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Math

Submission + - An Optical Solution For an NP-Complete problem? (opticsexpress.org)

Submitted by 6
6 writes: Tobias Haist and Wolfgang Osten have proposed a novel idea for solving the traveling salesman problem...

We introduce an optical method based on white light interferometry in order to solve the well-known NP-complete traveling salesman problem. To our knowledge it is the first time that a method for the reduction of non-polynomial time to quadratic time has been proposed. We will show that this achievement is limited by the number of available photons for solving the problem. It will turn out that this number of photons is proportional to NN for a traveling salesman problem with N cities and that for large numbers of cities the method in practice therefore is limited by the signal-to-noise ratio. The proposed method is meant purely as a gedankenexperiment.
Biotech

Submission + - MIT Engineers World's First Schizophrenic Mice

Submitted by
Frosty Piss
Frosty Piss writes: "MIT researchers have created a schizophrenic mouse that pinpoints a gene variation predisposing people to schizophrenia. Research with the mouse may lead to the first genetically targeted drugs for the disease, which affects 1 percent of the population worldwide. This is the first study that uses animals who demonstrate an array of symptoms observed in schizophrenic patients to identify specific genes that predispose people to the disease."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - How much are we paying for SMS?

Submitted by Komaji
Komaji writes: Many mobile prepaid service plans in the US still require a per SMS charge. Most charge for sending and receiving and include a premium charge for sending to other countries. Have you ever sat down to figure out how much you're really paying for this frictionless and convenient mode of communication?
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"

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