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Comment Re:More detailed explanation (Score 1) 561

Australia shares some of those problems. However the federal government can take over certain state government powers using the corporations section of the constitution (don't ask me for the details). Here, the federal government makes national legislation and standards and the states usually agree to implement them at regular meetings between all the different state governments.

One ongoing problem in Australia is that water is managed by the states and our major river system runs through four states. In my mind it looks incredibly wise having water, fisheries and oceans managed by the federal government.

Comment Re:More detail (Score 2) 441

A quick Wikipedia check says you're wrong. Christmas trees are a German/Latvian Christian tradition which started in the 15th or 16th Century.

The article on Saturnalia doesn't even contain the word tree. Mithras doesn't have anything about decorating trees in the story.

About the only thing that seems to be factual is December 25 being used for Christmas because people were celebrating then anyway.

Comment Re:The Blame Game (Score 1) 186

hahaha perfect implementation of biometrics.

No such thing exists, and I believe it's theoretically impossible. When you use sensors to read the physical world there is always noise in the reading. So even the same fingerprint won't look exactly the same if scanned twice. That means there's always a fudge factor when matching is done by the biometrics.

Also there is the anecdote of a security researcher putting on a latex glove then touching his finger to the scanner. He was let in because the fingerprints of the previous people who were authorised were left on the scanner.

Firefox

Will Firefox Lose Google Funding? 644

SharkLaser writes "Mozilla's future looks uncertain. Last week Chrome overtook Firefox's position as the second most popular browser, the new versioning scheme is alienating some Firefox users, and now the advertising deal between Mozilla and Google, the one that almost fully funds Mozilla's operations, is coming to an end. One of Firefox's key managers, Mike Shaver, also left the company in September. 'In 2010, 84% of Mozilla's $123 million in revenue came directly from Google. That's roughly $100 million in funds that will vanish or be drastically cut if the deal is either not renewed or is renegotiated on terms that are less favorable to Mozilla. When the original three-year partnership deal was signed in 2008, Chrome was still on the drawing boards. Today, it is Google's most prominent software product, and it is rapidly replacing Firefox as the alternative browser on every platform.' Recently Mozilla has been trying to get closer with Microsoft by making a Firefox version that defaults to Bing. If Google is indeed cutting funding from Mozilla or tries to negotiate less favorable terms, it could mean Mozilla's future funding coming from Microsoft and Bing."
News

Computing Pioneers Share Their First Tech Memories 99

An anonymous reader writes "Major names from the world of computing and technology such as Vint Cerf, William Gibson, Richard Stallman, Michael Dell and Hermann Hauser have shared their memories on their first computers and what inspired them to get involved with the computer. Highlight's include Cerf recalling his experience with the valve-based US air defense network Sage — as seen in Dr Strangelove — and Acorn co-founder Hauser building an eight bit computer out of marbles and a shoebox."

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