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Science

Oxford Scientists Say Dogs Are Smarter Than Cats 716

Velcroman1 writes "This again: scientists at Oxford University claim canines are smarter than felines. And the reason, according to the researchers, is that dogs are more social animals and therefore have bigger brains than the more solitary-inclined cats. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, charted the evolutionary history of various mammals' brains over 60 million years and found a link between the size of an animal's brain in relation to its body and how socially active it was."

Comment Re:Anyone else... (Score 2, Insightful) 289

Well I think the general consensus among slashdotters is that software patents have indeed been taken way too far. Problem is that most companies cling dearly to what they know i.e. patents. It is their assets, and for some (trolls) the sole reason for their existence. Thus there will always be a bunch of companies throwing money and resources to make sure they are able to patent ever more absurd things. Go watch http://patentabsurdity.com/ if you haven't already done so.
Businesses

Microsoft (Probably) Didn't Just Buy Unix 289

jfruhlinger writes "Word came down this morning that when Attachmate bought Novell, certain intellectual property rights were sold to a Microsoft-led consortium as part of the deal. Since Unix is the most valuable piece of IP Novell owns, there was a certain amount of panic that suddenly Redmond is in charge of this foundational technology for Linux and a number of other open source projects. But, while MS is being cagey, Brian Proffitt doubts that Unix was part of the IP package that was sold — and believes that Linux would be safe even if it were."
Image

US Embassy Categorizes Beijing Air Quality As 'Crazy Bad' 270

digitaldc writes "Pollution in Beijing was so bad Friday the US embassy, which has been independently monitoring air quality, ran out of conventional adjectives to describe it, at one point saying it was 'crazy bad.' The embassy later deleted the phrase, saying it was an 'incorrect' description and it would revise the language to use when the air quality index goes above 500, its highest point and a level considered hazardous for all people by US standards. The hazardous haze has forced schools to stop outdoor exercises, and health experts asked residents, especially those with respiratory problems, the elderly and children, to stay indoors."
Earth

Researchers Race To Recover Radioactive Rabbits 145

Ponca City writes "The Tri-City Herald reports that radioactive rabbit droppings were recently found near the old Hanford Nuclear Site in southeast Washington that produced nuclear materials for 40 years and is now being decontaminated. The Department of Health looks for contamination off-site to make sure there is no public hazard and a rabbit trapped at the 300 Area caught their attention because it was close enough to the site's boundaries to potentially come in contact with the public. Joe Franco, an assistant manager for the Department of Energy, said workers erected fences, removed potential food sources and even sprayed the scent of a predator around the perimeter to prevent any other rabbit contamination and the Department of Energy said only one of 18 rabbits surveyed were deemed contaminated. Researchers narrowed the area of possible contamination to the 327 Building used during the Cold War for testing highly radioactive materials, particularly fuel elements and cladding that were irradiated at Hanford reactors as part of plutonium production for the nation's nuclear weapons program. Because the number of contaminated droppings being discovered on-site has decreased, officials now believe it's possible that just one rabbit might have been contaminated and they now are finding old droppings from it."
GNU is Not Unix

VLC Developer Takes a Stand Against DRM Enforcement 717

jamie writes "The GPL gives Apple permission to distribute this software through the App Store. All they would have to do is follow the license's conditions to help keep the software free. Instead, Apple has decided that they prefer to impose Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) and proprietary legal terms on all programs in the App Store, and they'd rather kick out GPLed software than change their own rules."
Security

Riskiest Web Domains To Visit 106

wiredmikey writes "According to a report released today, .COM is the riskiest top-level domain, the riskiest country domain is Vietnam (.VN). Japan's .JP ranks as the safest country domain for the second year in a row and TRAVEL as the safest overall domain. It's interesting to note that .JP (currently $89.99 at GoDaddy) and .TRAVEL ($89.99 at Moniker) domains are also some of the most expensive domains. Are cybercriminals getting cheap with other people's credit cards? Or do the higher price make it more risky?"
Censorship

Submission + - Help prevent the creation of an Internet blacklist

Adrian Lopez writes: The Senate is considering a bill that would create an online blacklist of Internet domain names. Hollywood has been stumping hard for this bill and unless we speak up, it could sail through Congress in the next couple weeks. Click here to sign Demand Progress' petition. GamePolitics also makes an important suggestion: "Senator Patrick Leahy is up for re-election, so if you don't like this law and want him to listen, now is probably the best time to talk to him about it — leahy.senate.gov or www.leahyforvermont.com. If he won't listen, talk to his opponent, Len Britton at www.lenbritton.com."

See the EFF's COICA page for more information, and let's give this issue a good Slashdotting!

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"This generation may be the one that will face Armageddon." -- Ronald Reagan, "People" magazine, December 26, 1985

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