jfroebe - Slashdot User

Submission + - Read this before you buy the new iPad (extremetech.com)

Submitted by

MrSeb

on Friday March 16, 2012 @10:11AM

MrSeb writes: "As I write this, Apple fans the world over are gathering outside their nearest Jobsian temple, hoping beyond all else to wrap their plaintive, probing fingers around a new iPad. The zealots, blinded by pixels, blinded by the backlights of a thousand iPads emanating from the plate glass windows of these places of worship, want nothing more than to fork over hundreds of hard-earnt dollars for a slice of the latest and greatest Designed by Apple in California pie. If you’re one of these avid Apple fans, please hear me out. Even if you’re not an Apple acolyte, take heed: Today you will feel a gravitational tug towards the center of the technology universe. Despite your best intentions to stay loyal to Microsoft, Linux, or Google, even the strongest of us will be tested today; even the most iron-willed will be drawn to the local Apple Store to discover the cause of this orgiastic desire for slabs of brushed aluminium and Gorilla Glass — and by then it will be too late. Before you buy the new iPad (or even consider buying it), bear this in mind: The new iPad is the least innovative iDevice Apple has ever released."

Submission + - Virtual Windows 8 Installs in 10 Seconds (smartertechnology.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 26, 2012 @05:32PM

An anonymous reader writes: Not looking forward to installing Windows 8 when it finally becomes available? And all you Windows Vista and XP users--want to upgrade to Windows 7 in 10 seconds? A mass migration to cloud-based Windows started today, when Nivio announced its free virtual PC in the clouds at MacWorld! By running an app, or even just an HTML5 browser, anybody on Linux, Mac, Android, iOS or any version of Windows can access a virtual-PC in the clouds with free storage, instant upgrades, and 1000s of Windows applications you just rent for a few dollars a month. I for one, have signed up for the mass migration to Windows in the clouds.

Submission + - FBI Starts Stalking on Facebook (newscientist.com)

Submitted by

peterburkimsher

on Thursday January 26, 2012 @05:16PM

peterburkimsher writes: "The FBI are asking for a better Facebook search function, mapping the results and translating them in other languages. Invasion of privacy? This already exists!

TWLOHW searches Facebook API for keywords, including all previous posts (unlike Facebook search). http://peterburk.appspot.com/twlohw.html

YouLing (on the Mac App Store) does real-time translation of all text you hover over with your mouse. http://peterburk.appspot.com/youling.html

I've also got a script for contact-Google Earth display, and proximity searching, but haven't released it yet."

Submission + - 11 New Multi-Planet Star Systems Discovered (discovery.com)

Submitted by

astroengine

on Thursday January 26, 2012 @05:12PM

astroengine writes: "The number of known multi-planetary star systems has just tripled. What's more, the Kepler space telescope science team has just announced that they have doubled the number of confirmed exoplanetary sightings made by the observatory. Some of the newly discovered worlds are only 1.5 times the size of Earth, while others are bigger than Jupiter. Fifteen exoplanets are between Earth and Neptune in size, but further observations will be needed to determine if any have a rocky surface like Earth, or a gaseous consistency like Neptune."

Submission + - Scientists organize Elsevier boycott

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 26, 2012 @04:59PM

An anonymous reader writes: The academic publisher Elsevier has attracted controversy for its high prices, the practice of bundling journals for sale to libraries and its support for legislation such as SOPA and the Research Works Act.

Fields medal winning mathematician Tim Gowers decided to go public with a blog post describing how he'll no longer have anything to do with Elsevier journals, and suggested that a public web site where mathematicians and scientists could register their support for an Elsevier boycott would further the cause. This website now exists, with 521 academics signing-up so far.

John Baez has a nice write-up of the problem and possible solutions.

Submission + - Scientists Create World's First Atomic X-Ray Laser 2

Submitted by newmission33 on Thursday January 26, 2012 @02:13PM

newmission33 writes: Government researchers have created the fastest, purest X-ray laser pulses ever achieved, and have fulfilled a 1967 prediction that an atomic scale x-ray laser could be made in the same manner as visible-light lasers., according to a statement released Wednesday.

Researchers at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory used the Linac Coherent Light Source to aim a powerful x-ray source beam, a billion times brighter than any previous source, at a capsule of neon gas and triggered an “avalanche” of X-ray emissions to become the world’s first “atomic X-ray laser.”

Submission + - Vast Web of Dark Matter Mapped (discovery.com)

Submitted by

astroengine

on Monday January 09, 2012 @01:55PM

astroengine writes: "Astronomers from the University of British Columbia and University of Edinburgh have created a vast cosmic map revealing an intricate web of dark matter and galaxies spanning a distance of one billion light-years. This is the largest map of its kind and demonstrates that this large-scale web stretches across the universe in all directions. The results of this groundbreaking discovery were presented at the American Astronomical Society conference in Austin, Texas on Monday."

Submission + - Why Lamar Smith Won't Hear SOPA Critics (itworld.com)

Submitted by

itwbennett

on Monday January 09, 2012 @01:49PM

itwbennett writes: "House Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, who has unapologetically excluded tech experts from testifying about SOPA, now explains why: 'The criticism of this bill is completely hypothetical; none of it is based in reality. Not one of the critics was able to point to any language in the bill that would in any way harm the Internet. Their accusations are simply not supported by any facts,' Smith said in a statement."

Submission + - Ubuntu TV unveiled (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by

Barence

on Sunday January 08, 2012 @09:19PM

Barence writes: "Canonical has unveiled the first screenshots and details of Ubuntu TV. Plans for versions of the Linux distro for tablets, smartphones and TVs were unveiled last year, and now the television is — perhaps surprisingly — the first of those to arrive. "It's a simple viewing experience for online video, both your own and routed over the internet," Jane Silber, Canonical's CEO told PC Pro. Movie streaming services will be supported as well as live television broadcasts. Ubuntu TV will be integrated into television sets, but Canoncial was unable to confirm any manufacturers. It will be released later this year."

Submission + - IT Should Learn To Loosen Up (infoworld.com)

Submitted by

snydeq

on Wednesday October 19, 2011 @02:03PM

snydeq writes: "InfoWorld's Bob Lewis raises an all-too-common problem for today's businesses: IT processes that fit like straitjackets. 'Everyone hates process. The evidence is all around you. From the help desk to the corner office, employees do their best to subvert even the best-intentioned processes whenever they seem inconvenient,' Lewis writes. 'The solution isn't a process-free IT organization — that way lies chaos. It's knowing how to bypass your processes when they don't fit the situation, yet not lose control.'"

Comment What did you expect? (Score 1) 197

by jfroebe on Saturday July 16, 2011 @07:31AM (#36784546) Attached to: Judge Says You Can't Know If Google Spies For NSA

Seriously, if the NSA said that they were NOT working with Google, would you believe them? It is probably safe to assume that the NSA, CIA and a myriad of other agencies are working with other governments and companies. If they weren't, they wouldn't be doing their jobs.

Submission + - End the Ethanol Insanity

Submitted by theodp on Sunday December 26, 2010 @12:54PM

theodp writes: It's now conceivable, says BusinessWeek's Ed Wallace, that the myth of ethanol as the salvation for America's energy problem is coming to an end. Curiously, the alternative fuel may be done in by an unlikely collection of foes. Fervidly pro-ethanol in the last decade of his political career, former VP Al Gore reversed course in late November and apologized for supporting ethanol, which apparently was more about ingratiating himself to farmers. A week later, Energy Secretary Steven Chu piled on, saying: 'The future of transportation fuels shouldn't involve ethanol.' And in December, a group of small-engine manufacturers, automakers, and boat manufacturers filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals to vacate the EPA's October ruling that using a 15% blend of ethanol in fuel supplies would not harm 2007 and newer vehicles. Despite all of this, the newly-elected Congress has extended the 45 cent-per-gallon ethanol blending tax credit that was due to expire, a move that is expected to reduce revenue by $6.25 billion in 2011. 'The ethanol insanity,' longtime-critic Wallace laments, 'will continue until so many cars and motors are damaged by this fuel additive that the public outcry can no longer be ignored. Adding an expensive, harmful, useless filler to gasoline just to win farmers' gratitude is not remotely the same as having a legitimate national energy policy.'

Submission + - Mojolicious Perl Modern Web Framework 1.0 released (kraih.com) 2

Submitted by Kvorg on Sunday December 26, 2010 @12:34PM

Kvorg writes: Sebastian Riedel, author of the trend-setting Maypole MVC web framework for Perl and later creator of the Catalyst web framework, released version 1.0 of his new Perl web framework: Mojolicoius, Web in a Box.
Mojolicious has been designed to be small, concise, complete and extensible. With no dependencies beyond core Perl 5.8.7, it offers a light API for simple applications, a complete API for MVC designs, a command-line API for scripting, a powerful built-in templating system, asynchronous web client, DOM parser with CSS3 selector support, HTLM5 compliance with websocket support and many, many other features.
Mojolicoius works well with existing modules, is well documented and has a number of plugins and applications developed for it on CPAN and GitHub. Your application can be deployed with a built-in stand-alone perl server or with any other method of your choice. Mojolicious has been proven in many production environments and is the recommended way for Perl hackers to hack into HTML5. http://mojolicio.us/

National Opt-Out Day Against Virtual Strip Searches 647

Posted by kdawson on Sunday November 14, 2010 @09:18AM from the hobson's-choice dept.

An anonymous reader writes in about a protest called for the busiest airline travel day of the year. "An activist opposed to the new invasive body scanners in use at airports around the country just designated Wednesday, Nov. 24 as a National Opt-Out Day. He's encouraging airline passengers to decline the TSA's technological strip searches en masse on that day as a protest against the scanners, as well as the new 'enhanced pat-downs' inflicted on refuseniks. 'The goal of National Opt-Out Day is to send a message to our lawmakers that we demand change,' reads the call to action at OptOutDay.com, set up by Brian Sodegren. 'No naked body scanners, no government-approved groping. We have a right to privacy, and buying a plane ticket should not mean that we're guilty until proven innocent.' The US Airline Pilots Association and other pilot groups have urged their members to avoid the scanners and have also condemned the new pat-down policy as humiliating to pilots. They've advised pilots who don't feel comfortable undergoing pat-downs in front of passengers to request they be conducted in a private room. Any pilots who don't feel comfortable after undergoing a pat-down have been encouraged to 'call in sick and remove themselves from the trip.'"

Submission + - Family to Receive $1.5M+ in Vaccine-Autism Award (cbsnews.com) 2

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 10, 2010 @08:28PM

An anonymous reader writes: "The first court award in a vaccine-autism claim is a big one. CBS News has learned the family of Hannah Poling will receive more than $1.5 million dollars for her life care; lost earnings; and pain and suffering for the first year alone.

In addition to the first year, the family will receive more than $500,000 per year to pay for Hannah's care. Those familiar with the case believe the compensation could easily amount to $20 million over the child's lifetime." In acknowledging Hannah's injuries, the government said vaccines aggravated an unknown mitochondrial disorder Hannah had which didn't "cause" her autism, but "resulted" in it. It's unknown how many other children have similar undiagnosed mitochondrial disorder. All other autism "test cases" have been defeated at trial. Approximately 4,800 are awaiting disposition in federal vaccine court."

What the hell? How did this happen when all the scientific data points otherwise? Thoughts?

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