Comment Re:Because it's *all* Solar Power (Score 0) 436
Coal cares so much that it kills fewer people than wind power kills... birds...
Comment Sells things (Score 1) 178
And pretends to be Cowboy Neil
Submission + - Apple to Build Search Engine to Thwart Google? 2
Hugh Pickens writes: "eWeek reports that the data Apple collects about users from its iPhone is so valuable that the company may build its own iPhone-centric search engine just to keep Google from gleaning insight from that data. "The data generated on the iPhone OS platform must become an increasing priority for Apple and we believe the company has the resources to develop its own products in both maps and search in the next five years," writes analyst Gene Munster. Google is currently the default search engine on the iPhone however Google has increasingly encroached on Apple's mobile turf, offering the Android operating system and several mobile applications and as the search provider for the iPhone, Google sees what iPhone users are searching for, which can help it tailor software and services for its own mobile smartphones, a competitive advantage that has not gone unnoticed by Apple. Apple lacks the experience and engineering wherewhithal to build a large, scalable search engine but Munster says Apple could buy a search startup with a Web index, such as Cuil or Taptu, using its index as the seed for its own search engine. "Apple is in an inside position to tap into the current pent up demand for better mobile search, and add a new competitive differentiation from other search providers and device makers," adds IDC analyst Hadley Reynolds."
Submission + - Open Source Software Suggestions for Smartboards
Bangmaker writes: "Our school's math department recently receive several Smartboards for use in the classroom. As a technology inclined student, I cringe when my teacher must try several times to do simple tasks like selecting and grouping lines and diagrams. While the included software has much to offer, like built in text editors and multicolor pens, even common programs like Inkscape are often easier to use than this software. So I ask you, what other software is available to teachers for these tasks? The software needs to have a built in text editor, the ability to draw freehand using multiple easy to pick colors, and a grid or graph function. Combinations of programs are alright too, but they must be able to run simultaneously on an average office PC. Preferably the software should be free, easy to use and learn for the average human being, and able to be used with only a mouse, so a keyboard is not only not necessary but barely useful except for typing. The program's ability to use all the features of the Smartboard would be an added bonus."
Submission + - 1 in 4 Users Now Running Chrome (blogspot.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Google Chrome is on fire. The latest snapshot from the from the exo.repository shows the nascent web browser running on nearly one out of every four (24.88%) PCs monitored by the exo.performance.network. This represents a 2 percentage point jump in a single week, and a nearly 7 percentage point jump since the beginning of the year.
Submission + - Famed Space Artist Robert McCall Passes Away (space.com)
FleaPlus writes: The artist Robert McCall, who Isaac Asimov described as our 'nearest thing to an artist in residence from outer space,' has passed away at age 90. He began painting conceptual art and acting as a visual historian for NASA early in its history, envisioning the past and future of spaceflight long before the current age of 3D renderings and CGI animations. McCall eventually painted more than 400 pieces of space art (including movie posters for 2001 and the original Star Trek film), many of which can be seen in an online gallery (coral cache).
Comment Finally! (Score 2, Funny) 355
Maybe now I'll have a way to make money off all the weeds in my front yard. I'll finally be able to prove to the neighbors that an unkempt yard is actually worth something.
Astronauts Having Trouble With Tranquility Module 300
Coldeagle writes "Astronauts ran into trouble while trying to connect up the new Tranquility module onto the ISS. A critical insulating cover didn't fit quite right: 'The fabric, multilayered cover is supposed to go between Tranquility and its observation deck, but the metal bars are not locking down properly because of interference from a hand rail or some other structure at the hatch.' One has to wonder if this is another imperial/metric snafu."
Comment Bit early... (Score 1) 269
Should we not create computers with at least near human intelegence before we try to give them curiosity? It seems pretty useless to me to give a computer curiosity in the hope that humans might learn something when, at its current state, the computer could not decipher the information it is curious about. I guess we could still look to the future, but why waste this time on such things when we could be programming for the iPad?
Journal Journal: The iPad 1
Is almost a total disappointment. No camera, no backgrounding, no flash support.
Journal Journal: Singularity
I am learning more daily about Singularity. It seems in some ways to be a cult...
Comment Re:Obvious choice (Score 1) 481
Ringwraiths, or wraiths in general, are also immortal. They can create more wraiths using there amazing arsenal of weapons. They are also only visible to those in the spirit realm. And they can't die unless their master is destroyed.
Comment As in... (Score 5, Insightful) 576
Spine to Spine (as skinny as possible) maybe 30 feet. Flat however, to take up more room, maybe 100 feet. But why in feet anyway. We should be using meters, as that is the SI unit for length.
Comment Haha (Score 1) 306
This is almost funny. You know, the gas and all. Whatever. Anyway, what other gasses do we have to do the same job(s)? I would think this might not go to well with the people who use it, given how common and likely (comparatively) inexpensive it is.
Comment The problem of Evidence (Score 1) 1164
There is at least one piece of "evidence" for ID belief in nearly every aspect of science. But at the same time there is a non-ID piece of "evidence" that goes against it. For instance, those of ID often believe that a "Spirit" is involved in people or things that (at the same time) gives freedom of choice, and from it the ability to reason, so on... The people who believe something other than ID, or even those in ID who do not believe in having a "Spirit" would argue that there is no free choice or "reason," per say, but that the random or non-random (as in caused by something "in the world") path of electricity through brain neurons causes people to do the things they do. The "Spirit" group might say that the "Spirit" causes the non-random actions, but since the non-"Spirit" group denies the existence of such, and as at this point "Spirits" cannot be proven or disproven, the argument should halt until further evidence is revealed. However, the argument continues even though no new evidence has been shown. Also, even when new evidence is shown disproving "Spirits," one of the "Spirit" group might argue that the "Spirit" is or is caused by a god or God (god meaning one of many, God meaning one). Since this is fundamental to the argument in the first place, the whole thing boils down to a "faith" based belief, for both parties.
*I am not yet out of high school, and so have not been exposed to the doctrines of Christian, Evolutionist, ID, Muslim... or other college.
