WaltBusterkeys - Slashdot User

Comment Re:The power of low standards (Score 1) 240

by WaltBusterkeys on Tuesday June 24, 2008 @02:34PM (#23921997) Attached to: Huge Traffic On Wikipedia's Non-Profit Budget

The nines can refer to both.

I agree that banks can't withstand data loss, but they can withstand data errors. If there's a 30-second period per year when data doesn't properly move, and that requires manual cleanup, that's acceptable.

Submission + - Gamers to Help Design HIV Vaccines

Submitted by

Hugh Pickens

on Thursday May 08, 2008 @11:23AM

Hugh Pickens writes: "For years, biochemists have reengineered naturally occurring proteins by growing them in viruses and single-celled organisms in a process called directed evolution. Now David Baker, a leading protein scientist at the University of Washington, has demonstrated the first algorithm for building novel, functioning enzymes from scratch and wants to enlists gamers to improve three-dimensional protein structures, using graphical representations of real protein chemistry. Baker's game, called Foldit which is avaiable for download, uses humans, who are better at seeing the big picture than computers are, to improve computer-designed proteins. The first several levels of Foldit are designed to teach players what good proteins look like and how to manipulate them using the tools of the game. After improving the designs of a few test proteins, players can advance into competitive play, working in teams or alone. By making the game available to anyone over the Web, the researchers expect to find people they call protein savants — people who are very good at solving protein structures and who will spend several hours a week playing the game."

Submission + - Hurricane Expert Calls Gore Theory "Ridiculous (smh.com.au) 5

Submitted by DrWho520 on Sunday October 14, 2007 @06:20PM

DrWho520 writes: ONE of the world's foremost meteorologists has called the theory that helped Al Gore share the Nobel Peace Prize "ridiculous" and the product of "people who don't understand how the atmosphere works".
Dr William Gray, a pioneer in the science of seasonal hurricane forecasts, told a packed lecture hall at the University of North Carolina that humans were not responsible for the warming of the earth.

Submission + - School Administrators Gone Wild 3

Submitted by

theodp

on Monday October 01, 2007 @02:25PM

theodp writes: "Parents of public school kids in Oak Lawn (IL) are all a-titter as traditions like the annual Halloween Parade and Santa's Visit face elimination after complaints that the activities are offensive, particularly to Muslim students. School officials agreed earlier in the month to change the lunch menu to exclude items containing pork to accommodate Muslim students, including a Jell-O ban. And in nearby Oak Park, school administrators are busy cracking down on hugging and high-fives."

Slashdot Top Deals