Comment Re: 5, you're doing it wrong (Score 1) 341
I had the original for 18 years. Then a wire broke in the PS2 cable. It is possibly the best piece of hardware I've ever laid my hand on.
Comment Re:Good ol' Putin (Score 1) 285
Wait. These articles are able to glorify Putin in anyone's eyes? I thought by now every new piece about how he saved a puppy from a burning house serves only to further ridicule him and make fun of him. He tries so hard that it became a kind of comedy performance. With a lot of these articles, couple years ago, you could mistake them from something from Onion.com. He became a caricature of himself, an iron-fisted evil dictator who's trying so hard people laugh at him.
Comment Re:should have been free? (Score 4, Interesting) 135
I am not so sure there is that much to be ticked-off by. Sagan's widow is quoted as saying that "...Sagan would have been thrilled to see his life’s work made available to the public." That does not sound like a greedy estate trying to get rich from selling stuff she inherited (not that there would be anything wrong with that). TFA is unclear on what the money went towards, I can imagine that transporting, sorting, filing and displaying the (large) collection is no easy feat and that the money is perhaps to be spent on that? Mrs. Druyan was not only Sagan's wife but also co-author, I don't see her as waiting for the highest bidder to auction off her inheritance.
Comment Re:Good, but a little pointless. (Score 2, Insightful) 137
"Utterly dominate" as in ~8 % of the mobile phone market? Or ~25 % of the smartphone market? Apple is big, but utter domination looks different, IMO.
Ask Slashdot: Instead of a Laptop, a Tiny Computer and Projector? 339
rover42 writes "I travel a lot, usually on a tight budget and often on airlines with tight luggage weight restrictions and high fees for going over, so traveling light is very important to me. So is connecting to the net when traveling, which creates a conflict. I do not trust machines in Internet cafes and my laptop adds significant weight & bulk to my luggage. I could buy a small netbook or a MacBook Air, but is there another choice? There are quite a few tiny computers available, Raspberry Pi and the like. Alone, they don't solve my problem because you need a screen and that is at least as heavy as a laptop. However, there are also quite a few tiny projectors. Would a tiny computer plus a tiny projector do the trick? Which ones? All I need for software is some open source Unix (any *BSD or Linux distro should be fine, or even Minix), a browser and an editor. I don't need large storage or a fast CPU. Has anyone done something like this? Does anyone have a recommendation for either the computer or the projector?"
Comment Re:What is the problem being solved? (Score 1) 134
While I agree with your point about touchscreens in cars, I don't see this as a solution, since these buttons are not pressed, they are touched, you can't just use tactile feedback to locate the right button and then press it, you'll "press" any button you touch. Still, I am curious where this technology will evolve and what uses it will find.
Comment Pentium (Score 0) 325
Didn't Intel do something like this in 1994?
Comment Re:new slogan (Score 1) 811
Funny and wrong. The energy decreases with the square of distance, no matter how directional your antenna is.
Comment Re:Missing Option (Score 1) 337
Czech Republic.
Comment MSF are one of the best (Score 1) 570
Several of my colleagues work/have worked for Doctors without Borders and through them I have met some of their non-medical personnel as well (esp. the logisticians). They strike me as one of the most deserving charities who provide relief without agenda (they are secular). I occasionally donate to other charities as well, but MSF are my No. 1 and I admire their work.
Comment Re:I have problems with this (Score 5, Insightful) 1319
I was going to write basically the same comment. You'd think that if they truly believed they would not have a problem going to a lecture and hearing arguments against their belief. It's the furious opposition to education that betrays how little some people *really* believe. They just cover their ears and go "la la la" not to hear anything that would lead to even worse cognitive dissonance than they already have to face.
Sources Say Apple Originally Planned AMD Chip For MacBook Air 197
Several media sources (here's PC Magazine's version), all seemingly based on an account at SemiAccurate citing (but not naming) "multiple sources," report that Apple originally planned an AMD-chip based MacBook Air, rather than the Intel-based version that emerged later ("Plan B," says the report).
Man Calls 911 To Fix Broken iPhone 244
tekgoblin writes "For some reason Michael Skopec of Illinois thought that calling 911 would get his broken iPhone fixed. It got him arrested instead. From the article: 'After the five calls were made police traced the calls to his home in Illinois where they found him drunk and belligerent. He was arrested because he would not follow the police officers orders. It has yet to be made clear what he was actually trying to accomplish by calling 911 to get help with his iPhone. Although he was arrested he only faces misdemeanor charges and has to be in court next week.'"
"World's Most Relaxing Music" Composed 239
Musical group Marconi Union and Lyz Cooper, the UK's leading therapeutic sound practitioner, have released what they claim is the world's most relaxing music. They contend that the calming effects of "Weightless" are not subjective but are based on scientific evidence. The music was found to cause brainwaves and heart rate to synchronize with the rhythm, reduce blood pressure and lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. In fact, Scientists played the song to 40 women and found it to be 11% more effective at helping them relax than songs by Enya, Mozart and Coldplay. The eight-minute track is so effective at inducing sleep, motorists have now been warned they should not listen to it while driving.
Was the iPod Accessory Port Inspired By a 40-Year-Old Camera? 263
An anonymous reader writes "While Samsung has been accused of repeatedly borrowing everything from Apple's hardware, to packaging and accessories, it appears that all current iDevices share a port which is very similar to one found on a forty-year-old Polaroid camera. It gets more interesting when you realize that camera was the 'supreme achievement' of a man Steve Jobs idolized. Edwin Land was the creator of the Polaroid camera and, if Steve Jobs obsessed over Land's devices the way many do with iPhones, etc. today, there's a chance this similarity is not a coincidence."
