Comment Re:Boring (Score 1) 1032
I for one welcome our new high voltage rodent overlords
The Environmental Impact of Google Searches 516
paleshadows writes "The Times Online reports that researchers claim that each query submitted to Google has a quantifiable impact. Specifically, two queries performed through a desktop computer generate about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a cup of tea. From the article: 'While millions of people tap into Google without considering the environment, a typical search generates about 7g of CO2 [whereas] boiling a kettle generates about 15g [...] Google is secretive about its energy consumption and carbon footprint. It also refuses to divulge the locations of its data centers. However, with more than 200m Internet searches estimated daily, the electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions caused by computers and the Internet is provoking concern. A recent report [argues that] the global IT industry generate[s] as much greenhouse gas as the world's airlines — about 2% of global CO2 emissions.'" Google makes an interesting focus for such claims, but similar extrapolations have been done before about, for instance, the energy costs of sending a short email.
Comment Re:Brain Underload - Brain Overload (Score 2, Interesting) 439
I must be even worse the pilots. Especially doing a Trans-Ocean flight, Say LHR to JFK each end completely manic, multiple commands from ATC, lots of other aircraft to watch out for, reconfiguration of the aircraft but in the Middle Several hours of not a lot.
That's one job I'd hate to do.
Submission + - Star Wars remade.. for $6000 (bbc.co.uk)
Dynamoo writes: "Ever fancied remaking a scifi classic on a tiny budget? A tiny production outfit in the UK have remade Star Wars for the sum of £3000 (about $6000). Using pretty standard PCs, household objects and quite a lot of imagination the result is not half bad.
There are some more galleries and torrent downloads available at the the Backyard Productions site. How this compares to Star Wreck might be a matter of some debate, although I prefer the ASCIImation version myself."
There are some more galleries and torrent downloads available at the the Backyard Productions site. How this compares to Star Wreck might be a matter of some debate, although I prefer the ASCIImation version myself."
Submission + - Dyslexia Common Among Entrepreneurs
Secret of Raising Smart Kids writes: "Five years ago Fortune magazine published a story about dyslexic business leaders including Craig McCaw, Richard Branson, and Charles Schwab. Now a study of entrepreneurs in the United States has found that 35 percent of entrepreneurs surveyed identified themselves as dyslexic. "We found that dyslexics who succeed had overcome an awful lot in their lives by developing compensatory skills," says Julie Logan, professor of entrepreneurship at the Cass Business School in London. "If you tell your friends and acquaintances that you plan to start a business, you'll hear over and over, 'It won't work. It can't be done.' But dyslexics are extraordinarily creative about maneuvering their way around problems." Kinkos' founder Paul Orfalea is almost proud of having dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. "I get bored easily, and that is a great motivator," says Orfalea. "I think everybody should have dyslexia and A.D.D.""
Submission + - Florida election ballots to be printed on-demand
davidwr writes: The St. Petersburg, FL, Times reports that Florida is going back to paper ballots, but with a twist. They are printing the ballots on-demand, right there at the polling booth. This isn't machine-assisted voting where a touch-screen fills in your printed ballot for you. It's just a way to save printing costs and reduce paper waste.
Submission + - AOL to shut down Netscape support
Kelson writes: "After years of trying to figure out what to do with it, AOL is officially discontinuing the Netscape browser. In the four and a half years after they dismantled the development team and spun off the Mozilla Foundation as a lost cause, only to see Firefox take off, AOL has tried twice to reinvent Netscape. There was the chimera-like Netscape 8, which used both Mozilla's and IE's rendering engines, and just months ago they released Netscape 9, trying to ride the social networking wave. AOL will release security fixes through February 1, 2008, after which the browser will officially be dead. For the "nostalgic," they suggest using Firefox and installing a Netscape theme."
Submission + - States to Track Drivers Through RFID Licenses (thenewspaper.com)
Matt writes: "Arizona, Michigan, Vermont and Washington are going to begin using RFID chips in drivers' licenses as part of a lets-track-everyone-in-the-western-hemisphere project. Well, at least privacy was nice while it lasted."
Submission + - Annals of Improbable Research is Now Free Online (improbable.com)
biohack writes: "Annals of Improbable Research, the magazine that hands out the Ig Nobel Prizes, is now available for free online (in both HTML and PDF format). The AIR editor Marc Abrahams assured readers that the print version will continue alongside the free website.
""Our readers like to lock themselves in the bathroom," he said. "Therefore, the magazine will also continue to be available in the best of all possible forms: traditional on-the-toilet-readable paper-and-ink."
Submission + - Domains May Disappear After Search 1
Ponca City, We Love You writes: "A perfect domain name pops into your mind, a quick check at your registrar reveals that the domain is available, you put off the registration a few minutes and when you come back to register the domain, it's taken by someone else. How much time has elapsed between the search and the attempted registration — in one case, less than 90 seconds. Daily Domainer has an interesting story alleging that there may be a leak that allows domain tasters to intercept, analyze and register your domain ideas in minutes. "Every time you do a whois search with any service, you run a risk of losing your domain," says one industry insider. ICANN's Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC ) has not been able to find hard evidence of Domain Name Front Running but they have issued an advisory (pdf) for people to come forward with hard evidence it is happening. Here is how domain name research theft crimes can occur and some tips to avoiding being a victim."
Submission + - First reflected light from an exoplanet
Roland Piquepaille writes: "European astronomers have for the first time ever been able to detect and monitor the visible light that is scattered in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, HD 189733b, which is also known as a 'hot Jupiter,' and orbits a star slightly cooler and less massive than the Sun located about 60 light-years from Earth. According to this ETH Zurich news release, 'Polarization technique focuses limelight,' the researchers used 'techniques similar to how Polaroid sunglasses filter away reflected sunlight to reduce glare. They also directly traced the orbit of the planet, a feat of visualization not possible using indirect methods.' The team thinks that their findings are opening new opportunities for exploring physical conditions on exoplanets. But read more for additional references and a great picture of this exoplanet."
Worm Exploiting Solaris Telnetd Vulnerability 164
MichaelSmith writes "Several news sites are reporting that a worm is starting to exploit the Solaris Telnet 0-day vulnerability. By adding simple text to the Telnet command, the system will skip asking for a username and password. If the systems are installed out of the box, they automatically come Telnet-enabled. 'The SANS Internet Storm Center, which monitors Internet threats, has noticed some increase in activity on the network port used by Solaris' telnet feature, according to an ISC blog posted on Tuesday. "One hopes that there aren't that many publicly reachable Solaris systems running telnet," ISC staffer Joel Esler wrote.'"
Vista Activation Cracked by Brute Force 470
Bengt writes "The Inquirer has a story about a brute force Vista key activation crack. It's nothing fancy; it's described as a 'glorified guesser.' The danger of this approach is that sooner or later the key cracker will begin activating legitimate keys purchased by other consumers. From the article: 'The code is floating, the method is known, and there is nothing MS can do at this point other than suck it down and prepare for the problems this causes. To make matters worse, Microsoft will have to decide if it is worth it to allow people to take back legit keys that have been hijacked, or tell customers to go away, we have your money already, read your license agreement and get bent, we owe you nothing.'"
Amazon Launches Answers Service Beta 66
Fennec writes "Amazon.com has launched a beta of a new service called Askville, yet another online answers service, flavored with "Experience Points, Levels, and Quest Coins." These coins will supposedly become useful some day on another Amazon service that's not actually open yet, Questville. If this virtual currency becomes useful, could Askville fill a place between strictly volunteer systems and pay-for-answer services like the now-defunct Google Answers? Or is it destined to fail in the already-saturated online Q&A market?"
Submission + - Study shows file sharing has no effect on CD sales
jibjibjib writes: "Ars Technica reports that a study by Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf, recently published in the Journal of Political Economy, shows that file sharing is not responsible for declining CD sales figures.
The study, entitled "The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis," claims that "a one-standard-deviation increase in file sharing reduces an album's weekly sales by a mere 368 copies, an effect that is too small to be statistically distinguishable from zero.""
The study, entitled "The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis," claims that "a one-standard-deviation increase in file sharing reduces an album's weekly sales by a mere 368 copies, an effect that is too small to be statistically distinguishable from zero.""
