Comment Re:WTF? (Score 1) 239
There's no direct foul equivalent, but 'What the hell?' is 'Shtoh za cheeyort?' — it's quite mild btw.
Submission + - A Computer Inside a Cell (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes: For the first time, synthetic biologists have created a genetic device that mimics one of the widgets on which all of modern electronics is based, the three-terminal transistor. Like standard electronic transistors, the new biological transistor is expected to work in many different biological circuit designs. Together with other advances in crafting genetic circuitry, that should make it easier for scientists to program cells to do everything from monitor pollutants and the progression of disease to turning on the output of medicines and biofuels.
Submission + - Bees Communicate with Electric Fields (sciencemag.org)
sciencehabit writes: The electric fields that build up on honey bees as they fly, flutter their wings, or rub body parts together may allow the insects to talk to each other, a new study suggests. Tests show that the electric fields, which can be quite strong, deflect the bees' antennae, which, in turn, provide signals to the brain through specialized organs at their bases. Antenna deflections induced by an electrically charged honey bee wing are about 10 times the size of those that would be caused by airflow from the wing fluttering at the same distance—a sign that electrical fields could be an important signal.
Comment Re:I find this rather nauseous... (Score 1) 215
Nikolay Pirogov https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolay_Pirogov comes to mind, but, well, for him the embalming was probably more of another scientific experiment.
Comment Will Microsoft sell off Ballmer? (Score 1) 404
Will Sony buy him?
Comment Re:MLK and friends went to jail as well (Score 3, Insightful) 243
It's more complicated — those who practice civil disobedience are actually appealing to the higher instance: the social contract. If the state is not willing to walk along their part of the contract, citizens can proclaim yourself free from the law as well.
Submission + - Google Adds Site-Filtering Feature to Search Google Search: Block Sites Read mo (blogspot.com)
ebenzunlimited writes: "Ever wish you could keep certain sites from showing up in your Google search results? Thanks to a new feature being rolled out right now, you can.
Google announced the debut of a site-blocking search tool via its official company blog on Thursday. The tool is simple to use: When you click on a site in a Google search and then go back to Google — presumably because you weren't satisfied with what you found — you'll see a new option on the results page to block the site from future searches. All you have to do is click it, and the site will never show up for you again.
Your search site-blocking preferences are saved in your Google account, so you'll have to be logged in for the feature to work."
Google announced the debut of a site-blocking search tool via its official company blog on Thursday. The tool is simple to use: When you click on a site in a Google search and then go back to Google — presumably because you weren't satisfied with what you found — you'll see a new option on the results page to block the site from future searches. All you have to do is click it, and the site will never show up for you again.
Your search site-blocking preferences are saved in your Google account, so you'll have to be logged in for the feature to work."
Submission + - DARPA Director Calls for Change in Tech Industry | Intel Free Press (intelfreepress.com)
kenekaplan writes: "The man who oversees information innovation at the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency took to the stage in Silicon Valley and implored technology researchers to bring the world to a new era of wonder by focusing on making things and actually publish their failures."
Submission + - Web Giants Form US Internet Lobby Group (techweekeurope.co.uk)
judgecorp writes: "Google, Facebook, eBay and Amazon have apparently set up the Internet Association to lobby the US government on issues relating to online business. The official launch is not till September."
Submission + - Did Microsoft use information about partner products in designing Surface? (cnet.com) 2
ozmanjusri writes: ""Microsoft looked at what the [PC makers] were doing, seeing if it could meet their Windows 8 needs and then took action based on that," according to Patrick Moorhead, president of Moor Insights & Strategy and formerly an executive at Advanced Micro Devices.
Microsoft partners, PC OEMs like Acer, Asus, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Toshiba, and Sony are unhappy with Microsoft's actions as the software giant could potentially have used confidential information about their products, pricing strategies, marketing plans and more before deciding to compete with them.
Information like that could potentially be used to Microsoft's advantage."
Microsoft partners, PC OEMs like Acer, Asus, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Toshiba, and Sony are unhappy with Microsoft's actions as the software giant could potentially have used confidential information about their products, pricing strategies, marketing plans and more before deciding to compete with them.
Information like that could potentially be used to Microsoft's advantage."
Submission + - UN to debate taxing internet data (cnet.com)
Wowsers writes: In an effort to get ever more taxes for doing absolutely nothing, the United Nations are to consider a European proposal to tax the internet based on data that gets sent. The proposal is designed to get money from large bandwidth users like Google, Facebook, Apple, and Netflix. Smaller companies that have high bandwidth would be forced off the internet due to the taxes.
The proposed measure is also claimed to be an effective tool for censorship as companies will just block access to countries to limit the amount of taxes they pay for data.
The proposed measure is also claimed to be an effective tool for censorship as companies will just block access to countries to limit the amount of taxes they pay for data.
Submission + - Reddit users uncover potential nuclear coverup (reddit.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Earlier today, a user on Reddit claimed to have found evidence of a nuclear incident in the vicinity of Indiana or Michigan, and suspects it is being covered up by the government.
Initially I was highly skeptical, but as the day progressed, more and more evidence has surfaced indicating that there may actually be something going on. Independent radiation monitoring stations have detected high counts-per-minute values (CPM), but those data sources were changed or pulled shortly thereafter. Throughout the day, more "evidence" has appeared: many people have reported increased numbers of military aircraft, fire stations and other sources have reported high levels of radiation, and some science labs have had radiation alerts as well.
So, what's going on? Is it merely a series of coincidences being blown up by the hyperbole machine of the internet? Or is there actually something sketchy going on — and if so, what?
Initially I was highly skeptical, but as the day progressed, more and more evidence has surfaced indicating that there may actually be something going on. Independent radiation monitoring stations have detected high counts-per-minute values (CPM), but those data sources were changed or pulled shortly thereafter. Throughout the day, more "evidence" has appeared: many people have reported increased numbers of military aircraft, fire stations and other sources have reported high levels of radiation, and some science labs have had radiation alerts as well.
So, what's going on? Is it merely a series of coincidences being blown up by the hyperbole machine of the internet? Or is there actually something sketchy going on — and if so, what?
Journal Journal: Is Linux getting bloated ? 2
I have dealt with Linux since the beginning
Even before Linux, I've gotten my finger wetted with many flavors of Unixes
Lately, however, I got the feeling that Linux itself might be getting bloated
Case in point --- http://lwn.net/Articles/498135/
In the lwn article, it talks about Linux distros that are getting ready to ditch the Compact Discs (CDs) because their distribution has grown much larger than the 680MB real estate of a typical CD
Submission + - SETI reasearch with Very Large Baseline Interferometry (bbc.co.uk)
An anonymous reader writes: Radio astronomers in Australia have tried a to detect a transmission from Gliese 581 using Very Large Baseline Interferometry with the Australian Large Baseline Array http://arxiv.org/abs/1205.6466. The star Gliese 581 (Gl581) is 20 light years away and is orbited by at least two planets in habitable zone. While the astronomers haven't detected any signal from Gl581, they have derived a limit on the strength of the signal that could be detected from Earth. In simple terms, if a transmitter like Arecibo would have been in operation in the Gl581 system and beaming in our direction, the signal would have been picked.
This is a breakthrough method to examine extraterrestrial transmissions and will be implemented with the Square Kilometre Array, the gigantic radio interferometer that will be built in South Africa and Australia. With this technique, the SKA will lift the SETI exploration to an amazing new regime.
This is a breakthrough method to examine extraterrestrial transmissions and will be implemented with the Square Kilometre Array, the gigantic radio interferometer that will be built in South Africa and Australia. With this technique, the SKA will lift the SETI exploration to an amazing new regime.
Submission + - Dutch firm plans Mars Colony by 2023 (mars-one.com) 2
argStyopa writes: "Dutch firm Mars One plans for ongoing habitation on the Martian Surface by 2023, including additional crews arriving every 2 years thereafter. Intro video at http://www.youtube.com/embed/6QoEEGySGm4 is flashy, almost suggesting a pending TV show. The fact that one of their stated suppliers is SpaceX — who recently announced their Red Dragon module as a Mars-destined vehicle — might suggest that they're totally serious."
