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Education

Peru Orders 260K OLPCs, Mexico to Get 50K 271

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the see-we're-not-scared dept.
eldavojohn writes "Perhaps in response to recent news that the lawsuit against the OLPC may be a scam, Peru's government has announced they want 260,000 OLPCs and a Mexican billionaire by the name of Carlos Slim has also asked for 50,000 that he wishes to distribute in Mexico. Things are looking good for the OLPC."
Biotech

Duke Scientists Map 'Silenced Genes' 42

Posted by Zonk from the you-in-the-back-speak-up dept.
palegray.net writes "Wired reports on new research into the phenomenon of 'silenced genes', genetic constructs that have no 'partner' in case one goes wrong over the course of your lifetime. Scientists at Duke University have mapped some 200 genes that may 'play a profound role' in the health of the average human. 'Many of the newly found imprinted genes are in regions of chromosomes already linked to the development of obesity, diabetes, cancer and some other major diseases, the researchers reported ... Scientists had thought imprinted genes would account for about 1 percent of the human genome. While scientists must double-check that the newly identified ones are truly silenced, the new map matches that tally.'"
Space

Journal SPAM: Is Mankind Shortening the Life of the Whole Universe? 8

Journal by Jeremiah Cornelius

Like Schroedinger's cat, looking from inside the box, two American physicists have postulated that our study of the universe may have shortened the lifetime of the cosmos. Quantum theory says that when we measure something, we select a specific quantum state from a multitude of states, each with varying probabilities. The result in observing dark energy, is that we may have confirmed a state whe
Amiga

Submission + - AmigaOS 4.0 for Classic Amiga available now

Submitted by
GURU Meditation 8000
GURU Meditation 8000 writes: "ACube Systems Srl is pleased to to announce the immediate availability of the awaited AmigaOS 4.0 for Amiga 1200, 3000(T) or 4000(T) with a PowerPC CPU, developed by Hyperion Entertainment VOF. It is now possible to benefit of all the features of this new AmigaOS release, an operating system famous for its efficiency and small footprint.

AmigaOS 4.0, thanks to its power and optimization, succeeds in using at the maximum even systems running at 160Mhz, allowing the multimedia performances and the usability everyone expects from AmigaOS.

The interest expressed towards this new AmigaOS version is so high that, actually, orders are twice than expected. This shows that the Amiga community is still strong and that it enjoys and support the efforts made by Hyperion Entertainment VOF and ACube Systems Srl to develop and promote concrete and powerful products. It's possible to order AmigaOS 4.0 for "Classic" Amigas directly from ACube Systems or from a reseller listed on page http://www.acube-systems.com/resellers"
Yahoo!

Submission + - Church files order for Yahoo to release identities (ledger-enquirer.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Yahoo and consumer opinion site RateItAll had until Friday to follow an order by a Muscogee County, GA Superior Court judge to disclose the identities of 5 people who emailed and posted anonymously about Cascade Hills Church of Columbus, GA and its pastor Bill Purvis.
United States

Submission + - Fire and Home Safety (firesafecalifornia.com)

Submitted by
Neil Porte
Neil Porte writes: "California Fires....What to Do ? "Protect Your Family, Home and Property"

In the wake of the 2007 Fire Storms, the worst in decades...We Need Help!

Remember 2003 ? Over 700,000 acres burned and over 3,500 homes were destroyed, 24 lives lost including 1 Firefighter.

Problem: Information is disseminated throughout the internet and often times difficult to locate and understand.

Solution: One-Source All the TOP Fire and Home Safety information consolidated into one location...www.FireSafeCalifornia.com

I am a retired Firefighter who designed this website because Fire Codes, brush clearance guides, contractors, the correct plants to use, OR not to use, are all on different websites and some information is burried inside these sites unless you are familiar with specific terminologies.

www.FireSafeCalifornia.com is a free Fire and Home Safety website providing valuable links to Fire Departments, Fire Department brush clearance guides, approved contractors and TOP websites that provide plants, tools, guides and tips on how to clear brush and landscape property, fire safety, child and animal safety, disaster planning and much more.

Please see www.FireSafeCalifornia.com

I will place any good company with Fire and Home Safety information on my site.

Help protect yor Family, Home, Property and Animals

Thank You

Sincerely,

Neil"
Sun Microsystems

Submission + - Sun accused of hardball open source project tactic 2

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: The OpenDS project now appears close to extinction now that the people running the show, including the person who has contributed > 50% of the code have withdrawn from the project after Sun tried to force them to relinquish control.

In an open letter to the project and Sun, Neil Wilson gives the history behind their decision to retire from the project.

Sun have tried to put a different spin on the story and discredit Neil (Ludo, Eduardo-1, Eduardo-2) but were firmly rebutted by another (ex) member of the team Trey.

We will now have to wait and see if Jonathan Schwartz really means the hype he has been generating about Sun's commitment to Open Source — preferably by firing the execs responsible for this mess.
Software

Submission + - Smarter homes with an Amigo 1

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "I'm sure that some of you remember Jini, an initiative launched in 1998 by Bill Joy of Sun Microsystems. This software was supposed to turn all the devices we use into 'network citizens,' as Joy said. It never really worked. And even if the electronic devices we own are increasingly network compatible, they still are unable to work together intelligently. This is why the European Union has funded a project to allow your fridge or your TV to communicate with your phone or your PC. This project, named Amigo, will end in February 2008 and was granted 13 millions by the EU. This project enrolled powerful partners such as France Telecom, Microsoft or Philips which pay the rest of the bill, expected to reach 23 millions. The researchers think their approach will be successful because it's an entirely open source project and everyone can participate. But read more for additional references and a picture describing how the Amigo home network will work."
Biotech

Submission + - Duke Scientists Map 'Silenced Genes' (wired.com)

Submitted by
palegray.net
palegray.net writes: "From a newly posted Wired.com article: Remember biology class where you learned that children inherit one copy of a gene from mom and a second from dad? There's a twist: Some of those genes arrive switched off, so there is no backup if the other copy goes bad, making you more vulnerable to disorders from obesity to cancer.

Duke University scientists now have identified these "silenced genes," creating the first map of this unique group of about 200 genes believed to play a profound role in people's health."
GUI

Submission + - better writing

Submitted by cinnamon colbert
cinnamon colbert writes: much of the writing in the posts on /. violates one of the 1st principals of effective communication: go easy on words like "very" "interesting" and so forth. Maybe the /coders could put in code which automatically strips out these words, which on wikipedia, are aptly named "weasel words". Which brings up another thought, howcome /. posts and replies don't auto link to relevant wiki articles ? Finally, can the /. editors have a rule that a post has to go back to an original source if available ? Many times, I see science posts which are based on a news story which is based on a press releas which may or may not (uusally not) give a url for the underlying science, which is usually a report or paper in the peer reviewed literature. The post should have a url to this underlying report which is the basis for the long chain of secondary reports. If the post is based on a press release which is based on an UNpublished peace of work, this should be noted, as unpublished work has (at least to the scientist) a connotion of second rateness. PS: the wording on the submission page about which section to use is unclear; please rephrase, thanks
PHP

Submission + - Xomol CMS - Open Source project from Mexico. (xomol.net)

Submitted by
xomol
xomol writes: "From the land of the Pyramides and Tequila comes now a new Open Source Project. Xomol CMS.

Xomol CMS is an open source project. A program that will help you to setup and manage your profesional website in just minutes.

Take the advantage controling a Database driven website. It's easy, interactive and dynamic!

Xomol CMS is a bundle of the most important modules you need to power wour website like a pro. Content Manager, Virtual Store, Downloads, Contact form, Tell a friend. Is Multilingual and supports almost all currencies of the world. Unlimited Categories and Subcategories and Products/articles. CSS Administrator, Metatags manager, Search engine friendly urls, FCK Editor and more...

Download it, install it, test it and let the creators know your impressions."
Robotics

Submission + - The robot with a soft touch

Submitted by TheLostSamurai
TheLostSamurai writes: Reuters is carrying a story about a robot strong enough to help lift a man out of bed and gentle enough to pick up a loaf of bread without crushing it. "Twendy-One, named as a 21st century edition of a previous robot, Wendy, has soft hands and fingers that gently grip, enough strength to support humans as they sit up and stand, and supple movements that respond to human touch." The manufacturer's site has several videos of the robot in action.
GUI

Submission + - Dogs trained to use computers (presscue.com)

Submitted by
Canine at the Keyboard
Canine at the Keyboard writes: "Austrian researchers have successfully trained dogs to use computers, according to a study published online in Animal Cognition. Friederike Range and colleagues from the University of Vienna in Austria have shown for the first time that dogs can classify complex color photographs and place them into categories in the same way that humans do, and the dogs successfully demonstrate their learning through the use of computer automated touch-screens, eliminating potential human influence. Considering that million monkeys at keyboards made the Internet, I wonder what contribution the dogs would make."

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