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Comment Re:Actually, it's probably 3 or close enough (Score 1) 990

by Kooty-Sentinel (#25896849) Attached to: Should We Clone a Neanderthal?
My question is: With the technology/information that is avaliable today, would a Neanderthal be able to become as smart as a Sapien is?

In other words, if there were two kids, one human and one Neanderthal with the complete same upbringing and education, would a Neanderthal be as smart as the human? And if yes, would the Neanderthal excel in certain areas more than the human? And where would the Neanderthal lack in processing power?

Maybe the Neanderthal would excel in problem-solving and social aspects, but would lack in areas such as math and science.

Comment Re:All the more reason not to buy an ipod/phone (Score 3, Insightful) 453

by Kooty-Sentinel (#25841437) Attached to: Apple DMCAs iPodHash Project
I own an iPhone, iPod, MacBook Pro.... but my servers run Linux and Desktop runs Windows. I'm not a Apple fanboy. Your entire kitchen may be built by Frigidare - does that make you an Frigidare fanboy?

There are some people in the world who choose practical functionality rather than that the "FOSS and Openness FTW!!!!" mentality. Windows for Games, Linux for Servers, and Macs for a Main Machine.

I know this may start a flamewar, but I have a feeling a lot of the iPod flaming comes from the fact that Linux doesn't support the iPod yet. I have yet to see anything come close to the iTunes & iPod combination, and I've owned players by iRiver, Sony and Archos.

Just my 0.02c.

Comment Re:Neuroscience, creativity and the brain (Score 1) 85

by Kooty-Sentinel (#25783281) Attached to: Pinpointing Creativity In the Brain
Wait, let me hook mine up too

$ cd /brain
$ ls
dev core.10002 core.10003 core.10004 core.10005 core.10006
$ cd dev/
$ ls -lha
drwxr-xr-x 22 kooty users 4.0K 2008-10-14 10:18 .
drwxr-xr-x 22 kooty users 4.0K 2008-10-14 10:18 ..
crw-rw-rw- 1 kooty users 1, 8 2008-10-06 18:29 random

AHA! That explains it :)

Comment Reuse, rewrite and recycle. (Score 1) 429

by Kooty-Sentinel (#25637527) Attached to: Reuse Code Or Code It Yourself?
Jeeeesus.
Why does everyone always want to take sides? Do what works for you, not something that someone else thinks is right. If reusing code makes sense, reuse it. If you think the existing code doesn't meet the requirements, rewrite it! And if you think you can make the existing code meet the requirements, recycle the code!
Security

Most Companies Admit Their Data Is At Risk 60

Posted by Soulskill from the at-least-they're-honest dept.
Weblver1 writes "A recent survey of IT professionals published by web security firm Finjan shows that data-theft should be a good reason for concern. Based on answers from 1,387 professionals, 25% acknowledged that their organization has been breached. What's worse, 42% did not know and could not exclude a breach, reflecting on the number of organizations that could potentially be breached without anyone knowing after the fact. Other findings we should be concerned about include 82% of Healthcare IT respondents admitting that medical records are at risk of data-theft, and 68% of all sectors admitting sensitive corporate information can be compromised by cyber-criminals. Finjan's report is available here (PDF, registration required). This survey comes a week after Forrester Research found in their survey that IT security spending is expected to rise (or at least remain the same) — with the current level of data breaches and sensitive data that is not protected well enough, there is a good reason for it.
Transportation

Researchers Test Drive Bus With Automated Steering 180

Posted by Soulskill from the watch-out-for-the-t-rex dept.
An anonymous reader tips us to news that researchers at University of California, Berkeley, have successfully test driven a 60-foot bus that controlled its own steering. Sensors on the bus detected magnets that had been embedded in a San Leandro road, and it was able to reach stops within one centimeter of its desired position. Acceleration and braking during the test were controlled by a human operator, but the system is capable of handling those as well, and has done so on test courses. "... sensors mounted under the bus measured the magnetic fields created from the roadway magnets, which were placed beneath the pavement surface 1 meter apart along the center of the lane. The information was translated into the bus's lateral and longitudinal position by an on-board computer, which then directed the vehicle to move accordingly. For a vehicle traveling 60 miles per hour, data from 27 meters (88 feet) of roadway can be read and processed in 1 second. Zhang added that the system is robust enough to withstand a wide range of operating conditions, including rain or snow, a significant improvement to other vehicle guidance systems based upon optics."
Businesses

RIAA and MPAA Developing Domain-Based DRM 272

Posted by Soulskill from the if-you-can't-beat-them,-keep-trying-to-beat-them dept.
An anonymous reader points out news that the music and movie studios are attempting to develop a new type of DRM that would allow customers more flexibility in playing content on multiple devices. The Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) would establish a list of devices in your personal "domain" (unrelated to web domains), and minimizes or removes restrictions within that domain. TechCrunch summarizes DECE and notes that many of the big corporations have decided to support it. "The ecosystem envisioned by Singer et al revolves around a common set of formats, interfaces and other standards. Devices built to the DECE specifications would be able to play any DECE-branded content and work with any DECE-certified service. The goal is to create for downloads the same kind of interoperability that's been true for physical products, such as CDs and DVDs. Where it gets really interesting, though, is the group's stated intention to make digital files as flexible and permissive as CDs, at least within the confines of someone's personal domain. Once you've acquired a file, you could play it on any of your devices -- if it couldn't be passed directly from one DECE-ready device to another, you'd be allowed to download additional copies. And when you're away from home, you could stream the file to any device with a DECE-compatible Web browser."
Wireless Networking

Scientists Test World's Fastest Wireless Network 77

Posted by Soulskill from the what-can't-lasers-do dept.
MojoKid writes "Scientists in Pisa, Italy claim to have set a new world record for the fastest wireless data transmission. They report that they were able to achieve throughput speeds above 1.2 Terabits per second, which they say beats the previous wireless data transmission speed record of 160 Gigabits per second, achieved by Korean scientists. The technology that the Pisa scientists utilized actually shares a significant similarity with fiber optics. Unlike Wi-Fi or microwave communications, which use radio-based transmissions, the Pisa scientists used a technology called free-space optical communications. In free space optics, an energy beam is collimated and transmitted through space rather than being guided through an optical cable."
Communications

NYC Opens 911 Hotline To Pictures, Video 60

Posted by Soulskill from the oh-the-possibilities dept.
Anti-Globalism brings news that New York City has set up a system to accept pictures and videos for their 911 and non-emergency hotlines. The files can come from cell phones, computers, and PDAs. Quoting: "Tipsters in New York City can now send photos and video ... to report crimes and quality-of-life issues such as potholes, officials announced Tuesday. Depending on the case, the images may be shared widely with the public, with police officers on patrol, individual detectives or other law enforcement agencies, according to city officials. The images may also be used to help in assessing and responding to emergencies."
Education

University Brings Charges Against White Hat Hacker 540

Posted by Soulskill from the easier-than-fixing-security-holes dept.
aqui writes "A university student at Carleton is learning that no good deed goes unpunished. After hacking into what was probably a not-so-secure university network, this guy took the time to write a 16-page paper on his methods and sent it to the system admins. Sounds like White Hat behavior to me. Yes, he should have asked permission before trying, but throwing the book at the guy and wrecking his life with criminal charges (which stick for a long time) seems a little excessive. The university should spend money on hiring some admins with better computer skills and teaching skills rather than paying lawyers. In the Engineering department at my old university, the unofficial policy was that when you broke in, didn't damage anything, and reported the problem and how you broke in, they didn't charge you (if you maliciously caused damage, you usually faced academic sanctions). In some cases, the students were hired or they 'volunteered' for the summer to help secure the servers or fix the hole they found. The result was that Engineering ended up with one of the most secure systems in the university." Read on for the rest of aqui's comments.

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