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Comment Missing the point (Score 5, Insightful) 674

by Hebbinator (#22557208) Attached to: Antidepressants Work No Better Than a Placebo
The point is not that antidepressants don't work - the point is that diagnosis criteria for depression has been to lax for too long. "Everybody gets depressed, not everyone needs antidepressants" It makes sense that the only people who respond to antidepressants designed to fix chemical imbalance are the ones with severe depression.... who are likely to have a real chemical imbalance. These are not "happy pills" they are formulated to fix an insufficiency. Normal, mild depression from events (death, divorce, etc) has always been treated best by cognitive behavioral therapy (aka psych visits), unless you just want to zonk someone out. But, in our society, if you have a problem you get a pill. No one wants to hear "go talk to someone and get over it," so doctors write the scripts and the generally malcontent get them filled.
Censorship

Submission + - Italian parliament passes draconian law proposal

Submitted by
Hecatombles
Hecatombles writes: "The Italian parliamen passes a proposal that, if approved, will require a registration to the ROC (Register of Communication Operators) of all the sites which provide "editorial content" to the pubblic. The vague definition of "editorial content" means that all BLOGS, INFORMATION SITES, TECHNICAL SITES, will require: the registration, a "Responsible Journalist", the payment of a registration TAX and complicate bureaucratic procedure. This proposal will shift the crime of "defamation" to a new level "defamation by means of printed paper" with much higher consequences. If the proposal will became law, 99% of internet sites will require to be registered. This will mean the end of free speech and Internet in Italy. (Original news in italian language http://www.repubblica.it/2007/10/sezioni/scienza_e_tecnologia/testo-editoria/testo-editoria/testo-editoria.html)"
Quickies

Submission + - Revenge of the (Billionaire) Nerds (yahoo.com)

Submitted by SayNoToAcid
SayNoToAcid writes: The Forbes 400 is out, listing the richest people in America and it looks like the nerds win by a landslide capturing 5 of the top 10 spots: Bill Gates at #1, Larry Ellison at #4, Sergey Brin and Larry Page tied at #5, and Michael Dell at #8.
Software

Submission + - Could RIAA Website Be a Trick?

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The RIAA announced that it's going to set up a website for people interested in entering into "Pre-Doe" settlements.

Not being a technical person myself, I was wondering if such a website would be safe, or if it could be used as a surreptitious investigative technique, as, for example, by
-planting "cookies"
-tracking people who go to the site
-planting spyware
-etc.

Would appreciate input from tech people out there on (a) whether it would be unsafe and (b) if it would be unsafe whether there is any way for someone approaching the site to take adequate precautions to make it safe."
Google

Submission + - Turns Out Google Really Does Listen

Submitted by
SamThomp
SamThomp writes: "There's a perfect Google underdog story going on right now. It goes like this: A college student named Aaron Stanton has an idea he thinks Google will love. He tries to get in touch via phone, e-mail, and their web forms with no luck. Then, spurred by his father nearly dying of an embolism near Christmas, he takes a chance and flies to Mountain View, CA without an appointment, intending to sit in their lobby "like a spoiled child" until he gets a chance to meet with someone. He's been there about three days, now.

Here's where it gets interesting. He creates a website called CanGoogleHearMe.com, and uses Google Video to document his journey in hopes that it might be seen by someone at Google and they'll show pity. At first he's turned away (links to Google Video) at the door and doesn't get a chance to talk to anyone. Then, apparently someone in Google does notice the website and it spreads — word of mouth — inside of Google like wildfire; 600 people visit the site in two hours from inside of Google's headquarters at Mountain View.

Then, late last night — three days into his trip — the guy gets an e-mail with the subject line, "We can hear you :)" that says they're willing to listen to him. No meeting for sure yet, but a step in the right direction.

It's like "actual" reality TV. :) If you're looking for an interesting story to pay attention to for the week, it'll be interesting to see how this turns out. So far, Google seems to be living up to their image of being a large company that's open to ideas. As far as I'm concerned, best of luck to them both."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft settles Iowa antitrust case

Submitted by ForestRangerBob
ForestRangerBob writes: Comes v. Microsoft is over after Microsoft agreed to a settlement. The class action lawsuit alleged that Iowa consumers had been overcharged for Microsoft products for a decade owing to Microsoft's monopoly of the market. Sounds very pro-consumer? Predictably, the lawyers are about to get a big payday. From the article: "the software giant will certainly be on the hook for millions of dollars, some of which may end up helping Iowa school kids. Average consumers will probably end up with a few bucks or a coupon for a free operating system upgrade, but the real winners will no doubt be the lawyers — the team prosecuting the case has already earned $60 million in legal fees from a 2004 case in Minnesota that charged Microsoft with similar offenses."
Sony

Sony Considers Outsourcing Cell Production 70

Posted by Zonk from the get-on-up-get-on-out dept.
Gamasutra reports on comments from the Sony home office, where executives are considering plans to outsource production of the expensive/complicated Cell chips that power the PS3. Executive deputy president Yutaka Nakagawa is quoted in a Reuters report, saying that when the PS2 launched there just weren't other companies to turn to. With the chip market better-developed in 2007, there are third parties Sony is now considering to take on the task of advancing/producing the Cell. Outsourcing could also help financially with their beleaguered semiconductor division. The next move for the Cell is to 45 nanometer manufacturing, from the 90/65 the company is currently using. This scale change could not only help with profits, but may eventually make dropping the price on the PlayStation 3 an easier pill to swallow.
Security

Submission + - A real anti-phishing token?

Submitted by Edouard
Edouard writes: Gemalto, probably the world's oldest and largest security token provider, and a world leader in digital security, has recently released a SecurityMeetsSimplicity mini web site, and now this video on YouTube and DailyMotion. A 100% Plug'n'Play USB token that does mutually authenticated SSL between itself — yes, not the browser, the token itself! -and remote web sites: by tunneling user credentials within a device-to-server SSL tunnel, you can pretty much say good bye to Phishing & Pharming issues, as the token will not release your security info unless it trusts the server. To me, this is a pretty new approach, what does the Slashdot crowd think?
Space

Submission + - Maps for hiking on Mars

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "When the first astronauts land on Mars in about 20 years, they will have good tools to explore the planet. Using data provided by the High-Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) onboard ESA's Mars Express and transformed into 3-D computer models, the first hiking maps of Mars have been produced. These topographic maps, which mix height contours lines and high-resolution images, only cover today the Iani Chaos region at resolutions from 1:200 000 down to 1:50 000. But the scientists who created these first maps want now to produce more than 10,000 maps covering the whole Red planet. Read more for additional details and one of these first maps."

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