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Science

Graphene Can Be Made With Table Sugar 142

Posted by timothy from the let's-grid-it-on dept.
Zothecula writes with this snippet from Gizmag: "There's no doubt that the discovery of graphene is one sweet breakthrough. The remarkable material offers everything from faster, cooler electronics and cheaper lithium-ion batteries to faster DNA sequencing and single-atom transistors. Researchers at Rice University have made graphene even sweeter by developing a way to make pristine sheets of the one-atom-thick form of carbon from plain table sugar and other carbon-based substances. In another plus, the one-step process takes place at temperatures low enough to make the wonder material easy to manufacture."

Comment Re:Security? (Score 1) 154

by dvdme (#34208670) Attached to: Hidden Debug Mode Found In AMD Processors
That is a very interesting point. I recall that when I did some work programming directly to a processor in Assembly, while using the debug mode I was able to break the execution and change any register to another value and then resume it. I know that this was just a school project and the processor I used isn't as complex as an AMD processor is but if the same principle applies, then your comment makes a very good point.
Hardware

Submission + - Has the new age of computer interaction risen? (kotaku.com)

Submitted by SmokeyRobot
SmokeyRobot writes: "Now that Kinect has been cracked open so that anyone with a PC (or Mac) can mess around with its code, people are free to improve on its current capabilities. Like this guy, who has 'multitouch' working on the camera."
Facebook

Submission + - Facebook to Challenge Google for Hosted Email (cmswire.com)

Submitted by Goffee71
Goffee71 writes: Not satisfied with dominating social networks, Facebook is now going after the major email services. On Monday, Facebook is holding a surprise launch event where it will unveil, what 95% of the tech press believes, will be a new email service to rival the likes of Gmail, Hotmail and others. The event will precede Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg's appearance at the Web 2.0 Summit where the news will go down like a lead balloon among the dominant email players.
Android

Android Phone Solves Rubik's Cube In 12.5 Seconds 76

Posted by timothy from the varies-with-the-cube dept.
DeviceGuru writes "A Lego Mindstorms robotics kit controlled by an HTC Nexus One smartphone successfully untangled a Rubik's Cube puzzle in 12.5 seconds at this weeks ARM technical conference in Silicon Valley. The current 3x3x3 cube-solvers's 15-second average represents a substantial improvement over the 25-second solutions of an earlier version, which was powered by a circa-2006 Nokia N95 smartphone, thanks to a faster (1GHz) CPU, more RAM, and revamped cube-solving algorithms. ARM Engineer David Gilday, who created the robotic cube-solver, claims the current version's algorithms can handle cube complexities up to 100x100x100, assuming he build the mechanics. In terms of racing humans, Gilday says the Lego robotics kits can only manage around 1.5 moves per second, whereas human players can make between 5 and 6 moves per second, amazingly enough." Update: 11/12 03:45 GMT by T : Apologies to creator David Gilday, whose name was earlier misspelled.
Operating Systems

Can Windows, OS X and Fedora All Work Together? 375

Posted by timothy from the like-to-buy-the-world-a-coke dept.
greymond writes "In my ever growing job responsibilities, I've recently been tasked with documenting our organization's IT infrastructure, primarily focusing on cost analysis of our hardware leases and software purchases. This is something that has never been done in our organization before and while it's moving along slowly, I'm already seeing some places where we could make improvements. Once completed, I see this as an opportunity to bring up the topic of migrating the majority of our office from Windows 7 to Linux and from Exchange to Gmail. However, this would result in three departments each running a different system: Windows, OS X, and most likely Fedora. Has anyone worked in or tried to set up an environment like this? What roadblocks did you run into? Is this really feasible or should I just continue to focus on the cutbacks that don't require OS changes? (The requirement for having three different systems is that the vast majority of our administration, who rely solely on an install of Microsoft Windows, Word and Excel, are savvy enough that if they came in and saw Gnome running on Fedora with Open Office they'd pick it up fast. However, our marketing department is composed entirely of Apple systems, and the latest Adobe Creative Suite doesn't seem to all work under Wine. The biggest issue is with the Sales department though, as they rely on a proprietary sales platform that is Windows only — and generally, sales personal give the biggest push back when it comes to organizational changes.)"
Biotech

Lizard Previously Unknown To Science Found On Vietnam Menu 133

Posted by samzenpus from the try-the-bigfoot-burger dept.
eldavojohn writes "A lizard long served on the menu in the Mekong Delta has recently caught the attention of scientists when it was noted that all animals in the species appeared identical as well as female. The species appears to be a hybrid of two other species (like a mule or liger). But the curious thing is that this hybrid isn't sterile — it reproduces asexually. The species, known for some time in Vietnam, has now officially been named Leiolepis ngovantrii."
Science

Submission + - What consequences would have an asteroid impact?

Submitted by dvdme
dvdme writes: The website http://www.purdue.edu/impactearth from the Imperial College of London allows the user the simulated what consequences and asteroid impact would have on Earth.
The user can configure some variables such as diameter of the body, density, angle and velocity of impact.
It's also required that the user specifies his distance from the point of impact, so that he can know if he would be directly affected or not either by shock wave or by a tsunami.

Submission + - How to explain relativity in few words?

Submitted by dvdme
dvdme writes: Recently I was asked to explain what was Einstein's theory of relativity in few and simply words to someone who doesn't knowledge in physics.
I'm not an expert myselft but I thought a little but about it and said that relativity explains how everything moves, in few words, the mechanics of the universe. Furthermore I also explain why it's called "theory of relativity", because it states the every movement is relative to the observer. I used the example of an observer inside a car vs. an observer outside a car.
I also explained how relativity describes gravity as a space-time bend by mass with the classical exemple of a heavy ball bending an elastic sheet, thus, "attracting" smaller balls.
I gave some examples of the consequences such as time dilation but in the end I got the impression that I didn't was very clear.
So, the question stood in my head, how to you explain what is the theory of relativity to someone without any physics background?

Submission + - Today in Computing History (google.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I've just finished assembling a website for a project I've been working on.

https://sites.google.com/site/todayincomputinghistory/

Here, you can find out what happened on a particular day of the year in the history of computing. There's a google gadget (which can be embedded on your own website), a smartphone app and even a link to an instructable that shows how I did it. I hope you find this project as interesting as I did as I was putting it together!
Software

Submission + - Biggest Game Console Failures in History (discovery.com) 1

Submitted by
astroengine
astroengine writes: "As Microsoft's motion-controlled Kinect gaming device hits stores, everyone from players to industry analysts are wondering whether the device is a "game changer." Unfortunately, releasing new gaming technologies to the market are far from a sure bet. Discovery News reminisces over some of the biggest flops in game console history that, at the time, held so much promise."

Submission + - Robbers steal 100+ copies of COD: Black Ops (baltimoresun.com)

Submitted by 1080bogus
1080bogus writes: "Handgun-wielding robbers who burst into a video-game store in Harford County over the weekend made off with more than just cash. They also stole more than 100 copies of the highly anticipated "Call of Duty: Black Ops." The Black Ops games stolen Saturday night had been set aside for sale on Tuesday, said Monica Worrell, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office. Fans across the country have pre-ordered copies to avoid missing out." I'm glad I bought mine through Steam. I don't have to worry about burglars or lines.
Biotech

Scientists Turn Skin Into Blood 229

Posted by samzenpus from the horror-movie dept.
Breakthru writes "In an important breakthrough, scientists at McMaster University have discovered how to make human blood from adult human skin. The discovery, published in the prestigious science journal Nature today, could mean that in the foreseeable future people needing blood for surgery, cancer treatment or treatment of other blood conditions like anemia will be able to have blood created from a patch of their own skin to provide transfusions. Clinical trials could begin as soon as 2012."

Submission + - The placebo effect not just on drugs

Submitted by dvdme
dvdme writes: It seams like the placebo effect isn't just valid on drugs. It's also a fact on elevators, offices and traffic lights. An article by Greg Ross on http://www.futilitycloset.com/2010/11/04/placebo-buttons/ says, and I quote:
"In most elevators installed since the early 1990s, the “close door” button has no effect. Otis Elevator engineers confirmed the fact to the Wall Street Journal in 2003.

Similarly, many office thermostats are dummies, designed to give workers the illusion of control. “You just get tired of dealing with them and you screw in a cheap thermostat,” said Illinois HVAC specialist Richard Dawson. “Guess what? They quit calling you.”

In 2004 the New York Times reported that more than 2,500 of the 3,250 “walk” buttons in New York intersections do nothing. “The city deactivated most of the pedestrian buttons long ago with the emergence of computer-controlled traffic signals, even as an unwitting public continued to push on.”
The Internet

Submission + - Net pioneers: Open Internet should be separate (goodgearguide.com.au)

Submitted by
angry tapir
angry tapir writes: "The U.S. Federal Communications Commission should allow for an open Internet separate from specialized services that may prioritize IP traffic, a group of Internet and technology pioneers has recommended. The document, filed in response to an FCC request for public comments on proposed network neutrality rules, steers clear of recommending what rules should apply to the open Internet. Among the tech experts signing the document are Steve Wozniak, cofounder of Apple; Bruce Perens, founder of the open-source software movement; Clay Shirky, an author and lecturer at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program; and David Reed, a contributor to the development of TCP/IP and an adjunct professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab."

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