Dale512 - Slashdot User

Submission + - The Space Sim might make a comeback (arstechnica.com)

Submitted by Asmodae on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @08:35PM

Asmodae writes: Chris Roberts, of Wing Commander fame, has a new project out to reinvent the space simulation genre. The videos on the project's home page sport some seriously impressive flight control and physics modeling for a space sim. They are eschewing publishers and using crowd funding to raise development money, but have decided to roll their own instead of using kickstarter. While this has apparently lead to a few technical issues, the project's site is fine now. Here's hoping for a great new space sim!

Submission + - Alpha Centauri has an Earth-sized planet

Submitted by

The Bad Astronomer

on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @06:54PM

The Bad Astronomer writes: "Astronomers have announced that the nearest star system in the sky — Alpha Centauri — has an Earth-sized planet orbiting one of its stars. Alpha Cen is technically a three-star system: a binary composed of two stars very much like the Sun, orbited by a third, a red dwarf, much farther out. Using the Doppler technique (looking for very small changes in the velocities of the stars) astronomers detected a planet orbiting the smaller of the two stars in the binary, Alpha Centauri B. The planet has a mass only 1.13 times that of the Earth, making it one of the smallest yet detected.However, it orbits the star only 6 million kilometers out, so it's far too hot to be habitable.

The signal from the planet is extremely weak but solidly detected, giving astronomers even greater hope of being able to find an Earth-like planet orbiting a star in its habitable zone."

Submission + - Microsoft Starts Rolling Out New Xbox 360 Dashboard (paritynews.com)

Submitted by hypnosec on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @01:34PM

hypnosec writes: Microsoft has started rolling out the new Xbox 360 dashboard today with some new features such as Internet Explorer, a Xbox Music app among others. The 7 years old Xbox dashboard didn’t receive a redesign or an update for quite a long time and this is the reason Microsoft rolled one out today. Some of the major changes include recommendations and ratings, pinning, Xbox video, enhanced search on top of the IE browser and new music app. Some of the minor changes include resizing of fonts and more tiles on the screen.

Submission + - "Six Strikes" arrives Nov. 28: How will it affect you? (dailydot.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @01:02PM

An anonymous reader writes: Under the Copyright Alerts System, Internet users who are repeatedly caught pirating copyrighted files will have to complete an 'educational course' before visiting certain websites.

Submission + - Texas Schools Using Electronic Chips to Track Students, Parents in Uproar 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @11:04AM

An anonymous reader writes: Two Schools in San Antonio are using electronic chips to help administrators count and track students' whereabouts. Students at Anson Jones Middle School and John Jay High School are now required to wear ID cards using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology embedded with electronic chips in an effort to daily attendance records. The article said the Northside Independent School District receives about $30 per day in state funding for each student reporting.

Comment Re:wireless carriers (Score 1) 255

by Dale512 on Thursday July 05, 2012 @09:45AM (#40550783) Attached to: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Review

I rooted my last phone for a while. My phone really couldn't handle the newer stuff since it was not powerful enough. I'm at a point where I really am not going to take the time to worry with rooted every device I get. It would be nice to get updates directly from Google or if the carriers would update timely. It just isn't important enough to dedicate my limited time to rooting and updating myself.

Comment wireless carriers (Score 1) 255

by Dale512 on Wednesday July 04, 2012 @07:50PM (#40545843) Attached to: Android 4.1 Jelly Bean Review

Maybe in 2-3 years the wireless carriers will even update their software to 4.1. Most phones being sold now still are on 2.3.

Submission + - Why Action Stars Are War-Mongering Republicans (vice.com)

Submitted by hellboundunicorn on Wednesday April 11, 2012 @12:20PM

hellboundunicorn writes: Psychologist Aaron Sell and his team found a strong correlation between physically formidable action stars and pro-war right wing politics, and a similar correlation between physically meeker comedy and drama stars and left-leaning anti-war politics. Though correlation does not necessarily mean causation, Sell et al make the argument that because aggressiveness evolved in men as a tool for so many important physical behaviors – like successful fighting, territorial dominance, and showing off to mates – it makes sense that a muscled, aggressive-looking build would be coupled with a similarly aggressive mental disposition.

Submission + - Linux.org relaunching soon after being down for over a year! (linux.org)

Submitted by

kprojects

on Wednesday April 11, 2012 @12:12PM

kprojects writes: "IQnection Revitalizing Linux.org

DOYLESTOWN, PA, Apr 3, 2012 — IQnection Internet Services, Inc, an Internet Hosting company in Doylestown, PA, today has announced an agreement with Linux Online Inc. (owners of the Linux.org domain name) to create a new community oriented website, publish/maintain content and host the Linux.org site.

The Linux.org community was started in 1994. It quickly grew in size and popularity to become the Internet's leading resource for Linux information. Unfortunately, Linux.org went offline in March of 2011.

Greg Cawood, IQnection's President, is excited about the project. "I remember when I first came across Linux.org about 15 years ago" he states. "It is one of those resources that you keep going back to and it needs to be online so that people can find the info!"

"IQnection is is currently writing the website code and rebuilding Linux.org from the ground up. We hope to once again become the Internet's number one resource for those looking for Linux information. Our hosting team is on the site constantly posting and updating articles."

Michelle McLagan, Linux Online's President, is happy to be collaborating with IQnection. "I am proud to be working with IQnection to revitalize the Linux.org website. The Linux community has been missing a valuable resource during the past year and it is very satisfying to have Linux.org back online."

About IQnection: IQnection is a web hosting, design, and advertising company located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, just north of Philadelphia. IQnection began in 2000 developed by entrepreneurs Greg Cawood and Bob Campbell, two businessmen committed to developing and maintaining innovative, intelligent connections for clients to the Internet.

About Linux Online: Linux Online is located in Ogdensburg, New York, on the beautiful St. Lawrence River. Linux Online was started in 1994 by Michael and Michelle McLagan and has been continuously involved in promoting Linux on the internet and through private projects.

Related links:
http://www.linux.org/
http://www.iqnection.com/"

Submission + - Apple and Wikipedia Join the Exodus to OpenStreetMap (shareable.net) 1

Submitted by misterbarnacles on Wednesday April 11, 2012 @12:02PM

misterbarnacles writes: Apple, Microsoft and Foursquare are embracing the crowdsourced Google Maps alternative OpenStreetMap. Are these companies contributors or freeloaders?

Submission + - End of Windows XP support era signals beginning of security nightmare (networkworld.com) 1

Submitted by colinneagle on Wednesday April 11, 2012 @12:01PM

colinneagle writes: Microsoft’s recent announcement that it will end support for the Windows XP operating system in two years signals the end of an era for the company, and potentially the beginning of a nightmare for everyone else.

When Microsoft cuts the chord on XP in two years it will effectively leave millions of existing Windows-based computers vulnerable to continued and undeterred cyberattacks, many of which hold the potential to find their way into consumer, enterprise and even industrial systems running the latest software.

Although most of the subsequent security issues appear to be at the consumer level, it may not be long until they find a way into corporate networks or industrial systems, Miller says.

Even scarier, Sarwate says many SCADA systems for industrial networks still run a modified version of XP, and are not in a position to upgrade. Because much of the software running on SCADA systems is not compatible with traditional Microsoft OS capabilities, an OS upgrade would entail much more work than it would for a home or corporate system.

Submission + - Friends Facebook Apps Are Sharing Your Personal Information (subrosasoft.com)

Submitted by WankerWeasel on Wednesday April 11, 2012 @11:54AM

WankerWeasel writes: Facebook isn't know for ensuring user privacy and here is just another example of user information likely being shared with others without the user's knowledge.

The default user settings on Facebook allow any applications your friends install on their own Facebook account to have access to all of your Facebook info (the only things not shared are "Interested in" and "Religious and political views" by default). This is a concern since almost anyone can apply to be a Facebook Developer and create an app to harvest the information of users.

This guide shows how to prevent your personal information from being shared with any application your friends might install on their own Facebook accounts.

Submission + - Leisure Suit Larry is Back! (reghardware.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 11, 2012 @11:44AM

An anonymous reader writes: Straight from the 90s comes the fella we all love to see fail... The Reg has the full story including quick video from Al Lowe, the original designer.

Submission + - How the Sinking of the Titanic Sparked a Century of Radio Improvements (ieee.org)

Submitted by joshuarrrr on Wednesday April 11, 2012 @11:32AM

joshuarrrr writes: When the RMS Titanic scraped an iceberg on the night of 14 April 1912, its wireless operators began sending distress calls on one of the world’s most advanced radios: a 5-kilowatt rotary spark transmitter that on a clear night could send signals from the middle of the Atlantic to New York City or London. What the radio operators lacked, however, were international protocols for wireless communications at sea. At the time, US law only required ships to have one operator on board, and he was usually employed by the wireless companies, not the ship itself.

"At 12:15 a.m. on 15 April, Captain Edward Smith orders radio operator Jack Phillips begins transmitting “CQD MQY” (MQY were the Titanic’s call letters). At fellow operator Harold Bride’s suggestion, Phillips also to begin sending “SOS MQY.”...
The ship closest to the Titanic, the Californian, does not respond; its radio operator, who had been on duty since 7 a.m., had switched off his equipment for the night 10 minutes before the Titanic struck ice."

On the 100th anniversary of the Titanic, IEEE Spectrum looks at how the tragedy accelerated the improvement of communications at sea.

Comment Re:About fucking time (Score 1) 523

by Dale512 on Monday November 21, 2011 @05:15PM (#38128848) Attached to: Bradley Manning's Court Date Finally Set

Normally I would agree with this. However, the military in general slants a specific way politically which makes it less likely to have a fair and impartial jury relative to what sampling of the general population would provide. The UCMJ is not bad overall. It does have some screwy things that crop up here and there though.

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