Comment It's About Time! (Score 1) 143
I always hated that show.
*ducks*
Dinosaur Feather Color Discovered 219
anzha writes "Do you remember being a kid and told we'd never know what colors the dinosaurs were? For at least some, that's no longer true. Scientists working in the UK and China have closely examined the fossils of multiple theropods and actually found the colors and patterns that were present in the fossilized proto-feathers. So far, the answer is orange, black and white in banded and other patterns. The work also thoroughly thrashes the idea that fossils might not be feathers, but collagen fibers instead. If this holds up, Birds Are Dinosaurs. Period. And colorful!"
Comment Re:Not consistent? (Score 1) 823
In the defense of all slashdotters that refuse to acknowledge climate change, it's very difficult to see outdoors from one's basement.
Don't you mean from "one's mom's basement"?
Submission + - NASA spends money on lavish parties every launch (cbsnews.com)
doug141 writes: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/09/eveningnews/main3481918.shtml
NASA spends between $400,000 and $1.3 million on a party AT EVERY LAUNCH, according to CBS. Select personnel are treated to 5 days at a 4 star hotel. This year alone, they've spent $4 million on parties. NASA asked for, and was given, $1 billion more from the Senate this year. NASA proponents argue it makes more sense to give money to talented, productive people in exchange for scientific knowledge, than spend in on unproductive people in the form of straight welfare.
NASA spends between $400,000 and $1.3 million on a party AT EVERY LAUNCH, according to CBS. Select personnel are treated to 5 days at a 4 star hotel. This year alone, they've spent $4 million on parties. NASA asked for, and was given, $1 billion more from the Senate this year. NASA proponents argue it makes more sense to give money to talented, productive people in exchange for scientific knowledge, than spend in on unproductive people in the form of straight welfare.
Submission + - NASA throws a hell of as party!
AlHunt writes: "From The Article:
So NASA is urinating away 4 million of your tax dollars this year, throwing luxurious parties and patting themselves on the back. In December they'll dump $400,000 to $500,000 in Orlando, according to CBS News.
I love space exploration as much as anyone. If they wanted billions to go to Pluto, I'd probably never say a word. But high dollar shindigs? Give me a break. I work with an organization helping to feed the hungry. We get a $30 to $1 return on our transportation budget (and we buy our own gas, use up our own office supplies and take no pay so almost every penny donated goes to transportation) — in other words, Decembers Awards budget (a paltry $28K) would let me put $840,000 worth of food in the warehouse.
So, here's my challenge, Rocket Scientists — Take a pass on the coconut shrimp and send the savings our way. I'm sure we can feed a few thousand families for your sacrifice."
Everyone knows exploring space is dangerous, and the costs are astronomical. Which is why, just last month, NASA was able to squeeze $1 billion extra from the Senate.
That very same day, NASA also posted an online notice few people saw — seeking four-star hotel bids for its December awards,
So NASA is urinating away 4 million of your tax dollars this year, throwing luxurious parties and patting themselves on the back. In December they'll dump $400,000 to $500,000 in Orlando, according to CBS News.
I love space exploration as much as anyone. If they wanted billions to go to Pluto, I'd probably never say a word. But high dollar shindigs? Give me a break. I work with an organization helping to feed the hungry. We get a $30 to $1 return on our transportation budget (and we buy our own gas, use up our own office supplies and take no pay so almost every penny donated goes to transportation) — in other words, Decembers Awards budget (a paltry $28K) would let me put $840,000 worth of food in the warehouse.
So, here's my challenge, Rocket Scientists — Take a pass on the coconut shrimp and send the savings our way. I'm sure we can feed a few thousand families for your sacrifice."
Submission + - Virus that came Pre-Installed on Maxtor HD 1
kirouac writes: "Security mavens from Kaspersky say they have discovered a nasty virus that came pre-installed on Maxtor external hard drives sold in the Netherlands.
The virus, dubbed Virus.Win32.AutoRun.ah, was found on the Maxtor 3200 Personal Storage, according to this press release from Kaspersky (translated from Dutch to English courtesy of FreeTranslation.com).
The company said the virus roots around a computer in search of gaming passwords. The malicious code also rifles through a computer's contents and deletes mp3 files, according to a separate description of the virus, also from Kaspersky.
A spokesman for Seagate, which recently acquired Maxtor, said the company was investigating Kaspersky's findings. "This scenario seems unlikely because the 3200 does not have any software preloaded on the drive so there is not an opportunity for a virus to be loaded," he said. Yes the drive is formatted but I have never heard of a virus that lives in the master boot record.""
Submission + - The New Da Vinci Code? (discovery.com)
apok04 writes: For those that can't get enough Da Vinci conspiracy stories, Discovery News reports that Giovanni Maria Pala, an Italian musician and computer technician has discovered new meaning in Da Vinci's "The Last Supper". In a book (Google Translation) due to be released today in Italy, Pala describes how he discovered a "hymn to God" composed of the hands and bread loaves in the famous painting. When he first played the notes, they sounded terrible. It wasn't until he realized that they should be played right to left (a common Da Vinci writing style) that they sounded "like a requiem". In addition to the music, Pala found what appears to be a sentence written in ancient Hebrew: "bo nezer usbi," which means "with Him consecration and glory."
Submission + - Former Governor Hosts UFO Talks (cnn.com)
loteck writes: From CNN: "Former Arizona Governor Fife Symington will be moderating a November 12 event at the National Press Club where he will discuss the Phoenix Lights incident. He says he will be joined by 14 former high-ranking military and government officials from seven countries who will share evidence from what they call their own UFO experiences and investigations."
Symington claims to have "witnessed a massive delta-shaped, craft silently navigate over Squaw Peak, a mountain range in Phoenix, Arizona" that was, according to him, witnessed by "hundreds if not thousands" of people in Arizona. There is no shortage of speculation on the Phoenix Lights incident online.
Symington claims to have "witnessed a massive delta-shaped, craft silently navigate over Squaw Peak, a mountain range in Phoenix, Arizona" that was, according to him, witnessed by "hundreds if not thousands" of people in Arizona. There is no shortage of speculation on the Phoenix Lights incident online.
Submission + - Final call for Brave New World from Germany
RichiH writes: On November 9th, the German parliament will most likely vote in favour of a law which will make logging of all connections, be they over Internet, landline or cellular phone, mandatory (German source). As an added bonus, the Cybercrime Convention of the European Union will ensure that a total of 52 countries will have access to this data without review by a judge, restriction of commensurability or even a mandatory expiration date for the prosecution of any and all actions that are against the law in the requesting country. This list includes countries with long-standing records in human rights like Azerbaijan, Russia or Moldova. If you live in Germany, hold a German passport or simply think your voice should be heard, please head over to this site and write an open letter to the members of the German parliament. In anticipation of the approval of the law, please also join the first ever German class-action law suit before Germany highest court by adding your personal data here.
Do not let this pass without action. It is that last chance you are likely to have.
Do not let this pass without action. It is that last chance you are likely to have.
Submission + - Looking for gPhone clues in Google patent (news.com)
iced_tea writes: What do Google patents say about the company's possible plans for a Google phone?
The invention would allow an English speaker, for example, to use the keypad of any mobile phone to enter Chinese characters, according to Google patent scrutinizer Stephen Arnold.This image shows a diagram from a patent filed June 30, 2005 and published October 12, 2006, called "Non-Standard Locality-Based Text Entry." The inventor is listed as Shumeet Baluja, a senior staff research scientist at Google, and the assignee is listed as Google.
Microsoft's XO Laptop Strategy 242
gbulmash writes "Microsoft is spending a 'non-trivial' amount of money to get Windows XP working on the OLPC project's XO laptop. But why? Despite the conjecture that the Linux-based XO could convince millions of people in the developing world that they don't need Windows and build a huge base of developers for Linux, there still remains the question of how Microsoft would convince owners of XO laptops to buy and install Windows XP over the functional Linux-based OS already on it. It's doubtful that Microsoft could encourage or coerce Negroponte to put XP on the machine, so whose arms will they twist?"
Submission + - $2 Million on table for greatest robot racer (networkworld.com)
coondoggie writes: "Thirty-five driverless vehicles will race over hill and dale as well as faux city intersections next weekend in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA) Urban Challenge held on a former airbase in California. The National Qualification Event will take place at the same location this weekend October 26-31, 2007. DARPA says its third-annual Urban Challenge program has the lofty goal of developing technology that will keep soldiers off the battlefield and out of harm's way. The Urban Challenge features autonomous ground vehicles maneuvering in a mock city environment, executing simulated military supply missions while merging into moving traffic, navigating traffic circles, negotiating busy intersections, and avoiding obstacles.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/21131"
Submission + - The day the Routers died (secret-wg.org)
Raindeer writes: "The RIPE 55 meeting has just concluded. There was much debate on what to do on the imminent depletion of the unallocated IPv4 pool in 2010. We could do nothing or we could create a market place and facilitate transfer of IP-adresses, but it's all a train wreck waiting to happen. This is best shown however by a beautiful song "The day the routers died" also available on Youtube written and performed by Gary Feldman. So please all upgrade to IPv6 soon, or else you will not get 40Gbit/s to your mother."
Submission + - Internet tax held off for seven more years (arstechnica.com)
Christopher Blanc writes: "With the ban on taxing Internet connections set to expire at the end of October, both houses of Congress are taking action. Last night, the Senate passed a bill that would extend the 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act yet again, this time for seven years. A version of the legislation passed by the House earlier this week would only extend it for another four years.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071026-senate-passes-internet-tax-moratorium-extension.html"
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071026-senate-passes-internet-tax-moratorium-extension.html"
Submission + - Beware of Virtual Sprawl
Absalom621 writes: "You would think this isn't suppose to happen with virtualization, but companies are beginning to report virtual server sprawl. The same virtualization software that's supposed to cut costs and improve capacity through server consolidation is now beginning to show signs of having too many virtual machines that are...guess what...under utilized and unmanaged, says Baseline magazine.
http://preview.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,2207853,00.asp"
