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Comment Re:Open Source (Score 2, Insightful) 130

Why wouldn't they be allowed to take the Android source code and make their own OS out of it?

As a matter of fact they can collaborate with Google on this... If I'm not mistaken it's called a "Community" which consists of "Collaborators".

And you would trust China to Collaborate? I don't think I would. I could however, see Chinese engineers take the existing, available AndroidOS source, ad in some goodies, and notpublish the source changes.

Comment Re:Creative Computing Mag was just as important! (Score 1) 327

Creative Computing Mag had a huge impact on my Software dev career as well. I started out with a hobby computer back in 1978 (SOL-20, and yes, I'm old :) ) having a limited functionality basic along with 3K of workspace. It really taught me how to search for and fix bugs (keying / entry bugs, platform inconsistency bugs, Language Version bugs, etc). I owe a lot to this process, in teaching me "ok, what will it take to make X work _here_"?

Recently, there was a dicussion with my cube-mates regarding the books that had the greatest impact of their development skills. The first book I pulled out was my K&R C book (2nd Ed or something), and then I brought in my copy of Creative Computing's Book of 101 Basic Computer Games (Microcomputer edition).

Comment Re:I think its entirely reasonable to say... (Score 2, Interesting) 439

Disclaimer: University of Michigan Solar Car Team alum

Cool, someone who knows this stuff (I don't). So given the following numbers from TFA:

The silicon-wire arrays absorb up to 96 percent of incident sunlight at a single wavelength and 85 percent of total collectible sunlight.

and

The silicon wire arrays created by Atwater and his colleagues are able to convert between 90 and 100 percent of the photons they absorb into electrons

and

High absorption plus good conversion makes for a high-quality solar cell

And if the current efficiency is around 40%, my two questions are:

  • What kind of absorbtion level (%) and conversion rate (%) is giving us 40% efficiency now?
  • What kind of conversion efficiency can we expect with and absorbtion level 85% and a converion rate of 90-100%?

In essence, I'm asking:

  • what did it take to get us where we are now re efficiency?
  • what do you expect this new stuff will get us re: efficiency?

I am an idealist at heart, so the idea of breakthrough efficiency levels in solar energy has my mind running a million "what if"s! I just can't imagine all that would be possible with that type of enery available to us.

Comment Re:Report shows people are still human (Score 1) 125

Oh, but when it comes to a cop, they better be more than perfect.

Should they be perfect or "more than perfect"? No, but I would hope that they are better at demonstrating an adherence to the very law(s) that they strive to uphold, and better at putting practices and policies for that purpose.

The theory is that these are officers of the law. They represent The Law. Y'know, serve and protect, uphold the law ... that sort of thing. In theory they should be held to, and hold themselves to, a higher standard of practice.

I imagine that there are very defined practices for storing or securing service revolvers while both on and off duty. Which is where they'd see that 74 percent, or 179 guns, were lost "because officers did not properly secure them". And also, why the DHS did not have "specific procedures and policies in place regarding firearms".

In this case, the DHS itself is not holding itself to a higher ideal. I can't imagine what policy would say that keeping your weapon in a lunch box constitutes good practice or "reasonable care".

sigh ... I miss Judge Dredd.

Transportation

Robotic Audi To Brave Pikes Peak Without a Driver 197

Scifi83 writes "A team of researchers at the Center for Automotive Research at Stanford (CARS) has filled the trunk of an Audi TTS with computers and GPS receivers, transforming it into a vehicle that drives itself. The car will attempt Pikes Peak without a driver at race speeds, something that's never been done."

Comment Re:For those who don't want to skim TFA (Score 1) 189

Good quick summary. Please mod Parent up. A few points, though:
  • it's a new device, so it's possible (probable) that many / all of these features are coming ('cept for hardware encryption which may be limited to HW upgrades)
  • Have application signing with self-signed certs as an enforceable policy.

Comment Prototype solution is around for this problem (Score 1) 839

While I can't say that this is a solved problem, it does appear to be a common one, particularly where it's cold / snowy. I'm betting not too many people from Arizona are in on a solution.

This person has prototyped a solution for LED vehicle lights as well as traffic lights (makes sense as they suffer from the same problem) - heated traffic light lens

Comment Re:Ruling is despite plausable evidence supporting (Score 1) 1056

You mean, something to the effect that he was a normal, healthy, happy boy before he got the vaccine. Then he got sick right after the vaccine, and subsequently developed the signs and symptoms associated with autistic behaviour?

From the Canadian public health agency:

"Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative used in many vaccines. In large concentrations, or over extended periods of exposure, mercury can cause damage to the brain and the kidneys."

"Nevertheless, NACI has recommended a long-term goal of removing thimersol from vaccines, provided that safe alternatives to this preservative can be found. This will help to reduce unnecessary environmental exposure to mercury."

While it is smart PR to state that there is no "proven" link, Kids are nevertheless getting caught in the grip of this poison. It is to me, somewhat telling that the agency is pushing for the removal of Mercury in these drugs. Me, I'm sort of a fan of not having mercury voluntarily injected into either myself or my child.

Unix

Why Do We Name Servers the Way We Do? 1397

jfruhlinger writes "If you use a Unix machine, it probably has a funny name. And if you work in an environment where there are multiple Unix machines, they probably have funny names that are variations on a theme. No, you're not the only one! This article explores the phenomenon, showing that even the CIA uses a whimsical server naming scheme." What are some of your best (worst?) naming schemes?
Apple

Apple Intros 17" Unibody MBP, DRM-Free iTunes 1079

Phil Schiller delivered the keynote at MacWorld, the first after the Steve Jobs era of keynotes. Here is Engadget's live blog. The big news, predicted by many rumor sites, was the introduction of the unibody 17" MacBook Pro. As rumored, the battery is not removable, but it's claimed to provide 8 hours of battery life (7 hours with the discrete graphics): "3x the charges and lifespan of the industry standard." $2,799, 2.66 GHz and 4 GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive, shipping at the end of January. There is a battery exchange program, and there is an option for a matte display. The other big news is that iTunes is going DRM-free: 8M songs today, all 10+M by the end of March. Song pricing will be flexible, as the studios have been demanding; the lowest song price is $0.69. Apple also introduced the beta of a Google Docs-like service, iWork.com.

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