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Robotics

World's First Fully Functioning Missile-Shooting Robotic Transformer 33

Posted by timothy from the get-that-theme-song-out-of-my-head dept.
Readycharged writes "A generation's childhood dreams have come true with the creation of a working 'robot in disguise' Transformer which, when operated by remote control, morphs from a luxury sports car to a missile hurling robot in seconds. Japanese inventor Kenji Ishida is planning to make 10 lucky (and undoubtedly rich) purchasers owners of these toys in the run up to Christmas, having first displayed them at the Maker Faire in Tokyo during the first week of December. For those willing to wait a few years, Ishida plans to have created a life size, drivable model by 2030."
Crime

NY Attorney General Subpoenas Craigslist For Post-Sandy Price Gougers 458

Posted by samzenpus from the what-the-market-will-bear dept.
TheSync writes "In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the New York State Attorney General has subpoenaed Craigslist, demanding that the site identify more than 100 sellers whose prices on post-Sandy gas, generators and other supplies were of an 'unconscionably excessive price' during an emergency. AG Eric Schneiderman said: 'Our office has zero tolerance for price gouging [and] will do everything we can to stop unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage of New Yorkers trying to rebuild their lives.'"
Privacy

Skype Hands Teenager's Information To Private Firm 214

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the but-we-were-friends dept.
New submitter andrew3 writes "Skype has allegedly handed the information of a 16-year-old boy to a security firm. The information was later handed over to Dutch law enforcement. No court order was served for the disclosure. The teenager was suspected of being part of a DDoS packet flood as a part of the Anonymous 'Operation Payback'." According to the article, Skype voluntarily disclosed the information to the third party firm without any kind of police order, possibly violating a few privacy laws and their own policies.
Technology

Commodore 64 turns 30 218

Posted by samzenpus from the happy-birthday dept.
will_die writes "The Commodore 64 came out 30 years ago and to celebrate this the BBC went and got two groups of kids to try out an old system, complete with tape drive. It's sure to bring a few grins to people who had one of these old systems. From the article: 'The Commodore's ability to display 16 colours, smoothly scroll graphics and play back music through its superior SID (sound interface device) chip - even while loading programs off tape - helped win over fans, but it did not become the market leader until the late 1980s.'" Last spring a modern version of the C64 was released.

Comment Nice (Score 1) 4

by Nick Number (#39629951) Attached to: Getting a Job

Getting paid to do what you do for fun sounds like a good deal.

I need to work out a way to get paid for cleaning up mistakes on Wikipedia.
Patents

Patent Attorneys Sued For Copyright Infringement 97

Posted by Soulskill from the sibling-fights-are-the-worst-fights dept.
Zordak writes "Patent blogger Dennis Crouch writes on Patently-O of a catch-22 for attorneys. Patent attorneys are required to submit all prior art that they know of to the patent office. Failing to do so is an ethical violation, and can result in a patent being invalidated. But now the Hoboken Publishing Company and the American Institute of Physics are suing a major patent firm for copyright infringement, because they submit articles to the patent office without paying a separate royalty."

Comment Re:CHEAP e-mail phone (Score 1) 294

by Nick Number (#39147495) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Best Mobile Phone Solution With No Data Plan?

Hey, no howling from this quarter. I'm still using my Treo 650 and I have a spare in reserve for when this one dies. It may not be fashionable, but it's a great tool for doing what I need - keeping contacts, notes, and calendar and syncing them with standalone Outlook. Many newer phones won't do that at all, or require you to take a roundabout route through Windows Live or Exchange.

Pertinent to the OP, the Treo is grandfathered in with Verizon and doesn't require you to buy a data plan. It does just fine with calling and SMS (though I have run into some problems with MMS).
Crime

Jedi Master's Hand-Made Lightsaber Stolen 174

Posted by samzenpus from the lost-your-weapon-you-have dept.
First time accepted submitter psiogen writes "Flynn Michael, an instructor at New York Jedi, an organization that teaches 'practical knowledge of how to use a lightsaber, left his custom-crafted blade for only a few imperial minutes, but when he returned, it was gone. From the article:'“Who steals somebody’s lightsaber? It’s like stealing someone’s toy out of the sandbox,” said Michael, the founder of New York Jedi, a stage combat performance group. “I finally got my uber custom saber, and then some jerk walks out with it."'"
Science

If You're Fat, Broke, and Smoking, Blame Language 297

Posted by samzenpus from the he-cannot-speak-it-good-like-we-do dept.
First time accepted submitter derekmead writes "A Yale researcher says that culture differences how much money we save, how well we take care of ourselves, and other behavior indicative of taking the long view, are all based on language. His study argues that the way a language's syntax refers to the future (PDF) affects how its speakers perceive the future. For example, English and Greek make strong distinctions between the present and the future, while German doesn't, while English and Greek speakers are statistically poorer and in worse health than Germans. (The study includes a broader swath of languages/nationalities, but that's a start.)"

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