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Comment Re:Just a way to kill the used book market... (Score 1) 419

I got a 5, and got credit for two semesters of college physics. I accepted the credit for the first semester (mostly mechanics), but decided to waive the credits and retake the second semester (E&M). It was (at least for me) the right decision; I would have lived if I hadn't, but I would have struggled to keep up in upper division courses.
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Unbundles Software (nytimes.com)

doishmere writes: Microsoft has agreed to sell individual pieces of software to NY City workers, rather than forcing each seat to buy a full suite of software. The city has created three classes of users based on which pieces of software they need to perform their job, and Microsoft will sell software packages tailored to each class at a reduced price.

Comment Re:WTF is wrong with you people? (Score 1) 606

commonly used implies possible and feasible. I note that "when" appears in both phrases.

Precisely; "common use" predicates possibility and feasibility, and so is asking "when will X be commonly used?" is a stronger question that "when will X be possible or feasible?".

Showcase prototypes don't really count in any practical sense as "have the technology."

They do if you draw a distinction between possibility and feasibility.

Also, to claim that flying vehicles imply "much better transportation systems" is gratuitous. How would they be better?

See previous posts.

Comment Re:Pros... (Score 1) 141

The statistics could be calculated from any old census (and school) data.

Well, that's just it -- this is an improvement on the collection method. I'm not suggesting schools have fingerprint readers at schools, I'm merely stating that this method will likely produce more accurate census data, which could then be used for any of the reasons mentioned.

Comment Re:Pros... (Score 2, Insightful) 141

There's a difference between a right to privacy and the right for you to keep you existence unknown from the government. I agree that privacy is terribly important, but you can't deal with absolutes; yes, people have died for freedom, but that does not mean we must reject anything that encroaches upon it the slightest. The government isn't collecting this information to spy on its citizens, its doing so to provide services to them and properly run the government. You claim the Indian courts will protect privacy; if this is truly the case, then it is likely that anyone misusing this data would be prosecuted.

Comment Pros... (Score 5, Interesting) 141

As long as reasonable attempts are made to keep this information secure and out of the hands of the police, this is a case where the privacy concerns are far outweighed by the benefits. India has the world's second largest population; think about how difficult it must be form them to keep track of even simple census data. The U.S. has a population one fourth the size of India, and still has trouble taking taking a census only once every 10 years. This will allow India to better allocate aid to impoverished regions, or even just track what percentage of children actually attend school.

Comment So fork it. (Score 5, Informative) 392

There's nothing stopping anyone from forking the existing distribution and maintaining it separately from Oracle; if Oracle does release any code back into the public, it can be incorporated too. FTA, "The good news is that those of us who have worked so hard to bring this project to life still wholeheartedly believe in it. A core group of the Wonderland team intends to keep the project going."
Earth

Piezo Crystals Harness Sound To Generate Hydrogen 187

MikeChino writes "Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have discovered that a mix of zinc oxide crystals, water, and noise pollution can efficiently produce hydrogen without the need for a dirty catalyst like oil. To generate the clean hydrogen, researchers produced a new type of zinc oxide crystals that absorb vibrations when placed in water. The vibrations cause the crystals to develop areas with strong positive and negative charges — a reaction that rips the surrounding water molecules and releases hydrogen and oxygen. The mechanism, dubbed the piezoelectrochemical effect, converts 18% of energy from vibrations into hydrogen gas (compared to 10% from conventional piezoelectric materials), and since any vibration can produce the effect, the system could one day be used to generate power from anything that produces noise — cars whizzing by on the highway, crashing waves in the ocean, or planes landing at an airport."

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