Comment Re:Why MS failed. (Score 1) 422
Have you tried http://www.playonlinux.com? I believe I saw a predefined setting for GTA.
Submission + - A scam for the Holidays (complaintsboard.com)
SubstormGuy writes: This is kind of an old story, but one worth repeating during the holidays when so many online-purchases are made. The link above is just one of many that talk about a very common scam. Many companies, such as Pizza Hut and Drugstore.com, sell credit card info to CompleteSavings.com, which then places a $12/month bill on your credit card forever! I discovered it recently as a result of a Pizza Hut purchase and I'll never buy from them again. Charges appear on your card with the number 1-800-826-1885. What I don't understand is why CompleteSavings.com is not shut down and why those corporations who sell credit card info to CompleteSavings.com are not sanctioned. Just google "complete savings scam" or "1-800-826-1885" and you will see how widespread the problem really is.
Submission + - Simulation of Closest Asteroid Fly-By (wired.com) 1
c0mpliant writes: NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have released a simulation of the path of an asteroid, named Apophis, that will come closest to Earth, since humans have monitored for such heavenly bodies. The asteroid, which once held an above 2% chance of impacting Earth, had caused a bit of a scare when it was first announced that it would enter Earth's neighborhood some 30 years in the future.
However since that announcement in 2004, more recent calculations have put the number at 1 in 250'000. The simulation can viewed here.
However since that announcement in 2004, more recent calculations have put the number at 1 in 250'000. The simulation can viewed here.
Submission + - Reducing one amino acid could increase lifespan (sciencenews.org)
John Bryson writes: "Eating less of one amino acid might lengthen your life. There have been lots of previous studies showing that many species live long on highly restricted calories, but a lot of this benefit may be possible by only restricting one amino acid. Amino acids that have shown this have been tryptophan and methionine. A recent study, published online December 2 in Nature, a highly respected journal, may help explain some of the health benefits of restricted-calorie diets. Grandison, R.C., Piper, M.D.W., and Partridge, L. 2009. Amino-acid imbalance explains extension of lifespan by dietary restriction in Drosophila. Nature, published online Dec. 2. doi:10.1038/nature08619"
Comment Re:Pitch (Score 1) 248
bah, saw minesweeper and totally forgot that you asked for help on freecell.
Comment Re:Pitch (Score 1) 248
Ok. First, type in this sequence of Bacteria DNA:
xyzzy
Then press the two magic keys:
SHIFT
ENTER
Tada! All the help you need.
Comment Re:Missed by Voyager? (Score 1) 255
In a vacuum you only lose heat via radiation, and you know that's pretty slow, since Vacuum flasks can keep things hot for a really long time.
So yeah, breathing would be your concern.
That's not really true. Vacuum flasks are also covered with reflective coatings inside so that the heat loss from radiation is also minimized. Also when considering heat loss from radiation, what's important is the difference of temperature between the surroundings and the object. If the surrounding's also warm, it would also give the object heat by radiation. If the surrounding is space, the heat you get by radiation is negligible, so yes, you would freeze very quickly.
But whether it would be quicker than explosion of your body due to lack of outside pressure, I don't really know. But my guess is you wouldn't have time to be concerned about anything.
Actually, you have exactly 30 seconds. Any longer than that and there is no chance a passing spaceship will pick you up.
Comment Re:Scroll lock! (Score 1) 939
You can change the mapping of console keys in Linux pretty easily.
http://www.shallowsky.com/linux/keymap.html is a good place to start.
Comment Re:I know why this happened (Score 1) 580
The other thing to remember is that "Thing your Aunt gave you" is a container. Put everything you can into it.
Comment Re:As much as I hate drivers who text message... (Score 1) 300
Exactly. The gov't is in complete violation of the 10th amendment of the Constitution when it bullies the states in this way.
Submission + - Accoustic "Superlens" Could Make Subs Invi (technologyreview.com)
Al writes: "Nicholas Fang and colleagues at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created the first acoustic superlens, which could be used to create high-resolution ultrasound images, and perhaps ultimately make subs and ships invisible to sonar. Researchers have previously developed materials that bend light in ways that appear to violate the laws of physics, creating so-called optical superlenses. The first acoustic superlens consists of an aluminum array of narrow-necked resonant cavities filed with water--the dimensions of the cavities are tuned to interact with ultrasound waves. When ultrasound waves move through the array, the cavities resonate and the sound is refocused."
Submission + - Human Language Gene Changes How Mice Squeak 2
archatheist writes: Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, have engineered a mouse whose FOXP2 gene has been swapped out for (different) human version. This is interesting because the gene is implicated in human language, and this has changed how mice squeak. Forget planet of the apes... get your tiny paws off me, you darn dirty mouse!
Spirit Stuck In Soft Soil On Mars 160
cheros writes "NASA reports that the Spirit Mars lander is presently stuck in soft soil. The lander's wheels are halfway sunk into the soil and they are planning simulation tests to see if they can get it out again. I hope they can get it out of there because it's picking up enough new energy to operate; however, it only has 5 wheels left to get around on — one of the wheels hasn't been working for years. Fingers crossed."
Comment Another missing option (Score 2, Interesting) 604
* An effective method for thinning the workforce.
Comment Wrote Code (Score 1) 739
Wrote a screensaver for xlockmore, which was then picked up and continues to this day in XScreensaver. Main reason for trying linux (was 1994ish) was to learn programming. Took me almost 2 years to port my screensaver from Applesoft BASIC to C after reading all the X windows programming books I could find and learning C.
