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Technology

Submission + - Developers selling 'dragonfly' robotic drone for about $100 (yahoo.com)

Submitted by
SonicSpike
SonicSpike writes: "In a move to raise funds for the Dragonfly drone, the developers are offering the public the chance to own their own flying robot Dragonfly for $119.

“This means you can do amazing aerial photography, spy on people, secure your house or use it as the next-gen gaming platform,” says Emanuel Jones, co-founder of TechJect, in a promotional video for the project on the Indiegogo website.

Jones and project founder Jayant Ratti started TechJect after first developing the Dragonfly at the Georgia Institute of Technology with a grant from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

They say the current prototype weighs less than an ounce, or the weight of one AA battery. And if you believe the project’s developers, it offers several more practical uses than your typical “one-trick pony” aerial drone, including a smaller frame and more powerful battery life."
Android

Submission + - Which Web Browser Should You Run On Your Android Device? (tomshardware.com) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: This site regularly does performance shootouts of the top desktop Web browsers, and they've finally tested the options available on Android. Due to Apple's anti-3rd-party browser stance, and Windows RT's IE-only advantage on the "Desktop", Android is the only mobile platform where browser competition is thriving. The results are pretty surprising, with the long-time mobile browsers like Dolphin, Maxthon, Sleipnir, and the stock Android browser coming out ahead of desktop favorites like Firefox, Opera, and even Chrome. Dolphin, thanks to its new Jetpack HTML5 engine, soars ahead of the competition.
Graphics

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Best Laptop With Decent Linux Graphics Support? 4

Submitted by jcreus
jcreus writes: After struggling for some years with Nvidia cards (the laptop from which I am writing this has two graphic cards, an Intel one and Nvidia one, and is a holy mess [I still haven't been able to use the Nvidia card]) and, encouraged by Torvalds' middle finger speech, I've decided to ditch Nvidia for something better. I am expecting to buy another laptop and, this time, I'd like to get it right from the start. It would be interesting if it had decent graphics support and, in general, were Linux friendly. While I know Dell has released a Ubuntu laptop, it's way off-budget. My plan is to install Ubuntu, Kubuntu (or even Debian), with dual boot unfortunately required. Thanks in advance, Slashdot!

Submission + - ask slashdot: Should Lenovo Run Linux?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Beeb is running a feature on why Lenovo's cool computers aren't seen as cool. They mention Apple, but both parties sidestep the problem that unlike Apple, Lenovo can only design the carcase. What if they spun their own Linux distro? Add Lenovo to the new Valve-Nvidia push towards Linux, and you've got a Tipping Point that no hardware maker or app developer can afford to ignore.

AND those same app developers are unlikely to ignore the open source apps that have shadowed them. That's the other Tipping Point. Expect a perfect storm of software-patent legislation and tactical-lawsuits to descend in parallel. It would be "interesting times".

Submission + - ask /.:Mathematical Fiction?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Neal Stephenson's 1999 Cryptonomicon was a great yarn. It was also a thoroughly enjoyable (and too short) romp through some mathematics and mathematicians. Where can I find more of that? I should say that I don't want SF — at least none of the classic SF I read voraciously in the 70s; it's just not the same thing, and far too often just a puppet-theatre for an author's philosophical rant. Has any author managed to hit the same vein as Stevenson did? (Good non-fiction math-reads also most gratefully accepted. What have you got?)
Social Networks

Submission + - Can This Girl Find Love on a Coding Website? (gizmodo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: "It's not totally unlike online dating but Noriko Higashi, a programmer at a social gaming company, posted a request for a boyfriend on GitHub, the social coding platform, outlining what she wants in a partner. If you can code, you have a chance at love. Bonus points for running your own server."
Digital

Submission + - Irish Broadcaster RTE Turns Off Analog Television Signal (www.rte.ie)

Submitted by alancronin
alancronin writes: This morning at 10:00AM GMT, the Irish broadcaster RTE will stop broadcasting it's analog television signal after moving to the digital OTA MPEG-4 service. Ireland now joins the ever growing list of countries that are no longer broadcasting OTA analog TV signals.

Submission + - Boeing's CHAMP missile uses radio waves to remotely disable PCs (boeing.com) 1

Submitted by Dupple
Dupple writes: During last week's test, a CHAMP (Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project) missile successfully disabled its target by firing high power microwaves into a building filled with computers and other electronics.

On Oct. 16th at 10:32 a.m. MST a Boeing Phantom Works team along with members from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate team, and Raytheon Ktech, suppliers of the High Power Microwave source, huddled in a conference room at Hill Air Force Base and watched the history making test unfold on a television monitor.

CHAMP approached its first target and fired a burst of High Power Microwaves at a two story building built on the test range. Inside rows of personal computers and electrical systems were turned on to gauge the effects of the powerful radio waves.

Seconds later the PC monitors went dark and cheers erupted in the conference room. CHAMP had successfully knocked out the computer and electrical systems in the target building. Even the television cameras set up to record the test were knocked off line without collateral damage.

Submission + - Science MIT's artificial leaf is ten times more efficient than the real thing (wired.co.uk)

Submitted by Kkloe
Kkloe writes: MIT professor Daniel Nocera claims to have created an artificial leaf, made from stable and inexpensive materials, which mimics nature's photosynthesis process.

The device is an advanced solar cell, no bigger than a typical playing card, which is left floating in a pool of water. Then, much like a natural leaf, it uses sunlight to split the water into its two core components, oxygen and hydrogen, which are stored in a fuel cell to be used when producing electricity.
Piracy

Submission + - UK ISPs to block more file-sharing websites (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by another random user
another random user writes: The UK's major internet service providers have been asked to block three more file-sharing websites

The BPI (British Phonographic Industry), which acts on behalf of rights holders, wants ISPs to prevent access to Fenopy, H33t and Kickass Torrents.

The BPI alleges that the sites are illegally distributing music. The ISPs told the BBC they would comply with the new demand, but only if a court order is put in place.

It follows a separate court order in April which saw popular file-sharing site The Pirate Bay blocked in the UK.

The biggest ISP, BT, said it was also "currently considering" its options. The letter, which was not intended to go public, was sent to six ISPs last week, namely BT, Sky, Virgin Media, O2, EE and TalkTalk.

It is understood that the BPI is hoping all three sites will be blocked before Christmas — far more quickly than the process has taken previously.
Power

Submission + - Wisconsin Nuclear Plant to Close, Can't Compete with Natural Gas

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "The NY Times reports that the Kewaunee Power Station will close early next year because the owner is unable to find a buyer and the plant is no longer economically viable driven by slack demand for energy and the low price of natural gas. “This was an extremely difficult decision, especially in light of how well the station is running and the dedication of the employees,” says Dominion CEO Thomas F. Farrell II. “This decision was based purely on economics.” When Dominion bought the plant from local owners in 2005, it signed contracts to sell them the electricity, a common practice, but as those contracts expire, the plant faces selling electricity at the lower rates that now dominate the energy market. Other companies have also reported falling revenues, although they may not be on the verge of closing reactors because they are in regions where the market price of electricity is higher. The closing, which did not catch many in the industry by surprise, highlights the struggle of the U.S. "nuclear renaissance." A decade ago, the nuclear industry talked about a nuclear renaissance due to rising fossil fuel prices and concerns about meeting greenhouse gas emissions, but the nuclear revival did not occur in the United States as the cost of fossil fuels like natural gas fell and the federal government has been slow to put a price on carbon. "A number of nuclear units won't run their 60-year licensed lives if current gas price forecasts prove accurate," says Peter Bradford, a former member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "The determining factor is likely to come at the point at which they need to decide on a major capital investment.""

Submission + - Childhood Obesity and Antibiotics, Kefir to the rescue! (kefirprobiotic.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: There is mounting evidence that more than poor diet and lack of exercise contribute to the epidemic of overweight children, antibiotics are another important factor. A study of the rate of childhood obesity in children who were given antibiotics during infancy was recently published. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children found that babies who were prescribed antibiotics during their first five months had a 22% greater chance of being overweight. Why?

Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, said:

“Microbes in our intestines may play critical roles in how we absorb calories, and exposure to antibiotics, especially early in life, may kill off healthy bacteria that influence how we absorb nutrients into our bodies, and would otherwise keep us lean.”

Many antibiotics are not very discriminate. They do not target a specific bacteria, but instead they have a medium or broad spectrum. This causes them to not only kill off damaging pathogens, but also the beneficial bacteria of our stomach and intestines. This throws off the balance of anyone’s digestive tract, let alone the still developing digestive system of an infant. Besides a greater likelihood of becoming overweight the most common effect of this imbalance is diarrhea. Not exactly something you want for your baby! But, what can we do to help, especially if the antibiotics are needed?
Kefir to the Rescue!

Kefir has the amazing ability to give our bodies back those lost probiotics that antibiotics destroy. Real kefir, made in the tradition way, contains around 5 trillion probiotics. Not only are the probiotics needed in our systems for healthy digestion they also kill off bacteria and yeasts that make us sick. What better way to prevent or cure an unhealthy childhood then teaching our children to drink kefir. Kefir can also be added to delicious smoothies that are more palatable for a child.

Comment Old news (Score 2) 137

by bothemeson (#41703085) Attached to: Carbon Dating Gets an Update
The Internationally agreed Radiocarbon calibration curve (IntCal) - co-ordinated from Belfast University - takes info from ice-cores, lake sediment cores, tree-rings, corals, etc from the Southern and Northern hemispheres (there's an offset between them) puts them together (this work is done by statisticians using specially developed methods rather than other scientists using off-the-shelf techniques) and although some scientists would rather that only their work was used (as they can then claim whatever 'accuracy' they wish to claim) independent verification of lab practices is extremely useful in the work. The most recent published work dates back to 50,000 years BP ('before present' where 'present' is 1950) and the next set of curves (IntCal 12) - being worked on at the moment will take it back further. Abstract for IntCal 09 - http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/10694/
Google

Submission + - Congressman Warns FTC: Suing Google Will Be A Woefully Misguided Step (muktware.com)

Submitted by sfcrazy
sfcrazy writes: Colarado Democrat Rep. Jared Polis is warning FTC to not take any action against Google. The focus of FTC's investigation is "whether Google manipulates its search results to ensure that its own services, such as YouTube, Google Maps and Google Plus, appear above those of its rivals." Polis argues that "I believe that application of anti-trust against Google would be a woefully misguided step that would threaten the very integrity of our anti-trust system, and could ultimately lead to Congressional action resulting in a reduction in the ability of the FTC to enforce critical anti-trust protections in industries where markets are being distorted by monopolies or oligopolies."

I think the services which does deserve FTC investigation is Apple and Microsoft for their clear vendor-lock and monopolistic practices.
Science

Submission + - Female scientists celebrate Ada Lovelace Day (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by Dupple
Dupple writes: Ada Lovelace Day is on 16 October and in London a cabaret-style evening of talks, demonstrations and singing, all performed by women, will mark the event, with additional celebrations planned in Brazil, Slovenia, Sweden, Italy and the US.

The day is named after Ada Lovelace, who worked with inventor Charles Babbage on plans for an "analytical engine" in the 1800s.

Suw Charman-Anderson started Ada Lovelace Day in 2009
The device is now widely regarded as the world's first computer model, and Ms Lovelace as the first computer programmer, although the pair never actually built it.

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