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The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Real-Life Ninja vs Pirate War (freedom4um.com)

Submitted by ninjas_vs_pirates
ninjas_vs_pirates writes: Although it sounds like a bad Hollywood plot, there appears to be a major war imminent between a giant Chinese ninja army and their sworn enemies including the Skull & Bones pirate society. The ninjas claim they will target the "eye at the top of the pyramid". If true, this could be a world-changing struggle! Who's side are you on: Ninjas, or Pirates???
Books

Submission + - Internet users may be ruining our culture (walterburek.info)

Submitted by
walter42b
walter42b writes: "Stop the Monkeys! A recurring rant on my blog is my huffing about the "dumbing down of America" — a downward spiral in our culture caused by an educational system that graduates students who can't solve simple math problems, can't write a decent sentence and who can't comprehend what they read unless it's written in 4th-grade English. This may sound like nothing more than intellectual snobbery, but the truth is that the corrosive effects of this "dumbing down" now permeate our everyday life and work. Poor grammar and misspelling in newspapers, magazines and on television. "Song" lyrics that range from vulgar to pornographic. Books, magazines, movies and television shows that celebrate the lowest common denominators of our society. And most tragically, America's declining role as world leader in science, technology and literature. Now comes a broadside against the culturally and economically damaging effects of the Internet on our lives. "The monkeys are taking over the show," says Andrew Keen in his new book, The Cult of the Amateur . His simian allusion is to 19th century biologist T. H. Huxley's "infinite monkey theorem." Huxley theorized that if infinite monkeys were equipped with infinite typewriters, eventually some of them would write masterpieces comparable to those of Shakespeare, Plato and Adam Smith."
The Courts

Submission + - Facebook's demise eminent? (guardian.co.uk)

Submitted by
JazzLad
JazzLad writes: "Mark Zuckerberg, owner of Facebook, will discover next week whether he faces legal action for claims he stole the idea for the $1bn website.

A US judge will decide next week whether Mark Zuckerberg should go to court after three former classmates accused him of stealing the idea, software and business plan for the social networking website.

The three former Harvard students say 23-year-old Zuckerberg stole the idea for the site while working as a programmer on their own social-networking site — called ConnectU, the UK Registar reported.

If successful, Facebook could be shut down it was suggested."
Microsoft

Submission + - Remote Management Applications (usmax.com)

Submitted by
Gilbert Palau
Gilbert Palau writes: "I work in a large IT Service firm that administers IT NOC's for corporations in the eastern states (Md, DC, VA, NJ, etc). We have been looking for a enterprise size application for Remote Management and Image Deployment. The only one we have come accross that offers everything we want to do is Apple Remote Desktop. I have been searching in finding an application for Windows Server Environments and Networks with Windows XP Clients that has all the tools included in ARD, but I have only found it in separate products that one way or another fall short from the type of performance and tools we are looking. I specially can't believe that being part of the dominating OS species, I cannot find an application that does for Apple Networks, on the Windows Environment. We are looking for a tool where we can do Software Distribution, Asset Management, Remote Assistance, Remote Administration and scheduling of application deployment. I would appreciate if any IT engineers give me their input on what would be the best application to deploy for this type of work or which application compares or is better than apple remote desktop that is windows environment based."
The Internet

Submission + - Unique never seen before service (barginator.com)

Submitted by
John E
John E writes: "A Torontonian launched a website that lets people meet others in their area when shopping for a new car, motorcycle etc...Promises to save thousands of dollars at the dealership because they than get a better price at the dealership. And just when you thought everything was already found online

Full story at Barginator's Blog or at Barginator.com "
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Researchers create 'rubbery metal'

Submitted by Space_donkey
Space_donkey writes: Researchers at Virginia Tech have developed a new type of metal that also has the vibration-dampening properties of rubber. That's according to a patent filing discovered by New Scientist. Ultimately, it might be used in aircraft engines and other systems that experience a lot of vibration. In the shorter-term it could also be seen in sports equipment such as tennis rackets and baseball bats.
Linux Business

Submission + - A Linux Strategy you can easily tailor (itmanagementresource.com)

Submitted by
vratlhead
vratlhead writes: "Linux is a key component of your company's open source strategy. Having a formal Linux Strategy can help you educate non tech business leaders, calm their concerns, and provide a framework that shows if, when, how, and where Linux makes sense in the enterprise. Even if you don't have Linux deployed, it is a big enough hot topic that you will eventually be asked about it. Having a strategy document that explains why you do not use Linux shows you have researched and thought about the issue."
The Internet

Submission + - The Slashdot productivity paradox (wsj.com)

Submitted by
planetralph
planetralph writes: "This article is a nice take on the paradox of how the Internet makes things dramatically easier yet we seem to spend more personal time on work and our personal lives don't seem that much more rewarding. It offers an explanation of why we end up spending a lot of time at work on "personal" Internet use and a lot of Internet time on low priority items."
Enlightenment

Submission + - Survey Says: Videogames Don't Cause Violence

Submitted by beef623
beef623 writes: A recent survey conducted in England indicates that video games don't lead to violence after all.

The Board, which classifies up to 300 games a year, concluded that for gamers "The violence helps make the play exhilaratingly out of reach of ordinary life."

But it added "Gamers seem not to lose awareness that they are playing a game and do not mistake the game for real life."


Not surprisingly though, 2 out of the 3 story highlights CNN lists twist the context of the story to try to say otherwise.
Wireless Networking

Submission + - WiFi in the Sky: Internet While Flying Coming Soon

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: U.S. airlines plan to offer in-flight Internet connections within 12 months. Think of it as the airplane cabin becoming a WiFi "hotspot." Carriers will begin making announcements within a few months, and service will begin early next year. Read on for details (pricing, implementation, etc.): http://www.computers.net/2007/04/wifi_in_the_sky.h tml
Upgrades

Submission + - New speed record on rails

Submitted by Melkman
Melkman writes: Today the french TGV train set an new speed record. With 574km/h (357mph) it is the fastest train on wheels. Only the Japanese Maglev has set a higher speed record for trains with 581 km/h. Too bad they didn't push just a little harder. You can see a movie of the record here. Akamai should be able to withstand a slashdotting :-).

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The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" (I found it!) but "That's funny ..." -- Isaac Asimov

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