Dave Knott - Slashdot User

Submission + - Tron 3 Is Cancelled

Submitted by Dave Knott on Sunday May 31, 2015 @06:33PM

Dave Knott writes: Tron 3 won't be coming to a theater near you. Disney had been developing a sequel to Tron:Legacy since the movie, made for $170 million, grossed $400 million worldwide. But now they have chosen not to move forward with a third installment in the sci-fi series, sources say. Disney has had strong success with its live-action properties recently, including Maleficent and this year's Cinderella, which earned $527.4 million worldwide. But it recently had a stumble with the $180 million live-action film Tomorrowland, which underperformed at the box office this past weekend with a $33 million U.S. debut.

Submission + - Mystery Woman Recycles $200,000 Apple I Computer

Submitted by Dave Knott on Sunday May 31, 2015 @09:48AM

Dave Knott writes: A recycling centre in the Silicon Valley is looking for a woman who dropped off an old computer for recycling. The computer was apparently inside boxes of electronics that she had cleaned out from her garage after her husband died. This would be nothing unusual, except that the recycled computer was an Apple I,. The recycling firm eventually sold the Apple I for $200,000 to a private collection, and because the company gives 50 per cent of the proceeds from sold items back to the original owner, they wish to split the proceeds with the mystery donor.

Comment Editors, please note grammatical error. (Score 1) 1

by Dave Knott on Saturday May 23, 2015 @04:56PM (#49760005) Attached to: The Hoverboard Flies Closer To Reality

The first sentence should finish "... without a practical version of Marty McFly's hoverboard"

Submission + - The Hoverboard Flies Closer To Reality 1

Submitted by Dave Knott on Saturday May 23, 2015 @04:46PM

Dave Knott writes: Fans of 1980s cinema were disappointed when the year 2015 arrived without a practical version Marty McFly's hoverboard. Now, a Montréal-based man has brought it closer to reality by setting a new record for longest "flight" by hoverboard. In a filmed test recognized by the Guiness Book of World Records, Alexandru Duru pilots his somewhat cumbersome looking rig for 250 metres — five times the previous record — at a height of five metres above Quebec's Lake Ouareau. Duru and his business partner hope to have a new prototype finished by the end of the year and then have hoverboards available for purchase across the country. He wouldn't say how much the prototype cost to build, but said that the first generation of the machine will likely be "quite expensive." "You can fly it anywhere, over water, in the wild," he said, but he warned that it's not for everyone. "This thing is still quite dangerous," he said, explaining that the pilot uses only his or her feet to fly the contraption, adding that the commercial version's software will limit it to flying below a height of about one-and-a-half metres above the ground.

Submission + - Amazon's New Service: Goats

Submitted by Dave Knott on Tuesday April 28, 2015 @01:37PM

Dave Knott writes: Too lazy to mow your own lawn or do your own weeding? Amazon's "Hire a Goat Grazer" is currently in beta testing as part of the company's home services, launched in the U.S. in March. Other services available include car battery installation and TV wall mounting. Customers who want to try the service fill out an online form about the vegetation they want the goat to work on. The plants that goats can tackle even include poison ivy, poison sumac, poison oak and thistle. As a bonus, the goats will "likely leave behind some droppings and you'll get to keep this fertilizer as a friendly parting gift!" Amazon says.
Amazon previously tested goats for trimming the grass outside its Japanese office. Google has also hired lawn care goats for its California headquarters.

Submission + - "Star Trek 3" To Be Helmed By "Fast & Furious" Franchise Director Justin Lin

Submitted by Dave Knott on Tuesday December 23, 2014 @04:31AM

Dave Knott writes: Although J.J. Abrams directed the first two films in the popular revamped Star Trek series, his new job masterminding the Star Wars sequels had left Star Trek 3 as one of the most prestigious unfilled directing assignments in Hollywood. No longer. It is now known that Justin Lin will direct the third Star Trek film. Lin is best known for revitalizing the long-running Fast & Furious series, helming the third through sixth films in that franchise. Several top-flight directors were under consideration for Star Trek 3, but Lin was one the only one actually offered the job, following the postponement of the Bourne Legacy sequel that he had previously been set to direct.

Submission + - James Watson's Nobel Prize Medal Will Be Returned To Him

Submitted by Dave Knott on Wednesday December 10, 2014 @12:58PM

Dave Knott writes: Following the recent auction of James Watson's Nobel Prize medal, the winning bidder will return the medal to Watson. The $4.7 million winning bid was made by Alisher Usmanov, Russia's wealthiest man, a metal and telecommunications tycoon worth $15.8 billion US. In remarks carried by Russian television Tuesday, Usmanov hailed Watson one of the greatest biologists in the history of mankind, and stated that when he learned that Watson was selling the medal for charity, he decided to purchase it and immediately give it back to him.

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