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Biotech

Submission + - UK Media fall for crazy chilld locating claims (badscience.net)

Submitted by
Padraig
Padraig writes: "Madeleine McCann is a young British girl who was abducted several months ago, and her story has produced mass media hysteria. They've hit an all time low today. Both the Observer and the Mirror, huge UK newspapers, are reporting that an ex policeman called Danie Krugel has found DNA traces of her on a beach. What they don't tell you is that in fact, Krugel has a magic box which works on a "secret energy source" using "quantum physics" to pinpoint the location of a missing person anywhere in the world on a map simply by using a sample of their DNA. This has got to be the most inaccurate story of the year. Playing on people's hopes like that is just wrong."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Two-Word Malware License Agreement (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "theRegister writes via Stopbadware.org about 'two-word' license agreement of a malware, " it's refreshing to find an agreement that gets straight to the point without wasting users' time scrolling down through something they aren't going to read anyway. A license agreement for a malware-bundled codec from hotelcodec(dot)com simply says: "FUCK YOU".""
Power

Submission + - Turn The Deserts Green by Killing Desal Costs (wordpress.com)

Submitted by
cakilmer
cakilmer writes: "I visited the Annual American Membrane Technology Association meeting in Las Vegas last week. These membranes support water desalination. 15 or 20 new plants are in planning stage to be built along coastal California. But there's no new water sources for the southwest. People are still streaming in and the big Hoover dam is half full and falling. What to do? The answer is to invest the money to collapse the cost of water desalination and transport so water in the western deserts is as cheap as water on the East Coast. Is this doable? You bet."
Slashdot.org

Submission + - Who's a Nerd ?

Submitted by sas-dot
sas-dot writes: Is this nerdiness we know? New York Times carries this article on Who is a nerd?, excerpts from it "What is a nerd? Mary Bucholtz, a linguist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has been working on the question for the last 12 years. She has gone to high schools and colleges, mainly in California, and asked students from different crowds to think about the idea of nerdiness and who among their peers should be considered a nerd; students have also "reported" themselves. Nerdiness, she has concluded, is largely a matter of racially tinged behavior. People who are considered nerds tend to act in ways that are, as she puts it, "hyperwhite."
Portables

Submission + - Gadets Taking Over Our Brains (reuters.com)

Submitted by
skotte
skotte writes: "According to a Trinity College survey released Friday, the boom in mobiles and portable devices that store reams of personal information has created a generation incapable of memorizing simple things. While perhaps not news to slashdotters, the implication is a little unsettling."
Quickies

Submission + - Geek Squad hacked dead porn star's computer (theinquirer.net) 1

Submitted by
JagsLive
JagsLive writes: "theinquirer.net reports, http://theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=40965 " A FORMER staffer for Geek Squad admitted his team stole a porn star's personal data and then hacked into her home computer to get more. A few day's later the porn star, Jasmine Grey, was killed in a car crash, leaving the entire team feeling a bit guilty, he said. ""
Security

Submission + - Dangerous Java flaw threatens virtually everything (zdnet.com.au)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: ZDNet is reporting that a java flaw discovered by Google's Security team is "as bad as it gets". Australia's Computer Emergency Response Team (AusCERT) analyst, Robert Lowe, warned that anyone using the Java Runtime Environment or Java Development Kit is at risk. "Delivery of exploits in this manner is attractive to attackers because even though the browser may be fully patched, some people neglect to also patch programs invoked by browsers to render specific types of content": said Lowe. AusCERT has issued an alert.
Input Devices

Submission + - Future of Keyboards and Mice: Touchscreen (osweekly.com)

Submitted by
OSW
OSW writes: "OSWeekly.com takes a look at Microsoft's Surface again and concludes that the future of keyboards and mice is touchscreen. Brandon Watts writes, "In a previous article, I had mixed feelings about the new Microsoft Surface project, as it was really difficult to understand where the market for such a thing would be. Then I watched some new footage on DL.TV and I will admit, even as a Linux guy, that I was blown away. Consider for a moment, if Microsoft is able to get this technology down to the home user for the cost of today's home PCs. I'm not saying that keyboards and mice would become a thing of the past, but I could see them evolving into virtual devices to better suit Surface-like advancements. Remember those old virtual keyboards that were once available for the Palm Pilots? Imagine something like this as your future keyboard... it could happen."
Music

Submission + - Music Protection Racket in Australia (news.com.au) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The "Phonographic Performance Company of Australia" (PPCA) has just won the right to start charging all venues playing music $1.05 per person — based on the capacity of the venue, not the attendance. Dance party's will be charged $3.07 per person. This represents an increase of over 1000% in both cases. Full story at http://theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,22053835 -16947,00.html.
User Journal

Journal Journal: Man Travels 200 Miles at 13000 ft in His Lawn Chair

Journal by honorebel
BEND, Ore. - Last weekend, Kent Couch settled down in his lawn chair with some snacks -- and a parachute. Attached to his lawn chair were 105 large helium balloons. Destination: Idaho.
With instruments to measure his altitude and speed, a global positioning system device in his pocket, and about four plastic bags holding five gallons of water each to act as ballast -- he could turn a spigot, release water and rise -- Couch headed into the Oregon sky
Nearly nine hours later, the 47-yea
Graphics

Submission + - John Knoll on CGI, Tron and 25 years of change

Submitted by StonyandCher
StonyandCher writes: Monday marked the 25th anniversary of of the relase of Tron, whose computer graphics were seen as revolutionary at the time. With that anniversary in mind, Computerworld spoke with John Knoll, a visual effects supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). Knoll, who served as visual effects supervisor for such films as Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith; Pirates of the Caribbean; Star Trek: First Contact, and Mission: Impossible, weighed in on the limitations of CG back then and how far it's come in the last quarter century. (Knoll may also be known in the IT world for his role in the creation of Photoshop, which he developed with his brother Thomas.)
Robotics

Submission + - Ancient robot (60AD) was programmed with rope

Submitted by Pingu93
Pingu93 writes: New Scientist has a feature about the 'worlds first' programmable robot, dating from 60AD. It was designed by a Greek inventor who was, appropriately enough, called Hero. He designed his rolling machine so that it could be programmed using rope and pegs in different configurations. Some of the writers at New Scientist went so far as to build there own version of the robot and the technology blog has some video of it in action.

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