Submission + - New iPod Checksum Cracked (kde.org) 1
An anonymous reader writes: After 36 hours of reverse engineering, the method for producing the checksum on new iPods has been discovered.
Submission + - Scientists develop non-stick gum... (independent.co.uk)
Zephida writes: Non-stick chewing gum which cannot glue itself to pavements, seats or shoes — and with the added bonus of being completely bio-degradable — has been invented by a British scientist in what is thought to be a world first
The gum contains a new kind of rubber-like polymer that lacks the stickiness of conventional chewing gums, which have become a costly environmental problem for local councils because of the millions of discarded cuds which remain glued to pavements and buildings for years.
The gum contains a new kind of rubber-like polymer that lacks the stickiness of conventional chewing gums, which have become a costly environmental problem for local councils because of the millions of discarded cuds which remain glued to pavements and buildings for years.
Submission + - AMD Releases 900+ Pages Of ATI GPU Specifications (phoronix.com) 1
jrwr00 writes: "AMD has started to release their GPU specifications in the open! Right now you can download M56 and RV630 register reference guides for free with no Non-Disclosure Agreement (over 900 pages in total so far). More documents will be delivered shortly."
Submission + - How Liberals are Destroying this Country: High Sch (blogspot.com)
Advocate123 writes: So now a little girl cannot wear an American flag to school in memory of those who died on 9/11.
Submission + - Programming Can Ruin Your Life (devizen.com)
devizen writes: "There are many essays and articles extolling the virtues of becoming a great programmer. You'll have a sharp mind, great abstract reasoning skills, and a chance to become wealthy by working mere hours a day. This is what you've heard, right? Sadly, no one ever tells you about the ways in which it will adversely affect your life. Programming Can Ruin Your Life does just that."
Submission + - Dragonball Z Live Action Movie Filming (rottentomatoes.com)
wawannem writes: "We may someday see a live action adaptation of Dragonball Z! It seems details are hard to find, but it would seem that filming has begun. I remember rumors of this film as far back as 2000. The budget is listed at $100 million, so I am expecting big effects!"
Submission + - Soft for iPhone unbloking is on sale (blogspot.com)
Mikeprg writes: "The software for unblocking of mobile phone Apple iPhone has gone on sale. As informs DailyTech, now the utility for removal of a binding iPhone to a network of operator AT&T is offered by four on-line shops"
Submission + - Counterfeit iPhone without the lock-in (bloomberg.com)
alphabetsoup writes: Not only are iPhones clones available in South-east Asia, they are available since December, six months before the real iPhone was released. The counterfeits were designed from photos of iPhones posted on the internet. However these clones differ from the original in one crucial aspect — they are much more open than the original iPhone. The counterfeit phones work on any network. From the article: "It's the exterior we are imitating," Ben says. "If customers want functions, we can offer more and much better functions than the real phone."
With Apple delaying the launch of iPhone in Asia till 2008, these clones may be the only option of available to Asians for another year.
With Apple delaying the launch of iPhone in Asia till 2008, these clones may be the only option of available to Asians for another year.
Submission + - Black screen of darkness to haunt Vista pirates (computerworld.com)
jcatcw writes: Microsoft's Reduced Functionality mode was explained in an email to OEMs as the consequence of Vista piracy. It includes a black screen after 1 hour of browsing, no start menu or task bar, and no desktop. Using fear as a motivator, the email warns resellers to 'make sure your customers always get genuine Windows Vista preinstalled.'
Submission + - No gnu/linux love from ID software (beyond3d.com) 1
gnarlin writes: "According to golem.de's article (in German) ID software will no longer be porting their games to gnu/linux starting with the new Rage game being developed. Another article at beyond3d has the details in english. Is this due to lack of sales? This seems to be a major blow to gnu/linux gamers everywhere, especially when gnu/linux users are finally getting good Free software drivers for AMD's/ATI's graphic chips."
Submission + - IBM beats Microsoft over the head with own code (networkworld.com)
bednarz writes: "IBM added a delicious twist on its new commitment to help OpenOffice.org battle Microsoft Office by donating code that was originally derived in part from a Microsoft-developed technology.
IBM's iAccessible2, code-named Project Missouri, is a specification for technology used to help the visually impaired interact with Open Document Format (ODF)-compliant applications and was developed in part using Microsoft Active Accessibility (MAA)."
Submission + - Music Industry Brain Damage - The 1
mrneutron2003 writes: Just when you thought stupid ideas had become an endangered species, the RIAA presses forward and shows us how naive we were. The RIAA has officially backed a move by the recording industry to reintroduce the CD single. Populated with two songs and a "ringtone", this brilliantly clueless idea is to be marketed as a "ringle", complete with an even more clueless retail price of $6-7 per CD. Apart from the fact the industry hasn't agreed on how the ringtone is to be redeemed (Sony BMG, the initial proponent of the idea...is this any suprise....is the exception here), the pricing puts it way out of the league of legitimate digital music downloads.
http://www.fastsilicon.com/off-the-wall/music-industry-brain-damage-the-ringle.html?Itemid=60
Submission + - Jack Thompson Suspended 1
Dr. Eggman writes: GamePolitics.com has the story the Florida Bar has ordered Jack Thompson to undergo psychological testing and have suspended his license for 91 days. According to his 2005 book, he has been asked to undergo such testing by the bar before, but sued and successfully settled with the bar for $20,000.
Submission + - French Threat to ID Secret US Satellites (beskerming.com)
SkiifGeek writes: "Space.com has reported that the French have identified numerous objects in orbit that do not appear in the ephemeris data reported by the US Space Surveillance Network. Since the US has claimed that if it doesn't appear in the ephemeris data, then it doesn't exist, and the French claim that at least some of the objects have solar arrays, it seems that the French have found secret US satellites.
While the French don't plan to release the information publicly, they are planning to use it as leverage to get the US to suppress reporting of sensitive French satellites in their published ephemeris.
The Graves surveillance radar (the French system) and a comparable German system may form the basis of a pan-European Space Surveillance network — another system that the Europeans don't want to rely on the US for."
While the French don't plan to release the information publicly, they are planning to use it as leverage to get the US to suppress reporting of sensitive French satellites in their published ephemeris.
The Graves surveillance radar (the French system) and a comparable German system may form the basis of a pan-European Space Surveillance network — another system that the Europeans don't want to rely on the US for."
Submission + - Toddlers are smarter than chimps (sciencemag.org)
Lucas123 writes: "The journal Science just posted the findings of a study today that showed two-year-old children are naturally more intelligent than chimps of vastly greater age. In one experiment, chimps tasked with opening a plastic tube to retrieve food or a toy inside bit it and tried to break it, while the children watched an example and copied it. "Children and chimpanzees had very similar cognitive skills for dealing with the physical world but ... the children had more sophisticated cognitive skills than either of the ape species for dealing with the social world.""
