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Australia

Submission + - UK Introduces Changes to Immigration Sponsorship M (topimmigrationadvisor.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: UK Border Agency (UKBA) will introduce changes to the sponsorship management system (SMS) on 1 October 2011, which will change how people apply for Restricted Certificates of Sponsorship (RCoS) under Tier 2 General visa category.

Those who already have a sponsorship management system account can submit or withdraw applications for RCoS under Tier 2 General category, track the progress and outcome of their applications, or make a new RCoS application. Existing account users will also be able to view their RCoS allocation, including the number of RCoS assigned.

Comment Re:Starting-point (Score 1) 173

by phyzz (#37639172) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Good, Relevant Usability Book?

Too bad their website is such a cluttered mess built on what appears to be a default CMS template.

I fail to see how this would be detrimental to usability : I am completely comfortable with the layout of the website, if not a little overwhelmed by text and ads...

Not all websites must be Web 3.14 with CSS and AJAX spewing all over the place and a completely separate navigation and history paradigm from you web browser (I hate when I cannot see precisely each "page" I visited on the web, unless of course it is a "news" site inc. Slashdot or Facebook).

Keep it Simple, people ! I want to be able to disable Javascript and every other plugins in my browser and still be allowed to consume the web content, otherwise I won't bother and pick up a good book (THAT's good old nice usability)

Comment Re:Where have I seen this before (Score 1) 259

by phyzz (#37611266) Attached to: Severe Arctic Ozone Loss

The stratosphere is the layer of the atmosphere where temperature goes hotter the higher you go since the ozone gas releases heat when broken into monoatomic oxygen and diatomic oxygen by the ultraviolet rays of the Sun.

I suppose the parent estimated that some heat was also absorbed from the troposphere (the layer directly below the stratosphere, and the lowest of the layers, where all meteorological events take place). Since the greenhouse gases are in the troposphere, they shield the stratosphere from the heat radiating from the Earth back to space.
Technology

Submission + - CF6 Jet Engine Celebrates 40 Years in Service (gereports.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: GE Aviation’s CF6, its first commercially successful jet engine, celebrated 40 years in service on August 5. The CF6 ushered in decades of engine leadership that continues: at this summer’s Paris Air Show, CFM International, the joint venture between GE and Snecma, announced a record-setting $27 billion in orders for its new LEAP engine. Like many great successes, the CF6’s was the product of initial setbacks with GE’s first commercial engine, the CJ805. But the company learned from its early mistakes. “Do it right the first time you’re going to have it around for a long time to come,” said Gerhard Neumann, the former chief executive of GE Aviation. In April 1968, American Airlines and United Airlines chose the CF6-6, GE’s new 40,000 pound thrust engine, for their new fleets of Douglas DC-10 Series 10 aircraft. On August 5, 1971, American’s DC-10, powered by the CF6-6, made its first passenger flight, from Los Angeles to Chicago.
Cellphones

Submission + - Verizon Makes It Easy To Go Over Your Data Cap (itworld.com) 1

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "Verizon Wireless has revamped its video service; many Android phones can now stream a full episodes from a number of current TV shows. You can even choose to just buy access for a day if you don't see yourself using the service often. Sounds great, right? Well, except for the part where all of Verizon's current smartphone plans have data caps — and the new service makes it awfully easy to go over them and incur overage charges."
The Internet

Submission + - Former Wikileaks spokesman destroyed documents (activepolitic.com) 2

Submitted by bs0d3
bs0d3 writes: Former Wikileaks spokesman Daniel Domscheit-Berg claims to have destroyed more than 3,500 unpublished files that had been sent from unknown informants and are now apparently lost irrevocably. Among the files destroyed include the U.S. gov's "no-fly list" and inside information from 20 right wing organizations. Daniel Domscheit-Berg is now known as one of the founders of openleaks.
IBM

Submission + - IBM Chief: All CEOs Reluctant to Invest in R&D

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: In his Centennial Conversation at the Computer History Museum, IBM CEO Sam Palmisano emphasized the importance of investing in R&D, even in a down economy. 'Shareholder expectations for higher returns don't diminish when the economy stutters,' said Sam. 'And yet, Tom Watson Sr. actually increased research investment during the Great Depression.' Palmisano added, 'I will tell you that my own instinctive reflex isn't to continue investing $6 billion a year during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. In that regard, I'm like all CEOs.' Yes, to paraphrase Lloyd Bentsen, Sam Palmisano is no Tom Watson. And while he didn't mention it in his speech, just days earlier, Palmisano exercised an option for 300,000 IBM shares at $97.59, which were immediately unloaded for more than $50 million at prices ranging from $178.72-$183.63 (IBM closed Friday at $157.54). Watson, by the way, famously refused to grant stock options to himself and other execs.
Education

Submission + - Teacher Cannot Be Sued For Denying Creationism (csmonitor.com)

Submitted by gzipped_tar
gzipped_tar writes: A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that a public high school teacher in Mission Viejo, California may not be sued for making hostile remarks about religion in his classroom. The decision stems from a lawsuit filed by a student charging that the teacher’s hostile remarks about creationism and religious faith violated a First Amendment mandate that the government remain neutral in matters of religion. A three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the lawsuit against an advanced placement history teacher must be thrown out of court because the teacher was entitled to immunity.
Power

Submission + - 13-Year-Old Makes Fibonacci Solar Breakthrough (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: While most 13-year-olds spend their free time playing video games or cruising Facebook, one 7th grader was trekking through the woods uncovering a mystery of science. After studying how trees branch in a very specific way, Aidan Dwyer created a solar cell tree that produces 20-50% more power than a uniform array of photovoltaic panels. His impressive results show that using a specific formula for distributing solar cells can drastically improve energy generation. The study earned Aidan a provisional U.S patent – it’s a rare find in the field of technology and a fantastic example of how biomimicry can drastically improve design.

Comment Stealth vs. rotors; rotary-wing vs. fixed-wing (Score 1) 276

by phyzz (#30846020) Attached to: NASA Designs All-Electric Personal Flight Vehicle

I fail to see how this aircraft would be stealthy, even being built with composite material. The huge propellers would shine like hell on a Doppler radar's scope.

Furthermore several two-place fully electric aircraft exists already, they are certified as Light Sports Aircraft, and so have by nature VSTOL capacity by nature...

People tend to forget that the only advantage of the helicopter (or any powered rotary-wing aircraft, excluding autogyros) is the capacity to hover. In all other cases, fixed-wing aircraft are superior in speed, endurance, range, safety, etc. (trade-offs being made to allow either low stall speeds or high dash speeds or high operational altitude or heavy cargo capacity or oversized cargo capacity or CowboyNeal transportation...) You could land some VSTOL aircraft in half a football field, and take off with some restrictions.

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