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Comment Re:Did it not occur to PALM that this is BAD? (Score 1) 314

by endianx (#29041365) Attached to: Palm Pre Reports Your Location and Usage To Palm
No, 90% of Palm users won't know. Most would care if they did, though probably not enough to cancel service.

Good news for me, though. My Verizon contract is up in 5 months and I will be moving to a network with decent phones. I've been really struggling between iPhone, webOS, and Android, but now it is just between Android and iPhone.
Image

Gardeners Told to Give Exhausted Bees an Energy Drink Screenshot-sm 200

Posted by samzenpus from the it's-what-bees-crave dept.
In an effort to help Britain's declining bee population, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is urging gardeners to leave out a homemade energy drink for tired bees. The RSPB says that a mix of two tablespoons of sugar with a tablespoon of water makes a perfect bee-boosting drink. Val Osborne, head of wildlife inquiries at the RSPB, said, "Many people keep seeing bees on the ground and assume they are dead, but chances are they are having a rest. Much like us, a sugary drink could boost their energy levels and a simple sugar and water combination will be a welcome treat."
The Media

Murdoch Demands Kindle Users' Info 433

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the another-in-a-long-line-of-bad-decisions dept.
In yet another move to display how antiquated and completely ignorant of digital culture he is, Rupert Murdoch has started demanding that Amazon hand over user info for all Kindle users. This demand comes right after Murdoch just finished negotiating a larger share of revenue from Amazon sales. At least Amazon hasn't decided to comply with this request yet. "'As I've said before, the traditional business model has to change rapidly to ensure that our journalistic businesses can return to their old margins of profitability,' Murdoch said. 'Quality journalism is not cheap, and an industry that gives away its content is simply cannibalizing its ability to produce good reporting.'"
Government

Network Neutrality Back In Congress For 3rd Time 248

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the moving-at-the-speed-of-government dept.
suraj.sun writes "Ed Markey has introduced his plan to legislate network neutrality into a third consecutive Congress, and he has a message for ISPs: upgrade your infrastructure and don't even think about blocking or degrading traffic. The war over network neutrality has been fought in the last two Congresses, and last week's introduction of the 'Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009' [PDF] means that legislators will duke it out a third time. Should the bill pass, Internet service providers will not be able to 'block, interfere with, discriminate against, impair, or degrade' access to any lawful content from any lawful application or device. Rulemaking and enforcement of network neutrality would be given to the Federal Communications Commission, which would also be given the unenviable job of hashing out what constitutes 'reasonable network management' — something explicitly allowed by the bill. Neutrality would also not apply to the access and transfer of unlawful information, including 'theft of content,' so a mythical deep packet inspection device that could block illegal P2P transfers with 100 percent accuracy would still be allowed. If enacted, the bill would allow any US Internet user to file a neutrality complaint with the FCC and receive a ruling within 90 days."

Comment Re:Government (Score 1) 121

by endianx (#28774065) Attached to: Lost In the Cloud
Freedom is of far higher value to me than unified GSM cell phone systems. That you would sacrifice yours in the name of consumerism is sad. However, that you would sacrifice mine for the same reason is deplorable.

Comment Re:Government (Score 1) 121

by endianx (#28773411) Attached to: Lost In the Cloud

All regulation isn't bad.

I agree. Government should prevent force from being used, for example, to stop you from bashing me over the head with a sack full of iPhones.

However, nobody has a right to tell Apple that they have to open their platform to more apps. Regardless of whether or not that would produce innovation, your desires do not override others freedom. You don't get to tell people what to do just because you don't like how they operate. In an anarchy, might makes "right", but in a civilization, that should not be the way it works.
Programming

Most Expensive JavaScript Ever? 405

Posted by Soulskill from the not-their-best-work dept.
ekran writes "A while ago Opera Software needed more servers. Not just a few servers either — they were planning Opera Mini's growth, implementing Opera Link, and My Opera was also growing quickly. Most of the major hardware vendors grabbed their specs and came back with offers and sample servers shipped all the way to Oslo for testing. One of the biggest vendors, however, did not do their homework. They shipped the server, but when the Opera sysadmins started up the web-admin interface, they were met with a JavaScript statement that managed to piss off the whole company including the CTO. The script, apparently, locked out the Opera web-browser."
Government

Computerized Election Results With No Election 433

Posted by kdawson from the why-bother-with-mere-tampering dept.
_Sharp'r_ writes "In Honduras, according to breaking Catalan newspaper reports (translations available, USA Today mention), authorities have seized 45 computers containing certified election results for a constitutional election that never happened. The election had been scheduled for June 28, but on that day the president, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted. The 'certified' and detailed electronic records of the non-existent election show Zelaya's side having won overwhelmingly."

Comment Re:CQ DX (Score 1) 276

by endianx (#28624803) Attached to: Sunspots Return
Huge yagi antennas could kill property values, my own included. Also, the federal government has no authority to overrule local governments on such an issue (the law you linked is entirely unconstitutional).

But something like a 20m inverted V on the roof should be fairly inconspicuous. I may try and plead my case with them at some point, making the argument that it would be valuable for emergency communications to have an HF operator in the neighborhood.

I don't expect to have much luck, though. Even cell towers around here are hidden in fake-looking clock towers, and such. I'll probably have to settle for whatever I can get working in my attic.
Space

Sunspots Return 276

Posted by kdawson from the try-this-proven-acne-cure dept.
We're emerging from the longest, deepest sunspot drought since 1913 (we discussed its depths here) with the appearance of a robust group of sunspots over the weekend. Recently we discussed a possible explanation for the prolonged minimum. The Fox News article quotes observer Michael Buxton of Ocean Beach, Calif.: "This is the best sunspot I've seen in two years." jamie found a NASA site where you can generate a movie of the recent sunspot's movement — try selecting the first image type and bumping the resolution to 1024. The magnetic field lines are clearly visible.
Biotech

Robot Invented To Crawl Through Veins 99

Posted by timothy from the oh-no-not-creepy dept.
Slatterz writes "Scientists from Israel's Technion University have unveiled a tiny robot, made using Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology, purportedly able to crawl through a person's veins in order to diagnose and potentially treat artery blockage and cancer. The little robot — with a diameter of just one millimeter — has neither engine nor onboard controls, instead being propelled forward by a magnetic field wielded on it from outside the patient's body."

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