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Comment Re:History repeats itself... (Score 1) 82

by Ed Avis (#49812865) Attached to: Emulator Now Runs x86 Apps On All Raspberry Pi Models
Acorn's PC emulator emulated an 8086 (not 80186). There are a couple of extra instructions added in the later 80186. Not much software uses them but apparently the game Star Trek 25th Anniversary did. Dave Lawrence's FasterPC emulator provided a virtual 80186 (though the CPU emulation was still just as slow, the video support was faster and PC speaker emulation much better, so it could play many DOS games that used 320x200 res in 256 colours. Like Civilization...)

Submission + - Sourceforge staff takes over a user's account and wraps their software installer (arstechnica.com) 11

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Sourceforge staff took over the account of the GIMP-for-Windows maintainer claiming it was abandoned and used this opportunity to wrap the installer in crapware. Quoting Ars:

SourceForge, the code repository site owned by Slashdot Media, has apparently seized control of the account hosting GIMP for Windows on the service, according to e-mails and discussions amongst members of the GIMP community—locking out GIMP's lead Windows developer. And now anyone downloading the Windows version of the open source image editing tool from SourceForge gets the software wrapped in an installer replete with advertisements.

Comment Re:How about a converted 122-key "typewriter"? (Score 1) 147

by Ed Avis (#49707551) Attached to: Mechanical 'Clicky' Keyboards Still Have Followers (Video)
I've done that - put black M13 caps on an F122 - but what do you do about the Enter key on the numeric keypad? The F has a stabilizer wire which the M lacks, so if you put the black key on as-is it sits limply and doesn't click properly. Similarly, the spacebar stabilizer wire is different - how do you get the black spacebar to attach properly? I see that whoever did that mod changed the F to ANSI layout. I kept mine as ISO but that meant I had to stay with a few non-black keys.

Submission + - How Silicon Valley got that way -- and why it will continue to rule. (medium.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Lots of places want to be "the next Silicon Valley." But the Valley's top historian looks back (even talks to Steve Jobs about his respect for the past!) to explain why SV is unique. While there are threats to continued dominance, she thinks its just too hard for another region to challenge SV's supremacy.
Earth

Ancient Megadrought Entombed Dodos In Poisonous Fecal Cocktail 55

Posted by samzenpus from the now-that's-a-way-to-go dept.
sciencehabit writes: Nine hundred kilometers off the east coast of Madagascar lies the tiny island paradise of Mauritius. The waters are pristine, the beaches bright white, and the average temperature hovers between 22C and 28C (72F to 82F) year-round. But conditions there may not have always been so idyllic. A new study suggests that about 4000 years ago, a prolonged drought on the island left many of the native species, such as dodo birds and giant tortoises, dead in a soup of poisonous algae and their own feces.
Earth

Africa E-Waste Dump Continues Hyperbole War 78

Posted by timothy from the let's-go-take-a-visit dept.
retroworks writes: Two stories appear today which feature close up photos of young African men surrounded by scrap metal in the city of Accra. The headlines state that this is where our computers go to die (Wired). The Daily Mail puts it in even starker terms, alleging "millions of tons" are dumped in Agbogbloshie.

The stories appear the same day as a press release by investigators who returned this week from 3 weeks at the site. The release claims that Agbogbloshie's depiction as the worlds "largest ewaste dump site" to be a hoax. It is a scrap automobile yard which accounts for nothing more than local scrap from Accra. Three Dagbani language speaking electronics technicians, three reporters, Ghana customs officials and yours truly visited the site, interviewed workers about the origins of the material, and assessed volumes. About 27 young men burn wire, mostly from automobile scrap harnesses. The electronics — 20 to 50 items per day — are collected from Accra businesses and households. The majority of Accra (population 5M) have had televisions since the 1990s, according to World Bank metadata (over 80% by 2003).

The investigation did confirm that most of the scrap was originally imported used, and that work conditions were poor. However, the equipment being recycled had been repaired and maintained, typically for a decade (longer than the original OECD owner). It is a fact that used goods will, one day, eventually become e-waste. Does that support a ban on the trade in used goods to Africa? Or, as the World Bank reports, is the affordable used product essential to establish a critical mass of users so that investment in highways, phone towers, and internet cable can find necessary consumers?

Submission + - Comic strip shows that vision is always prey to execution (scarygoround.com)

Submitted by samjam
samjam writes: So many conflicts between technology and marketing are manifest in this short comic strip. Vision is destroyed by execution which is forced by finance, technology is destroyed by the need to sell to ignorant but wealthy customers. Does Zambian represent Apple or Google to you? Or a variety of other companies? Maybe it is a dogfood failure: perhaps Zambian developers are not permitted to use two-monitor setups? Have you ever had an executive make his first "executive decision" to release something that is totally broken?

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