17489402
submission
Toe, The writes:
In an interesting twist on the free/closed mobile platform debate, Apple's closed platform appears to be at least nominally on the free side when it comes to magazine distribution. Magazines have always relied on the demographics of their subscribers to sell ad space to companies who would want to reach that demographic. This apparently has been a sticking point between publishers and Apple, because the latter is unwilling to allow its tools to expose the vast wealth of data that can be tapped from a modern mobile device connected to a purchasing account. For that reason, the so-called "Hulu for Magazines," Next Issue Media, will only be available on Android. Still unanswered: do people even want digital magazines?
17410718
submission
Toe, The writes:
Recently, TSA imposed new regulations which basically amount to: submit to a full-body scan or endure a very intrusive pat-down. In response, Allied Pilots Association president Dave Bates is suggesting that 1. the radiation from the scanners may be harmful to pilots who have to go through it repeatedly (and who are already subject to high radiation from the nature of their job), 2. pilots should instead opt for the pat-downs, and 3. pilots should not be subject to "demeaning" pat-downs in public view as they diminish the respect for the uniform. This just leaves the question of what this means to the rest of us cattle who have the nerve to use airline transportation: why should any of us be publicly humiliated as a response to terrorism?
16987952
submission
Toe, The writes:
Hartley 2 circles the sun every 6.46 years. The comet comes within 17.7 million kilometers of Earth, or about 45 times the Earth-moon distance, on October 20. From dark skies in the Northern Hemisphere, the comet should be visible to the naked eye as a fuzzy object in the constellation Auriga. Binoculars or a small telescope may be required to see Hartley 2 from urban areas. The comet, discovered in 1986, makes its closest approach to the sun on October 28. Observers in the Southern Hemisphere should have a good view of the comet in late November as it heads away from Earth. On November 4, a NASA spacecraft will fly within 700km of the object.
16979754
submission
Toe, The writes:
The problem as presented by hitaker/vos Savant 1990: 'Suppose you're on a game show, and you're given the choice of three doors: Behind one door is a car; behind the others, goats. You pick a door, say No. 1, and the host, who knows what's behind the doors, opens another door, say No. 3, which has a goat. He then says to you, "Do you want to pick door No. 2?" Is it to your advantage to switch your choice?' To some the answer is obvious. To others, a different answer is obvious. What's your answer, and ... are you sure? Hint: do the math. Oh yes, and the assumption is that you would rather have a car than a goat.
16978958
submission
anonymous writes:
In the U.S., we are spiraling toward another budget-busting election. This time we see unfettered torrents of cash flowing into the pockets of politicians who then turn around and tell us how great democracy is, how much they love us the peon-- people, and oh yeah, how much their opponent sucks. Even though their opponent is taking huge torrents of money from similar if not the same interests. And we sit back and take it, somehow content with the idea that this is a republic and not a democracy, so we shouldn't expect anything other than complete corruption and power-mongering from our "representatives." The main problem, of course, has been that we have not had any other options. Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others, right? Well, that was before we had the internet and collaborative technologies (remember collaboration != majority rule). Now we have the ability to use the principles of the free and open source software movement to really open up human governance to the people. It will be hard, and it will take a long time. Don't expect it to be an alternative to the 2010 U.S. elections. Think more of tiny communities, then gradually scale from there. As these systems develop and grow, we can hope that we may someday soon be free from the tyranny of rule by others.
12998004
submission
Toe, The writes:
A recent patent application from Apple describes an authentication system based on "particle gun" emissions. The unique benefit claimed is described: 'what is needed in the art is an improved way to perform authentication, such that it is impossible to extract initial information from final information... The method of authenticating based on physical particle gun emissions makes it difficult to recover initial input from output values.'
6273619
submission
Toe, The writes:
Tuesday, AT&T announced it will allow Apple to enable Voice over IP applications such as Skype to run on its 3G wireless data network. Apple stated, 'We will be amending our developer agreements to get VOIP apps on the App Store and in customers' hands as soon as possible.' And Skype, while happy over the move, also stated, 'the positive actions of one company are no substitute for a government policy that protects openness and benefits consumers.'
5948011
submission
Toe, The writes:
io9 has published a list of what they are calling the Top Ten Most Corrupt Mayors from Science Fiction. While it is a decent attempt, one does have to wonder why science fiction would be restricted to only motion media. One imagines that the Slashdot community could come up with at least ten far more corrupt mayors from written science fiction. And then of course there is real life, where the mayors are far more careful to control perceptions of themselves, but where, well... the comments below can flush out that sentence.
