Comment Re:The missing option that nobody wants to admit . (Score 1) 139
Yeah... It could be in the "Internet" category for some. "One-handed websurfing".
Comment The missing option that nobody wants to admit ... (Score 5, Interesting) 139
A good wank.
Don't mod me down, I'm serious. A lot of people do it every evening to settle down and relax before going to bed, but they don't talk about it. Just ask a sexologist.
Some are blessed with having a willing significant other, and some don't have any, and some do have one that is not willing to do it every night.
Russia Wants To Replace US Computer Chips With Local Processors 340
An anonymous reader writes with this news from Tass: Russia's Industry and Trade Ministry plans to replace U.S. microchips (Intel and AMD), used in government's computers, with domestically-produced micro Baikal processors in a project worth dozens of millions of dollars, business daily Kommersant reported Thursday. The article is fairly thin, but does add a bit more detail: "The Baikal micro processor will be designed by a unit of T-Platforms, a producer of supercomputers, next year, with support from state defense conglomerate Rostec and co-financing by state-run technological giant Rosnano.
The first products will be Baikal M and M/S chips, designed on the basis of 64-bit nucleus Cortex A-57 made by UK company ARM, with frequency of 2 gigahertz for personal computers and micro servers."
Comment Re:Battery life (Score 1) 376
I don't think that this is a ban on this particular product model but rather about banning a category of products.
Comment Re:Recorded Movies? (Score 2) 376
I think that for many people it is about availability. Movies are released at different dates in different parts of the world, or in some places not at all. A movie may be released in cinemas six months later somewhere, but by then the hype about it on the Internet is already long over.
Comment Re:Who is being taxed, exactly? (Score 4, Insightful) 322
You could also see it this way:
You would be taxing away the competitive advantage that companies in a polluting country would have against companies in those who restricts its carbon emissions.
In the short term, it would promote domestic business. In the long term, the polluting country is supposed to lower its emissions and get back in the game, and then both foreign and domestic companies should be able to compete on the same terms - creating more competition and again lower prices.
Comment LLVM auto-vectorisation (Score 1) 636
Isn't auto-vectorization done in the back-end of LLVM anyway? So it shouldn't matter which programming language was used in the front end.
Comment Re:Sun Type 5c Keyboard (Score 2) 166
The innards are regular Fujitsu rubber dome. Nothing special. Quite mushy and horrible to type on.
But it is sure one of the most beautiful keyboards in the world. I love the colour scheme and font choices. It sure has style.
The attention to detail, the size of it and the layout feels professional - this is a workstation keyboard indeed.
I bought one just to have to look at.
Comment Re:Hacking = Curiosity (Score 1) 153
Actually, the etymological origin of the word "hacker" is from "hacksaw".
To use a hacksaw is called to "hack". Sometimes the use of a hacksaw is to do a quick fix that is not necessarily particularly elegant, for instance to cut a table leg shorter to make it more level.
Therefore to "hack" something is to tinker with something.
A computer hacker is someone who tinkers with computer/systems, and not necessarily in the intended way.
A student prank at MIT is also traditionally called a "hack". It could involve hacking something off with a hacksaw, but these days is often something more constructive, not computer-related at all.
Comment Re:Vertical Resolution (Score 1) 304
This monitor is pretty big. It has about the same height as a 27" 16:9 monitor or a 22" 4:3 monitor.
Resolution is 109.7 PPI which is the norm for desktop displays.
BTW, I think it is about time we start comparing vertical sizes instead of diagonal.
Trillions of Plastic Pieces May Be Trapped In Arctic Ice 136
sciencehabit (1205606) writes "Humans produced nearly 300 million tons of plastic in 2012, but where does it end up? A new study has found plastic debris in a surprising location: trapped in Arctic sea ice. As the ice melts, it could release a flood of floating plastic onto the world. From the article: 'Scientists already knew that microplastics—polymer beads, fibers, or fragments less than 5 millimeters long—can wind up in the ocean, near coastlines, or in swirling eddies such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. But Rachel Obbard, a materials scientist at Dartmouth College, was shocked to find that currents had carried the stuff to the Arctic.'"
Ask Slashdot: Can Star Wars Episode VII Be Saved? 403
An anonymous reader writes "10 years ago today, in the wake of two disappointing Star Wars prequels, we discussed whether Episode III could salvage itself or the series. Now, as production is underway on Episode VII under the care of Disney, I was wondering the same thing: can it return Star Wars to its former glory? On one hand, many critics of the prequels have gotten what they wanted — George Lucas has a reduced role in the production of Episode VII. Critically, he didn't write the screenplay, which goes a long way toward avoiding the incredibly awkward dialogue of the prequels. On the other hand, they're actively breaking with the expanded universe canon, and the series is now under the stewardship of J.J. Abrams. His treatment of the Star Trek reboot garnered lots of praise and lots of criticism — but his directorial style is arguably more suited to Star Wars anyway. What do you think? What can they do with Episode VII to put the series back on track?"
Rising Sea Level Could Put East Coast Nuclear Plants At Risk 323
mdsolar (1045926) writes with news that global warming may make it more difficult to use modern power sources that rely upon being near large bodies of water for cooling. From the article: "During the 1970s and 1980s, when many nuclear reactors were first built, most operators estimated that seas would rise at a slow, constant rate. ... But the seas are now rising much faster than they did in the past ... Sea levels rose an average of 8 inches between 1880 and 2009, or about 0.06 inches per year. But in the last 20 years, sea levels have risen an average of 0.13 inches per year... NOAA) has laid out four different projections for estimated sea level rise by 2100. Even the agency's best-case scenario assumes that sea levels will rise at least 8.4 inches by the end of this century. NOAA's worst-case scenario, meanwhile, predicts that the oceans will rise nearly 7 feet in the next 86 years. But most nuclear power facilities were built well before scientists understood just how high sea levels might rise in the future. And for power plants, the most serious threat is likely to come from surges during storms. Higher sea levels mean that flooding will travel farther inland, creating potential hazards in areas that may have previously been considered safe."
The article has charts comparing the current elevation of various plants with their estimated elevations under the various NOAA sea level rise estimates.
IBM Discovers New Class of Polymers 90
Charliemopps (1157495) writes "IBM Research has published a new paper to the journal Science which describes a newly discovered class of Industrial Polymers that promise to revolutionize the fields of transportation, aerospace, and microelectronics. These materials resist cracking, have strength higher than that of bone, the ability to self-heal, and are completely recyclable. 'Codenamed Titan and Hydro, both of which came from the same reaction. One is rigid; it could become part of the next generation of computers. The other is a gel, so it it could be included in water-soluble nail polish.'"
Comment Re:I wonder (Score 1) 119
I think it is because it is perceived as being money for nothing.
