Comment The _real_ reason for the existence of government (Score 1) 173
Government needs to be able to ignore its own laws and selectively apply them as long as it benefits the 0.1% elites. That's a core function in government
FTFY
Submission + - Open air laser communication at up to 2.5tb/s speed (gizmag.com)
Taco Cowboy writes: A proof of concept open-air data-transmission experiment using laser beam was run at Vienna, Austria just the other day
Researchers from the University of Vienna beamed a green laser mounted on a radar tower at the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, which was aimed at a receiver at the University of Vienna 3 km (1.8 mi) away, with a twist
The latest twist is based on the Orbital Angular Momentum of light or OAM, which allows a beam of a particular color – or wavelength – to be twisted into a corkscrew shape to increase the number of potential communication channels available. So rather than one wavelength of light serving as a single channel, each of the theoretically infinite number of turns acts as a separate communication channel
The light beam was configured into 16 patterns corresponding to binary numbers. These were used to encode grey-scale images of Wolfgang-Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig Boltzmann, and Erwin Schrödinger, which were the subjects of the transmission. At the receiver, a camera picked up the beam, which was fed into an artificial neural network to filter out atmospheric interference. In terms of individual photons of light, it means that instead of spinning like the Earth around its own axis, their energy traces out a spiral. It is the same sort of momentum that sees the Earth orbit the sun, but the photons are also moving forward at the speed of light. That corkscrew-like motion is useful because instead of just having two possible directions like polarisation (clockwise or anticlockwise), it can turn in either direction with a potentially infinite number of twists — much like a screw with multiple threads. This is why physicists have been investigating whether twisted light could help transmit information very quickly: each twist configuration could be its own channel, just like different colours of light inside an optical fiber
The team sees a number of applications for the technology, including satellite and other open air channels. In addition, the quantum nature of the light twists would make eavesdropping very difficult. Encryption keys, for example, could be sent securely because trying to read the beam in flight would alter its quantum state and destroy the data. "We have shown for the first time that information can be encoded onto twisted light and sent through a 3 km intra-city link with strong turbulences," says team member Mario Krenn. "The OAM of light is theoretically unbounded, meaning that one has, in theory, an unlimited amount of different distinguishable states in which light can be encoded. It is envisaged that this additional degree of freedom could significantly increase data-rates in classical communication”
BBC also carries the news @ http://www.bbc.com/news/scienc...
Researchers from the University of Vienna beamed a green laser mounted on a radar tower at the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics, which was aimed at a receiver at the University of Vienna 3 km (1.8 mi) away, with a twist
The latest twist is based on the Orbital Angular Momentum of light or OAM, which allows a beam of a particular color – or wavelength – to be twisted into a corkscrew shape to increase the number of potential communication channels available. So rather than one wavelength of light serving as a single channel, each of the theoretically infinite number of turns acts as a separate communication channel
The light beam was configured into 16 patterns corresponding to binary numbers. These were used to encode grey-scale images of Wolfgang-Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig Boltzmann, and Erwin Schrödinger, which were the subjects of the transmission. At the receiver, a camera picked up the beam, which was fed into an artificial neural network to filter out atmospheric interference. In terms of individual photons of light, it means that instead of spinning like the Earth around its own axis, their energy traces out a spiral. It is the same sort of momentum that sees the Earth orbit the sun, but the photons are also moving forward at the speed of light. That corkscrew-like motion is useful because instead of just having two possible directions like polarisation (clockwise or anticlockwise), it can turn in either direction with a potentially infinite number of twists — much like a screw with multiple threads. This is why physicists have been investigating whether twisted light could help transmit information very quickly: each twist configuration could be its own channel, just like different colours of light inside an optical fiber
The team sees a number of applications for the technology, including satellite and other open air channels. In addition, the quantum nature of the light twists would make eavesdropping very difficult. Encryption keys, for example, could be sent securely because trying to read the beam in flight would alter its quantum state and destroy the data. "We have shown for the first time that information can be encoded onto twisted light and sent through a 3 km intra-city link with strong turbulences," says team member Mario Krenn. "The OAM of light is theoretically unbounded, meaning that one has, in theory, an unlimited amount of different distinguishable states in which light can be encoded. It is envisaged that this additional degree of freedom could significantly increase data-rates in classical communication”
BBC also carries the news @ http://www.bbc.com/news/scienc...
Comment Tags doesn't do justice (Score 1) 215
The tag "Rock Star" isn't the tag the TRUE rock stars use for themselves
It was used by the OTHERS to describe those who are so good, so productive that an entire roomful of code monkeys can't even begin to hold a candle to them
And when I mean "productive" I do not mean in code volume alone. They are productive not only in the volume of the quality code that they produce, but also the innovative, the inventive aspects (for the lack of a better word, English ain't my mother tongue, btw) that their code brings
Plus, they are PRODUCTIVE, as I have mentioned above, in up-lifting the people around them, bring people to new heights that they never imagine they could attain
As I have mentioned above, I have have the fortune to work with several of those legendary programmers, and I benefited greatly from the experiences, and I am forever in debt !
Comment People who feels empty inside ... (Score 2) 123
A lot of lonely empty people in this world, and they are so afraid of being feeling left alone they would _anything_ to attract attention
In fact, many of those who committed suicide are did what they did, in the vain hope that their death would attract some attention
Comment They never had the chance ... (Score 1) 215
I hate managing with "rockstar" developers because they're always too arrogant and full of themselves. They detract from the team, argue and refuse to listen to others
Those aren't rock-star developers. As another poster said, you likely have never worked with a rock-star developer. They are great at what they do, *and* they make the team better. They are rare, but it's awesome when you see somebody that inspires others around them by what they can do
This, and 10^9999999999 this !!
It is so sad to read comments by the know-nothings who think that they knew everything
They never get any chance to meet with the real top notch talents and the arrogant, disruptive PITAs that they claim to be "rock star developers" do not even come close to the real stuff
I have have the fortune to work with several of the legendary programmers and when I use the word "legendary" I really mean it
They are legendary not only because of their programming skills, not only because of their extra-ordinary ability to conceptualize and implement and produce things that had never exist before, but also because of their willingness to share, to motivate the team, to lead the team to go with them on the most wonderful journey of power achievements
Comment It's not a zero sum game (Score 2) 215
If you are of the top 1% talent you wouldn't be feeling so butthurt over how much that "agent" skims over what you take
Look, I've been in the industry even before Al Gore started his "information superhighway" stump
I worked as a grunt in research labs, buried deep within the big corporate behemoths, I started my own joints, one after the other (they were not known as "startups" back then), sold some, re-invest the $$ by help funding other startups, and so on
Back then there were no "agencies". Heck! Back then there was no linkedin or anything like that, but when we needed talents we went crowdsourcing (no, that phrase wasn't invented either) and via our network of friends and/or acquaintances we got what we want
And yes, I do pay those who helped find me the talent I need, and no, I do not count the money I paid to those (so-called) agents as part of the money I am willing to pay the talent
What we have are business opportunities. What we want is to make money. And to make money we are willing to hire the right person to do the job, and we are willing to pay.
If you are really good, you will be paid what you are worth. Whatever those "agent" skims from you will not eat into your worth
This ain't a zero sum game, man !
Submission + - This is What Those Movies Looked Like Before Visual Effects Were Added (vibebest.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Have a look at these movies and see what they looked like before visual effects were added. These movies will surely blow other movies from the past.
Robots Put To Work On E-Waste 39
aesoteric writes: Australian researchers have programmed industrial robots to tackle the vast array of e-waste thrown out every year. The research shows robots can learn and memorize how various electronic products — such as LCD screens — are designed, enabling those products to be disassembled for recycling faster and faster. The end goal is less than five minutes to dismantle a product.
Submission + - Robots Put To Work On E-Waste (unsw.edu.au)
aesoteric writes: Australian researchers have programmed industrial robots to tackle the vast array of e-waste thrown out every year. The research shows robots can learn and memorise how various electronic products — such as LCD screens — are designed, enabling those products to be disassembled for recycling faster and faster. The end goal is less than five minutes to dismantle a product.
The Dutch Village Where Everyone Has Dementia 231
HughPickens.com writes Josh Planos writes at The Atlantic that the isolated village of Hogewey on the outskirts of Amsterdam has been dubbed "Dementia Village" because it is home to residents who are only admitted if they're categorized as having severe cases of dementia or Alzheimer's disease. "There are no wards, long hallways, or corridors at the facility," writes Planos. "Residents live in groups of six or seven to a house, with one or two caretakers. Perhaps the most unique element of the facility—apart from the stealthy "gardener" caretakers—is its approach toward housing. Hogeway features 23 uniquely stylized homes, furnished around the time period when residents' short-term memories stopped properly functioning. There are homes resembling the 1950s, 1970s, and 2000s, accurate down to the tablecloths, because it helps residents feel as if they're home."
In Holland, everyone pays into the state health care system during their working years, with the money then disbursed to pay for later-in-life expenses — and that means living in Hogewey does not cost any more than a traditional nursing home. The inspiration came about in 1992, when Yvonne van Amerongen and another member of staff at a traditional nursing home both had their own mothers die, being glad that their elderly parents had died quickly and had not had to endure hospital-like care. A series of research and brainstorming sessions in 1993 found that humans choose to surround and interact with other like-minded people of similar backgrounds and experiences; the arrangement at Hogewey provides this by ensuring that residents with similar backgrounds continue to live closely together. On a physical level, residents at Hogewey require fewer medications; they eat better and they live longer. On a mental level, they also seem to have more joy. "The people here keep their independence, as much as they can have of it, and they stay active," says Theo Visser. "Here they still have a life. It's not the sort of slow, quiet death you get in other places. Here everyone feels at home."
In Holland, everyone pays into the state health care system during their working years, with the money then disbursed to pay for later-in-life expenses — and that means living in Hogewey does not cost any more than a traditional nursing home. The inspiration came about in 1992, when Yvonne van Amerongen and another member of staff at a traditional nursing home both had their own mothers die, being glad that their elderly parents had died quickly and had not had to endure hospital-like care. A series of research and brainstorming sessions in 1993 found that humans choose to surround and interact with other like-minded people of similar backgrounds and experiences; the arrangement at Hogewey provides this by ensuring that residents with similar backgrounds continue to live closely together. On a physical level, residents at Hogewey require fewer medications; they eat better and they live longer. On a mental level, they also seem to have more joy. "The people here keep their independence, as much as they can have of it, and they stay active," says Theo Visser. "Here they still have a life. It's not the sort of slow, quiet death you get in other places. Here everyone feels at home."
Submission + - Google Compute Engine Gets Autoscaler, Finally
An anonymous reader writes: Google today added an Autoscaler feature, which helps apps handle varying traffic and workloads, to its Compute Engine on the Google Cloud Platform. The service, first demoed at the company’s Google Cloud Platform Live event, is now debuting in public beta. The feature is helpful for developers who want to build applications that don’t go down when web traffic goes haywire on the burgeoning Google public cloud. But the addition comes long after Microsoft added autoscaling to its cloud in July 2013, and Amazon introduced autoscaling more than five years ago.
Scientists Optimistic About Getting a Mammoth Genome Complete Enough To Clone 187
Clark Schultz writes The premise behind Jurassic Park just got a bit more real after scientists in South Korea said they are optimistic they can extract enough DNA from the blood of a preserved woolly mammoth to clone the long-extinct mammal. The ice-wrapped woolly mammoth was found last year on an island off of Siberia. The development is being closely watched by the scientific community with opinion sharply divided on the ethics of the project.
Submission + - WhatsApp Co-Founder Donates $1,000,000 to FreeBSD Foundation (blogspot.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Jan Koum posted on FB today that he donated $1,000,000 to the FreeBSD Foundation last week in hopes of helping others in the same way the FreeBSD community helped him.
Submission + - NYC to replace most of its payphones with free gigabit WiFi in 2015
mrspoonsi writes: NYC announced its plans: LinkNYC — a network of 10,000 gigabit WiFi hotspots that will line the streets of all five boroughs of New York City. The project will replace all but a small handful of historic payphones with "Links," small towers equipped with WiFi, an Android tablet with select city-service apps and, of course, the ability to make phone calls. What's missing? The word pay: it's all free.
Tor Eyes Crowdfunding Campaign To Upgrade Its Hidden Services 106
apexcp writes The web's biggest anonymity network is considering a crowdfunding campaign to overhaul its hidden services. From the article: "In the last 15 months, several of the biggest anonymous websites on the Tor network have been identified and seized by police. In most cases, no one is quite sure how it happened. The details of such a campaign have yet to be revealed. With enough funding, Tor could have developers focusing their work entirely on hidden services, a change in developer priorities that many Tor users have been hoping for in recent years."
