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Comment Waze is a community sourced map (Score 1) 611

by alphabet26 (#48603765) Attached to: Waze Causing Anger Among LA Residents
Anyone in the area with a Waze account has the ability to modify the map. There are a few things you can try... Make sure the road is the lowest level of road below highway. Heck make it a dirt road; still routable but Waze should skip it. Make the turn-off red to disable it. Of course other people might complain and want it back on, but if you have active moderators in the area they should know why it's off. Waze is doing what it's supposed to do. It notices a faster route and directs people to it. Any GPS app would have the same problem. As stated above, if you don't like it, get the city to change the road.
Sony

Sony Demands Press Destroy Leaked Documents 250

Posted by samzenpus from the do-not-share dept.
SydShamino writes In an effort that may run afoul of the first amendment, Sony, through their lawyer David Boies (of SCO infamy), has sent a letter to major news organizations demanding that they refrain from downloading any leaked documents, and destroy those already possessed. Sony threatens legal action to news organizations that do not comply, saying that "Sony Pictures Entertainment will have no choice but to hold you responsible for any damage or loss arising from such use or dissemination by you."

Comment Lock-em down (Score 1) 698

by alphabet26 (#48368827) Attached to: US School Installs 'Shooter Detection' System
I am unimpressed. Call me when they tied the detectors into a system that mag-locks the doors and windows shut to confine the shooter in one location. False alarm? Minor inconvenience in that area until a school constable or principal investigates and signals the all-clear.
Robotics

Octopus-Inspired Robot Matches Real Octopus For Speed 71

Posted by Soulskill from the because-skynet-needs-to-rule-the-seas-too dept.
KentuckyFC writes: Underwater vehicles have never matched the extraordinary agility of marine creatures. While many types of fish can travel at speeds of up to 10 body lengths per second, a nuclear sub can manage a less than half a body length per second. Now a team of researchers has copied a trick used by octopuses to build an underwater robot capable of matching the agility of marine creatures. This trick is the way an octopus expands the size of its head as it fills with water and then squirts it out to generate propulsion. The team copied this by building a robot with a flexible membrane that also expands as it fills with water.

The fluid then squirts out through a rear-facing nozzle as the membrane contracts. To the team's surprise, the robot reached speeds of 10 body lengths per second with a peak acceleration of 14 body lengths per second squared. That's unprecedented in an underwater vehicle of this kind. What's more, the peak force experienced by the robot was 30 per cent greater than the thrust generated by the jet. The team think they know why and say the new technique could be used to design bigger subs capable of even more impressive octopus-like feats.

Comment Beautiful Works of Art (Score 3, Interesting) 220

by alphabet26 (#47809481) Attached to: Interview: Ask Christopher "moot" Poole About 4chan and Social Media
While 4chan may be a cesspool of filth and depravity I have found some beautiful and interesting things I would have never known existed. I know it's a matter of taste, but what do you think the ratio of garbage to worthwhile content is on the site as a whole? Which board has the highest garbage content and which has the highest worthwhile content?

Comment Yeah (Score 1) 107

by alphabet26 (#47666115) Attached to: Where are the Flying Cars? (Video; Part One of Two)
Fuck the flying cars, we have a tough time enough just getting electric cars on the road...

Reminded me of George Carlin...

"We're gonna go to Mars. And then of course we're gonna colonize deep space. With our microwave hot dogs and plastic vomit, fake dog shit and cinnamon dental floss, lemon-scented toilet paper and sneakers with lights in the heels. And all these other impressive things we've done down here. But let me ask you this: what are we gonna tell the intergalactic council of ministers the first time one of our teenage mothers throws their newborn baby into a dumpster? How are we gonna explain that to the space people? How are we gonna let them know that our ambassador was only late for the meeting because his breakfast was cold and he had to spend half an hour punching his wife around the kitchen? And what are they gonna think when they find out, its just a local custom, that over 80 million women in the Third world have had their clitorises forcibly removed in order to reduce their sexual pleasure so they won't cheat on their husbands? Can't you just sense how eager the rest of the universe is for us to show up?" - George Carlin, Complaints and Grievances
Medicine

Company Uses 3D Printing and Design To Change the Way We Look At Prosthetics 28

Posted by samzenpus from the adding-some-flare dept.
An anonymous reader writes UNYQ (pronounced: unique), a start-up based in San Francisco and Seville, has set out to change the way we look at prosthetics by selling affordable 3D printed prosthetic leg covers, known as "fairings," directly to consumers. The company was co-founded by Eythor Bender, who is best known for developing a prototype bionic exoskeleton that allows paraplegics to walk again. Bender, who has worked with the disabled for over 20 years, was frustrated by the lack of consideration of style in the medical device development process. Despite all the progress made in other areas, the devices still look more or less like a "wooden stick." Bender wants to challenge what we think is possible with prosthetics.
Canada

Canada Poised To Buy 65 Lockheed Martin F-35 JSFs 417

Posted by samzenpus from the time-to-fly dept.
Freshly Exhumed (105597) writes 'Canada is poised to buy 65 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets, sources familiar with the process told Reuters. A detailed, 18-month review of Canada's fighter jet needs has concluded that the government should skip a new competition and proceed with the C$9 billion ($8.22 billion) purchase, three sources said. When the F-35 purchase was first proposed, Canadians were alarmed by the colossal price tag, and also that no fly-off competition had been conducted or was planned. This latest news is sure to rekindle criticism that the RCAF's requirements seem to have been written after the fact to match the F-35's capabilities (or lack thereof)."
Math

Zazzle.com Thinks Depictions of Pi Are Protected Intellectual Property 264

Posted by Soulskill from the attention-i-have-trademarked-the-space-between-letters-please-stop-using-it dept.
Byteme writes: "A number of Zazzle.com users have had their art and products removed from the site after a man named Paul Ingrisano was granted a trademark for 'Pi Productions' using a logo that consists of this freely available version of the pi symbol from the Wikimedia website combined with a period. He made infringement claims against several websites, and Zazzle took down many clothing products that featured designs using the pi symbol. When users called them on it, they locked a public forum thread and said they're evaluating Ingrisano's complaint."
Facebook

Iran Court Summons Mark Zuckerberg For Facebook Privacy Violations 304

Posted by timothy from the beacon-of-tolerance-and-privacy dept.
wiredmikey (1824622) writes "An Iranian judge has summoned Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to answer allegations that his company's apps have breached people's privacy, it was reported Tuesday. The court in Fars province ordered that Zuckerberg address unspecified 'violation of privacy' claims made by Iranians over the reach of Facebook-owned apps, ISNA news agency reported. 'Based on the judge's verdict, the Zionist manager of Facebook... should report to the prosecutor's office to defend himself and make compensation for damages,' Rouhollah Momen-Nasab, a senior Iranian Internet security official, told ISNA. Access to social networks, including Twitter and Facebook, are routinely blocked by Iranian authorities, as are other websites considered un-Islamic or detrimental to the regime."
Biotech

Bill Gates & Twitter Founders Put "Meatless" Meat To the Test 466

Posted by samzenpus from the now-with-more-vitamin-M dept.
assertation (1255714) writes "Bill Gates and the founders of Twitter are betting millions that meat lovers will embrace a new plant-based product that mimics the taste of chicken and beef. Meat substitutes have had a hard time making it to the dinner tables of Americans over the years, but the tech giants believe these newest products will pass the "tastes like chicken" test. Gates has met several times with Ethan Brown, whose product, Beyond Meat, is a mash-up of proteins from peas and plants."

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