Comment Re:Noooooooooo!!!!!!1111!11! (Score 1) 541
You're a Clemson fan, aren't you? Trying to convice people Garnets are dangerous. Hmph!
Comment Re:Systematic Error (Score 1) 115
It's not exactly a bubble, it's more like a void. Peter Hamilton was prescient.
Comment Hooray for meetings! (Score 1) 494
I suppose I can thank our weekly team meetings for helping keep my handwriting skills up to snuff. I always take notes at the meetings so I can remember what we talked about and make to-do lists. Sometimes, the meetings become long and tedious, but now when I feel myself itching to look at the clock I can just remember that I'm practicing an important skill: writing on paper with a pen. And I'll know it's all worth it.
Comment Re:I for one... (Score 1) 236
No kidding. I'm thinking of the notification systems the research group I work for developed back in the 90's - the way they worked was very similar to this patent. And we were not by any means the only player in the business of notification software.
Submission + - FT article on open publishing
An anonymous reader writes: James Boyle has an article in the Financial Times http://www.ft.com/cms/s/b46f5a58-aa2e-11db-83b0-00 00779e2340.html describing experiments in "open publishing" — publishers who make the text freely available online. Lots of links to free digital texts — fiction and non — from Doctorow to Lessig to O'Reilly.
MySpace Sues Spam King 118
Harry Maugans writes to mention a lawsuit filed by MySpace against Scott Richter, the 'Spam King'. Filed under California's harsh anti-spam laws, the suit alleges that Richter sent millions of unsolicited 'bulletins' to MySpace users over the past few years. From the article: "The suit is aiming for monetary damages and an injunction that would permanently ban Richter and his affiliates from MySpace. The amount of money sought by MySpace has not been disclosed. Richter was already ordered to pay $7 million in a 2003 lawsuit filed by Microsoft after initially refusing to settle the dispute for $100,000. Microsoft announced in 2005 that it would be using the money from the settlement to fuel further antispam operations."
Submission + - That box on the left side in the new Slashdot UI
Morten Hustveit writes: "Who uses that damn box on the far left of the new article view? What is it for? Why can't I configure it to be hidden permanently?"
Submission + - As of today, Canadian require passport to enter US
boxlight writes: As of today, Canadians require a passport to enter the US. We only required a photo id before this. Meanwhile, Canadians — who have waited until the last minute — are going nuts, lining up in droves at passport offices.
Nokia Developing Diamond-Like Gadget Casing 122
space_pingu writes "In the future, all gadgets could be coated with tough, diamond-like material. A patent from Nokia — featured in the latest patent round-up from New Scientist — describes a way of infusing plastic cases with a material, structurally similar to diamond, made from coal. Not only is it more scratch and grime-resistant, but it's also cheap and biodegradable. Apparently it also shines like a metal. The article also touches on a technique for welding with 'ice bullets', and an airport scanner that protects the dignity of travelers."
Submission + - Blogger gets millionaire to pay up!
Daphne writes: "Gert Verhulst, a Belgian actor & writer, gradually became famous ever since he started the television series 'Samson en Gert' back in 1989. In 1991, he recorded a children's song in which he sang something like: "If I would have 10 million, I would buy gallons of lemonade and a hundred kilos of chocolate. I would throw a party, host a fair, and everyone would be invited."
Bert, a 21-year old student in Communication Sciences, remembered the song and created the website Gertje.info, in which he presented the 'evidence' in order to persuade the television millionaire to keep true to his promise.
Well, guess what? The 21-year old has done it. Millionaire Gert Verhulst announced he will be hosting a fair for over 1500 people on February 2nd. The power of one person and the internet keeps amazing me!"
Submission + - Google Antiphishing Site Exposes Private User Data
Juha-Matti Laurio writes: "Google has removed a few user names and passwords posted inadvertently to a phishing blacklist it compiles and makes publicly available on the Web. This information was submitted to Google by Firefox users with browser's internal antiphishing toolbar. This feature developed in co-operation with Google enables users to report potential phishing sites to Google's blacklist database. Google has reportedly implemented a new mechanism detecting login data in submitted URL's to prevent sensitive information from getting posted to the list."
Submission + - All Air Travel To/From U.S. Now Requires Passport
s31523 writes: "It may come as a surprise to some, but in previous years travel to/from the United States to/from neighboring countries did not require a passport for re-entry into the U.S. Not anymore, as new regulations go into effect today that will require a passport for travelers entering the U.S. from neighboring countries like Canada, Mexico, and various Caribbean islands. U.S. territories are the only exception. The new rule even applies to children, as noted on the U.S. Dept. of State website."
Submission + - Could a white-on-black Google save power?
Kris_J writes: "Rising Phoenix Design's BlackBack theory says that since white costs more power to display than black on a CRT, web pages should be light text on a dark background. One idea then is that since Google is the most popular website on the planet, would there be a significant global power usage reduction if they changed their design to white text on a black background? At the very least, I reckon they should try it for three days and find out."
Submission + - Finnish ombudsman challenges iTunes Store EULA
daffy writes: Joining their colleagues in Norway and consumer organizations in Germany and France, the Finnish ombudsman has sent Apple a letter stating their EULA for iTunes Store must be modified to be more consumer-friendly. The ombudsman's main gripe is with the iPod lock-in: "The basis in Finland is that the consumer can choose on which device s/he wants to listen to downloaded music. Terms of agreement which prevent this or make this needlessly difficult must therefore be removed." (freely translated from the ombudsman's press release). Furthermore, they criticize Apple reserving one-sided rights to modify the EULA.
Submission + - 'Heartbeat' in Earth's climate
On Purpose writes: "Researchers identify a 'heartbeat' in Earth's climate
A few years ago, an international team of researchers went to the middle of the Pacific Ocean and drilled down five kilometers below sea level in an effort to uncover secrets about the earth's climate history. They exceeded their expectations and have published their findings in the Dec. 22 edition of the journal Science.
The researchers' drilling produced pristine samples of marine microfossils, otherwise known as foraminifera. Analysis of the carbonate shells of these microfossils, which are between 23 million to 34 million years-old, has revealed that the Earth's climate and the formation and recession of glaciation events in the Earth's history have corresponded with variations in the earth's natural orbital patterns and carbon cycles.
The researchers were particularly interested in these microfossils because they came from the Oligocene epoch, a time in Earth's history known for falling temperatures.
"The continuity and length of the data series we gathered and analyzed allowed for unprecedented insights into the complex interactions between external climate forcing, the global carbon cycle and ice sheet oscillations," said Dr. Jens Herrle, co-author of the paper and a micropaleontology professor at the University of Alberta.
The authors also show how simple models of the global carbon cycle, coupled to orbital controls of global temperature and biological activity, are able to reproduce the important changes observed after the world entered an "ice-house" state about 34 million years ago.
In the early half of the 20th century, Serbian physicist Milutin Milankovitch first proposed that cyclical variations in the Earth-Sun geometry can alter the Earth's climate and these changes can be discovered in the Earth's geological archives, which is exactly what this research team, consisting of members from the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Canada, has done.
"This research is not only concerned with the climate many millions-of-years-ago. Researching and understanding 'extreme' climate events from the geological past allows us to better tune climate models to understand present and future events, and the response to major perturbations of Earth's climate and the global carbon cycle, Herrle added.
Article"
A few years ago, an international team of researchers went to the middle of the Pacific Ocean and drilled down five kilometers below sea level in an effort to uncover secrets about the earth's climate history. They exceeded their expectations and have published their findings in the Dec. 22 edition of the journal Science.
The researchers' drilling produced pristine samples of marine microfossils, otherwise known as foraminifera. Analysis of the carbonate shells of these microfossils, which are between 23 million to 34 million years-old, has revealed that the Earth's climate and the formation and recession of glaciation events in the Earth's history have corresponded with variations in the earth's natural orbital patterns and carbon cycles.
The researchers were particularly interested in these microfossils because they came from the Oligocene epoch, a time in Earth's history known for falling temperatures.
"The continuity and length of the data series we gathered and analyzed allowed for unprecedented insights into the complex interactions between external climate forcing, the global carbon cycle and ice sheet oscillations," said Dr. Jens Herrle, co-author of the paper and a micropaleontology professor at the University of Alberta.
The authors also show how simple models of the global carbon cycle, coupled to orbital controls of global temperature and biological activity, are able to reproduce the important changes observed after the world entered an "ice-house" state about 34 million years ago.
In the early half of the 20th century, Serbian physicist Milutin Milankovitch first proposed that cyclical variations in the Earth-Sun geometry can alter the Earth's climate and these changes can be discovered in the Earth's geological archives, which is exactly what this research team, consisting of members from the United Kingdom, the U.S. and Canada, has done.
"This research is not only concerned with the climate many millions-of-years-ago. Researching and understanding 'extreme' climate events from the geological past allows us to better tune climate models to understand present and future events, and the response to major perturbations of Earth's climate and the global carbon cycle, Herrle added.
Article"
