Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:Why would I use it? (Score 1) 631

Hmm... I was going to dispute the surcharge bit. But, apparently you're right. I swear I just looked that up within the last year and it was still prohibited. They only allowed a discount for cash transactions (which is why so many gas stations have a different price for cash). But, I see something has happened and at least Visa now allows surcharges in the US, Australia and New Zealand. I'm curious about what forced their hand on that one.

Comment Re:a couple of things... (Score 1) 406

Not really. There is nothing really said in that speech that tells people not to do stupid things like inflating their vest at the wrong time. The point is that, suing the FAA for not requiring people to listen is pretty silly, as well. The large majority of those that aren't going to listen have already heard many times over. Those that have never flown and don't listen probably aren't bright enough to not do stupid things.

Comment Re:The USA (Score 1) 182

I fail to see how we're "very close to a large percentage" being able to do this. Sounds plausible on the surface. But I still see a huge amount of infrastructure that needs to be put in place. It's not like it's good enough to just have a power outlet somewhere in the building that you can use. Number one, a parking garage would basically need a receptacle at every parking space. Along with a system for charging the person recharging their vehicle. Energy is not free.

That being said, are these difficult obstacles to overcome? No. But it's still a lot of infrastructure somebody needs to invest in before it becomes a plausible solution.

Comment Poor experience for those that do have kinect (Score 5, Insightful) 174

Doesn't that then lead to a bad situation for kinect users? If you design a game that relies on that overhead, then those that don't have it will have a poor experience. Granted, you can probably just disconnect the kinect and be just fine. Be all know what the general masses will do. Complain.

Technology

Sandia Labs Researcher Develops Fertilizer Without the Explosive Potential 180

cylonlover writes "Ammonium nitrate is a commonly used fertilizer, but when mixed with a fuel such as diesel, it makes a powerful explosive – as seen in last week's fertilizer plant explosion in Texas. But it's the deliberate use of the compound in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and acts of terror such as the Oklahoma City bombing that gives rise to even greater cause for concern. This is why Kevin Fleming, an optical engineer at Sandia National Laboratories, developed a fertilizer alternative that isn't detonable and therefore can't be used in a bomb."
Security

Hackers Could Abuse Electric Car Chargers To Cripple the Grid, Researchers Say 126

alphadogg writes "Hackers could use vulnerable charging stations to prevent the charging of electric vehicles in a certain area, or possibly even use the vulnerabilities to cripple parts of the electricity grid, a security researcher said during the Hack in the Box conference in Amsterdam on Thursday. While electric cars and EV charging systems are still in their infancy, they could become a more common way to travel within the next 10 years. If that happens, it is important that the charging systems popping up in cities around the world are secure in order to prevent attackers from accessing and tempering with them, said Ofer Shezaf, of HP ArcSight. At the moment, they are not secure at all, he said."
Books

Iain Banks: Extremely Ill With Cancer 150

The_Other_Kelly writes "News that will shock and sadden the many fans of Iain (M.) Banks. He is suffering from gall bladder cancer, and things do not look good: 'The bottom line, now, I'm afraid, is that as a late stage gall bladder cancer patient, I'm expected to live for "several months" and it's extremely unlikely I'll live beyond a year.' His books, both normal and science fiction, are world view warping Excessions, and my heart goes out to him and his. I am shocked and saddened. Thank you, Iain."

Slashdot Top Deals

Intel CPUs are not defective, they just act that way. -- Henry Spencer

Working...