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Journal Journal: Robots that address a social problem. 1

Journal by Earl The Squirrel

Since the dawn of SF, we have envisioned how robots will help solve issues plaguing mankind. They have made great strides in manufacturing/assembly , roombas, and hobbyist robots, but I thought that the dream of robots solving social issues hadn't really materialized. However, a friend recently went to the Middle East, and found the following sport Camel Racing which has
Programming

Submission + - Our version of Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie...

Submitted by Earl The Squirrel
Earl The Squirrel writes: On Oct 12, 2011, Dennis Richie, creator of C and co-creator to Unix has died. As the hero's of our generation age, it's sad to say this will invariably happen, but it's sad for all of us who continue. Let's be sure to thank and salute those who have made what we enjoy so much. Losing two so close together makes it even harder.
HP

Submission + - HP Touch Pad still Popular with HP Employees 1

Submitted by Earl The Squirrel
Earl The Squirrel writes: Today HP made available to their employees (via their EPP store) one last batch of HP Touch Pads. The response has been so overwhelming that if you go to the HP store right now, you'll get the "Please try again later" page. HP employees have "slashdotted" their own store.

Comment Re:It has been seen before (Score 0) 236

by Earl The Squirrel (#37046132) Attached to: Google Pulls Plug On Programming For the Masses

Yeah, there should be a web page for ALL the various products that Google has killed, and some of the "impact" assessment. I mean how many is it by now?
Geeze, off the top of my head I can think of a few... Wave, Gears, Bookmark sync, Google Answers, Google Video, Dodgeball, etc, etc.

Using a Google tool in any sort of "production" environment is a real crap shoot, in my opinon...

Comment Is this an Apple or HP announcement? (Score 1) 87

by Earl The Squirrel (#35162476) Attached to: Security Warning Over Web-Based Android Market

I was watching this on engadget and couldn't tell from the images whether I watching an Apple or HP announcement.

This picture ... change TouchPad to iPad and put the guy in a black turtleneck....sure looks like the iPad announcement.. Look at this picture from the original iPad announcement... sure looks similar to me.

This e-mail app looks pretty damn close to the iPad one.

This keyboard sure looks almost identical to the iPad.

In general, I saw this as a rehash of the Apple and Google approaches to a common OS for Phone and Pad. Can't speak to either on "pc" though both have leaked rumors at least of having their OS on some form of a PC. To me this was a big "yawn" from a late comer to this space.
Robotics

Submission + - Robots Guarding US Nuclear Stockpiles In Nevada (singularityhub.com)

Submitted by kkleiner
kkleiner writes: The US National Nuclear Security Administration recently announced that it has started using autonomous robot vehicles to patrol the vast desert surrounding its Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The 1360+ square miles of territory is home to millions of tons of low grade nuclear waste, as well as Cold War Era nuclear weapons, and cutting edge nuclear testing research. Guarding those precious nuclear materials is the Mobile Detection Assessment Response System (MDARS) robot, which is essentially a camera on a mini-Hummer. The MDARS can roam and scout the desert on its own, alerting a remote operator when it encounters something that shouldn’t be there.

Submission + - S&P says 60% of countries bankrupt by 2060 (businessweek.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: "Some sixty percent of the world's economies will be so in debt by 2060 that their debt will be downgraded to "junk" status, effectively bankrupting the countries, says a report from Standard & Poor's ratings agency, which also warns that attempts to deal with the problem could cause social instability." Is it time to start stocking up on ... whores?
Google

Submission + - Oracle's newest move to undermine Android (infoworld.com)

Submitted by GMGruman
GMGruman writes: Oracle's decision to shift focus from the Harmony Java open source project to OpenJDK seems innocuous enough — but InfoWorld's Josh Fruhlinger explains it's part of an effort to derail Google's mobile Android OS by gutting the open source project that Android has been driven by. IBM has signed on, apparently in return for getting the Java Community Process reactivated, leaving Google in a bind.

Comment So, Safety?? (Score 1) 488

by Earl The Squirrel (#33642932) Attached to: Airbus Planning Transparent Planes

Let's see, how frequently do airplanes have to use the following FAA rule:

1. Practice the "see and avoid" concept at all times regardless of whether the operation is conducted under Instrument (IFR) or Visual (VFR) Flight Rules.

(from http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ato/tracon/anchorage/pilots_info/mca/ )

I'm thinking FAA would frown on this type of plane simply because of the potential safety issue...

"Hey, did you see that big transparent plane over their thru the fog?"
Image

How the TSA Plans On Inspecting Your Monkey 114

Posted by samzenpus from the I'm-gonna-need-to-check-your-monkey dept.
The uncertainty of what might happen to your service monkey at an airport security checkpoint won't keep you awake at night anymore, thanks to the TSA. They have issued an easy to follow list of how they will ensure your helper monkey won't go all Planet of the Apes on your flight. Some of the security techniques used to make sure your primate is not a terrorist include: "Security Officers will conduct a visual inspection on the service monkey and will coach the handler on how to hold the monkey during the visual inspection. The inspection process may require that the handler to take off the monkey's diaper as part of the visual inspection."

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