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Education

Submission + - Is computer science dead?

Submitted by
vaporland
vaporland writes: "Some say computer science as a vocation is dying. This article says that the arrival of high-level tools means vastly complex applications for business, science and leisure can be created without the coding, logic or discrete mathematics skills taught at universities.

So, head on down to Staples, buy that big red button that says "It's easy!" and drop off a job application for the warehouse manager position . . ."
Wii

Submission + - DS and Wii Beat Out Xbox360 And PS3 in February

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: According to this Gamasutra article Nintendo got the #1 and #2 spots in the console sales figures with the DS (485,000 units) and Wii (335,000 units) respectively. Xbox360 pulled in 225,000 units, and the PS3 a mere 127,000 units. Even the PS2 (295,000 units) and the various Gameboy Advance iterations (136,000 units) sold more than the PS3. While the Xbox had a serious head start, Sony cannot be enjoying the fact that the GBA is selling more than their super-machine.
Education

Submission + - The true cost of One Laptop Per Child

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: The '$100 laptop' Negroponte is hoping to put in the hands of millions of kids in developing nations may actually be more like the '$900 laptop.' From the article, 'Jon Camfield says...once maintenance, training, Internet connectivity, and other factors are taken into account, the actual cost of each laptop rises to more than $970. This, he says, doesn't even take in to account the additional costs associated with theft, loss, or accidental damage. Camfield contends that such an expensive undertaking should at least be field-tested in pilot programs designed to establish the viability of the project before asking countries to invest millions, or perhaps billions, of dollars.'
Television

Submission + - Comcast decrees "You will watch our TV or pay!

Submitted by
PortHaven
PortHaven writes: "Just received a notice from Comcast regarding future rate hikes. Essentially, Comcast is trying to force all it's broadband subscribers to use their TV service.

The rates were as follows:

$39.95 internet+TV
$49.95 internet only ($39.95+$10 additional fee)

The new rates for 2007 are as follows:

$42.95 internet+TV
$59.95 internet only

There is nearly a 40% cost difference if you decide not to subscribe to Comcast's TV. Yes, it is common to offer discounts for bundled services but Comcast has gone way beyond a mere bundle discount. The new pricing scheme is akin to McDonald's announcing that you can no longer buy a hamburger unless you also buy a coke and fries. Everyone understands the concept of the value meal. Buy a #1 and save 70 cents on your big mac, fries and coke. But what Comcast is doing is charging $7 for a #1 value meal. And if you just want to buy a big mac charging you the same $7.

Essentially, this pricing is designed to prevent customer from moving to alternatives. Now any difference in savings you'd gain by using satellite TV + cable internet is lost because there is now a $20 surchage. Presently, my household does not own a TV or subscribe to TV service instead we utilize Netflix and iTunes. The only real alternative to cable broadband is DSL. However, the telephone companies require you to have a landline (approx. $20). I, like many others in the younger generations have found no need for a landline (our cell phones do quite nicely) nor for TV service.

It appears I have no choice but to choose one or the other if I want broadband internet access. It's Monopoly! Do you choose to land on Boardwalk or Park Place?"
Biotech

Submission + - Army Cuts Future Soldier-Docs Lose Future Surgery

Submitted by
docinthemachine
docinthemachine writes: "US Army has decided to axe it's $500 Million (so far) Land Warrior Soldier of the Future program. If this goes through the fallout loss of future medical technology under development will be enormous. many do not realize the enormous amount of medical technology that trickles down from the military. The program develops new HMD's and 3D vision systems and bioarmor. Surgeons today are using this technology (via DARPA) to develop new robotic surgery, bioimplants, intellegent prosthetics and more. Docinthemachine reports on the magnitude of surgical hi tech toys that will be lost if the program gets cut at: http://docinthemachine.com/2006/12/08/army-axing-h igh-tech-soldier-of-tomorrow-medtech-losses-predic ted/"
Businesses

The BlackBerry Orphans 228

Posted by Zonk from the dad-daddy-mommy-lol'd-at-me dept.
theodp writes "The WSJ reports that the growing use of email gadgets is spawning a generation of resentful children. In addition to feeling neglected, kids fear BlackBerrys and Treos can put their lives in jeopardy as Mom and Dad type away while driving." From the article: "Like teenagers sneaking cigarettes behind school, parents are secretly rebelling against the rules. The children of one New Jersey executive mandate that their mom ignore her mobile email from dinnertime until their bedtime. To get around their dictates, the mother hides the gadget in the bathroom, where she makes frequent trips before, during and after dinner. The kids 'think I have a small bladder,' she says. She declined to be named because she's afraid her 12- and 13-year-old children might discover her secret."
Windows

Submission + - Activating Vista Enterprise using a spoofed server

Submitted by Ruvim
Ruvim writes: It has been mentioned in previous Slashdot discussions as possibility, and now it became a reality: Informationweek.com reports that a spoofed server has been released that can be used to activate Microsoft's Vista Enterprise versions. It is being made available on several pirate Web sites and spoofs a Key Management Service server, used to activate a large number of copies of Windows Vista in enterprise environments.
Databases

Submission + - MySQL wants to build 'database in the sky'

Submitted by narramissic
narramissic writes: MySQL has designs on a 'global project to build a massive, distributed repository containing all of the world's data now stored in structured databases,' the company's CEO Marten Mickos said Thursday at the Web 2.0 Summit. 'The project seeks to apply the open-source model to data, so that developers worldwide could share and aggregate data,' Mickos said.
The Internet

Submission + - Washington State Overrun By Data Centers

Submitted by
miller60
miller60 writes: "Intuit has become the latest company to plan a huge data center project in tiny Quincy, Washington. Central Washington has become a magnet for power-hungry data centers because of its ready supply of cheap hydro electricity generated by dams on the Columbia River. Microsoft, Yahoo and Sabey are all building facilities in the area, and have already arranged for 120 megawatts of power from local utilities. The trend is also helping northern New York State, where HSBC is spending $166 million to locate two huge data centers in Niagara County, drawing hydro power from the Niagara River. A recent study found the cheapest place to operate an enterprise data center is Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Will the focus on power costs remake the geography of the data center industry?"

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