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Space

Submission + - Revolutionary Robotic Satellite Launches Tonight

Submitted by
airshowfan
airshowfan writes: "When a geosynchronous satellite is launched into space, no human ever gets to touch it again, so other than for minor software issues, there is no way to fix it if it breaks, so it has to work perfectly, almost autonomously, for 20 years non-stop. There is also no way to refuel it once it's out of thruster fuel, the reason why it can't last more than 20 years even if it gets to that mark working very well, with batteries and solar cells still going, which is often the case. If only there were a robotic spacecraft floating around the geostationary ring that could change broken satellite components and refuel those older satellites, then satellites would be a lot less risky and would last a lot longer. Does this robotic satellite mechanic sound like science ficion? It launches tonight."
Communications

Submission + - College Co-Op Programs and CS Courses

Submitted by
Red Cape
Red Cape writes: "I'm a student looking at colleges. Specifically Penn State's IST Program and Drexel and Pittsburgh's Computer Science Programs. I want to go in to the Computer Security business, but I also want some real experience. Not limited to the ones mentioned, what colleges do Slashdot users know with good co-op programs? Please explain why they're so good. Also, I'm good at a nice amount of languages(C++, Java, PHP, Perl, etc), is there a way to choose CS courses that won't bore me to death?"
Education

Submission + - Best degree selection?

Submitted by
Flyinfungi
Flyinfungi writes: "I am a college student going on his second year. I am at the point now in my college where I have to pick a specific major related to a computer degree. My three choices are Computer Science Major, Information Technology Major, a general degree focused on computers with three specialties at the end which include software engineering, networking, or security, and my last choice in majors is Information Systems which is 2/3 computer orientated with 1/3 business. I have talked to various professors on the subject with some very mixed results. They say they are all good while nudging me to their particular major. I get the feeling that each path will lead me more or less at the same destination. Is this true? Do all three in the end give similar job opportunities, pay, and job openings once I am out of college or is there one that is a better road I should take?"
Communications

Submission + - Vonage guilty in Verizon VOIP patent case

Submitted by 0110011001110101
0110011001110101 writes: A jury ordered Internet phone provider Vonage Holdings Corp. to pay $58 million for infringing on three patents owned by Verizon Communications Inc. Thursday.

The eight-member federal jury also said Vonage must pay a 5.5 percent royalty rate on Vonage sales going forward.

After a day of deliberations, jurors concluded that Vonage infringed on two patents covering technology to connect Internet calls to the traditional phone system and for features such as call-waiting and voice-mail. The jury said Vonage also infringed on a third patent involving wireless Internet phone calls.
Google

Submission + - Google Docs and Copyrights

Submitted by
Jim_Austin
Jim_Austin writes: "Hi folks I've been considering using Google Docs for an editorial effort I'm involved in (not-for-profit but professional) and our preliminary experiences are encouraging. But I'm quite troubled by the terms of use. In particular:

By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through Google services which are intended to be available to the members of the public, you grant Google a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reproduce, adapt, modify, publish and distribute such Content on Google services for the purpose of displaying, distributing and promoting Google services.
That's not so good, but, since I'm not making anything public maybe I'm okay. However, my publication is international and one of my editors is in Spain. The version of the terms of service she sees (from Spain) does not include the phrase "which are intended to be available to the members of the public." Here's a link to that page: http://www.google.com/google-d-s/intl/en-GB/terms. html And here's the language from that page:

By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive licence to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services.
Finally, note the provision 1.5, which says:

1.5 If there is any contradiction between what the Additional Terms say and what the Universal Terms say, then the Additional Terms shall take precedence in relation to that Service.
So are people who use Google docs signing over the copyright on everything that passes through it? Thanks, Jim Austin"
Music

Submission + - RIAA Sues Ohio University students

Submitted by VxSote
VxSote writes: I'm sure that a lot of readers saw this coming: the RIAA has sued 50 students at Ohio University, and has offered to settle with them for $3000 each. From the article: "After being asked by the Recording Industry Association of America to pass the letters on to students whose Internet addresses were found to be involved with illegal sharing of copyrighted music, the university gave the students the bad news on Monday."
PlayStation (Games)

Submission + - Sony takes card games, "Car Wars" online?

Submitted by
wjamesau
wjamesau writes: "At GDC, a Sony source tells GigaGamez that some card games from Worlds Apart (aquired by SOE last year) will go online: "Stargate, Pirates, and Star Trek. The catch here is that real-world tie-ins will be the order of the day for all of these games. Players will likely be able to swap in-game cards for real-world cards, and vice versa. Wizards of the Coast has been doing this for years with the Internet version of the collectible card game that started it all, Magic: The Gathering Online, and it's not surprising that Sony would ape the practice. Elsewhere at SOE, the company is currently in negotiations with Steve Jackson Games to produce a Car Wars-based MMO."
Space

Submission + - 'grease monkey' satellites

Submitted by
Maggie McKee
Maggie McKee writes: ""A 'mechanic' satellite designed to refuel and repair a partner in space is set to launch on Thursday. The feats would be the first of their kind and will lay the groundwork for future autonomous robotic missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. The mechanic, ASTRO, will use a 3.3-metre-long robotic arm to grab its partner, NextSat, and draw it closer. It will also use the arm to give NextSat a new battery, and then it will use the arm to operate on itself, removing and reattaching its own flight computer." That last part doesn't sound like the best plan to me, but the mission cost of $300 million sounds like a steal compared to what I paid the last time I took my car to the mechanic."
Networking

Submission + - Vonage ordered to pay Verizon $58M

Submitted by
head_dunce
head_dunce writes: "A federal jury on Thursday found that Internet phone carrier Vonage Holdings Corp. had infringed on Verizon Communications Inc.'s patents and ordered Vonage to pay $58 million. Still undetermined is whether Vonage will be barred from using Verizon's technology. Following the verdict, attorneys for New York-based Verizon requested a permanent injunction barring Vonage from further use of the patented technology."
Microsoft

Submission + - Copyright Gurus Scoff at Microsoft's Claims

Submitted by
jeevesbond
jeevesbond writes: "Copyright experts scoffed Tuesday at attempts by a top Microsoft lawyer to discredit Google's approach to copyrighted material. Most believed Associate General Counsel Thomas Rubin's speech before a book conference — as well as his opinion piece in the Financial Times — had a lot more to do with Microsoft's vicious competition with Google than about solid legal arguments."
Graphics

Submission + - No more JPEG?

Submitted by
Critical Facilities
Critical Facilities writes: "According to this story: Microsoft Corp. will soon submit a new photo format to an international standards organization that it says offers higher quality images with better compression, the company said on Thursday.
While light on the details, this is an interesting development that begs the question, is this another attempt to gain a proprietary foothold. That is, if this turns out to be true and catches on (and that's a big IF), would that mean yet another reason people would "need" Windows?"
Software

Submission + - UK Conservatives want Open Source

Submitted by
aileanmacraith
aileanmacraith writes: "According to an article on the BBC, the Tories want to switch the UK Government to open-source software. They claim that it will save 5% of the IT expenditure and open up competition. From the article:

'[Shadow Chancellor George] Osborne said that despite a government report in 2004 saying there would be "significant savings" in hardware and software if open source software was used, many government departments had not implemented it. "The problem is that the cultural change has not taken place in government,"'.
"

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