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Comment Re:FFS (Score 1) 501

You outed my kind. I even have a DLT autochanger, but it sits disused in the shed. Point is, my data is not that important and there are multiple copies of the stuff that is important, in particular my CV, just because I keep switching computers or copying stuff to other machines in the course of normal activity.

Also there's nothing like massive data loss to reduce the time spent managing files.

Google

Submission + - LiveCD AdSense account killed, then comes ChromeOS

mattn writes: "2 years ago I made cl33n, a live CD that boots Linux, connects to the net, runs the Matchbox window manager and launches Firefox- that's all it does. ChromeOS is "Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel." cl33n is "Mozilla Firefox running within a little-used windowing system on top of a Linux kernel". cl33n isn't unique, Webconverger and other great live CDs do a similar "make it easy for anyone to browse safely" job. Google cancelled cl33n's AdSense account on the 29th of June, shortly before they were due to make their first payment and about 8 days before they announced ChromeOS. cl33n.com and its small traffic & AdSense revenue hasn't changed for 2 years (am working on an update now, I got kinda busy with a startup ;)). If cl33n did Bad Things then it's been doing them for 2 years now, and whatever it might have done involved relatively small amounts of clicks and money. I wonder if Google will refund the money to the advertisers? I've appealed the cancellation but still have not received a response from Google."
Patents

Submission + - Judge, Citing Bilski, Invalidates Software Patent (bfwa.com)

bfwebster writes: "US District Court Judge Andrew Gilford (Central District of California) granted a summary judgment motion in DealerTrack v. Huber et al., finding DealerTrack's patent (US 7,181,427) — for an automated credit application processing system — invalid due to the recent In re Bilski court decision that requires a patent to either involve "transformation" or "a specific machine". According to Judge Gilford's ruling, DealerTrack "appears to concede that the claims of the '427 Patent do not meet the 'transformation' prong of the Bilski test." He then applied the "specific machine" test and noted that, post-Bilski the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences has ruled several times that "claims reciting the use of general purpose processors or computers do not satisfy the (Bilski) test." Judge Gilford analyzes the claims of the '427 patent, notes that they state that the "machine" involved could be a "dumb terminal" and a "personal computer", and then concludes: "None of the claims of the '427 Patent require the use of a 'particular machine,' and the patent is thus invalid under Bilski." DealerTrack apparently plans to appeal the ruling. Interesting times ahead."
Robotics

Submission + - Memristor minds: The future of artificial intellig (newscientist.com)

godlessgambler writes: Within the past couple of years, memristors have morphed from obscure jargon into one of the hottest properties in physics. They've not only been made, but their unique capabilities might revolutionise consumer electronics. More than that, though, along with completing the jigsaw of electronics, they might solve the puzzle of how nature makes that most delicate and powerful of computers — the brain.

Comment Re:Huh? WTF is a programming mouse? (Score 1) 569

Do you often spend time typing before you know what you're going to type?

Me, I think about what I'm going type, then I know what I'm going to type, then I type it. Efficiency in completing the typing allows me to get back to thinking.

I wouldn't give up a mouse (unless you're giving me a nipple to replace it), it's handy for many situations, but the less I have to use the mouse, the happier I become.

Happy workers are productive workers.

Comment Re:Mouse? (Score 1) 569

I hope you don't tell people that survival is all it's good for. I spend much of my working life in vi, and for making ad-hoc changes quickly there is little to match it. Add Firemacs to Firefox and not only does it give you Emacs keybindings, you get vi keybindings for free too! C-x k to close that window, h and j to switch tabs - it's dreamy. Pick the best tool for the job though, sometimes sed is the better tool, sometimes a perl script.

Firemacs rocks. Look: Firemacs!

Space

Submission + - The Real Buzz Aldrin (discovery.com)

astroengine writes: "Irene Klotz has a no-holds barred interview with Buzz Aldrin on Discovery Space:

Forty years ago, two astronauts landed on the surface of the moon, captivating the people on Earth. One of those men was Buzz Aldrin, author of a new memoir titled "Magnificent Desolation," in which he chronicles battles with alcoholism and depression after his famed foray on the moon. In an interview with Discovery News space correspondent Irene Klotz, Aldrin talks about the legacy of Apollo and his vision for the future."

Comment Re:The web is NOT the OS (Score 1) 1089

So you're saying that usage of the word Web will expand over time to include lots of other things that aren't really Web? And then the common useage of the word will become accepted? No shit Sherlock. It's not a new phenomenon, but it doesn't actually change anything, and people who understand the difference between Web (HTML/HTTP) and RTSP or FTP will continue to use them appropriately.

No, we're not going back to the dumb terminal days. It's to useful to be able to do stuff without some third party dictating if/when/how we can do it. Some stuff will move but it's going to be the same kind of non-revolution that Web 2.0 has been for normal people.

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