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Science

Submission + - A weighty comic: xkcd on gravity wells (xkcd.com) 2

Submitted by
Will.Woodhull
Will.Woodhull writes: "xkcd's comic for today is a wonderful description of the solar system in terms of gravity wells. Don't miss it!

It does raise a couple of questions: how accurate are the numbers (can we trust our comics in this day and age)? should this be incorporated into K-12 schooling? And what's with those Titanics: it seems like like they are singing a Frank Sinatra lyric with their lungs full of helium?"
Star Wars Prequels

Submission + - George Lucas loses court appeal over Star Wars (timesonline.co.uk)

Submitted by DarthVain
DarthVain writes: I remember it was reported by Slashdot sometime ago that Lucas sued his old Prop guy (Andrew Ainsworth) for trying to sell Replica Star Wars costumes. The Prop guy lost that battle it seems in the US back in 2006, but they haven't been able to get the British courts to enforce it. It seems now the British court has ruled to "Sod Off", and "that the helmet and armor of the Stormtrooper costumes had a "utilitarian," rather than an artistic, purpose" and as such is apparently exempt.

I am not sure if anyone in the court room actually saw Star Wars, but I think I know some Ewoks that might argue how "Utilitarian" those suits of armor actual were...
Emulation (Games)

Nintendo Upset Over Nokia Game Emulation Video 189

Posted by Soulskill from the super-mario-takedown dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Nintendo is investigating potential copyright infringement by Nokia during some video demos of their N900 phone, which can be seen emulating Nintendo games. Nintendo spokesman Robert Saunders says: 'We take rigorous steps to protect our IP and our legal team will examine this to determine if any infringement has taken place.' In the video, Nokia says, 'Most publishers allow individual title usage, provided that the user is in possession of the original title.'"
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft Launches Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 (techluver.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "Microsoft's November 21 launch of Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 in Taiwan and allowing users to download an English-language version for free trial use over 180 days, citing Microsoft Taiwan. Digitimes further writes, "On November 14 Microsoft introduced CE 6.0 R2 at the Embedded Technology 2007 trade show held in Yokohama, Japan, according to industry sources in Taiwan. CE 6.0 R2 features new operating system components which can help hardware developers shorten time to market for devices and make such devices more easy to connect to Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, according to Microsoft. ( http://techluver.com/2007/11/23/microsoft-launches-windows-embedded-ce-60-r2-in-taiwan/ )"
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Oddly, Hypocrisy Rooted in High Morals (yahoo.com)

Submitted by
caffiend666
caffiend666 writes: "According to a Live Science article: "Actually, a new study finds that a sense of moral superiority can lead to unethical acts, such as cheating. In fact, some of the best do-gooders can become the worst cheats.... In the new study, detailed in the November issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers find that when this line between right and wrong is ambiguous among people who think of themselves as having high moral standards, the do-gooders can become the worst of cheaters.... The researchers suggest an "ethical person" could view cheating as an OK thing to do, justifying the act as a means to a moral end." All righty then...."
Space

Submission + - Exploding comet visible to naked eye

Submitted by
mernil
mernil writes: "msnbc.com writes: "A comet that has unexpectedly brightened in the past couple of weeks and now is visible to the naked eye is attracting professional and amateur interest. Paul Lewis, director of astronomy outreach at the University of Tennessee, is drawing students to the roof of Nielsen Physics Building for special viewings of Comet 17P/Holmes. The comet is exploding and its coma, a cloud of gas and dust illuminated by the sun, has grown to be bigger than the planet Jupiter."

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event to witness, along the lines of when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter back in 1994," Lewis said."
Censorship

Submission + - "Don't tase me bro" police cleared

Submitted by Fozzyuw
Fozzyuw writes: WFTV.com's website has news on the University of Florida police involved in the Andrew Meyer tasering have been cleared of using excessive force. It also includes a link to the full report, which shares details of the incident and events leading up to the incident.
Wireless Networking

Submission + - Unlimited gall to cost Verizon $1 million (networkworld.com)

Submitted by netbuzz
netbuzz writes: Unlimited really means unlimited, even in advertising. So says the New York State Attorney General's Office in squeezing a $1 million settlement out of Verizon Wireless for disconnecting 13,000 of its customers who had the temerity to believe that the unlimited service they were promised came with unlimited service. Verizon's statement explaining the settlement is a gem, too.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/20981
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft prepares tiny version of Vista (reghardware.co.uk)

Submitted by
Technical Writing Geek
Technical Writing Geek writes: "An Asus spokesman told us Microsoft had already contacted the company to discuss the development of an Eee PC-friendly version of Vista, and today Asus announced that the Eee PC will soon be made available with an unspecified version of Windows pre-loaded. The tiny machines, with under 1 GHz processors and 2-8GB of solid state storage, have provoked Microsoft to produce this mini-Vista out of fear of Linux Eee dominance.

http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2007/10/22/asus_to_offer_vista_eee_pc/"
Music

Submission + - Slashdot Reverses Facts about Radiohead 1

Submitted by Apro+im
Apro+im writes: The popular news aggregation website, Slashdot today reported that the new Radiohead album, In Rainbows was pirated more than it was procured via legitimate means, setting off a flurry of speculation on their online discussion board as to the implications of this "fact". Strangely overlooked in much of the discussion, however, was the fact that the article they linked contained the exact opposite information, stating:

"The file was downloaded about 100,000 more times each day — adding up to more than 500,000 total illegal downloads. That's less than the 1.2 million legitimate online sales of the album reported by the British Web site Gigwise.com"
Questions about what this implies about Slashdot's editorial practices and readership remain unanswered.
Handhelds

Submission + - Nokia Takes Third Swing at Internet Tablet

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: It looks like Nokia is intent on knocking the ball out of the park with its Linux-powered Internet tablets. Today, the company unveiled the N810, its third attempt at hitting a home run with the concept. The new model adds a slide-out hardware keyboard, and also a built-in GPS receiver and FM transmitter (for in-car listening), among a number of other enhancements (such as a faster CPU and more memory). At this point, the device is positioned as an email and browsing tool, a social networking aid, a GPS, a VoIP phone, and a multimedia player (and streamer, thanks to built-in WiFi). But are the fans jumping out of their seats at this latest swing from mobile phone heavy-hitter Nokia?
Announcements

Submission + - First sub-meter resolution images from WV-1 (digitalglobe.com)

Submitted by
Qhue
Qhue writes: "Digital Globe has published their first panchromatic images from their new World View-1 satellite launched back in September 2007. Images of Houston Texas, Yokahama Japan, and Addis Ababa Ethiopia demonstrate the instrument's ability to gather images from space at double the resolution of its predecessor. Many will recognize Digital Globe from the high resolution images seen on Google Earth and Google Maps. One can only hope that it wont be too terribly long before such gorgeous images start trickling out to the public."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Slashdot crop circle (lucypringle.co.uk)

Submitted by cobi100
cobi100 writes: I found this neat image from a crop circle, the picture caption: "A ring containing a single circle and a long path with semi-circular ends, rather like the Mayan symbol for six" I believe it's the Slashdot logo. This confirms once and for all that aliens read Slashdot!

Slashdot Top Deals

Ya'll hear about the geometer who went to the beach to catch some rays and became a tangent ?

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