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Submission + - Kansas to nix expansion of Google Fiber and municipal broadband (consumerist.com) 1

Submitted by symbolset
symbolset writes: Consumerist is reporting on a bill to restrict municipal support of broadband expansion. Purportedly to ensure a "level playing field" to encourage commercial expansion in this area, these bills are usually referred to as oligopoly protection acts. Everywhere they have been implemented expansion of new broadband technology stops. In this specific case no municipal entity in Kansas will be able to enter the same sort of agreements that enabled Google Fiber. From the bill:

Except with regard to unserved areas, a municipality may not, directly or indirectly: (1) Offer to provide to one or more subscribers, video, telecommunications or broadband service; or (2) purchase, lease, construct, maintain or operate any facility for the purpose of enabling a private business or entity to offer, provide, carry, or deliver video, telecommunications or broadband service to one or more subscribers.

More details at Muninetworks.org and GigaOM

Submission + - Nintendo Could Base Comeback on Improving Peoples' Health (slashdot.org)

Submitted by Nerval's Lobster
Nerval's Lobster writes: It’s no secret that Nintendo faces significant challenges: revenues are down, rival platforms such as Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 are attracting a lot of buzz, and iOS and Android have made significant inroads into mobile gaming. Rather than double down on its core business, however, Nintendo reportedly sees its salvation in new, nongaming segments such as... monitoring your health? “We have now redefined entertainment to mean making it fun for people to improve the quality of their lives,” Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata told a company strategy meeting, according to The Wall Street Journal . But he refused to part with more detail about Nintendo’s plans, except to claim that whatever’s in the works isn’t a wearable device along the lines of Nike’s FuelBand or the FitBit, and it isn’t an iteration of the Wii Balance Board, an accessory that measures the user’s weight and center of balance while playing games.

Submission + - IE drops to single digit market share

Submitted by fplatten
fplatten writes: I think this is all you need to see to know what legacy Steve Ballmer has left at Microsoft where it's IE browser market share has collapsed from a high of 86% in 2002 to just 9% now. I guess this is just another in a long list of tech companies that failed to maintain it's dominant market share. Also, IE may be the one product that never really deserved it, but just piggybacked on Windows and users left in droves once decent (more secure) alternatives and standards became popular.

Submission + - Walia Boilers: Three Decades of Boiler Technology (abneygreen.com)

Submitted by beverye2
beverye2 writes: Thirty years of experience in boiler technology is not a mean accomplishment for a company such as Walia Boilers. Its claim as a leading designer and manufacturer of steam boilers is, therefore, not an unfounded, self-serving statement. We can easily look it up for ourselves to find out that it has the excellent track record to make it at par and even above with other companies in the boiler industry.

Since 1977, Walia Boilers has been able to install more than 1800 boiler systems in various industries throughout the globe, or an average of about 50 installations per year. That should have kept this company busy all month long — and all week long, for that matter. At that pace alone, we can imagine the dedicated service the company provides for a large country such as India and the rest of the world.

Walia prides itself for its “distinctive advantage of lowest fuel consumption with economy in operation” of its boilers systems. This has been tested and proven in various industries which include textiles, paper, oil, plywood, rubber and pharmaceuticals. Walia also holds various patents for inventions in boiler technology, such as the world’s first Triple Individual Furnaces (Independent Operation); Three pass, Fully Wet Back designed Stem Boiler and the Twin Furnace Design; Three pass, Wet Back boiler with two Independent flue gas Paths.

The quality of Walia’s products and services assures its clients of the units’ endurance and reliability – qualities which reflect the essential character of the company itself. With its vast experience, its enduring commitment to excellence and its consistent delivery of dependable products, Walia has lived up to its widely recognized reputation and its goal of maintaining its position as a pioneer and leader in boiler technology.

When it comes to boiler technology, Walia Boilers keeps the competition on its toes, even if they are not busy trying to keep in pace.

Feed Google News Sci Tech: How about them apples: Google and Samsung ink patent deal - Computerworld (google.com)

From feed by feedfeeder

Business Recorder
How about them apples: Google and Samsung ink patent deal
Computerworld
IDG News Service - Google and Samsung have signed a "global patent cross-license agreement" that covers the companies' existing patents and future ones over the next 10 years. In a brief statement released Sunday, Google and Samsung said the...
Google and Samsung in Deal to Cooperate on PatentsNew York Times
Google and Samsung agree on extensive patent licensingAndroid Community
Google and Samsung sign global patent dealFinancial Times
App Developer Magazine
all 68 news articles

Submission + - Edward Snowden says NSA engages in industrial espionage (www.cbc.ca) 2

Submitted by Maow
Maow writes: Snowden has been interviewed by a German TV network and stated that the NSA is involved in industrial espionage, which is outside the range of national security.

He claims that Siemens is a prime example of a target for the data collection.

I doubt this would suprise AirBus or other companies, but it shall remain to be seen what measures global industries take (if any) to prevent their internal secrets from falling into NSA's — and presumably American competitors' — hands.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Tips For a Brand-New Linux User? 1

Submitted by Maxus Atom
Maxus Atom writes: So, I've recently been given a 2007 ThinkPad installed with Ubuntu 13.10. I'm pretty knowledgeable about the computers, I'm fluent in two coding languages (Lua and JavaScript), but when I look at Ubuntu, though I've gotten pretty far on my own, I'd like to know if I'm missing anything. I've been prowling the forums learning how to use it, but it seems people don't really respond to my questions on Absolute Beginners. I'd like to know what there is for me to optimize my Ubuntu experience.

Submission + - Grand Canyon is "Frankenstein" of Geologic Formations (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: It’s a debate that has vexed scientists for decades: Is the Grand Canyon young or old, geologically speaking? Both, a new study declares. A group of scientists reports that the famed formation is a hybrid of five different gorges of various ages--two of three middle segments formed between 70 million and 50 million years ago and between 25 million and 15 million years ago, but the two end segments were carved in the past 5 million to 6 million years--and the Colorado River only tied them into a single continuous canyon 5 million or 6 million years ago.

Submission + - Scary Overview of Biological and Chemical Weaponry, 1950 - 1965

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Two voluminous listings of research and development reports on biological and chemical warfare dating from 1950 through 1960 and from 1961 through 1965 were released by the Army and are available online. The reports described in these listings are available upon request from the U.S. Army's West Desert Technical Information Center at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah. They outline the massive scale of the early phases of the Nation's biological and chemical weapons program. Several other countries conducted similar programs. The listing of reports includes bizarre approaches such as balloon bombs to spread germs, anticrop warfare to cause economic damage by targeting agricultural crops, entomological warfare to using insects, hallucinogenic agents such as BZ or LSD, or infrasonic noise to disable enemies.

Submission + - Massive Game of Thrones Arrests (yolkregion.ca) 4

Submitted by rueger
rueger writes: "Dozens of "Game of Thrones" fans were taken into custody last Sunday morning after a midnight battle reenactment at turned ugly. The trouble began on Saturday when throngs of participants arrived in medieval armor, along with swords, battle shields, ballistas and 6 war horses. It was supposed to be an evening of friendly rivalry between the Keswick and Newmarket “armies” featuring displays of swordsmanship, battleaxe ice-carving and a reenactment of the Battle of the Blackwater.

The actual battle was intended primarily as a photo session, a chance for both armies to show off their costumes and strike fearsome poses for the cameras. Unfortunately, the Keswickians had prepared several 40-gallon barrels of green Jello to be used as “Wildfire”. Several witnesses said that Joffrey Baratheon, a 15-year-old Tim Hortons server from Keswick, escalated the conflict when he ordered his forces to pour the green goo into a replica catapult and launch it at the Newmarket ranks."

(it's considered by many that there something serious wrong with the water supply in Keswick, Ontario)

Submission + - Bill Gates Schooled In Chess, Beaten By 23 Year Old Grandmaster In 71 Seconds (hothardware.com)

Submitted by MojoKid
MojoKid writes: There's no disputing that Bill Gates is blessed with a brilliant mind. Sure, he dropped out of Harvard College, but he got accepted into the elite institution of higher learningin the first place. Leading into his college career, Gates scored 1,590 out of 1,600 on the SAT. The rest is history — he went on to co-found Microsoft, built a net worth that's in the billions ($76.8 billion at last count), and now spends his time on his philanthropic efforts. Regardless, it took 23-year-old Magnus Carlsen, a "grandmaster" Chess player since the age of 13 and new world Chess champion, just 71 seconds to defeat Gates in a friendly game of Chess on a Norwegian television show. It takes longer to heat up a cup of water in the microwave.

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It's a naive, domestic operating system without any breeding, but I think you'll be amused by its presumption.

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