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Comment Re:Just like that whole "Internet" fad too... (Score 1) 643

by Serindipidude (#35674370) Attached to: MS Global Strategy Chief: Tablets Are a Fad
Microsoft will be wrong about pad computers just like they were about the Internet and for the same reason. Microsoft wanted MSN to BE what the Internet IS, they were in such denial at the time because not to would mean admitting MSN had no future. Same now. If pad computers are the future, windows has no future. Microsoft is in denial again, well more of a corporate culture these days.

Comment It'll be just like it always was (Score 1) 347

by Serindipidude (#35555364) Attached to: Michio Kaku's Dark Prediction For the End of Moore's Law
Once CPU have reached their absolute limit, you'll just have to wait if you want a lot of computing done. Just like we used to when computers were first invented. The real limit to what can be done will most likely be communications issues bringing all the data together to be processed is likely to be a much slower process. And exactly what will your iPhone need to be doing with all that super computing power anyway?

Comment Real life sucks so online escape (Score 1) 157

by Serindipidude (#35275036) Attached to: Late Night Gaming Banned In Vietnam
The vietnamese government should be more concered about why everyone's life sucks so much they now have a 'problem' when so many people want to live full time in their online world. Sounds a lot like the second best option until living in a dream state 'a-la-inception' is possible. Although, do expect online gaming to go underground now like every other goverment prohibition in history. They won't see that coming either.
Earth

The Story of My As-Yet-Unverified Impact Crater 250

Posted by Soulskill from the dent-in-the-world dept.
tetrahedrassface writes "When I was very young, my dad took me on a trip to his parents' farm. He wanted to show me 'The Crater.' We walked a long way through second generation hardwoods and finally stood on the rim of a hole that has no equal in this area. As I grew up, I became more interested in The Crater, and would always tell friends about it. It is roughly 1,200 feet across and 120 feet deep, and has a strange vibe about it. When you walk up to it, you feel like something really big happened here. Either the mother of all caves is down there, or a large object smashed into this place a long, long time ago. I bought aerial photos when I was twelve and later sent images from GIS to a geologist at a local university. He pretty much laughed me out of his office, saying that it was a sinkhole. He did wish me luck, however. It may be sinkhole. Who knows? Last week I borrowed a metal detector and went poking around, and have found the strangest shrapnel pieces I have ever seen. They are composed of a metal that reacts strongly to acids. The largest piece so far reacted with tap water and dish-washing detergent. My second trip today yielded lots of strange new pieces of metal, and hopefully, one day the truth will be known. Backyard science is so much fun. And who knows; if it is indeed a cave, maybe Cerberus resides there."
Earth

An Animal That Lives Without Oxygen 166

Posted by timothy from the besides-me dept.
Julie188 writes "Scientists have found the first multicellular animals that apparently live entirely without oxygen. The creatures reside deep in one of the harshest environments on earth: the Mediterranean Ocean's L'Atalante basin, which contains salt brine so dense that it doesn't mix with the oxygen-containing waters above."
Earth

Planned Nuclear Reactors Will Destroy Atomic Waste 344

Posted by Soulskill from the but-where-will-we-get-our-superheroes dept.
separsons writes "A group of French scientists are developing a nuclear reactor that burns up actinides — highly radioactive uranium isotopes. They estimate that 'the volume of high-level nuclear waste produced by all of France’s 58 reactors over the past 40 years could fit in one Olympic-size swimming pool.' And they're not the only ones trying to eliminate atomic waste: Researchers at the University of Texas in Austin are working on a fusion-fission reactor. The reactor destroys waste by firing streams of neutrons at it, reducing atomic waste by up to 99 percent!"
Idle

Directed Energy Weapon Downs Mosquitos 428

Posted by samzenpus from the two-pound-hammer-and-ten-penny-nail dept.
wisebabo writes "Nathan Myhrvol demonstrated at TED a laser, built from parts scrounged from eBay, capable of shooting down not one but 50 to 100 mosquitos a second. The system is 'so precise that it can specify the species, and even the gender, of the mosquito being targeted.' Currently, for the sake of efficiency, it leaves the males alone because only females are bloodsuckers. Best of all the system could cost as little as $50. Maybe that's too expensive for use in preventing malaria in Africa but I'd buy one in a second!" We ran a story about this last year. It looks like the company has added a bit more polish, and burning mosquito footage to their marketing.
Earth

Dinosaur Feather Color Discovered 219

Posted by timothy from the horsefeathers-still-a-mystery dept.
anzha writes "Do you remember being a kid and told we'd never know what colors the dinosaurs were? For at least some, that's no longer true. Scientists working in the UK and China have closely examined the fossils of multiple theropods and actually found the colors and patterns that were present in the fossilized proto-feathers. So far, the answer is orange, black and white in banded and other patterns. The work also thoroughly thrashes the idea that fossils might not be feathers, but collagen fibers instead. If this holds up, Birds Are Dinosaurs. Period. And colorful!"
Microsoft

Microsoft Facing Class-Action Suit Over Xbox Live Points 107

Posted by Soulskill from the demo-suit-is-free dept.
An anonymous reader tips news that a lawyer in Pennsylvania has filed a class-action lawsuit against Microsoft, alleging that the company's handling of Xbox Live transactions is, in some cases, fraudulent. "Samuel Lassoff, of Horsham, PA, said an invoice he received earlier this month from Microsoft included charges for purchases he couldn't complete due to a balky download system — and he claimed it wasn't an accident. Microsoft 'engaged in a scheme to unjustly enrich itself through their fraudulent handling' of his account, Lassoff charged in papers filed earlier this week in US District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania. ... 'Microsoft breached that contract by collecting revenues for digital goods and services which were not provided,' Lassoff said in his lawsuit."
Image

PhD Candidate Talks About the Physics of Space Battles 361

Posted by samzenpus from the load-photon-torpedoes dept.
darthvader100 writes "Gizmodo has run an article with some predictions on what future space battles will be like. The author brings up several theories on propulsion (and orbits), weapons (explosives, kinetic and laser), and design. Sounds like the ideal shape for spaceships will be spherical, like the one in the Hitchhiker's Guide movie."
Space

Super-Earths Discovered Orbiting Nearby, Sun-Like Star 242

Posted by Soulskill from the i-for-one dept.
likuidkewl writes "Two super-earths, 5 and 7.5 times the size of our home, were found to be orbiting 61 Virginis a mere 28 light years away. 'These detections indicate that low-mass planets are quite common around nearby stars. The discovery of potentially habitable nearby worlds may be just a few years away,' said Steven Vogt, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC. Among hundreds of our nearest stellar neighbors, 61 Vir stands out as being the most nearly similar to the Sun in terms of age, mass, and other essential properties."

Comment Who is still an eBay customer anyway? (Score 1) 362

by Serindipidude (#29410097) Attached to: eBay Denies New Design Is Broken, Blames Users
Just how many times does eBay have you show you the utter contempt they have for their customers before you get the message? I'll never visit eBay ever again and that thought makes me happy everytime. Come on folks, move on already, nothing to see at eBay that you can't see at 10 other places. You don't have to line up again for another slap in the face, you're better than that. You deserve better than that.

Comment MS entitlement - everything (Score 1) 370

by Serindipidude (#29294737) Attached to: How To Hire a Hacker
Your Microsoft reference reminds me a of technical blog I read recently that was completely devoted to the author's internal conflict (don't think he realised what he was revealing) about being excited to be promoted into Redmond and his dissapointment at loosing his platinum frequent flyer status as a result of that.

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