Comment Re:Obama SIGNED ACTA... WTF? (Score 2) 186
Obama, the constitutional law professor, also signed NDAA unlimited detention of United States citizens by the military without trial.
Comment Re:Why these ideas will not gain traction (Score 1) 284
I'm not a big Obama fan, but most of the critics of Obama criticize him for the wrong reasons. Newsweek aired a cover article "Why are Obama's Critics so Dumb?", and most of the critics in this forum prove that article's point. They blame him for the economy when he inherited the worst recession in history (that was not a depression). Or they say he should have turned around the economy sooner or that his stimulus didn't work. If you want to criticize Obama, how about doing it for real reasons, like his signing NDAA on New Year's Eve when he should have vetoed it (as a former constitutional law professor), or how trillions escaped from the Federal Reserve in zero percent interest loans to banks, which turned around and reinvested in U.S. treasury bonds, which amounted to our taxes turning their losses into profits. How about criticizing him for being Wall Street's butt boy? Or saying one thing and his justice department doing something different altogether? Or for not closing Guantanamo?
Comment Scientology (Score 0) 1244
L. Ron Hubbard is actually quite a good and unique science fiction writer. "The Invaders' Plan" was a humorous and strange - but engaging - work. http://www.amazon.com/Invaders-Plan-Mission-Earth/dp/1592120229/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331087999&sr=1-2
Submission + - Apple Wins Patent for "iWallet" (ibtimes.com) 1
redletterdave writes: "Apple won a major patent on Tuesday for its "iWallet" technology, which is a digital system that uses near-field communication (NFC) technology to complete credit card transactions and manage subsidiary financial accounts directly on your iPhone. On the home screen for iWallet, users can see their entire credit card profiles, statements, messages from their banks, and even adjust preferences or add additional cards. Within preferences, users can schedule credit card payments and set parental controls on their children, which allows kids to use their iPhones as wallets but limits the extent to which they can use it. Users can track their payments and statements within the iTunes billing system, which keeps the credit card information safe and secure."
Submission + - $1B of TSA Nude Body Scanners Made Worthless (wordpress.com)
TheNextCorner writes: "This video is here to demonstrate that the TSA’s insistence that the nude body scanner program is effective and necessary is nothing but a fraud, just like their claims that the program is safe (radiation what?) and non-invasive (nude pictures who?). The scanners are now effectively worthless, as anyone can beat them with virtually no effort."
Submission + - Raspberry Pi and Cotton Candy: Working with mini computers (patexia.com)
techgeek0279 writes: "In the area of the computer market that involves high-end users and gamers — the enthusiast market — new products receive names and mascots that provide an adrenaline rush, much like the products they represent: Fallout, Half-Life, FirePro and GeForce, for example.
When it comes to the other end of the computer market, the names are a bit different. Meet the Raspberry Pi and the Cotton Candy, two entries in the newest category of computing, the mini-computers. So do these cute names reveal computers that aren’t powerful enough to be anything but a toy?"
When it comes to the other end of the computer market, the names are a bit different. Meet the Raspberry Pi and the Cotton Candy, two entries in the newest category of computing, the mini-computers. So do these cute names reveal computers that aren’t powerful enough to be anything but a toy?"
Submission + - Open Source Robotic Surgeon (popularmechanics.com)
GlobalEcho writes: Researchers have created a second version of the Raven robotic surgeon, with open-source control code
UW researchers also created software to work with the Robot Operating System, a popular open-source robotics code, so labs can easily connect the Raven to other devices and share ideas.
Unfortunately for them, according to The Economist
there is [a] legal problem. Intuitive Surgical, the company behind the da Vinci [robot], holds patents that could make launching a commercial competitor tricky—at least in the immediate future.
Submission + - Retaliatory Hacks Already Underway In Wake Of LulzSec Informant, Arrests (darkreading.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Today's announcement by the FBI of arrests of 'Sabu' and five others connected LulzSec and the hacks against Sony, Fox, PBS, HBGary Federal, is just the beginning, as some members of Anonymous lash back. One source says Sabu isn't the only informant, either.
Submission + - Sheffield scientists have revolutionised the electron microscope (shef.ac.uk)
An anonymous reader writes: For over 70 years, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which 'looks through' an object to see atomic features within it, has been constrained by the relatively poor lenses which are used to form the image.
The new method, called electron ptychography, dispenses with the lens and instead forms the image by reconstructing the scattered electron-waves after they have passed through the sample using computers.
Scientists involved in the scheme consider their findings to be a first step in a completely new epoch of electron imaging. The process has no fundamental experimental boundaries and it is thought it will transform sub-atomic scale transmission imaging.
The new method, called electron ptychography, dispenses with the lens and instead forms the image by reconstructing the scattered electron-waves after they have passed through the sample using computers.
Scientists involved in the scheme consider their findings to be a first step in a completely new epoch of electron imaging. The process has no fundamental experimental boundaries and it is thought it will transform sub-atomic scale transmission imaging.
Submission + - Hadoop's Future: A Data-Crunching Platform (itworld.com)
jfruh writes: "Hadoop has quickly become widespread for its implementation of the MapReduce framework, which is used to analyze very large data sets. But the open source project's ambitions go past MapReduce. At last week's Strata conference, project lead Arun Murthy described a near future where different data-crunching apps will be able to plug into Hadoop, making it a sort of all-purpose data-analysis framework."
Submission + - Man barred from being alone with daughter after informing police of porn on PC (bbc.co.uk) 1
robably writes: A man who informed police when he found child abuse images on his computer has not been allowed to be alone with his daughter for four months.
Nigel Robinson from Hull said he called police after trying to download music but instead finding pornographic images on his laptop last November.
As a result social services said he "should not have unsupervised access with his own or other children".
Nigel Robinson from Hull said he called police after trying to download music but instead finding pornographic images on his laptop last November.
As a result social services said he "should not have unsupervised access with his own or other children".
Submission + - Scientists Achieve New Anti-Icing Breakthrough With Nanotechnology (gereports.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Scientists from GE Global Research announced this morning yet another breakthrough in an ongoing project to develop new anti-icing applications from coatings created in the lab using nanotechnology, which involves the science of materials at a very tiny scale (a nanometer is one-billionth of one meter). At the nano-level, materials behave differently than they do at a normal scale, and GE material scientists have focused on creating superhydroponic, or extremely water repellent, materials as coatings for surfaces that could prevent icing. The new research presented today shows that in addition to dramatically reducing ice adhesion on surfaces, the experimental “nanotextured” coatings also delay ice from forming under simulated atmospheric icing conditions in the lab. While a non-coated surface will experience ice formation almost immediately under those conditions, the GE researchers found that a surface with the nanotextured coating won’t for approximately 80 seconds.
Submission + - IBM Watson heads to Wall Street (extremetech.com)
MrSeb writes: "After conquering Jeopardy, battling patent trolls, making inroads into medical insurance claims, and threatening to replace customer service representatives, IBM’s Watson is now looking to take its first foray into Wall Streetesque financial services. Working with Citigroup, IBM has entered into an 'exploratory agreement' that will cover everything from streamlining the banking experience for customers, through to 'empowering financial professionals to make better business decisions.' In other words, watch out stock traders: Watson’s coming, and he wants a piece of your fat bonus."
Submission + - MIT, Google Release New Tools to Fix Android's Quality-Control Problem (wired.com)
S810 writes: "From the article over at Wired Magazine : "Ask any techie about the differences between Android and iOS apps, and you’ll get the same answer: Apple’s apps are more plentiful, and just plain better designed.
And users have responded in kind, eating up iOS apps by the armload. Just this past weekend, Apple surpassed the 25 billion download mark in its App Store. And in terms of overall customer satisfaction, Apple’s apps edge out Android apps according to a recent UTest survey.
Google’s app platform clearly needs a helpful boost, and thanks to a series of new initiatives, the Android Market could see an uptick in both quantity and quality sooner than you think."
And users have responded in kind, eating up iOS apps by the armload. Just this past weekend, Apple surpassed the 25 billion download mark in its App Store. And in terms of overall customer satisfaction, Apple’s apps edge out Android apps according to a recent UTest survey.
Google’s app platform clearly needs a helpful boost, and thanks to a series of new initiatives, the Android Market could see an uptick in both quantity and quality sooner than you think."
Submission + - Iran to allow inspection of secretive nuke complex (the-diplomat.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Iran has agreed to allow U.N. inspectors into a secretive nuclear complex the U.N. believes may be home to a nuclear weapons program. All member states, including Israel and the US, are 'expected to refrain from any measures that undermine the conducive environment desperately needed for a conclusion.'
