + - Hubble sees Night Shining Clouds (nasa.gov)

Submitted by illeism
illeism writes: NASA is reporting an interesting pheonmenon in the upper atmosphere — Night-Shining Clouds.

Very little is known about how these clouds form over the poles, why they are being seen more frequently and at lower latitudes than ever before, or why they have been growing brighter. AIM will observe two complete cloud seasons over both poles, documenting an entire life cycle of the shiny clouds for the first time.
"It is clear that these clouds are changing, a sign that a part of our atmosphere is changing and we do not understand how, why or what it means," stated AIM principal investigator James Russell III of Hampton University, Hampton, Va. "These observations suggest a connection with global change in the lower atmosphere and could represent an early warning that our Earth environment is being changed
Media

Submission + - Media doublepeak in reporting BPI raid (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by
caseih
caseih writes: "The BBC reports that "The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is investigating allegations of an extensive illegal music filesharing ring at a Honeywell plant in Scotland." What's amazing is that the article treats this entire incident as if the BPI is somehow the equivalent of Scotland Yard or even the MI-5. Not only does the article report this as being the equivalent of real crime with hyperbole, invoking the inevideble comparison to fraug, human-smugging, or even pedophilia rings, but it also has some real gems like a quote from a so-called expert saying, "Filesharing music in the workplace is illegal, misuses company resources, wastes employees' time and introduces network security risks." Regardless of one's stance on the problems of copyright infringement, this kind of bad reporting really shows how the copyright cartels have gone too far."
Classic Games (Games)

Submission + - Nolan Bushnell's waiterless uWink restaurant (lacitybeat.com)

Submitted by
the_quiet_angeleno
the_quiet_angeleno writes: "I have an article in this week's special summer dining issue of Los Angeles CityBeat on uWink, the latest restaurant venture by Atari and Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theater founder Nolan Bushnell. At uWink, customers place their orders on touch-screen terminals and play casual video games while they wait for their food and drinks to arrive. But why eliminate a traditional waiter in an environment that's been designed to foster human interaction? The article also touches on the growing casual gaming movement. Here's a sample: "We feel many people haven't played a videogame in 20 years, or maybe they've never played one in their life," Bushnell says. "They've determined in their mind, 'I'm not a game player.' We feel like we have an ability to change that. [I]n that sense we're being somewhat evangelistic.""
Math

Submission + - Interspace travel mathematically possible (physorg.com)

Submitted by
Argos Avatar
Argos Avatar writes: "In a recently posted slashdot article, the science fiction author Charlie Stross argued against the possibility of colonizing the galaxy, because, among other reasons, the difficulties of interspace travel. In other (somewhat older) news, at least mathematically, there are already solutions for accelerating to velocities close to c, without being gravity-smashed in the process. It involves getting a boost from an atomic explosion to deploy a large mass, which then generates a gravity field that would pull the spaceship along. From the article: Dr. Franklin Felber has proposed a new antigravity solution that will enable space travel near speed of light by the end of this century, he predicts. From physorg.com: http://www.physorg.com/news10789.html/ The math is sound and Dr. Felber is no sci-fi author. It seems that the only problem left is how to de-accelerate once we get to the our target. — Mario Von Schwarz Oximoric Engineer(TM) "Hoc Volo, Sic Jubeo, Sit pro Ratione Voluntas!"®"

Slashdot Top Deals

Many people are unenthusiastic about their work.

Close