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Submission Summary: 0 pending, 40 declined, 11 accepted (51 total, 21.57% accepted)

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Displays

Submission + - Mechanical "Flip-Letter" Display Emulated In Flash (slashdot.org)

Submitted by mbstone
mbstone writes: You know those big, electromechanical displays that used to grace railroad stations and airports, the ones with the letters that would flip around and around until the correct message appeared? Sadly, none remain in service, but Cary Dunn has done it in ActionScript — how cool is that? — and I bet his emulation makes its way into real airports real soon now.
The Military

Submission + - Test Missile Hits Vladivostok; Chief Designer Out (themoscowtimes.com)

Submitted by
mbstone
mbstone writes: "Remember the Soviet Union's mysterious, anonymous "Chief Designer" whose Sputnik I frightened the U.S. into a crash competition for space supremacy? (You probably don't, but maybe you remember the reference from the Tom Wolfe book, and movie, The Right Stuff.) Yury Solomonov, the present-day Russki missile honcho, quit (or was fired) after a test of the new Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile went awry and landed in a residential area of Vladivostok."
Sci-Fi

Submission + - Takei Denies Shatner Disinvited To His Wedding (nytimes.com)

Submitted by
mbstone
mbstone writes: "While Uhura and Chekov were by the side of Star Trek actor George Takei at his recent nuptials, William Shatner either wasn't invited or snubbed Takei, depending on who you believe. Shatner, described in today's NYT article as the "77-year-old Kirk," said of Takei, "It's so patently obvious that there is a psychosis there.""
Government

Submission + - Son of FISMA (fcw.com)

Submitted by
mbstone
mbstone writes: "FISMA, the Federal Information Systems Management Act, also known as the full employment act for federal government cyber security consultants, is going to be updated in a newly introduced bill, S. 3474, the FISMA Act of 2008. Seems Congress finally figured out that federal agencies were spewing out tons of paperwork but not doing all that much to actually secure their systems. Fear not, when Congress gets done there will still be plenty of work for you once SAIC/Booz Allen/Northrop Grumman et al. and their 8(a) small-disadvantaged-minority subcontractors take their respective cuts. Congress is also working on another bill, S. 3460, the State Cyber Security Protection Act so you Sacto and Albany types can get in on the fun."
Media

Submission + - Ed Foster, InfoWorld Consumer Columnist, Dies (infoworld.com)

Submitted by
mbstone
mbstone writes: "Ed Foster, for 17 years the technology consumer columnist at InfoWorld, died Saturday (26) at age 59 of a sudden heart attack. Ed's was a lonely voice in the media exposing corporate excesses such as monopolistic vendor practices, one-sided EULAs, extended warranties, sole-sourced printer cartridges, and bad special-interest legislation such as UCITA and CAN-SPAM ("It means you can spam," said Ed.). We'll miss him."
Microsoft

Submission + - Follow Your Job To India: Microsoft (turn.pro)

Submitted by
mbstone
mbstone writes: "We received the following self-explanatory job posting: Hello, We have an Urgent requirement with our Client — Microsoft India, looking for candidates interested to relocate and work in India on a permanent basis. Relocation expenses will be provided by the Client. Please provide us the full time Salary desired and interested candidates can send the updated copy of the resume. Description: Microsoft India has got every position for a consultant who has got very good hands on C,C++,C# Programming. The technologies in which Microsoft India is operating are: Ad Center-CSO; Data Protection; RFID/ Adapters; Architect — SQL Compact Data; VSTT — Integrated and comprehensive end-to-end testing tools; Mobile Developer — Visual Studio for Devices; Jscript; Enterprise Networking; Virtualization Client; Service Packs; Applets & Gadgets; Office Mobile; CRM; Duet; Live Meeting Applications; Games; Core Server — Terminal services. The suitable candidates should be willing to relocate to India, should be from US or any other place except India. If you want to know more about this position you can attend the Microsoft's Event at Boston."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Man With Missing Brain Employed As Bureaucrat

Submitted by
mbstone
mbstone writes: "In a medical story to be published in next week's Lancet, doctors say a 44 year-old French civil servant leads a normal life despite CT and MRI scans that show that his brain is 'virtually absent.' The civil servant is said to have an IQ of 75 despite his brain's grey and white matter being 'completely crushed against the sides of his skull.'"
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Airline Bump Compensation To Be Raised?

Submitted by
mbstone
mbstone writes: "The U.S. Dept. of Transportation is requesting comments on its proposal to raise the maximum airline involuntary-denial-of-boarding compensation from $400 to $1,248. Under the current rule, if the airline can get you to your destination within two hours of the planned arrival time of the oversold flight — or four hours on international flights — the compensation is the fare to the destination with a $200 maximum. Over two hours late, and the amount doubles to a $400 maximum. These payments are in addition to the value of your ticket, which you can either use for a future flight or have refunded. The DOT asked for comments on five proposals: increasing the maxima to $624 and $1,248, respectively; increasing them to $290 and $580; doubling the limits to $400 and $800; eliminating all compensation limits and making compensation equal to the value of the ticket with the payment doubling for longer delays; or leaving the current limits in place."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Casino Bans MS Word Author For Video Poker Win (turn.pro)

Submitted by
mbstone
mbstone writes: "Richard Brodie, the original author of MS Word and a poker pro, has been banned from Caesars Palace and all other casinos owned by Harrah's Entertainment Corp. — including a ban on his participating in the 2007 World Series of Poker — because, get this, he got lucky and won three royal flushes on video poker for $240,000 each. Not for cheating, or even for card counting, just for being lucky. Harrah's management has obviously never heard of the law of averages!"
Lord of the Rings

Submission + - Peter Jackson 86ed from "Hobbit" In LOTR P

Submitted by
mbstone
mbstone writes: "Peter Jackson, who, of course, produced and directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, has been blacklisted by New Line Cinema co-chairman Bob Shaye from directing any more films for the studio, specifically including the upcoming LOTR prequel, The Hobbit. Shaye's action was in response to Jackson's lawsuit in which he alleges the studio refuses to account for financial anomalies that he says surfaced from a partial audit of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and that it has denied his repeated requests to audit The Two Towers and The Return of the King. "
Businesses

Submission + - Microsoft Announces Collaboration With Ford Motors

Submitted by
mbstone
mbstone writes: "Bill Gates has announced Microsoft Auto, voice-activated software to allow drivers to control cell phones and media players. Sync, the first major commercial introduction of the Microsoft Auto software, offers hands-free phone dialing and can read incoming text messages through the car's audio system. Similar software is already available in German and Japanese autos. "Hi! It looks like you're trying to change lanes right now...."

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