Comment The pedant in me shouts (Score 3, Funny) 136
don't you mean "Oct, Nov. best months for writing buggy code"? I would think it would be the "Oct, Nov. worst months for writing non-buggy code".
Submission + - Apple lose iPad Trademark in Chinese court case (nzherald.co.nz) 1
slowLearner writes: Although the article does not make it clear if Apple have lost the case in mainland China or just Taiwan. This does seem to be a bit of a blow.
Submission + - Ice Cream Sandwich ported to x86 (techworld.com.au)
angry tapir writes: "Google's open-source Android 4.0 operating system for smartphones and tablets has been ported to work with x86 processors. The port means that tablets with Android 4.0 based on x86 chips could be on the horizon. Intel is the top x86 chipmaker, and the company has already said it is working with Google to bring Android 4.0 to smartphones and tablets."
Comment Re:The Daily Mail? (Score 2) 1319
I totally agree!
I may be moderated out of existence for this, but the Daily Mail is a Right wing propaganda machine.
I worry about more stories coming from the Daily Mail in Slashdot. I have read UK news papers for over 30 years and can say that without a doubt that the Daily Mail has an agenda with almost every story that is published. They speak to the fears of the middle and upper classes.
As an aside, the Science and Tech reporting is, in my experience, astoundingly bad! Can we please just moderate Daily Mail stories to -5 to start with. Some web sites just deserve to climb a lot higher to get in, think of it as evolution.
As an aside, the Science and Tech reporting is, in my experience, astoundingly bad! Can we please just moderate Daily Mail stories to -5 to start with. Some web sites just deserve to climb a lot higher to get in, think of it as evolution.
Submission + - OS Library software under assault (stuff.co.nz)
abesottedphoenix writes: "The rural Library responsible for the first Open Source Library catalogue is under attack from defence contractor PTFS. More than a decade after rolling out Koha (featured elsewhere in /. in NZ School Goes Open Source Amid Microsoft Mandate) they now find themselves in a battle to keep a generic Mori term within the public domain. The story is also covered at Radio NZ. http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20111123-0725-horowhenua_library_astonished_us_firm_can_trademark_koha-048.mp3"
Submission + - Small NZ library fights US corporation over softwa (stuff.co.nz)
An anonymous reader writes: A small New Zealand library is fighting to keep its trademark free software from the clutches of a United States corporation.
The Horowhenua Library trust designed the Koha system 12 years ago to manage catalogues and lending information.
However, the trust says an American company named LibLime has hijacked the system and wants to use it for its own private client base.
The Horowhenua Library trust designed the Koha system 12 years ago to manage catalogues and lending information.
However, the trust says an American company named LibLime has hijacked the system and wants to use it for its own private client base.
Submission + - 88 Year Old Scientist Hassled by DEA (mercurynews.com) 1
Calibax writes: 30 years ago Bob Wallace and his partner came up with a product to help hikers, flood victims and others purify water. Wallace, now 88 years old, packs his product by hand in his garage, stores it in his backyard shed and sells it for $6.50.
Recently, the DEA has been hassling him because his product uses crystalline iodine. He has been refused a license to purchase the iodine because it can be used in the production of crystal meth, and as a result he is now out of business.
A DEA spokesman describes this as "collateral damage" not resulting from DEA regulations but from the selfish actions of criminals.
Recently, the DEA has been hassling him because his product uses crystalline iodine. He has been refused a license to purchase the iodine because it can be used in the production of crystal meth, and as a result he is now out of business.
A DEA spokesman describes this as "collateral damage" not resulting from DEA regulations but from the selfish actions of criminals.
Comment The thought of... (Score 2) 11
...trying to teach my wife to use whatever other OS.
Submission + - 6.4 trillion liters of urine viable as biofuel (geek.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Researchers at the University of the West of England in Bristol have started experimenting with using urine as the fuel for a microbial fuel cell.
It may sound icky, but microbial fuel cells generate their power from bacteria feeding on the sugars in a liquid such as waste water and giving off electrons. Our urine is also full of the waste this bacteria loves, so in theory your toilet break could end up powering a laptop or phone for the rest of the day. It also helps that globally, humans produce 6.4 trillion liters of urine every year, making it an abundant form of fuel if this research pans out. If you add farm animal urine production to that figure, there’s 38 billion liters available to use as fuel every day.
Urine may be the key to our future energy needs. How cool would that be?
It may sound icky, but microbial fuel cells generate their power from bacteria feeding on the sugars in a liquid such as waste water and giving off electrons. Our urine is also full of the waste this bacteria loves, so in theory your toilet break could end up powering a laptop or phone for the rest of the day. It also helps that globally, humans produce 6.4 trillion liters of urine every year, making it an abundant form of fuel if this research pans out. If you add farm animal urine production to that figure, there’s 38 billion liters available to use as fuel every day.
Urine may be the key to our future energy needs. How cool would that be?
Comment Sid Meier is gonna be hacked off (Score 1) 118
that these new units for Civ VI have been leaked, although I can't see how useful they will be against Panzers.
Comment Improve the user experience? (Score 1) 1
Nah, lets just throw money at it instead.
Does this count as first?
Does this count as first?
Submission + - Koch brothers create Themis Database (guardian.co.uk)
slowLearner writes: I don't know what is more disturbing, that they are creating this database or that they name the DB after the Greek God Themis that is the embodiment of divine order, law, and custom which reminds me of way too many protagonists in James Bond movies.
Submission + - Microsoft Concedes Defeat in Browser War: Tries to (readwriteweb.com) 1
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft has a problem. It can't seem to compete with Chrome, Firefox, or Safari on features or release speed. It won't support IE9 on Linux, Mac OS X, or even Windows XP. What to do? Microsoft has decided thrown in the towel, and is now openly trying to buy users with a hilariously named campaign called "Where's the Love?" Silly Microsoft, you can't buy love.
Comment Another link (Score 1) 1
To the Nature article which goes on to detail the issue of using solvents for Cobalt.
Submission + - Cheap, ink-based solar cells become a reality (extremetech.com) 1
MrSeb writes: "After more than 20 years of continued research, electrochemist Michael Gratzel of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology has cracked it: He has created a cheap photovoltaic cell that uses an organic, printed dye to absorb sunlight. This builds on his initial, dye-based photovoltaic discovery way back in 1991 which required ruthenium, an incredibly rare and expensive element. These new dye-sensitized nanocrystal cells (DSCs) are basically slabs of ceramic titanium dioxide (titania) — the same, very cheap material that makes up the pigment in white paint. The organic dye, which is simply printed onto the titania, is a molecule with three distinct characteristics: It has a group of atoms that readily gains electrons, a group that loses electrons, and a light-absorbing bridge that’s similar to the chlorophyll found in plant cells. Basically, sunlight hits the dye, which then fires electrons into the titania, where electrodes pick them up to create a current."
