tsuliga - Slashdot User

Submission + - 9000mile / 6 generation migration by BUTTERFLIES !! (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by RockDoctor on Friday October 19, 2012 @09:42AM

RockDoctor writes: I've always been impressed by the Monarch Butterfly's migration across most of the continental US.

W.O.W.

9000 miles between sub-Saharan Africa and the Arctic. Over 6 generations.

"This tiny creature weighing less than a gram, with a brain the size of a pin head, and no opportunity to learn from older, experienced individuals, undertake[s] an epic intercontinental migration."

W.O.W! Colour me impressed!

Submission + - A History of DOOM (ibtimes.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 19, 2012 @09:22AM

An anonymous reader writes: First-person shooters have come a long way. From Malcolm Evans' pioneering Spectrum hit 3D Monster Maze, to absurdly lifelike war-sims like Battlefield 3, FPS games have grown in complexity and sophistication, transforming the way we think and feel about computer games as they've done it.

Submission + - Research Proves Patent Trolls Harming The Economy (infoworld.com)

Submitted by

WebMink

on Friday October 19, 2012 @08:36AM

WebMink writes: "It used to just be speculation, but the numbers are now in — patent trolls are costing America jobs and economic growth. Newly-published research using data commissioned by Congress shows big rises in patent troll activity over the last five years — from 22% to 40% of all patent suits filed, with 4 out of five litigants being patent trolls. Other papers show that jobs are being lost and startups threatened, while VC money is just making things worse by making startups waste money filing more patents. Worst of all, it's clear this is just the tip of the iceburg; there's evidence that unseen pre-lawsuit settlements with patent trolls represent a much larger threat than anything the research can easily measure.

At least there is a little good news though; the fact Congress commissioned research on patent trolls means there are legislators taking the problem seriously at last,"

Submission + - No microbes in first sample from Lake Vostok (nature.com)

Submitted by

ananyo

on Friday October 19, 2012 @07:44AM

ananyo writes: "A first analysis of the ice that froze onto the drillbit used in last February’s landmark drilling to a pristine Antarctic lake shows no native microbes came up with the lake water, according to Sergey Bulat of Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (Russia). The very uppermost layer of Lake Vostock appears to be “lifeless” so far, says Bulat, but that doesn’t mean the rest of it is.
Bulat and his colleagues counted the microbes present in the ice sample and checked their genetic makeup to figure out the phylotypes. They counted fewer than 10 microbes/ml — about the same magnitude they would expect to find in the background in their clean room."

Submission + - For About $20, Cardboard Bicycle Could 'Change The World,' Inventor Says (npr.org) 2

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15, 2012 @04:51PM

An anonymous reader writes: "... inventor has come up with a way to make a bicycle almost entirely out of cardboard — and so inexpensively that he thinks retailers would only need to charge about $20 for one."

Submission + - $3,000 Tata Nano coming to U.S. (foxnews.com) 1

Submitted by

walterbyrd

on Monday October 15, 2012 @12:39PM

walterbyrd writes: "The Nano is currently powered by a 37 hp two-cylinder engine and lacks common safety features such as power steering, traction control and airbags. It was originally designed to compete in the Indian market against scooters and motorcycles. . . Along with added safety equipment, it’s likely the car will get a larger, less polluting engine for export markets. Unfortunately, that means the price will increase, as well, possibly tripling by the time it goes on sale here."

Submission + - Curiosity discovers unidentified, metallic object on Mars (extremetech.com) 1

Submitted by

MrSeb

on Tuesday October 09, 2012 @10:46AM

MrSeb writes: "A few hundred million miles away on the surface of the Red Planet, Mars rover Curiosity has discovered an unidentified, shiny, metallic object. Now, before you get too excited, the most likely explanation is that bright object is part of the rover that has fallen off — or perhaps some debris from MSL Curiosity’s landing on Mars, nine weeks ago. There is the distinct possibility, however, that this object is actually native to Mars, which would be far more exciting. It could be the tip of a larger object, or perhaps some kind of exotic, metallic Martian pebble (a piece of metal ore, perhaps). Close-up imagery will now be captured and analyzed, and within the next few days we should know if it's simply a piece of Curiosity — or something a whole lot more exciting indeed."

Submission + - Agile Still Struggling to Gain Acceptance (drdobbs.com)

Submitted by

CowboyRobot

on Saturday October 06, 2012 @03:22PM

CowboyRobot writes: "According to a new Serena survey, "Somewhere around half of software application programmers using Agile development methodologies believe that their work is not being put through an adequate level of testing. To compound this state of affairs, as few as a quarter of project leads and/or development managers view this as a problem."

The survey also shows that only 49% of respondents say their company is using Agile, and of those, about half claim to be happy with their current Agile projects."

Submission + - The rise and fall of Zynga (techcrunch.com)

Submitted by another random user on Saturday October 06, 2012 @09:34AM

another random user writes: The year was 2008 and Zynga had it all figured out. Facebook became a portal to games for those who had never played. Viral growth there was unchecked. Facebook ad rates were low, so buying traffic was cheap. And most games were played on the desktop. But soon everything changed, and Zynga never recovered.

For years, Zynga got to sell virtual goods on its Facebook desktop games untaxed. It was essentially selling cost-less copies of digital images for real money, and the margins were great. Facebook finally forced all developers onto its virtual currency Credits in July 2011 and started taking a 30 percent cut. Zynga might have negotiated a slightly lower tax but it was still a hit to its bottom line.

Back in Zynga’s heyday, most Facebook usage was on the desktop where its games were. But the shift to mobile was quick. It seemed to take Facebook by surprise, and it hit Zynga, too.

Zynga IPO’d 10 months ago at $10 a share. Today it fell another $0.23 to just $2.48 after cutting its revenue projections.

Submission + - California gasoline prices soar amid refinery and pipeline shutdowns (denverpost.com) 1

Submitted by jefery23 on Saturday October 06, 2012 @08:10AM

jefery23 writes: Californians woke up to a shock Friday as overnight gasoline prices jumped by as much as 20 cents a gallon in some areas, ending a week of soaring costs that saw some stations close and others charge record prices.

Submission + - Fiftieth Anniversary of First Beatles Single

Submitted by

Hugh Pickens writes

on Friday October 05, 2012 @08:41PM

Hugh Pickens writes writes: "The Guardian reports that in September 1962, the Beatles went into EMI's Abbey Road studios in north London to record their first single, Love Me Do, one of the least original in John Lennon and Paul McCartney's burgeoning songbook and the single was released on October 5, 1962, with barely any promotion from EMI. The (well-substantiated) story goes that the band's manager Brian Epstein ordered 10,000 copies for his Liverpool record shop, enough to push it into the Top 20 and 10 times more than he could ever sell. "After Love Me Do, the British music business would be transformed. Young musicians would increasingly write their own songs, like Lennon and McCartney, breaking the immemorial hold of Tin Pan Alley "moon-and-June" hacks," writes Philip Norman. "The despotism of producers would dwindle as bands increasingly demanded to choose their own material, like the Beatles did, and have input into their own sessions. Studios changed from clinical laboratories into rehearsal-rooms with constantly-running tape and, ultimately, venues for partying and drug-taking." As youth took control of its own music, so it rapidly did in other creative spheres – fashion, photography, design, theatre and the cinema. Britain's remaining industries would hastily retool themselves to turn out consumer goods with youth principally in mind. "In the Beatles' astonishing oeuvre, Love Me Do may seem merely like a rough charcoal sketch prefiguring their later Renaissance masterpieces. But it gave birth to a whole era, one that we still can't bear to let go.""

Submission + - Tomb of Maya Holy Snake Lord Found in Guatemala

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 05, 2012 @07:38PM

An anonymous reader writes: Archaeologists have discovered a seventh century tomb of a Maya queen in Guatemala. The tomb belongs to the Maya Holy Snake Lord, Lady K'abel, one of the most powerful queens in her kingdom during the Classic Maya civilization. A team of archaeologists led by David Freidel, co-director of the expedition from the Washington University in St. Louis, found the tomb during an excavation of the royal Maya city of El Perú-Waka' in northwestern Petén, Guatemala, based on artifacts suggesting that a higher-ranked queen is buried there.

Submission + - Hiring Smokers – Banned In South Florida City (huffingtonpost.com) 3

Submitted by Penurious Penguin on Friday October 05, 2012 @04:55PM

Penurious Penguin writes: On October 2, City Commissioners of Delray Beach finalized a policy which prohibits agencies from hiring employees who use tobacco products. Delray Beach isn't alone though; other Florida cities such as Hollywood and Hallandale Beach, require prospective employees to sign affidavits declaring themselves tobacco-free for 12 months prior to the date of application. Throughout the states, both government and businesses are moving to ban tobacco-use beyond working hours. Many medical facilities, e.g. hospitals, have already, or intend to implement similar policy. In some more-aggressive environments referred to as nicotine-free, employee urine-samples can be taken and tested for any presence of nicotine, not excluding that from gum or patches. Employees testing positive can be terminated.

The primary rationale behind these policies has been frugality, citing greater insurance-costs for smokers, and the savings implied by eliminating them from the workforce. In some less aggressive situations, persistent smokers are imposed a "Tobacco User Surcharge" of $20 per paycheck and offered waived co-payments for smoking-cessation drugs.

Efforts to cut expenses and encourage better health seem perfectly normal. Policy prohibiting activities otherwise legal, but unbefitting a workplace environment also seem normal. However, employers or government defining employee's domestic lifestyles is a relatively new concept, especially when nothing illegal is involved. It would be difficult, if not impossible to argue that smoking is without consequences; but is breeching the boundaries of the household inconsequential?

Times do change, and adaptation is often a necessary burden. But have they changed so much that we'd now postpone the Manhattan project for 12 months because Oppenheimer had toked his pipe? Would we confine our vision to the Milky Way or snub the 1373 Cincinnati because Hubble smoked his? Would we shun relativity, or shelve the works of Tolkien because he and C. S. Lewis had done the same? If so, then where will it stop? Will we soon scan employees for signs of excessive sugar, trans-fats and cholesterol? Will we have authenticated and logged aerobics classes? I, for one, welcome answers from our new salubrious overlords.

Submission + - Unusual New Species of Dinosaur Identified (nytimes.com)

Submitted by cervesaebraciator on Friday October 05, 2012 @03:33PM

cervesaebraciator writes: A new species of heterodontosaur, called Pegomastax, has been identified. Paul Sereno, a University of Chicago paleontologist, published a description of this species in a recent issue of ZooKeys. Although this diminutive (60 cm or less) species was herbivorous, it also possessed a set of sharp, stabbing canines in its parrot-shaped beak. Dr. Sereno holds that these canines where likely "for nipping and defending themselves, not for eating meat.” Perhaps the most imaginatively intriguing aspect of all, the body of the Pegomastix might have been covered in porcupine-like quills, making for perhaps the least attractive dinosaur of all time. You can almost hear Dieter Stark screaming 'Helvetes jävlar!'

Submission + - We Don't Need More Highways

Submitted by

Hugh Pickens writes

on Thursday October 04, 2012 @11:40AM

Hugh Pickens writes writes: "When it comes to infrastructure, politicians usually prefer shiny new projects over humdrum repairs. A brand-new highway is exciting: There’s a ribbon-cutting, and there’s less need to clog up existing lanes with orange cones and repair crews. So it’s not surprising that 57 percent of all state highway funding goes toward new construction, often stretching out to the suburbs, even though new roads represent just 1.3 percent of the overall system. Now Brad Plumer writes in the Washington Post that many transportation reformers think this is a wrong-headed approach and that we should focus our dollars on fixing and upgrading existing infrastructure rather than continuing to build sprawling new roads). UCLA economist Matthew Kahn and the University of Minnesota’s David Levinson made a more detailed case for a “fix-it first” strategy. They noted that, at the moment, federal highway spending doesn’t get subjected to strict cost-benefit analysis, and governments often build new roads when they arguably shouldn’t (PDF). And that’s to say nothing of data suggesting that poor road conditions are a “significant factor” in one-third of all fatal crashes, and cause extra wear and tear on cars. "When a highway gets clogged, states find it more palatable to simply build new lanes rather than, say, put in place congestion fees — even though research has found that widening highways does little to alleviate traffic jams," concludes Plumer. "There’s a strong policy case that we could stand to build fewer new highways out to the suburbs, at least for the time being.""

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