164139
submission
Kate Seamer writes:
A US$18.6 million "self-healing" house will be able to resist earthquakes by sealing cracks in its walls and monitoring seismic vibrations. The walls of the house contain nano-polymer particles designed to convert into liquid when under pressure, flow into cracks, and solidify. This would theoretically stabilize the structure after severe seismic trauma. Funded by the European Union, and using technology from Leed University's NanoManufacturing Institute, the house is to be constructed in Greece by 2010.
124071
submission
entrepreneur.md writes:
Medgadget.com is reporting that the USB-IF is developing an industry standard USB format to expedite the integration of various medical technologies: "The USB Implementers Forum, Inc. (USB-IF) today announced the formation of the Personal Healthcare Device Working Group. The group's initial goal is to define a USB Personal Healthcare Device Class specification. The new specification will enable health-related devices, such as blood pressure cuffs and exercise watches, to connect via USB to consumer electronic products, such as PCs and health appliances. Interoperability of health-related devices and consumer electronic products will facilitate the communication between patient and doctor, individual and fitness coach, or elderly person and a remote caregiver."
124041
submission
CHaN_316 writes:
Sony has announced that they will cut the price of the Playstation Portable (PSP) from $199.99USD to $169.99USD. The move is intended to better compete against the Nintendo DS. The article reports, "In February, Nintendo's DS outsold every other console in the U.S., with about 485,000 total units sold. The prices of the DS vary among online and brick-and-mortar retailers, but a consumer can usually expect to pay from $130 to $160." This is the first price cut of the PSP since its launch in March 2005. Now when are we going to see a PS3 price cut?
95528
story
Orinthe writes
"According to Reuters, a new study involving 33 surgeons at a New York hospital shows 'a strong correlation between video game skills and a surgeon's capabilities'. A statement by the senior author of the study even suggests the use of video games as a training tool for surgeons. Another of the study's authors cautions parents to curb excessive gaming, however: 'spending that much time playing video games is not going to help their child's chances of getting into medical school'."
95524
submission
Chicken Little writes:
The sky is falling... in about 29 years. FTA "Circle your calendar. April 13th, 2036 could be a really, really bad day on planet Earth.
A group of astronauts and engineers warns that an asteroid may pass uncomfortably close to Earth that day. The chances it will actually hit are just one in 45,000, but even at those odds, the scientists warn, the United Nations should consider a response."
95520
submission
CUatTHEFINISH writes:
Media conglomerate Viacom is expected to announce a licensing deal with Joost, a new Internet service that specializes in commercial video content.
The anticipated deal, which follows the recent collapse of similar talks between Viacom and YouTube parent Google, involves licensing hundreds of hours of programming from Viacom cable networks such as MTV, Comedy Central and Spike as well as movies made by its Paramount studios.
94526
story
oski4410 writes
"The Google engineers just published a paper on Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population. Based on a study of 100,000 disk drives over 5 years they find some interesting stuff. To quote from the abstract: 'Our analysis identifies several parameters from the drive's self monitoring facility (SMART) that correlate highly with failures. Despite this high correlation, we conclude that models based on SMART parameters alone are unlikely to be useful for predicting individual drive failures. Surprisingly, we found that temperature and activity levels were much less correlated with drive failures than previously reported.'"
80348
submission
Dysfnctnl85 writes:
AMD is claiming that the launch of their Barcelona chipset will represent a shift in focus for the company from price to performance. A ZDNet Blog cites that the 65nm Clovertown will be available later this year and "rather concentrate on price, AMD are instead emphasizing performance." Also from the blog: "Intel is eager to claw back some of the server market share from AMD, and this is where Clovertown comes in. Clovertown is the codename for Intel's latest quad-core Xeon 5300 line. The Xeon 5300 line will represent excellent value for money since Intel plans on pricing them the same as its dual core Xeon 5100 processors. That could make things tough for AMD."
80316
submission
Bart writes:
Ars Technica reports that the AACS Licensing Authiroty is doing some damage control today on the AACS hack that effects both Blu-ray and HD DVD (previous /. coverage). From the article, "The statement was firm in expressing the viewpoint that this attack is not a wholesale attack on AACS, nor does it represent a serious threat to AACS. 'Instead,' the statement reads, 'it illustrates the need for all AACS licensees to follow the Compliance and Robustness Rules set forth in the AACS license agreements to help ensure that product implementations are not compromised.'" The group thinks that the attack can be thrwarted, and while Ars seems to aggree, they suspect another hack will soon follow.
