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Patents

Why Geim Never Patented Graphene 325

gbrumfiel writes "As we discussed on Tuesday, Andre Geim won this year's Nobel prize in physics for graphene, but he never patented it. In an interview with Nature News, he explains why: 'We considered patenting; we prepared a patent and it was nearly filed. Then I had an interaction with a big, multinational electronics company. I approached a guy at a conference and said, "We've got this patent coming up, would you be interested in sponsoring it over the years?" It's quite expensive to keep a patent alive for 20 years. The guy told me, "We are looking at graphene, and it might have a future in the long term. If after ten years we find it's really as good as it promises, we will put a hundred patent lawyers on it to write a hundred patents a day, and you will spend the rest of your life, and the gross domestic product of your little island, suing us." That's a direct quote.'"

Comment Is this the same as a powered differential? (Score 1) 609

I think so. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_slip_differential

On a straight road, both tires spin at the same speed. On a curve, the difference in tire rotation causes the smaller gears in the differential to spin. If those gears were connected to a motor you could choose to spin the tires at a different rate any time.

I'm not convinced that this is as efficient as a normal gear system, since it will take power to spin the second shaft.

United States

Submission + - How the CIA uses Scrum (opensourceconnections.com)

Stultsinator writes: "The CIA's Deputy CIO Jill Singer came to the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce to discuss the process they use for evaluating, architecting and implementing their internal IT projects. What was surprising to me was that they use the Scrum methodology extensively."

Comment Re:Why would any one? (Score 1) 210

Of course such insane arrangements with respect to investments lead to a portion of the financial meltdown.

Oh no...

This may be a valid analogy, but I can totally see it getting out of hand.

The Pirate Bay Trial, Prosecutor:
"Your honor, what The Pirate Bay is promoting, in essence, is the same thing that caused the meltdown of financial systems worldwide!" (followed by dubious lines of logic.)

Unix

Why Do We Name Servers the Way We Do? 1397

jfruhlinger writes "If you use a Unix machine, it probably has a funny name. And if you work in an environment where there are multiple Unix machines, they probably have funny names that are variations on a theme. No, you're not the only one! This article explores the phenomenon, showing that even the CIA uses a whimsical server naming scheme." What are some of your best (worst?) naming schemes?
Google

Google Chrome Is Out of Beta 444

BitZtream writes "This morning Google announced that Chrome is out of Beta, and showing improvements for plugin support, most notably video speed improvements. It also contains an updated javascript engine, claiming that it operates 1.4 times faster than the beta version, and work has begun on an extensions platform to allow easier integration with the browser by third parties."
Role Playing (Games)

Submission + - Looking inside the Second Life data centers

An anonymous reader writes: InformationWeek looks inside the data centers that power the game Second Life. Tidbits from the article: The software architecture is an extension of the virtual world metaphor of Second Life. At any time, it's possible to walk into one of Second Life's two data centers, pat one of the rack-mounted servers, and say that particular server is running virtual New York, or San Francisco, or ancient Rome, and imagine itty-bitty people and buildings inside the 1U rack-mounted servers. Linden Lab, which develops and maintains Second Life, runs 2,000 Intel- and AMD-based servers in two co-location facilities in San Francisco and Dallas. And, contrary to widespread belief among Second Life users, Linden Lab has not decided whether to open-source the Second Life server software.

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