Feed Toxic caterpillars invade London (theregister.com)
Oaks attacked by wannabe procession moths
Caterpillars of the oak procession moth are attempting to gain a foothold in London, the Telegraph reports.
Feed Pfizer worker data leaked via P2P (theregister.com)
Privacy cock-up for Viagra makers
Casual use of file sharing by the spouse of an unnamed Pfizer worker has been blamed for leaking personal information on more than 17,000 current and former employees at the pharmaceutical giant.
Submission + - MIT powers lightbulb wirelessly
kcurtis writes: According to the Boston Globe, MIT Researchers lit a light bulb remotely. The successful experiment to lit a 60-watt light bulb from a power source two meters away, with no physical connection between the power source and the light bulb. Details about WiTricity, or wireless electricity, are scheduled to be reported today in Science Express, the advance online publication of the journal Science, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said.
Submission + - Watch MS in Action vs CA's open standards bill
Cyrus Mack writes: "Watch MS lobbyists and their friends in all their disengenuous glory as they explain to this California assembly committee why open standards are bad. Their arguments?
* Sun is doing this to give themselves a competitive advantage
* proponents of ODF have stifled Microsoft's efforts with standards bodies
* The market is addressing the issue anyway, so legislation is unnecessary
Never mind the fact that OOXML, should it be approved by the ISO, would most likely qualify under AB 1668, the bill under discussion. Why does Microsoft fight for standards acceptance on one hand, and then against it with the other?"
Feed Dow Jones Recognizing It Needs To Keep Diversifying Away From Newspaper (techdirt.com)
It's no secret that many in the newspaper business have struggled with figuring out how to adapt their business models into the digital age. That's unfortunate, but not too surprising. Dow Jones has had its own struggles in this area, at times making its own publication less relevant by locking up the content... and then complaining that its competitors weren't doing the same. However, lately, it appears that the company is really making a big effort to be more relevant. It's been opening up more and more content as well as experimenting with new and different offerings. Thus, it's not a huge surprise to hear Dow Jones' CEO say that the company's goal is to have less than half of its revenue coming from traditional print operations by 2009. Of course, there are two ways to look at this. If you want to view it positively, it's a publisher recognizing that the times are changing and it needs to adapt to those times and stop trying to protect a cash cow who's getting squeezed. However, on the flip side, this seems to be focusing on the wrong thing. The goal shouldn't be to focus on what percentage of revenue comes from what channel -- but on how to deliver the best overall product that helps maximize revenue.
Think of it this way (and I'll simply make up numbers for simplification in the illustration): In scenario A, the publication makes $60 million off its print operations and $40 million off the rest of the business. In scenario B, the publication makes $40 million off the print operations and another $40 million off of the rest of the business. Scenario A is clearly superior, but if the goal the company is focusing on is making sure that print operations are less than half the revenue for the company, then scenario B is what you target -- even if it makes the company worse off. That's not to say that diversification is bad, especially in a rapidly changing market. But if you're going to diversify, the strategy should be on maximizing revenue and mitigating some levels of risk through diversification, rather than just diversification for the sake of diversification.
Think of it this way (and I'll simply make up numbers for simplification in the illustration): In scenario A, the publication makes $60 million off its print operations and $40 million off the rest of the business. In scenario B, the publication makes $40 million off the print operations and another $40 million off of the rest of the business. Scenario A is clearly superior, but if the goal the company is focusing on is making sure that print operations are less than half the revenue for the company, then scenario B is what you target -- even if it makes the company worse off. That's not to say that diversification is bad, especially in a rapidly changing market. But if you're going to diversify, the strategy should be on maximizing revenue and mitigating some levels of risk through diversification, rather than just diversification for the sake of diversification.
Feed Crane Hatching Marks A First For Smithsonian's National Zoo (sciencedaily.com)
Smithsonian's National Zoo has announced a first in its 118-year history -- the hatching of a rare wattled crane chick.
Feed Airsoft Roomba kits up with plastic pellets (engadget.com)
Filed under: Robots
We always knew that the eventual robotic rebellion would come in stages (and would start with Roombas), so while many may take a childish satisfaction in seeing an innocent Roomba hacked up to shoot Airsoft BB pellets, we're constantly aware that this is another step towards the ultimate annihilation of all meat-based life forms. "Cool Bots!" MAKE cries, oblivious to the destructive potential pent up inside the little hoover's circuitry -- it's thinking: "I don't even need to try, they're giving me weapons!" Fortunately, this is very much an early stage killer robot, as the photos over on isobot's flickr stream attest. The modified Roomba may look menacing with its red laser sight, but it appears as if the little thing can't aim its plastic payload any higher than a few inches off the ground, limiting its targets to feet and unsuspecting house cats. Of course, that red laser also gives it more than a passing similarity to a certain infamous robot / human hybrid. Today, Airsoft; tomorrow, assimilation?[Via MAKE]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Feed Microsoft patent filing reveals "multi-component" gaming plans (engadget.com)
Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds
It looks like Microsoft has more than just games on Zune in store for the future, with a recent patent filing revealing the company's plans for a "multi-component gaming system" that would incorporate of an array of devices, including game consoles and handhelds. Apparently, the various devices would be connected either wired or wirelessly, with the processing capabilities and functionality of the devices "augmented" when used in combination. Some of the potential uses given include devices sharing storage space with another, devices running games stored on other devices, and handhelds "taking advantage of the console gaming device's greater processing speed." Of course, this being a patent application, there's no indication as to when any of this may actually see the light of day, nor is there any details on the "dedicated handheld gaming device" that Microsoft refers to throughout the application, though we're pretty sure what it's not.[Via Unwired View]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Submission + - US Feds expose thousands of SSNs
msblack writes: The New York Times is
reporting
that an Office of Management and Budget exposed over 30,000 SSNs on its
website
which now notes that information has been removed. As many as 100,000 to 150,000 individuals may have been affected. Taxpayer cost for notifications and credit monitoring is $4 million.
Submission + - Predictions of the Year 2000 from 1900 writer
zxking writes: I came across this interesting article while doing some history research.
"The Ladies Home Journal from December 1900 contained a fascinating article by John Elfreth Watkins, Jr. titled "What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years". Mr. Watkins wrote: "These prophecies will seem strange, almost impossible. Yet, they have come from the most learned and conservative minds in America. To the wisest and most careful men in our greatest institutions of science and learning I have gone, asking each in his turn to forecast for me what, in his opinion, will have been wrought in his own field of investigation before the dawn of 2001 — a century from now. These opinions I have carefully transcribed.""
Some of the predictions have proved true but not in the way described while others seem to still be dreams. What predictions would slashdotters make for Year 2100.
"The Ladies Home Journal from December 1900 contained a fascinating article by John Elfreth Watkins, Jr. titled "What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years". Mr. Watkins wrote: "These prophecies will seem strange, almost impossible. Yet, they have come from the most learned and conservative minds in America. To the wisest and most careful men in our greatest institutions of science and learning I have gone, asking each in his turn to forecast for me what, in his opinion, will have been wrought in his own field of investigation before the dawn of 2001 — a century from now. These opinions I have carefully transcribed.""
Some of the predictions have proved true but not in the way described while others seem to still be dreams. What predictions would slashdotters make for Year 2100.
Feed Court documents posted in fed's Sun, HP kickback lawsuit (com.com)
Blog: Yesterday we reported that the U.S. Justice Department had joined a case against...
Feed Texas Senate waves through cell phone wiretapping bill (theregister.com)
Harder to buy pre-paid cell phones, easier to bug
A bill extending wiretapping provisions to cell phones and covering a wider range of crimes - including kidnaping, human trafficking and money laundering - has been approved by the Texas Senate.
Submission + - Over Five Million White House E-mails Missing
An anonymous reader writes: CREW released: WITHOUT A TRACE: THE MISSING WHITE HOUSE EMAILS AND THE VIOLATIONS OF THE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT.
The report says, "Executive Office of the President (EOP) has lost over five million emails generated between March 2003 and October 2005. The White House counsels office was advised of these problems in 2005 and CREW has been told that the White House was given a plan of action to recover these emails, but to date nothing has been done to rectify this significant loss of records."
CREW also released: FACT SHEET: THE FACTS BEHIND THE WHITE HOUSE EMAIL SCANDALS
Violations of the Presidential Records Act or the Hatch Act is not acceptable whether the President is a Democrat, Independent, or Republican. Plus, if the destruction of government property is a crime, and the e-mails are government property — does that make deleting e-mails related to EOP activities a crime?
About CREW: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington uses high-impact legal actions to target government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests.
The report says, "Executive Office of the President (EOP) has lost over five million emails generated between March 2003 and October 2005. The White House counsels office was advised of these problems in 2005 and CREW has been told that the White House was given a plan of action to recover these emails, but to date nothing has been done to rectify this significant loss of records."
CREW also released: FACT SHEET: THE FACTS BEHIND THE WHITE HOUSE EMAIL SCANDALS
Violations of the Presidential Records Act or the Hatch Act is not acceptable whether the President is a Democrat, Independent, or Republican. Plus, if the destruction of government property is a crime, and the e-mails are government property — does that make deleting e-mails related to EOP activities a crime?
About CREW: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington uses high-impact legal actions to target government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests.
