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Comment Re:WTF? We're doomed (Score 1) 434

by alphakappa (#28642155) Attached to: Recovery.gov To Get $18 Million Redesign
It's easy to overlook costs - the main cost will not be for actually making the website, but for maintaining it. By maintaining it, I mean, actually having useful data in the website. The whole trillion dollar stimulus will generate humongous amounts of data which will have to be processed so that we can make sense of it. Collecting it from all the various agencies around the country, processing it and then putting it up on the website will require a lot of employees and that's where the $18 million tag for 5 years comes from. Don't underestimate the cost of data collection.

I could code up a website that looks like Google Maps pretty easily, but it would take a lot of money and time to get all the data that actually makes it useful.
Google

Submission + - Dvorak thinks Google is bluffing about its new OS (marketwatch.com)

Submitted by
alphakappa
alphakappa writes: "In Dvorak's opinion, Google has cast a red herring about its new operating system, possibly to deflect attention from Android which will probably be the new OS, but definitely in order to mess with Microsoft. His argument stems from the fact that the OS has been announced almost a year in advance, which is not how Google normally operates. So what do you think about gOS? Is it a different OS based on Linux + a windowing system, or is it an upgrade to Android which would put it in real competition with Windows?"
Movies

Netflix Extends "Watch Instantly" To Mac Users 205

Posted by kdawson from the instant-grats dept.
CNet is reporting that Netflix has opened up its "Watch Instantly" feature to Mac users (here is Netflix's blog entry). They accomplished this by using Microsoft's Silverlight technology on both platforms, abandoning the Windows Media Player solution that had been employed in the first, Windows-only, version. Silverlight's DRM capabilities meet Netflix's needs, apparently. Netflix warns that this is beta software. Mac users can opt in here, then watch instantly with Safari or Firefox 2+, with the Silverlight plugin in place. Movie selection is somewhat limited.
Cellphones

EU Wants Removable Batteries In iPhones 320

Posted by CmdrTaco from the so-do-i dept.
MojoKid writes "Current regulation, introduced with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) in July of 2006, primarily sought to prevent the unnecessary use of toxic metals in batteries as well as making it easier to recycle and dispose of used batteries. The updated 'New Batteries Directive,' as discussed in New Electronics by Gary Nevision, would go much further. Article 11 of the directive, as currently written, would require that devices must be made in such a way as to allow batteries, either for replacement or at end of life for disposal to be 'readily removed.' Of course, Apple's iPhones and iPods wouldn't meet this requirement, as it stands. It's obvious that an iPhone battery replacement program could be considered a cash cow for Apple as well."
Transportation

Qantas Blames Wireless For Aircraft Incidents 773

Posted by CmdrTaco from the lotta-finger-pointing dept.
musther writes "An Australian airline Qantas Airbus A330-300, suffered 'a sudden change of altitude' on Tuesday. "The mid-air incident resulted in injuries to 74 people, with 51 of them treated by three hospitals in Perth for fractures, lacerations and suspected spinal injuries when the flight bound from Singapore to Perth had a dramatic drop in altitude that hurled passengers around the cabin." Now it seems Qantas is seeking to blame interference from passenger electronics, and it's not the first time; 'In July, a passenger clicking on a wireless mouse mid-flight was blamed for causing a Qantas jet to be thrown off course.' Is there any precedent for wireless electronics interfering with aircraft systems? Interfering with navigation instruments is one thing, but causing changes in the 'elevator control system' — I would be quite worried if I thought the aircraft could be flown with a bluetooth mouse."
Space

Submission + - Indian moon mission to launch next month (rediff.com)

Submitted by
Anil Kandangath
Anil Kandangath writes: "The Indian moon mission plans have been covered earlier by Slashdot here. While the spacecraft itself will not land on the Moonit will act as an orbiter and land a rover on the surface. The spacecraft is being launched next month sometime between October 22 and October 26. The spacecraft payload includes 11 payloads (including one from NASA) and will perform remote sensing and studies of the lunar surface. The mission is estimated to cost Rs 386 crore (~ 7.7 million USD)"
Space

Messenger Flies by Mercury 170

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the fun-in-the-sun dept.
Riding with Robots writes "Today, more than three decades after the last spacecraft visited Mercury, Messenger buzzed just 200 kilometers above the planet's surface. During the encounter, the robotic spacecraft conducted a range of scientific observations, including imaging swaths of Mercury's surface that have never been seen up close before. A few of the first pictures are now available, with many more to come in the next few days."
Privacy

US Policy Would Allow Government Access to Any Email 516

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the what's-the-date-again dept.
An anonymous reader writes "National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell is currently helping to draft a new Cyber-Security Policy that could make the debate over warrantless wiretaps seem like a petty squabble. The new policy would allow the government to access to the content of any email, file transfer, or web search."
iMac

Submission + - Apple Announces New iPods (cnn.com)

Submitted by bmin
bmin writes: Apple announced Wednesday the first major overhaul of its popular iPod music digital players in nearly two years. On top of iPods with more storage and bigger screens, Apple (down $2.62 to $141.54, Charts, Fortune 500) rolled out the iPod Touch, a slim, WiFi-enabled device that's similar to the company's new touchscreen mobile phone, the iPhone.
Portables

Submission + - India overtakes U.S. as Nokia's No.2 Market

Submitted by alphakappa
alphakappa writes: Nokia today announced that India has overtaken the U.S. to become its second largest market by sales, coming up behind China. In the past 18 months, Nokia has shipped 60 million cellphones from its Chennai factory, and they expected it to become the second largest (volume) by 2010.
Quoting from the story, "India has quickly become one of the largest markets," he told reporters in New Delhi, adding he expects demand will not be limited to cheaper phones. "India is not a low-end market. It is a very versatile market in all price points, in all segments," he said. The story also reports that "India had 185 million mobile customers at the end of July, with more than 6 million new customers signing every month, lured by call rates as low as 1 U.S. cent a minute" Nokia has a design studio and a factory in India.

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