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Earth

Submission + - New Type of Cloud Discovered (wired.com) 3

Submitted by phantomfive
phantomfive writes: In Iowa and Scotland there are reports of a type of cloud not yet recognized by the World Meteorological Foundation. It seems the cloud does not match any of the clouds in the International Cloud Atlas, and thus there is a campaign underway to have it included. Some have said the clouds look like armageddon has arrived. For me, writing clouds all these times makes me want to eat cotton candy.

Submission + - Nanomedicine Raises Hope for New ED Cure

Submitted by pickens
pickens writes: Hugh Pickens writes:

Christopher Mims reports in Discover Magazine that one of the first nanoparticle-based products to pass animal trials is a topical cream for erectile dysfunction (ED) which could potentially replace the tremendously popular ED drugs like Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra. Joel Friedman, a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and his team have created particles smaller than a virus that carry the drug payload — it could be anything researchers care to add — locked inside. The key ingredient put inside the nanoparticles to produce "erection cream" is nitric oxide, 1992's "molecule of the year," a gas that acts as a neurotransmitter, carrying the signal for an erection from nerves in the penis to muscles in the same organ. When mixed into a cream, the nitric oxide-bearing nanoparticles become the world's first reliable way to deliver a gas in the form of a cream. The researchers found that normally impotent rats had no trouble getting erections after they dabbed a tiny amount of the cream onto the penises of rodents who are too old to get erections naturally. Human trials could begin as early as spring of 2011. It is unknown whether the nanoparticle formulation eliminates the drug's most infamous side effect: "erections lasting longer than four hours."
Media

Submission + - What's replacing P2P, BitTorrent for warez? (computerworld.com)

Submitted by ericatcw
ericatcw writes: Driven by increased crackdowns on BitTorrent sites such as The Pirate Bay, software pirates are fast-moving their warez to file-hosting Web sites like RapidShare, reports Computerworld. According to anti-piracy vendor, V.I. Labs, 100% of the wares in its survey were available on Rapidshare, which according to Alexa, is already one of the 20 largest sites in the world. V.I. Labs' CEO predicts file-hosting sites such as Rapidshare to supplant BitTorrent, as the former appear better protected legally.
Software

Submission + - Open Source could have saved Ontario $1 billion (iphone.cbc.ca)

Submitted by Platinum Dragon
Platinum Dragon writes: Ontario's auditor-general released a blistering report this week detailing how successive governments threw away a billion dollars developing an integrated electronic medical record system. This CBC article highlights an open source system developed at McMaster University that is already used by hundreds of doctors in Ontario. As one of the developers points out, "we don't have very high-priced executives and consultants," some of whom cost Ontario taxpayers $2700 per day.
IBM

Submission + - SPAM: U.S. house decommissions its last mainframe

Submitted by coondoggie
coondoggie writes: The U.S. House of Representatives has taken its last mainframe offline, signaling the end of a computing era in Washington, D.C.

The last mainframe supposedly enjoyed "quasi-celebrity status" within the House data center, having spent 12 years keeping the House's inventory control records and financial management data, among other tasks. But it was time for a change, with the House spending $30,000 a year to power the mainframe and another $700,000 each year for maintenance and support.
[spam URL stripped]
Link to Original Source
Microsoft

Submission + - Does Microsoft Complicate Licensing on Purpose? (infoworld.com)

Submitted by
snydeq
snydeq writes: "Recent remarks by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer suggest that Microsoft keeps its licensing complicated for a reason, and that it has no plans to make it any simpler in the foreseeable future. As Ballmer sees it, complicated licensing is a boon for some customers, allowing them 'to use the fine print to save themselves money.' IT, however, sees the matter differently — especially when it comes to Client Access Licenses (CALs), which some consider 'the most evil thing Microsoft has ever done.' Microsoft's licensing is unique in that it requires companies to purchase CALs for each employee who uses Microsoft's business software, in addition to whatever per-CPU pricing they pay for a piece of software. And for IT, knowing whether enough CALs have been purchased to keep from violating their Microsoft licensing agreement is daunting, analysts contend. The result? 'Customers end up buying more than they need, thus paying for licenses they aren't using.' The issue is certain to be further complicated by Microsoft's movement toward offering a mix of traditional software and hosted services."

Submission + - 'Whatever' America's Most Annoying Word, Poll Says

Submitted by nandemoari
nandemoari writes: In a poll conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, the word "whatever" received 47 per cent, almost half, of the total votes when subjects were asked to choose from a list of the most annoying popular phrases. It beat out equally ambiguous phrases "you know" and "it is what it is," which placed second and third, respectively.

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