Comment 3D printer (Score 1) 211
Get him a 3D printer... the kind with micrometer resolution...get him a Form1 at Kickstarter.
Ask Slashdot: How Does an IT Generalist Get Back Into Programming? 224
CanadianSchism writes "I've been in the public sector for the past 6 years. I started off doing my work study in web design and a bit of support, eventually going through the interview process to fill in a data processing technician post, and getting the job. The first four years of my work life were spent in various schools, fixing computers, implementing new hardware, rolling out updates/ghosting labs, troubleshooting basic network and printer problems, etc. I was eventually asked to work on the administrative information systems with an analyst, which I've been doing for the past 2 years. That's consisted of program support, installing updates to the pay/financial/purchasing/tax/energy systems, taking backups on SQL servers, etc. I've never had the opportunity to take time for myself, and jump back into my first love: programming. I've picked up Powershell books (have two here at the office), but haven't gotten anything down yet, as there are always other projects that come up and whittle my attention to learning a language down to zilch. This new year will see a change in that, however. I'll be setting aside an hour every day to devote to learning a new language, in the eventual hope that I can leave this company (take a sabbatical) and hop into the private sector for a few years. My question to you all is, what language should I start with, to learn and get back into the principles of programming, that will help me build a personal portfolio, but will also lend to learning other languages? At this point, I'm not sure if I'd like to make/maintain custom applications, or if back-end web programming would be more interesting, or any of the other niches out there."
Comment I don't see it melting in your coronaries either. (Score 1) 161
I wonder what a cardiologist's opinion on this would be?
Comment Re:Feature not Bug! (Score 1) 161
Agreed... pocket temperature brings out flavors not present at room temperature.
Comment Re:SO WHAT ?!? (Score 1) 126
Actually the article is interesting to those who work in the AEC industry. It's a classic example of what goes wrong when you don't account for EVERY variable and prepare contingency plans for events.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xox9BVSu7Ok
Comment Flawed (Score 1) 206
The article does not relate the scans to professor Shore, a 2-subject experiment is not statistically significant in this case and it relies on evidence flimsily linked to other findings. This looks like tabloid fodder.
Submission + - Barnes & Noble PIN pads hacked (nbcnews.com)
another random user writes: Barnes & Noble have said that devices used by customers to swipe credit and debit cards have been tampered with in 63 of its stores in nine states.
The company warned customers to check for unauthorized transactions and to change their personal identification numbers, or PINs. It didn't say how many accounts may have been compromised.
But The New York Times, citing a high-ranking company official it did not name, reported that hackers had made unauthorized purchases on some customer credit cards.
The company warned customers to check for unauthorized transactions and to change their personal identification numbers, or PINs. It didn't say how many accounts may have been compromised.
But The New York Times, citing a high-ranking company official it did not name, reported that hackers had made unauthorized purchases on some customer credit cards.
Submission + - Physicists Invent Working Tractor Beam, World Becomes Instantly More Awesome (geekosystem.com)
anavictoriasaavedra writes: We have tractor beams now! Like where you zap a thing with a laser and pull it toward you with beam power? We have those now. Even though they are super tiny and effective only on microscopic items like silica spheres suspended in water for right now, they are still working tractor beams.
Submission + - Would You Put a Tracking Device on Your Child? 3
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "In 2007 businessman Russell Thornton lost his 3-year-old son at an amusement park. After a frantic 45-minute search, Thornton found the boy hiding in a play structure, but he was traumatized by the incident, and it spurred him to build a device that would help other parents avoid that fate. Even though most statistics show that rates of violent crime against children have declined significantly over the last few decades, and that abductions are extremely rare, KJ Dell’Antonia writes that with the array of new gadgetry like Amber Alert and the Securus eZoom our children need never experience the fears that come with momentary separations, or the satisfaction of weathering them. "You could argue that those of us who survived our childhoods of being occasionally lost, then found, are in the position of those who think car seats are overkill because they suffered no injury while bouncing around in the back of their uncle’s pickup," writes Dell’Antonia. "Wouldn’t a more powerful sense of security come from knowing your children were capable, and trusting in their ability to reach out for help at the moment when they realize they’re not?""
Submission + - Irish Broadcaster RTE Turns Off Analog Television Signal (www.rte.ie)
alancronin writes: This morning at 10:00AM GMT, the Irish broadcaster RTE will stop broadcasting it's analog television signal after moving to the digital OTA MPEG-4 service. Ireland now joins the ever growing list of countries that are no longer broadcasting OTA analog TV signals.
Submission + - Boeing's CHAMP missile uses radio waves to remotely disable PCs (boeing.com) 1
Dupple writes: During last week's test, a CHAMP (Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project) missile successfully disabled its target by firing high power microwaves into a building filled with computers and other electronics.
On Oct. 16th at 10:32 a.m. MST a Boeing Phantom Works team along with members from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate team, and Raytheon Ktech, suppliers of the High Power Microwave source, huddled in a conference room at Hill Air Force Base and watched the history making test unfold on a television monitor.
CHAMP approached its first target and fired a burst of High Power Microwaves at a two story building built on the test range. Inside rows of personal computers and electrical systems were turned on to gauge the effects of the powerful radio waves.
Seconds later the PC monitors went dark and cheers erupted in the conference room. CHAMP had successfully knocked out the computer and electrical systems in the target building. Even the television cameras set up to record the test were knocked off line without collateral damage.
On Oct. 16th at 10:32 a.m. MST a Boeing Phantom Works team along with members from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy Directorate team, and Raytheon Ktech, suppliers of the High Power Microwave source, huddled in a conference room at Hill Air Force Base and watched the history making test unfold on a television monitor.
CHAMP approached its first target and fired a burst of High Power Microwaves at a two story building built on the test range. Inside rows of personal computers and electrical systems were turned on to gauge the effects of the powerful radio waves.
Seconds later the PC monitors went dark and cheers erupted in the conference room. CHAMP had successfully knocked out the computer and electrical systems in the target building. Even the television cameras set up to record the test were knocked off line without collateral damage.
Submission + - CyanogenMod Android ROMs accidentally logged screen unlock patterns (github.com)
tlhIngan writes: "Heads up CyanogenMod users — you will want to update to the latest nightly build as it turns out that your unlock patterns were accidentally logged. The fix has been committed and is in the latest build. While not easy to access (it requires access to a backup image or the device), it was a potential security hole. It was added back in August when Cyanogen added the ability to customize the screen lock size.`"
Submission + - Real-Time Cyber-Attack Map (qz.com)
anavictoriasaavedra writes: In October, two German computer security researchers created a map that allows you to see a picture of online cyber-attacks as they happen. The map isn’t out of a techno-thriller, tracking the location of some hacker in a basement trying to steal government secrets. Instead, it’s built around a worldwide project designed to study online intruders. The data comes from honeypots. When the bots go after a honeypot, however, they’re really hacking into a virtual machine inside a secure computer. The attack is broadcast on the map—and the researchers behind the project have a picture of how a virus works that they can use to prevent similar attacks or prepare new defenses.
Submission + - 10 Things You Don't Have To Worry About In 2013 (infoworld.com)
snydeq writes: "Andrew Oliver provides a quick take on 10 things you won't have to worry about in tech in 2013 — including Windows Server 2012, a shortage of PaaS vendors, spending any time developing for Microsoft Surface, and Yahoo or HP doing much of anything."
Submission + - Ground under Fukushima Unit 4 sinking, structure on verge of complete collapse (naturalnews.com) 1
overmoderated writes: Though the mainstream media has long since abandoned the issue, the precarious situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility in Japan is only continuing to worsen, according to a prominent Japanese official. During a recent interview, Mitsuhei Murata, the former Japanese Ambassador to both Switzerland and Senegal, explained that the ground beneath the plant's Unit 4 is gradually sinking, and that the entire structure is very likely on the verge of complete collapse.
