Comment Re: And for linux (Score 1) 400
And Audacious.
Comment Finally, a social network for me! (Score 5, Funny) 128
We just need a giant network of bots, seeded from real human interaction, to play this conversation game with each other. Then sell all of that "content" to advertisers which would echo back into the system, thereby making the advertisers think their products/services are desirable based on increased communication.
I would no longer be bored by real life social sharing, but would watch this network like the Game of Life!
Comment Re:Built-in set top box (Score 2) 286
A traffic dump would be amazing to look at!
Comment How to get kids interested in Making? (Score 1) 139
There are some electronics projects for young (4-6 yro) children out there, but besides building a few pre-set projects, how do you get kids interested and excited about building things? They might think some blinking lights are cool, but how do you put a narrative around it? I've found toddlers and younger kids love toys, and the entire fantasy world surrounding them, that correspond with books and TV shows. Is there something equivalent for electronics?
Comment Re:How do you compete? (Score 2) 139
I buy from Adafruit because of the excellent tutorials and documentation, even if the price is slightly higher, I trust the quality more than other vendors.
My only complaint is inventory: certain items are often out of stock for months at a time. So I put alerts on them and hope that I can purchase lots of items in large order vs many smaller ones.
Astronomers Discover Largest Structure In the Universe 143
KentuckyFC writes "Until now, the largest known structure in the Universe was the Huge-LQG (Large Quasar Group), a cluster of 73 quasars stretching over a distance of 4 billion light years. Now astronomers say they've spotted something even bigger in data from gamma ray bursts, the final explosions of energy released by stars as they die and the universe's most energetic events. Astronomers have measured the distance to 283 of these bursts and mapped their position in the universe. This throws up a surprise. At a distance of ten billion light years, there are more gamma ray bursts than expected if they were evenly distributed throughout the universe. This implies the existence of a structure at this distance that is about ten billion light years across and so dwarfs the Huge-LQG. What's odd about the discovery is that the Cosmological principle--one of the fundamental tenets of cosmology--holds that the distribution of matter in the universe will appear uniform if viewed at a large enough scale. And yet, structures clearly emerge at every scale astronomers can see. The new discovery doesn't disprove the principle but it does provide some interesting food for thought for theorists."
Comment Re: economics and environmentalism (Score 1) 1143
^^ Best analysis of economics and environmentalism in this entire thread!
Comment Re:Which company bought this 'new' rule? (Score 1) 1143
Wood is very efficient at heating a home. However, particulates are much higher than the other, more difficult to procure in rural situation, substances you mentioned. Certain wood burning stoves are less emmisive than your "double barrel" wood stove.
I understand your knee-jerk reaction to any EPA mention of wood stoves, given your long posts about your geography and childhood, yet you (of all slashdotters) should have the open mind to realize the wood stove you loved as a child may have harmed you and your family.
I'm very skeptical now of the wood stove my family enjoyed. Maybe you should too...
Comment Re:The Asian Space Race (Score 1) 166
And that's a good thing! Racing to space for the future of Humanity should be shared by all.
Comment Link (Score 1) 358
Link to the Permissions Denied app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.stericson.permissions.donate&hl=en
It appears Cyanogen Mod used to have this feature.
Comment Re:Best feature? (Score 1) 358
Permissions Denied [google.com] is another (root-only) app that can deny certain permissions to a selected app.
Both a firewall and selective permissions should be part of the core OS so users do not have to root their phones. If the functionality of denying permissions was part of the OS, developers would hopefully test their software against some restrictions and fail gracefully instead of crashing. However, if some apps knew they were denied the Internet permission, they mail fail to launch at all since they could not download ads. (This may reduce ad-supported apps and games, which could be positive or negative depending on your perspective.)
Comment Re:Best feature? (Score 1) 358
And there's a lot of things that require root that shouldn't. Such as apps that back up you applications and their settings.
Part of Android's security design is to isolate apps from each other by running each app as it's own user_id. Thus, if you want to back up the data from all apps, you need root (or designate some sort of super-user that belongs to all of those groups in order to read those files). Just like in other *nix, user A cannot read user B's files if the file/directory permissions are restricted.
Android Firewall (linked above) allows easy blocking of net access to each individual app because they all run as separate user_ids, so the iptables rule is trivial.
Permissions Denied is another (root-only) app that can deny certain permissions to a selected app.
Both a firewall and selective permissions should be part of the core OS so users do not have to root their phones. If only Cyanogen Mod was installed by manufacturers/carriers...
EU Considering Sensors In Sewers To Detect Bomb-Makers 219
Nerval's Lobster writes "Security agencies in Europe have found a whole new way to identify and approach bombmakers and other potentially dangerous radicals. The only problem with the approach is that it stinks. Literally. Researchers in a European-Union funded project called Emphasis are developing chemical sensors that can be embedded in networks of underground sewage tunnels to sniff the air and phone home at the first hint of chemical residue from the manufacture of bombs. Using remote sensors might be effective because the liquid- and gas byproducts of bomb production – and manufacture of many drugs as well – leak, seep or are poured into sinks and toilets to get rid of the evidence, according to Hans Onnerud, an analytical chemist with the Swedish Defense Research Agency. With such a catchall underneath the city streets, and the chemical wherewithal to identify which smells belong to bombs or drugs and which belong to other things, it should be possible to keep a close watch on development of dangerous materials in a city without invading the homes of residents, Onnerud added. In fact, if sewer-sniffing technology had been in place in 2005, British authorities might have had a much easier time tracing the location of the bombers, or even detecting them ahead of time and stopping the London subway bomb attack that killed 54 people. Fumes from the bombs used in those attacks, which were assembled in a house in Leeds that had been turned into a compact bomb factory, were strong enough to kill plants in the garden. It's extremely likely they would have been detectable from the sewer as well, Onnerud said in a statement announcing Emphasis. The sensors developed for Emphasis are designed to detect chemical reagents produced by the breakdown of chemicals in bombs. Each sensor is a 10-centimeter-long electrode that can be submersed in sewer wastewater to look for ions of the right configuration."
Comment Re:Best feature? (Score 1) 358
Try "Android Firewall" (needs root)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jtschohl.androidfirewall&hl=en
Comment Re:Nanny state crap (Score 2) 138
But us users need protection from ourselves!
Consume media. Don't think.
