sdpinpdx - Slashdot User

Comment Just get a mac (Score 1) 932

by sdpinpdx on Thursday November 12, 2009 @06:12PM (#30080104) Attached to: Easing the Job of Family Tech Support?

My life is much better since all the people who ask me for technical help got macs. If you can afford it, just buy them one (and require them to surrender the Windows machine in exchange for it).

My mom did manage to delete an app on her mini once, but Time Machine made that reversible.

They pay me to deal with Windows at work. I don't want to do that at home too.

Comment Re:So it's $70 a year.... (Score 5, Informative) 697

by sdpinpdx on Sunday October 25, 2009 @03:55PM (#29866689) Attached to: Low-Power Home Linux Server?

It looks like you included the energy for producing the 17" CRT Williams assumes each desktop computer has. I think we could leave that out for a server.

Comment "Terminator Tethers" might be cheaper (Score 1) 76

by sdpinpdx on Saturday April 18, 2009 @02:44PM (#27628733) Attached to: Space Sails Could Bring Used Rockets Back To Earth

http://www.tethers.com/TT.html

I saw Robert L Forward talk about this at a con years ago.

Submission + - SoCs Enable Digital Content Revolution

Submitted by IdaAshley on Monday January 22, 2007 @09:27PM

IdaAshley writes: In this article learn how SoC architectures could significantly accelerate digital video processing and enable the digital video revolution. In addition Sam Siewert shows how SoCs can uniquely accelerate processing.

Submission + - Google lost german toplevel domain google.de

Submitted by Korkman on Monday January 22, 2007 @08:40PM

Korkman writes: It seems Google has just lost one of it's major toplevel domains, google.de, to some german webhoster which was obviously well prepared for the traffic hit. See "http://www.google.de/", and, if already recovered, "http://www.goneo.de/" for the webhoster. Google.com stopped immediately redirecting german visitors to google.de. Anyone here to guess how much economic damage this will deal?

Submission + - Ebola Vaccine Shows Promise

Submitted by

waterford0069

on Monday January 22, 2007 @08:34PM

waterford0069 writes: "Researchers in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada have developed a post exposure vaccine against Ebola which is at least 50% effective in animal models. While there are other treatments for Ebola such as coagulation inhibitors (33% effective) and antisense drugs (75% effective), it is hoped that this post exposure vaccine can help to treat Ebola in the same manner as rabies and smallpox are treated in humans."

Submission + - Battery Breakthrough?

Submitted by Up2eyeballz on Monday January 22, 2007 @06:41PM

Up2eyeballz writes:
Technology Review reports: "A Texas company says it can make a new ultracapacitor power system to replace the electrochemical batteries in everything from cars to laptops." From the article:
The company boldly claims that its system, a kind of battery-ultracapacitor hybrid based on barium-titanate powders, will dramatically outperform the best lithium-ion batteries on the market in terms of energy density, price, charge time, and safety. Pound for pound, it will also pack 10 times the punch of lead-acid batteries at half the cost and without the need for toxic materials or chemicals, according to the company.
With a claim like this... Have at it people.

Submission + - Cisco lost rights to iPhone trademark last year?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 12, 2007 @08:56PM

An anonymous reader writes: An investigation into the ongoing trademark dispute between Cisco and Apple over the name "iPhone" appears to show that Cisco does not own the mark as claimed in their recent lawsuit. This is based on publicly available information from the US Patent and Trademark office, as well as public reviews of Cisco products over the past year. The trademark was apparently abandoned in late 2005/early 2006 because Cisco was not using it. TFA: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Burnette/?p=236

Submission + - PVR on appleTV

Submitted by

MartinB

on Friday January 12, 2007 @08:34PM

MartinB writes: "The guys at elgato are completely confident that eyeTV will support appleTV. Turns out the key thing is exporting to iTunes in H.264 or MPEG-4. Now, can we please have a MythDVD-like DVD ripper that can do the same, so I can watch all my (legal) video content on the thing?"

Submission + - Senate bill S.256 aims to restrict internet radio

Submitted by JAFSlashdotter on Friday January 12, 2007 @08:17PM

JAFSlashdotter writes: If you enjoy MP3 or OGG streams of internet radio, it's time to pay attention. This week US Senators Lamar Alexander, Joseph Biden, Dianne Feinstein, and Lindsey Graham in their collective wisdom have decided to reintroduce the "Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music (PERFORM) Act". This ARS Technica article explains that PERFORM would restrict our rights to make non-commercial recordings under the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, and require satellite and internet broadcasters to use "technology to prevent music theft". That means goodbye to your favorite streaming audio formats, hello DRM. The EFF said pretty much the same when this bill last reared its ugly head in April of 2006. It's too soon to get the text of this year's version (S.256) online, but it likely to resemble last year's S.2644, which is available through Thomas. Last year's bill died in committee, but if at first you don't succeed...

Journal Journal: "Scientists prepare to move Doomsday Clock forward"

Journal by flaming error on Friday January 12, 2007 @07:21PM

Reuters reports that the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists says conditions are closer to doomsday than the used to be:

When it was created by the magazine's staff in 1947, it was initially set at seven minutes to midnight and has moved 17 times since then.

Journal SPAM: Serious Threats for War Against Iran 2

Journal by Jeremiah Cornelius on Friday January 12, 2007 @06:59PM

Don't ignore this stuff. It 'ain't on your telly.

Bush speech a shell game: He plays us on Iraq while preparing to attack Iran

The President's intentions towards Iran need much more attention

Submission + - Scientists prepare to move Doomsday Clock forward

Submitted by antikarma on Friday January 12, 2007 @06:23PM

antikarma writes: The keepers of the "Doomsday Clock" plan to move its hands forward next Wednesday to reflect what they call worsening nuclear and climate threats to the world. The symbolic clock, maintained by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, currently is set at seven minutes to midnight, with midnight marking global catastrophe. The group did not say in which direction the hands would move. But in a news release previewing an event next Wednesday, they said the change was based on "worsening nuclear, climate threats" to the world.

Feed Is Safari Destined for Windows? (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed on Friday January 12, 2007 @06:12PM

A Mozilla Foundation document suggests that Apple may bring its Safari web browser to the Windows Platform. The iPod led to iTunes for Windows, now the iPhone may do the same for other software. In Monkey Bites.

Submission + - The future of collaborative software

Submitted by

Peter Fox

on Friday January 12, 2007 @05:56PM

Peter Fox writes: "This article Manifesto, management and money suggests what the future of collaborative software should be using the performing arts as a model. It describes how 'bright ideas' might be usefully be decoupled from 'quality development'. Is shows why it makes sense for development teams to have an existence independent from a particular project. Just as the 'arts' are recognised as an important social activity worth paying for, so will software development if certain basic things like quality of results and team cohesion are addressed."

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