Comment Re:Remember when HTML had fonts? (Score 4, Informative) 503
You might be aware of the current answer: CSS web fonts... now available in the current breed of beta/alpha browsers.
Debian Gets FreeBSD Kernel Support 425
mu22le writes "Today Debian gets one step closer to really becoming 'the universal operating system' by adding two architectures based on the FreeBSD kernel to the unstable archive.
This does not mean that the Debian project is ditching the Linux kernel; Debian users will be able to choose which kernel they want to install (at least on on the i386 and amd64 architectures) and get more or less the same Debian operating system they are used to.
This makes Debian the first distribution, and probably the first large OS, to support two completely different kernels at the same time."
Comment Re:accusations (Score 1) 213
notice how he used the word "accusations" instead of anything that would imply the necessity of evidence.
In older times, the role of punishing people due to accusations (without need for evidence) was carried out by the Inquisition. Nobody expects the Canuck Inquisition!
Comment Re:Dumb idea (Score 1) 951
Well, of course, as any of my students would immediately ask "what about lamarckian evolution?" (an alternative explanation for the process of evolution, largely rejected or falsified by observations)
...and then you start looking at microbes, which show evolution patterns that can be described as Lamarckian (e.g. antibiotic resistance gathered through horizontal gene transfer, phenotypic switching (a.k.a. phase variation) in biofilms).
Comment Take a look at Prefuse (Score 1) 180
Take a look at Prefuse. I haven't used it myself (I considered it for a project), but it may have the right mix of a good Java API and flexibility/customizability that you're looking for. As a bonus, it's BSD licensed. YMMV. Good luck.
Comment Re:Good! (Score 2, Funny) 322
No, that's the beauty of it. When global warming comes, they'll all cook to death!
There, I fixed it for you.
Feed news.com: AMD deal triggers Intel warning (cnet.com)
AMD's new chip manufacturing venture is being questioned by its chief rival, which says it has concerns about cross licensing.
Submission + - US wants to track vehicles for a "mileage tax&
zarathud writes: The News&Observer reports that the U.S government and 15 states have commissioned a trial of a satellite-based vehicle tracking system. The intent of the system is to monitor highway use in order to tax it. Participants will have "GPS computers" mounted in their cars and receive mock state and federal tax bills for their mileage. The justification for the proposed tax is that alternative energy cars sidestep the gas taxes that help fund roads. This system appears to be quite different from the tracking system Slashdot covered last month. This idea has been considered by Oregon and California before. Economist Mike Moffatt has a few criticisms.
Mass Effect DRM Still Causing Issues 593
An anonymous reader writes "There was some discussion last month about the proposed DRM for Mass Effect and Spore that required the game to phone home every ten days. They backed down from that, but have left in that a user is only allowed 3 activations per license key. A license key is burned up when the O/S is reinstalled, when certain hardware is upgraded (EA refuses to disclose specifics of what), and possibly when a new user is set up in Windows. Only in its first month, some users are already locked out of their games from trying troubleshooting techniques to get the game running."
Anti-P2P College Bill Moving Through House 334
An anonymous reader writes "A news.com article is covering an amendment to the College Opportunity and Affordability Act (pdf) that should make folks in Hollywood, the RIAA, and the MPAA well pleased. The tiny section seeks to hinge government approval of an institution of higher learning on whether or not they adequately dissuade Peer-to-Peer filesharing of copyrighted materials. The Act came out of the House Education and Labor Committee, which agreed on the terms unanimously. There is still some question, though, as to what penalties should be handed down for institutions that don't do enough to protect intellectual property. 'Some university representatives and fair-use advocates worry that schools run the risk of losing aid for their students if they fail to come up with the required plans. "The language in the bill appears to be clear that failure to carry out the mandates would make an institution ineligible for participation in at least some part of Title IV (which deals with federal financial aid programs)," Steven Worona, director of policy and networking programs for the group Educause, said in a telephone interview Thursday.'" Update: 11/16 16:36 GMT by Z : PDF link corrected.
Stem Cell Targeting Wins First Nobel of 2007 48
An anonymous reader writes "'Gene targeting,' which allows scientists to isolate stem cells in mice and reproduce genetically modified offspring, has won the Nobel Prize for medicine. Having allowed pathologists to better understand diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and cystic fibrosis for close to 20 years, the technology is just now getting its big day in the sun. From Nobel's full how-it-works: 'Their [i.e. ES cells] use as a vehicle for the transfer into the mouse genome of mutant alleles, either selected in cell culture or inserted into the cells via transformation with specific DNA fragments, has been presented as an attractive proposition. In many of these studies the use of pluripotential cells directly isolated from the embryos under study should have great advantages.'"
Australia to Offer Widespread ISP-level Filtering 208
Phurge writes "According to a Sydney Morning Herald article, the Australia government has decided to take the controversial step of having internet service providers filter web content at the request of parents, in a crackdown on online bad language, pornography and child sex predators. 'The more efficient compulsory filtering of internet service providers (ISPs) was proposed in March last year by the then Labor leader, Kim Beazley. At the time, the Communications Minister, Helen Coonan, and ISPs criticised his idea as expensive. Three months later Senator Coonan announced the Government's Net Alert policy, which promised free filtering software for every home that wanted it. She also announced an ISP filtering trial to be conducted in Tasmania. That trial was scrapped. Today Mr Howard will hail the ISP filtering measure as a world first by any Government, and is expected to offer funding to help cover the cost. Parents will be able to request the ISP filter option when they sign up with an ISP. It will be compulsory to provide it. The measures will come into effect by the end of this month.'"
Senators Call for Universal Internet Filtering 628
An Anonymous Coward writes "US senators today made a bipartisan call for the universal implementation of filtering and monitoring technologies on the Internet in order to protect children. Their statement came at the end of a Senate hearing in which civil liberties groups were not invited."
Submission + - Mixed Reality, Physics and WoW (aps.org)
hkfczrqj writes: Researchers at the University of Illinois are studying systems in which virtual and real physical systems interact (first story). Using a real and a simulated pendulum to create a "mixed reality" system, the authors hope to understand the conditions under which emergent, more complex phenomena such as the interaction between real and virtual economies in MMORPGs arise.
Journal Journal: Internet Archive Recognized by California as a Library
The Internet Archive is announcing their official recognition by the State of California as a library. This is an interesting milestone and makes them eligible for particular Federal funds. Congratulations to them.
