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Comment Re:damage control mode (Score 1) 450

Switching to GunCash and away from Intuit Quicken was the best thing I could do for myself! GnuCash is fantastic is every way, whereas Quicken did everything they could do to make me their Bitch. Way back in the early nineties, I setup Quicken on the Mac to handle foreign currencies, which was a do-able hassle and I am amazed to find Quicken on the Mac *still* can't handle foreign currencies. But Quicken Windows could at least in the early 2000 when I made the move from Quicken Mac to Quicken Windows to gain such 'advanced features'.

But the worst part is the business model Intuit has! They want charge me for the software, with frequent annual upgrades, while also charging 'participating banks' another fee for Quicken Export format of transaction data. Since I have banks in The Netherlands who won't buy into Intuit's US-centric game, had I not migrated away from Quicken Windows finally in 2008, I'd still be forced to enter every little transaction by hand, from all banks, credit cards, PayPal, etc., until the books are balanced. Thank Goodness GnuCash allows me to download these Dutch transactions in MT940 format!! And like QuickBooks, GnuCash allows me to create and track the invoices sent out. I can't say enough good things about GnuCash and can't say how much I hate Intuit and am so glad to be free from them after so much time and effort wasted while being trapped by them.

Submission + - Bowhead whale have two anti-aging genes (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by Taco Cowboy
Taco Cowboy writes: The Bowhead whale, each of which has more than 1,000 times as many cells as a human, are known to live more than 200 years of age, and yet they show few signs of the age-related ailments that plague other animals

A team of scientists has mapped the bowhead’s genome and they compared the whale’s genome with that of nine mammals, including other cetaceans, cows, rats, and humans

Reported in the publication Cell Reports the comparative analysis uncovered mutations in two genes, one that is thought to confer resistance to cancer and is also linked to aging and DNA repair; the other is involved with DNA repair only

The next stage of the experiment is to insert these genes into laboratory mice to see if the gene mutations increase the longevity of the mice, and offer resistance to diseases

Comment How is this [OPEN!] internet-friendly? (Score 1) 150

by operator_error (#48736579) Attached to: Microsoft Unveils Nokia 215, a $29 Phone With Internet Access

Seriously? This is a device not unlike the Nokia 108 RM-945, both of which seem designed to suck payments at the teets of the GSM-provider/subsidizer. You can transfer your data using SD-cards or GSM; that's it. Neither of which offer wifi. If you're not including wifi on the device, who is paying for/subsidizing the 'internet', really? And how?

Does anyone remember WAP? This is like Facebook (etc.) subsidized WAP for developing nations, in modern times. Thank you %$#@! rich bastard Zuck & Co. This not exactly open-access internet for developing nations. Do not be fooled. Do not be their tool.

This is also a form of 'bundling', and is not to be confused with a voip-friendly phone, (except for those hackers choosing to abuse this subsidized cost structure using a call-back sytem using lower rates in the EU-type GSM cost structures [...US is subscriber+caller-based. Not a strictly caller-based costing structure])

This is classic Nokia evolution and engineering, now owned by Microsoft and being transitioned for the developing world using an advertising-based payment structure.

Happy 2015+.

Submission + - Airlines struggle for passenger attention to safety (runwaygirlnetwork.com) 2

Submitted by SkyBits
SkyBits writes: Passengers do not pay attention to the cabin crew’s inflight safety briefing as they used to do in times gone by. Airlines have tried long and hard to recapture passengers’ attention with everything from wry, jokey patter to safety videos featuring Hobbits, Olympians and even Alf, but the sad truth is that most passengers today are just too distracted to care. Runway Girl Network, the collective of aviation journalists, reports about this failure and forthcoming tools to face it. The recent cheeky safety videos seem to have three major limitations: “First, their novelty and attractiveness wears out very quickly. When passengers see a safety video that contains a surprising element, they are likely to pay attention. But the second or third time they watch it, as soon as the video starts, they know in advance the ‘surprise’ and lose interest. Secondly, even the most creative safety videos lack interactivity and thirdly, they try to address just one of the two fundamental issues: they try to attract passengers’ attention, but do not make the safety instructions easier to learn and put into practice.” Computer-based, Interactive instructions on in-flight entertainment systems as well as the passengers’ smartphones and tablets seem to be the new strategy to tackle these issues, and the article analyzes a new public app that provides a practical demonstration of how interactive instructions might be like.

Submission + - Netflix Denies There Was a Policy Change With VPNs (freezenet.ca)

Submitted by Dangerous_Minds
Dangerous_Minds writes: The other day, Slashdot linked to a TorrentFreak story saying that Netflix was cracking down on VPN users. Freezenet is pointing to a report from PCMag that quotes a Netflix spokesperson saying that there was no change in their policy on VPNs. Freezenet also did some digging around and found very few reports saying there were VPN access issues and even more reports from users say that their VPN solution is working for the time being.

Submission + - AT&T prepares for war on net neutrality.

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: AT&T has hired Republican polling company Call Research to conduct a national poll this week on net neutrality. In no way even-handed, the poll misrepresents what net neutrality is and what will happen if it becomes law. This is 'Obamacare for the Internet' they claim, a government takeover of the Internet which will stifle innovation of the Internet, the greatest private sector invention for decades, grant the government greater surveillance powers, threaten liberty and will cause America to lose the moral high ground against authoritarian countries like China. Regulation will cost consumers more to access the net and do to the Internet what regulation has done to the poor power and water companies. It's supported by Obama and opposed by the Tea party and the wonderful companies who provide you the Internet like Comcast and Verizon. On and on for twenty minutes it continues.

The results of this poll will no doubt be used to convince politicians what a bad idea net neutrality is, as the respondents seem to be falling for it.

I apologize for posting as AC but I'm violating my NDA and I need this job.

Submission + - Amsterdam Airport Deploys Fully-Automated Solar-Power Green Lasers Against Birds

Submitted by operator_error
operator_error writes: Seven out of every 10,000 flights near Amsterdam involve a collision with birds, upon either take-off or landing. Therefore bird control is such an issue, as many as 7000 geese have to be gassed annually, as more humane methods have been sought. Now Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport has started to deploy solar-powered, fully-automated bird-scanning green lasers, (that will not interfere with aircraft vision).

Comment Re:B-b-but but, Rush says Climate Change is a hoax (Score 1) 145

by operator_error (#48444867) Attached to: Prospects Rise For a 2015 UN Climate Deal, But Likely To Be Weak

It isn't just the right-wing media pundits who are climate deniers. Look no further than the new House Majority Leader from the great coal state of Kentucky, re-elected with money from the Koch Brothers, (who are kinda big on coal). Or the Frackin' State of Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, who disagrees with 800 actual scientists on the matter, since forever. In fact James Inhofe wrote a anti-science book, titled "The Greatest Hoax: How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future", and among other things he oversees the Environmental Protection Agency.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Grea...

http://stateimpact.npr.org/okl...

Comment Re:There are still any payphones to replace ? (Score 3, Interesting) 106

by operator_error (#48408953) Attached to: NYC To Replace Most of Its Payphones With Free Gigabit WiFi In 2015

That YouTube video points out each cellphone currently generates $40 - 60K annually in services. Also, it says the most valuable asset that these units offer is the pre-existing infrastructure of power and telecommunication cables. They're not going anywhere, although collecting coins to complete phone calls might not happen much longer.

Comment And the Lumia 900? (Score 1, Troll) 77

What about the once-flagship Nokia Lumia 900? Oh sure, nevermind; that phone will always be stuck at Windows Phone 7.5. As TFA says, only Windows Phone 8 will be upgraded. Pity those fools that trusted Microsoft and their %$#@! Windows Phone when they bought their new, first ever released (non-linux, non-symbian) Nokia Lumia, complete with new and shiny Windows Phone 7.5.

It would be very interesting to learn the stats on those buyers' subsequent smartphone purchases, assuming that was possible.

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