Comment Re:Cmon /. (Score 1) 127
Whole heartedly agree.
Comment What about opening the Java application? (Score 2, Informative) 111
One thing that is an absolute pain is that the Kindle has no folder management, and as such, no way to organize the books that are downloaded. Sure, it'll hold 3000 e-books, but try paging through the list. And the startup time is proportional to the length of the list.
Opening up the e-book application interface would go a long way to getting features that Amazon seems disinclined to provide themselves.
Submission + - Xeyes Ported to Real Life
An anonymous reader writes: The well-known Unix tool xeyes has been ported to Windows. No, not the Microsoft version, but the version you look out of on a sunny day. Photos and video are available. The result is very cool, and a little scary. This could be a fun way to scare off those kids who hang around your neighborhood...
Journal SPAM: Lee Iacocca Excoriates the Bush Administration 7
Mr. Iacocca, I have trolls who'd ask "when did you become a muslim?" That's O.K. The same dim-bulbs would have asked when you beccame a communist, just 10 or 15 years ago. This sort is stupid enough to celebrate the criminals that you so accurately identify.
Journal Journal: Tuna-inspired aircraft runs on fuel cell
The startup R&D organization "Team SmartFish" has come up with a design for a performance aircraft that's inspired by a tuna fish, which is evidently (one of?) the fastest fish in the sea and has been clocked at 85 km/h. Their model-sized prototype is powered by a fuel cell stack with a pusher prop. The full scale version calls for a 900-1000# turbofan in the tail.
Submission + - Shaking a 275-ton building
Roland Piquepaille writes: "If you want to predict how a tall building can resist to an earthquake, some researchers have better tools than others. Engineers from the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) have built a full-size 275-ton building and really shaken it to obtain earthshaking images. The building was equipped with some 600 sensors and filmed as the shake table simulated the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles, California. It gave so much data to the engineers to analyze that they needed a supercomputer to help them. Now they hope their study will yield to better structure performance for future buildings in case of earthquakes. Read more for additional references and images showing the seven-story building used on a shake table experiment."
National Intelligence Director Seeks Expansion of Spy Powers 346
Erris writes "The Bush administration is seeking even less judicial oversight for their spying efforts both here and abroad. An AP story is discussing proposed changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act proposed by National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell. 'The changes McConnell is seeking mostly affect a cloak-and-dagger category of warrants used to investigate suspected spies, terrorists and other national security threats. The court-approved surveillance could include planting listening devices and hidden cameras, searching luggage and breaking into homes to make copies of computer hard drives.' One of their specific goals is prosecution immunity for communications companies who comply with the program, a sheild for groups that violate privacy laws in turning over information to the NSA. The article notes that 'Critics question whether the changes are needed and worry about what the Bush administration has in store, given a rash of allegations about domestic surveillance and abuse of power.'"
Feed Presidential candidates to appear on YouTube (com.com)
Correction: An earlier version of this post quoted the wrong YouTube executive.
Read the updated story here
Read the updated story here
Feed Senators propose labels for adult Web sites (com.com)
Legislation requires "harmful to minors" Web pages to be tagged so kids can beware, but a wealth of constitutional problems loom.
Feed Photos: Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's first space flight (com.com)
On April 12, 1961 the Soviet Union shocked and awed the world when it announced that Yuri Gagarin had successfully orbited the Earth and returned safely.
Submission + - Apple Enthusiast Has Quite a Collection
JCone writes: Step down the stark, white stairs into Jeremy Mehrle's basement and meet his Apple computer collection. He's got 99 computers. No, wait. Make that 100. He just got another last night, he said during a recent visit to his home about 35 miles west of St. Louis. Dozens of his Apple Macintosh computers are on display down here, a techie's dream party pad.
Submission + - White House E-mails Deleted
kidcharles writes: The Washington Post reports that in the midst of an investigation by the U.S. Congress into the firing of eight U.S. Attorneys by the Department of Justice, numerous White House e-mails have been lost. Among them are communications from presidential adviser Karl Rove. Parallels are being drawn with the infamous "18 minutes" missing from the Nixon Watergate tapes. Also at issue is the use of Republican National Committee e-mail domains (such as gwb43.com and georgewbush.com) rather than the official White House domain. This is a violation of the Presidential Records Act.
Submission + - OASIS finally approves BPEL 2.0
Anonymous Coward writes: "Web Services Business Process Execution Language (WS-BPEL) 2.0 has been approved as an OASIS Standard, providing an officially ratified version of this specification for describing business process activities as Web services, OASIS said today (12 April).
http://www.computerworlduk.com/technology/developm ent/soa/news/index.cfm?newsid=2563"
Feed Border Patrol's mobile sensor tower passes first test (engadget.com)
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Wireless
It looks like the U.S. Border Patrol's fleet of aerial drones will soon be getting a bit of land-based backup, with the first of a series of Boeing-built mobile sensor towers recently passing its first key test. According to the company, the 98-foot tall towers will each be loaded up with a full array of gear, including cameras, radar, wireless data access points, and a tower security system, among other communications and computer equipment, with each tower boasting a line of sight range of about 12 miles. Don't expect the border to become one big hotspot anytime soon, however, with just nine towers currently on track for deployment along the Southwest border in June and no apparent word on further expansion just yet. In any event, we're guessing they wouldn't take too kindly to anyone trying to leech on their bandwidth.[Via The Register]
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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time
Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Feed Teenage Risk-taking: Biological And Inevitable? (sciencedaily.com)
While the government spends billions of dollars on educational and prevention programs to persuade teens not to do things like smoke, drink or do drugs, a Temple University psychologist suggests that competing systems within the brain make adolescents more susceptible to engaging in risky or dangerous behavior, and that educational interventions alone are unlikely to be effective.
