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Music

Submission + - Spotify lauches in US (cnn.com)

Mn3m0nic writes: "The hottest music venue in Europe opened its doors on Thursday morning to a select group in the United States. Spotify, which makes Internet music-streaming software, launched the much-hyped U.S. version of its service after delays and years of negotiation. At first, Spotify will only accept new members to its free service who receive invitations from the company, one of its sponsors or a current user."

Comment Medical or scientific use (Score 1) 70

From watching the video in the article, I can see this being useful for someone that needs to keeps his eyes on something (cut open patient being operated on) while giving him extra information. In other words, he can see an image on the screen of what the organ looks like while simultaneously seeing the tissue he's cutting through trying to get to it. You can modify that to other scientific uses as well. That will be further down the road though.
Wii

Submission + - Netflix Streaming on Nintendo 3DS (engadget.com)

Mn3m0nic writes: "Last night's Netflix / 3DS news was more than just empty promises — and now we have the official press release to prove it. Starting today, Netflix subscribers with unlimited streaming plans will be able to watch TV shows and movies from the service's selection of online content on their Nintendo 3DS, like the Wii before it."

Comment Time, Effort, Warranty = $$ (Score 2) 208

I don't have a Time Capsule, but I can say that the time and effort involved in a homebrew version would tack on to that 200 price tag. Also, the warranty and support you get from Apple far outmatch Western Digital, TigerDirect (shudder), etc. I learned a long time ago that sometimes you have to spend a little extra money to avoid a lot of extra headache down the road. This goes for many things in life.

Comment Re:Typical Slashdot editor incompetence (Score 1) 56

Also of note is that a vast majority of their actual subject matter experts that the agents actually get help from are actually contractors that are paid very well and know what they are doing. That is why people generally do not join a government agency directly. They go through a contracting company and make a lot more money. A lot of the contractors actually scratch their heads trying to figure out why the government does this. They would join those agencies directly if they paid anywhere close to what the contracts paid.

Comment Re:Evidence please (Score 1) 56

From fbijobs.gov: 12. How much are FBI Special Agents paid? Special Agent trainees at the FBI Academy are paid as GS-10, step 1 ($43,441) plus the Quantico, VA locality adjustment (17.50%) during their time at the FBI Academy. This equates to $51,043 on an annualized basis (or $1,963 per each two-week pay period). Newly assigned Special Agents are paid as GS-10, step 1 ($43,441) plus locality pay and availability pay. Locality pay (which ranges from 12.5% to 28.7% of base salary depending upon office assignment) is additional compensation to account for differences in the labor market between different areas. Availability pay is a 25% increase in adjusted salary (base salary + locality pay) for all Special Agents due to their requirement to average a 50-hour work week over the course of the year. Thus, with the locality and availability pay adjustments, new Special Agents in their first Field Offices earn between $61,100 and $69,900, depending upon the region of the country to which they are assigned. New Special Agents assigned to certain designated high-cost offices (New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington D.C., Boston and Newark) may also be paid a one-time relocation bonus of approximately $22,000 to help offset higher real estate and living costs. In order to qualify for the relocation bonus, new Special Agents must be assigned to one of the designated high-cost offices and they must be moving from a lower cost area to a different geographical area with a higher cost of living. For example, a new Agent assigned to Washington, D.C. would make a base salary of $43,441 (GS-10, step 1 on the Law Enforcement Officers' salary table) + locality pay of $7,602 (based on Washington, D.C.'s locality adjustment of 17.5%) + availability pay of $12,761 (25% of base + locality) for a total salary of $63,804 their first year. If the new Special Agent qualified for the relocation bonus (e.g., moving from Atlanta to Washington, D.C.), they would also receive a one-time payment of approximately $22,000.
Privacy

Submission + - Pilot refuses full-body scan & pat down (cnn.com)

Mn3m0nic writes: A pilot who refused to submit to a full-body scan or the alternative pat down going through airport security said the procedures violate his rights. "Pat down is misleading," Roberts said. "They concentrate on the area between ... the upper thighs and torso, and they're not just patting people's arms and legs, they're grabbing and groping and prodding pretty aggressively."
Handhelds

Submission + - Cellphones team up to become smart CCTV swarm

Fex303 writes: New Scientist is reporting that researchers at the Institute for Pervasive Computing in Zurich, Switzerland, have developed software (called Facet) that transforms a few cellphones into a smart camera network. Whenever a phone detects an object entering or exiting its field of view, it sends a message to alert the swarm and using this info, they establish their position in relation to one another to within 5%.

There's also the researchers' academic paper (PDF alert). The best bit is that they're releasing their software under an open source license.
Technology (Apple)

Submission + - Evolution of Apple notebooks

An anonymous reader writes: Here's an interesting look at the apple laptop and how it has evolved "Apple has had a long history of producing great notebook computers. In fact, the first Powerbook is credited with being the birth of the modern notebook....but their first steps into the Portable Computer market were less than successful." http://www.applegazette.com/mac/apple-history-the- evolution-of-apple-notebooks/
Privacy

Submission + - New teeny tiny RFID chips

paltemalte writes: "Hitachi has just come out with a new crop of RFID tags, measuring only 0.05 x 0.05 millimeters. Compare that with the previously smallest chips at 0.4 x 0.4 millimeters. The new chips width is slightly smaller than the width of a human hair. These new chips could put an end to shoplifting forever, but they could also be used by a government or other entity to 'dust' crowds or areas, easily tagging anyone present without their knowledge or consent. Think easy tracking of dissenters or demonstrators. Will someone come up with a surefire way of neutralizing chips that may be on your body or in your clothing?"

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