Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Submission + - Bruce Schneier on Airport Security (cnn.com)

Submitted by the4thdimension
the4thdimension writes: Bruce Schneier has an opinion piece on CNN this morning that illustrates his view on airport security. Given that he has several books on security, his opinion carries some weight. In the article, Bruce discusses the rarity of terrorism, the pitfalls of security theater, and the actual difficulty surrounding improving security. What are your thoughts? Do you think that we can actually make air travel (and any other kind of travel, for that matter) truly secure?
Technology

Submission + - Harry McCracken Rounds up The Year in Tech (foxnews.com)

Submitted by Velcroman1
Velcroman1 writes: Windows got less annoying. Smartphones became smarter. The Internet continued to change entertainment for the better. All in all, it was a good year for technology and the folks who use it. Harry McCracken, the brains behind Technologizer and the former editor-in-chief of PC World, reveals his picks and pans for the most interesting tech stories of the year.

Submission + - Amazon: Kindle Is Most Gifted Item Ever (pcworld.com)

Submitted by Suki I
Suki I writes: Ian Paul of PC World Reports:

Amazon's Kindle e-book reader hit a watershed moment on Christmas Day, when, for the first time ever, customers purchased more Kindle books than physical books. The company also claims the Kindle is the most gifted item in Amazon's history. These two facts were part of the online retailer's recently announced holiday sales activity.

But in typical Amazon style, the company did not provide any sales figures to back up its claims. Although Amazon did say that if you placed side by side all the Blu-ray disc players the company sold this season, the line would stretch for more than 27 miles. A mile has 63,360 inches, so I'll leave you to make your best guess.

Submission + - Ascent of Dinosaurs Linked to Asteroid Impact, Too (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by thomst
thomst writes: The latest results of a study led by Paul E. Olsen of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University of elevated iridium levels at the 200-million-year-old Triassic-Jurassic boundary will be published in the May 17, 2010 issue of Science. (An earlier, more preliminary study of elevated iridium levels, tetrapod dinosaur footprints and skeletal fossils, and elevated fern spore levels — which Olsen, et al, characterize as a marker for recovery from mass extinction — was published in Science in May 2002. The abstract is free, and does not require registration to view. The full text requires a free registration on the Science website.) The forthcoming study will focus on the slight elevation of iridium levels in sedimentary deposits from the Triassic-Jurassic boundary (the increase in iridium density is only 2-3 times normal background levels, and it required the development of iridium coincidence nuclear spectroscopy to properly quantify). Predictably enough in a field where the theory that a meteor impact killed the dinosaurs, first proposed by Luis W. Alvarez in 1980 has yet to convince the intrinsic gradualist camp of its validity, the proposal is bound to have its detractors.

Space.com has a story explaining the major points of the forthcoming study in layman's terms.
Science

Submission + - A weighty comic: xkcd on gravity wells (xkcd.com) 2

Submitted by
Will.Woodhull
Will.Woodhull writes: "xkcd's comic for today is a wonderful description of the solar system in terms of gravity wells. Don't miss it!

It does raise a couple of questions: how accurate are the numbers (can we trust our comics in this day and age)? should this be incorporated into K-12 schooling? And what's with those Titanics: it seems like like they are singing a Frank Sinatra lyric with their lungs full of helium?"
Linux

Submission + - Happy Birthday, Linus (linuxjournal.com)

Submitted by Glyn Moody
Glyn Moody writes: Today is the birthday of Linus. Just under 19 years ago, on the first day the shops in Helsinki were open after the holidays, Linus rushed out and spent all his Christmas and birthday money on his first PC: a DX33 80386, with 4 Megs of RAM, no co-processor, and a 40 Megabyte hard disc. Today, the kernel he wrote on that system powers 90% of the fastest supercomputers, and is starting to find its way into more and more smartphones — not to mention everything in between. What would the world look like had he spent his money on something else?
United States

Submission + - Xmas-Day terrorist used PETN to destroy airplane. (wsj.com)

Submitted by reporter
reporter writes: A report just issued by the "Wall Street Journal" provides new information about the failed attempt by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, an African terrorist, to destroy an in-flight passenger jet. The most disturbing detail is that the explosive device was not a firecracker (which several news organizations erroneously reported). The explosive device is PETN. It is an extremely powerful explosive; according to an investigative report by guardian.co.uk, "[a] little more than 100g of PETN could destroy a car. The device allegedly used by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab involved a syringe and a soft plastic container filled, reportedly, with 80g of PETN. The remnants of the bomb are being analysed in an FBI laboratory."

The implication is profound. If Abdulmutallab had succeeded in detonating the explosive at high altitude and, hence, creating a hole in the fuselage of the aircraft, "the decompression would tear the aircraft apart", and all 300 passengers on that jet would have died.
Apple

Submission + - The speculative prehistory of the iPhone (technologizer.com)

Submitted by harrymcc
harrymcc writes: The blogosphere is abuzz with rumors about "iSlate," Apple's supposed upcoming tablet. It's constructive to look back at coverage of the first iPhone in the months before it was announced. A high percentage of what was reported turned out to be hooey--as I remembered as I reviewed stories that said the iPhone would have a click wheel, a slide-out keyboard, and two batteries, and would run on an Apple-branded wireless network. I'm guessing that much of what we "know" about iSlate is similarly off-base.

Submission + - James Cameron's Avatar and Neal Stephenson (jseliger.com)

Submitted by ThousandStars
ThousandStars writes: "The anti-technological aspect [in James Cameron's Avatar] is strange because the movie is among most technically sophisticated ever: it uses a crazy 2D and 3D camera, harnesses the most advanced computer animation techniques imaginable, and has apparently improved the state-of-the-art when it comes to cinema. But Avatar’s story argues that technology is bad. Humans destroyed their home world through environmental disaster and use military might to annihilate the locals and steal their resources." The question is two-fold: why have a technically sophisticated, anti-technical movie, and why are we drawn to it? Part of the answer lies in Neal Stephen's Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out.

Submission + - Help! My former employer lies to my new employers! 4

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: As a relatively new graduate, I was hired at a small startup software company that produced e-commerce websites. (There are thousands of these companies) I did not have many options for employment, and this was better than flipping burgers. The owners/employers were your typical geek squad type without formal training. They did not believe in a business plan, client/employee contracts, or contacting lawyers. The coding was on par with CS 101, 2nd week and was a string of legal liabilities. I did not expect this company to last long, but the paychecks were not bouncing. I kept looking for new jobs, but I could not find any. Finally, I was released since they could not find any work for me to do.

Here is my problem, the company has not completely failed. I have listed this company on my resume, and I have been unintentionally slandered by the owners. I am positive the owners are not aware of slander, nor do I want to pursue legal action. However, it has cost me at least one job already. How do I list this company on my resume? How would I explain the gap in my employment? I am relatively young, so everyone checks my employment history. What do I do? I just want a job and my mom not to be my landlord/roommate!

I'm posting this as AC because I bet my former employers are reading this post while avoiding clients.

Slashdot Top Deals

What is research but a blind date with knowledge? -- Will Harvey

Close