Comment Right. It was the *secretary's* fault (Score 2, Informative) 11
It couldn't possibly be *management's* fault for creating a system in which a clerical error can result in a $billion-plus loss.
Comment Re:Color is hard to do (Score 1) 398
You might be able to do it with something less than 1/4 the b/w resolution, by using, say, half the pixels for black, then distributing the other three colors over the remaining half. You'd have lower resolution for color images, but text would crisper and cleaner. So if you could double the pixel resolution, you could add color without decreasing b/w resolution.
OTOH, I'm not sure this would actually work at all. When you print a halftone, you can actually overlap colors. You can physically print Cyan over the Black. But with e-ink, each pixel has to be a particular color. So you couldn't have a black screen if only half of your pixels have the option of displaying black. It would be gray at best.
OTOH, I'm not sure this would actually work at all. When you print a halftone, you can actually overlap colors. You can physically print Cyan over the Black. But with e-ink, each pixel has to be a particular color. So you couldn't have a black screen if only half of your pixels have the option of displaying black. It would be gray at best.
Comment Re:old news and a link (Score 1) 436
Yep, it happens all the time. PZ has an excellent take on it and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's right. This is science by press release. Let's wait for the actual report (and other scientists' analysis of it) before we come to a conclusion.
1000-mph Car Planned 380
Smivs notes a BBC report on a British team planning a 1000-mph record-breaking car. The previous land-speed record broke the sound barrier. The proposed vehicle will get from 0 to 1,050 mph in 40 seconds.
"RAF pilot Andy Green made history in 1997 when he drove the Thrust SSC jet-powered vehicle at 763 mph (1,228 km/h). Now he intends to get behind the wheel of a car that is capable of reaching 1,000 mph (1,610 km/h). Known as Bloodhound, the new car will be powered by a rocket bolted to a Typhoon-Eurofighter jet engine. The team-members have been working on the concept for the past 18 months and expect to be ready to make their new record attempt in 2011."
Submission + - New site collects expert blog posts (researchblogging.org)
word munger writes: "Yesterday we launched an important new version of an significant website. ResearchBlogging.org has collected over 1,700 blog posts from hundreds of scientists and other researchers, giving readers an expert take on cutting-edge research. It's different from other "science blogging" sites because every post on the site is written by someone who's actually read the original peer-reviewed study, instead of just passing along a press release or an abstract. Registered users can "flag" posts that don't meet our guidelines, so we ensure that only the best stuff gets published on our site."
Submission + - Copyright advocacy group violates copyright (scienceblogs.com)
word munger writes: "Commercial scholarly publishers are beginning to get afraid of the open access movement. They've hired a high-priced consultant to help them sway public opinion in favor of copyright restrictions on taxpayer-funded research. Funny thing is, their own website contains several copyright violations. It seems they pulled their images directly from the Getty Images website — watermark and all — without paying for their use!
Clearly their agenda is simply to make using copyrighted materials inconvenient and expensive for everyone but THEMSELVES."
Submission + - The F-bomb most popular, N-word most offensive
word munger writes: "The F-word is censored from nearly all U.S. broadcast TV (except when someone like Bono slips it into a live telecast), but people use it every day in casual conversation. Meanwhile vicious insults like "nappy-headed ho," while they did result in Don Imus's firing, are repeated ad nauseum on every newscast covering the event. What curse words are truly offensive, and who do they offend the most? On Cognitive Daily, we surveyed over 700 readers to find out. The results? The F-word is only mildly offensive — not even as offensive as "ho." What's more, as people get older, they react more negatively to some words, like "suck" and "ho," but other words bother them less. It all suggests that censoring particular words makes less sense than evaluating words in context. Depending on who is watching and when, the FCC might want to reassess its censorship policy."
Feed News: Apple delays Leopard until October because of iPhone (macworld.com)
Submission + - Apple admits Leopard will not ship until October
Andy_R writes: In a statement released after the stock market close, Apple admits "will not be able to release Leopard at our Worldwide Developers Conference in early June as planned", blaming the need to move software engineering and QA resources over to the iPhone project, which it says is still on schedule to ship in "late June" as planned. Developers will still get their hands on Leopard at the WWDC but it will only be a "near final" version, not the finished product.
Journal Journal: What is wrong with plagiarism?
Okay, so my students are writing essays about "binge drinking." There's a ton of literature out there about "binge drinking." Why should they have to reinvent the wheel? Isn't it easier just to go out on the Internet and copy and paste your way to an essay? Especially if you're a bio/engineering/computer science major and you just need to get your damned English 1102 requirement out of the way? Damn straight it is.
Journal Journal: Oh, the pain!
I wrote in my journal last night. Honest, I did. And I promise you, it was some of the best literature ever created. Honest to God. But I forgot to click "save" before I exited from my Web browser, and all that wonderful creation was lost forever.
Journal Journal: American Music
Today we went to see "Let me Sing" at Charlotte's Booth playhouse. It's kindof a history of American musical theater all in one play. Not a bad show, but it hits you a little over the head with the race issue. Five second summary: The whites stole "American" music from the African Americans.
Journal Journal: Wine
Sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a very friendly glass of Cavit pinot grigio. I'm going to try to describe the experience as precisely as I can. First of all, this is not at all the ideal setting. My beat-up wooden kitchen table is a pale yellowish color, which doesn't allow me to see the color of the pinot clearly. The glass, though elegant, is etched with a lovely floral pattern that again distracts from a proper appreciation of the color and texture of the wine. I've just finished
Journal Journal: rappin'
Yo! Just heard Melly-Mel on NPR today. Turns out Grandmaster Flash performed one of the first records to be indoctrinated into Smithsonian's recording hall of fame, which just happened over the past couple of days.
Journal Journal: Rain. It's a good thing.
Today I emerged from Fretwell hall to see the first misty raindrops of the month, gently trickling down the red brick pathways of campus. The drizzle was slight enough to just dampen me on my quarter-mile walk to the parking deck, but heavy enough to still feel like rain. This is nostalgic weather for me, reminding me of too many Seattle days waiting for the school bus, or walking to The Cricket for an evening of conversation and endless coffee refills.
