Comment Re:I thought it was nearly built? (Score 1) 226
From what I've been told, it's basically done but in exhaustive testing. However, it's going to cost a couple billion more to proceed.
Comment Re:Cut bait (Score 1) 226
They have changed the management team once. It will be a great loss for science to cancel the JWST, but sometimes, enough is enough and a lesson needs to be taught. The worst part is, it's basically done and in testing.
Manned space flight is essentially cut from NASA once the shuttle lands.
Comment Re:So Painfully Frustrating (Score 4, Insightful) 226
Read the report: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=35294
In short, the answer is yes, management is that bad at NASA. I am coming to believe that we need to look at NASA's mission and alter it for the post Cold-War era.
Comment Cut bait (Score 1) 226
As massively over budget, mismanaged, and failings to meet timelines as this project has been, maybe it's time to kill it. I know it would be capable of wonderful science, but sometimes you just need to cut your losses.
Comment It's a trap (Score 4, Insightful) 242
Good way to introduce invasive species.
Comment Re:Let's Not Get Ahead of Ourselves Here (Score 1) 705
Moon - It feels like reading a Philip K Dick novel. It explores human nature in a science fiction setting, gets a bit long, then wraps up. My only beef with Moon is the score, it could have been a lot better and less intrusive.
Comment New Apple Slogan (Score 0, Redundant) 514
New Apple Slogan:
iPhone, worth dying for...
Comment Re:Hmmm. (Score 1) 376
Technology isn't an issue on this. Depending on what RFID technology is used, read range wouldn't be an issue. Since cattle life is relatively short, active tags can be used which also address some of the concerns of a single person taking the readings. Also readers can be attached to a trailer, punch a button and read all tags within range (which can be large or small).
Uploading data, you are right, it is very small. A few hundred bits per cow is all that would be needed. Even a old 300 baud modem could upload all the data relatively quickly.
As you also said cost is quite low compared to the operating costs of a ranch. RFID tags are pretty cheap now, $0.10 for passive tags and $10+ for active tags. Readers are $500 to $2k, but those are a one time purchase. If a rancher can't absorb the one time cost, they are really hurting, and the USDA could always subsidize the readers.
Comment Re:really? (Score 2, Interesting) 685
Also, may people are starting to use HTPCs, media centers, or laptops that have Blu Ray players in them that wouldn't show up in a survey.
Comment Re:Obvious reply (Score 1) 261
It can be reached with some fancy mount jumping and run jumping. Fun place to base jump from is located there, iirc you land in Azshara or Duratar. Also, there is a really deep lake up there.
Age of Conan, One Year On 119
One year after its rocky launch, Age of Conan has stabilized and seen a growth in its player base, reports FunCom. What's more, they say, is that players seem to be playing for longer periods of time as well. Game Director Craig Morrison said in his May letter that work on the next major update, 1.05, is nearing completion, and provided some more details about the new features. This is the same patch which, due to the sweeping stat and equipment changes, will allow players who have a character at level 50 or higher to create a brand new character already at level 50. Reader Kheldon points out a two-part interview with Morrison in which he discusses the laundry list of changes they've made in the past year to improve the game, as well as some broader thoughts about storytelling in the MMO genre. FunCom also released some early details yesterday on two new, free-to-play MMOs they're working on, one of which is browser-based and one of which is Java-based.
Comment Re:Question (Score 1) 107
Or it could be the options are set at $30 a pop and the current share value is below that. So exercising them would be a loss.
Comment 3 potentially good films in 5 years.... (Score 1) 296
Anytime is a good time to be a SF enthusiast. However, I am supposed to be excited over this announcement? Come on, at least release 1 good SF film a year would be nice. 2 a year would be great and 3 a year would bring some real excitement.
Comment Re:No kidding (Score 2, Insightful) 545
But they will make the switch. Businesses were slow to adopt XP, and even said they wouldn't. Obviously most did. I see Windows 7 having a similar slow adoption rate in businesses, then become a mainstay for 2 MS OS release cycles.
Submission + - China, Russia Hack US Electrical Grid (blogspot.com)
Mike Kuykendall writes: "A cyber-attack on US electrical grids shows how much more must be done to protect critical systems."
