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Comment Re:No X11? Then what's the point? (Score 1) 118

simple answer : "No". Complex answer: Wayland can share a screen provided someone writes a separate piece of software to do it and you can deal with the model used by Mac and Windows, which is lower functionality than X11.

X11 treats the screen as a resource shared by the X server. means the screen is available to any app on the network same as network storage, etc. Wayland left that out of "core" with the promise someone would be able to come along later and add something similar back in. Similar but not same...not that I'm bitter or anything.

Comment 2 points: replacement and support (Score 1) 582

the one thing that I always get worried about in topics like this: if we're getting rid of POTS, are we replacing it with something that has the same features? Or are we throwing away those feature because we don't know they are there? In just about every case of someone wanting to replace old with new, we loose features in the bargain. This will be no different.

The other point to keep in mind: the telephone companies are supporting this. That should wake you up: it means it benefits them and takes away from us. Always a good meter to measure this kind of stuff against: entrenched business loves it. be afraid...

Comment true or not for Malware, lets get it working! (Score 1) 245

Forget all the talk about whether malware uses it or not and how the infection happened...small computers exists all over the place with good mics and speakers: smart phones. This could be useful as yet another tool in the tool box for doing cool things with computers. If nothing else, I see a fun way to communicate on a plane when they tell you to turn off your transmitters.

Comment Re:This actually isn't half bad (Score 1) 139

Along those lines, I've wondered for a long time as generation after generation of console come out: why doesn't any game controllers use a trackball? is there durability concerns? other concerns? Anyone know why they skip this?
I've been a big trackball fan since my early days on computers. One of the nice things about them (besides just a preference for that kind of control) is it takes less desk space...desk rodents claim too much of my needed clutter space. Ever since the realization that game pads/controllers need NONE when you're using them (held by the hands) I've been disappointed that a controller doesn't use a trackball at some point....
Ah well
Robotics

Mobiserv Robot Designed To Keep Tabs On Seniors 40

Zothecula writes "Of the various potential uses for robots, there's one that many people often forget about – in-home helpers for the elderly. A number of such robots are currently in the works, including the Twendy-One and GiraffPlus. Now, a consortium of European research institutes and companies has created another such electronic assistant, as one component of the larger Mobiserv Project."

Comment Re:One word: cables (Score 1) 141

Well, the human already has to receive the server at the dock...so you take the labor you already can't get rid of and add a small task of plugging in a simple harness...then put the server in the datacenter "inbox" for the robots....
I'm picturing the harness piece fitting in as simple as take server out of shipping package (already needed) attach barcodes (needed in most cases already) and plug ethernet, power, etc. from back of box to some standard slot-in style connector that matches a connector in the rack (the "harness" add-on" that would be the new task) that takes about 5 minutes. Maybe I'm just under thinking what a harness would need to be.
not addressing if the whole automated DC would be cost effective, just commenting on how to make the cabling work for it in the simplest way I can think of.

Comment same as software isn't it? (Score 1) 66

Professor Ronald Rael, the head of the project, stated that these materials and the designs they enable will require new IP protections — 'This is going to require some IP protection for designs, so if you design architecture in the computer, you're protected, just as music and movies are.'

Isn't this the same complication that been hashed back and forth for source code on software for years now? Source code is the "design" or the instructions on how to build....the executable is created by automated builder called "compilers" and such....not a new problem just because it involves a 3D printer....

Comment Re:One word: cables (Score 1) 141

How about a wiring harness put on by humans? I mean, I can easily see that a robot is not going to take a server off the dock and slot it into a data center, so humans have to be involved at some level. so why not have a human take the equipment from the dock, manually put a standard harness on it, then hand it to the DataCenter robots to rack?

Comment Kinect optional or required? (Score 1) 782

Haven't seen any updates beyond that each One comes with a Kinect now.
If Kinect is now required (games require it to play or the system errors if it's not plugged in) then it's a no-sale for me. Kinect is interesting tech, but not when hooked up to a MS owned box...especially one that is "always on and ready" .

Submission + - The Smart and Social rifle has arrived

fikx writes: It seems like something from a scifi movie, but it's a real device: a rifle with enough electronics in it make even a novice shoot well. Heard on NPR and ArsTechnica. It even has WiFi to broadcast the shot for social networking. Doesn't this take the fun out of shooting? don't rush out to buy just yet....at $22,000 it may be a bit much for the next hunting trip, but maybe one day it will be affordable enough to risk take out of the safe. Scary or cool? hard to say...

Submission + - Best geek use for those fake quard shacks in neighborhoods?

fikx writes: Question for the Slashdot community: drive around any city and there are development after development with those small entry guard houses at the entrance to each. Some are actually big enough for a person to go in, others are just ornamental. All I have seen have at a minimum a light in it (so it's got power). Since it's a guard house, obvious use would be put cameras or other electronic monitoring in 'em. What else can be done with these otherwise useless little buildings?

Comment how about for serious work? (Score 3, Interesting) 60

I would think this would be nice for the office or desktop: your open docs and apps can be spread over the desktop, keep whatever you are updating or need high resolution for on the monitor. When you don't need the high res view anymore, drag the window onto the desktop and move something else form the desktop to the monitor.

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