Comment Prior art from 1979 (Score 2, Informative) 261
And the first text-based multiplayer virtual world was created in 1978/1979 by Messrs Bartle and Trubshaw. I thought everyone knew that bit of lore by now.
Comment Re:BBC (Score 1) 349
You beat me to it. I just double-checked and according to this page:
The final US presidential debate will be available live in streaming video on the BBC news website, with full commentary, a blow-by-blow description, and analysis, from 0100 GMT.
Journal Journal: speaking in tongues is good for the brain... 18
Bilingualism delays onset of dementia
From the article:
People who are fully bilingual and speak both languages every day for most of their lives can delay the onset of dementia by up to four years compared with those who only know one language, Canadian scientists said on Friday.
Submission + - EU study: open source increases competitiveness
Rob writes: Increased use of free and open source software in Europe could increase the region's
competitiveness with the US, according to a European Commission study. "Given
Europe's historically lower ability to create new software businesses compared to the US,
due to restricted venture capital and risk tolerance, the high share of European FLOSS
developers provides a unique opportunity to create new software businesses and reach
towards the Lisbon
goals of making Europe the most competitive knowledge economy by 2010," states the
report.
Submission + - Pirate Bay and Sealand negotiating
Kawahee writes: "Coming off previous /. coverage of The Pirate Bay's intentions to purchase Sealand following it being put up for sale, The Pirate Bay has revealed on it's website www.buysealand.com that it has entered into negotiations with Sealand. From the post:
BuySealand.com is also now sporting a donation meter, and as of the 15th of January it stands at USD $13,714."The Government of Sealand has initiated negotiation. Tomorrow, the ACFI and Government of Sealand will sit down in the SMTP chambers of the Internets to discuss the future of the micronation.
— We welcome the request and hopefully we can settle on a price. But knowing how hard non-kopimistic people can be to negotiate with, we will go with Plan B if they're not willing to meet our demands, press officer of ACFI says.
Submission + - Lessig delivers the final word on net neutrality
nanojath writes: "Lessig delivers the Final Word on Net Neutrality. Read it 5+ times to absorb the densest, most content-rich pronouncement that will be delivered by Wired in 2007. I've got nothing more to say."
Submission + - CES 2007: Gaming roundup
jasoncart writes: "Traditionally, gaming's calendar year of expos, conventions, and trade shows doesn't generally kick off in earnest until March's fanfare arrival of the Game Developer's Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, which thus opens the floodgates for a host of industry platform events. However, before July's new-fangled E3 Media and Business Summit (the now scaled back, renamed, and invitation-only E3 of legend) shifts into view alongside August's Penny Arcade Expo (PAX), September's Tokyo Game Show (TGS), and the newly announced and ESA-endorsed Entertainment for All Expo in October (previously known as the Gamepro Expo), it falls to January's annual Consumer Electronics Show to whet our collective appetites-at least where related hardware is concerned."
Submission + - Almost a flying car. Or a cheap helicopter.
An anonymous reader writes: An interesting development of the age-old gyrocopter has been developed that has a whizzy new rotor system. The performance is pretty dramatic on just 65HP. http://www.cartercopters.com/pr_2007-01-11.html
"We now have a vehicle that can safely take-off from your driveway, fly 200 miles, and then safely land and take-off from a truck stop to refuel, or a restaurant to eat, or a hotel where you can spend the night."
During flight-testing of their new gyro prototype just prior to New Year's Day, Carter Aviation Technologies (Carter) reports that their test pilot, George Mitchell, executed several vertical take-offs where the aircraft was able to jump more than 150 feet straight up into the air. According to Mitchell, "It was phenomenal! But, it took a little getting used to. It's not something you do with the average gyro. The "g" meter showed 2.25 Gs on take-off!" The amazing take-offs were the result of a new rotor system that Carter developed for the gyro.
"We now have a vehicle that can safely take-off from your driveway, fly 200 miles, and then safely land and take-off from a truck stop to refuel, or a restaurant to eat, or a hotel where you can spend the night."
During flight-testing of their new gyro prototype just prior to New Year's Day, Carter Aviation Technologies (Carter) reports that their test pilot, George Mitchell, executed several vertical take-offs where the aircraft was able to jump more than 150 feet straight up into the air. According to Mitchell, "It was phenomenal! But, it took a little getting used to. It's not something you do with the average gyro. The "g" meter showed 2.25 Gs on take-off!" The amazing take-offs were the result of a new rotor system that Carter developed for the gyro.
Submission + - Woman dies from drinking water to win a Wii
An anonymous reader writes: CNN reports that a woman in Rancho Cordova, California, died of water intoxication after drinking a large amount of water in a contest held by radio station KDND 107.9 called "Hold Your Wee for a Wii". She was trying to win a Wii for her children.
Submission + - Blue Origin building DC-X lookalike
rrohbeck writes: "The New York Times has a story on what Blue Origin, [Amazon.com founder] Jeff Bezos' space company is up to after his Texas land grab. A couple of Flash videos show a short successful test hop of the "Goddard" test vehicle.
The Goddard has a science-fiction sleekness. Videos show the craft taking off and landing again with a loud whooshing sound. In one view, one of the nine rocket nozzles jitters as it maintains the ship's attitude. Goddard resembles the DC-X, another vertical-takeoff-and-landing craft under development in the 1990s by McDonnell Douglas for the Defense Department and NASA until the government pulled the plug.
And in case you're an aerospace engineer, they're hiring."
Submission + - Congress to debate Net Neutrality
evw writes: The NYTimes is reporting that legislation was introduced in the Senate on Tuesday in support of Net Neutrality. It is bipartisan legislation introduced by Olympia Snowe, R-Maine and Byron Dorgan, D-N. Dakota, however the article notes that Senator Snowe is one of the few Republicans that supports it. "Senior lawmakers, emboldened by the recent restrictions on AT&T and the change in control of Congress, have begun drafting legislation that would prevent high-speed Internet companies from charging content providers for priority access."
This isn't the first attempt. Last year a similar amendment was blocked. However, conditions placed on AT&T in its merger with SBC have emboldened supporters of the legislation.
This isn't the first attempt. Last year a similar amendment was blocked. However, conditions placed on AT&T in its merger with SBC have emboldened supporters of the legislation.
Submission + - Preferred preservation method?
Bifurcati writes: "Preferred preservation method?
* Transfer of consciousness to The Matrix
* Liquid nitrogen, ready for thawing
* Black hole event horizon
* Canopic jar
* Corpse case mod"
* Transfer of consciousness to The Matrix
* Liquid nitrogen, ready for thawing
* Black hole event horizon
* Canopic jar
* Corpse case mod"
Submission + - Slashdot mentioned in 'Century Rain'
oblivious writes: Maybe this is old news, but I just finally got around to reading 'Century Rain' by Alastair Reynolds. Along about page 123 or so, I ran across this:
"It's alright," Niagara said. "I won't be the least bit offended if you call me a Slasher. You probably regard the term as an insult."
"Isn't it?" Auger asked, surprised.
"Only if you want it to be." Niagara made a careful gesture, like some religious benediction: a diagonal slice across his chest and a stab to the heart. "A slash and a dot," he said. "I doubt it means anything to you, but this was once the mark of an alliance of progressive thinkers linked together by one of the very first computer networks. The Federation of Polities can trace its existence right back to that fragile collective in the early decades of the Void Century. It's less a stigma than a mark of community."
I'm still waiting for one of the geeks in my office to make the special hand sign!
"It's alright," Niagara said. "I won't be the least bit offended if you call me a Slasher. You probably regard the term as an insult."
"Isn't it?" Auger asked, surprised.
"Only if you want it to be." Niagara made a careful gesture, like some religious benediction: a diagonal slice across his chest and a stab to the heart. "A slash and a dot," he said. "I doubt it means anything to you, but this was once the mark of an alliance of progressive thinkers linked together by one of the very first computer networks. The Federation of Polities can trace its existence right back to that fragile collective in the early decades of the Void Century. It's less a stigma than a mark of community."
I'm still waiting for one of the geeks in my office to make the special hand sign!
Submission + - U of A compromised
Anonymous Coward writes: "Recently the University of Arizona was hacked and large amounts of student data along with financial information was compromised in the attack. FBI has seized systems and is conducting a full investigation. http://www.fox11az.com/news/topstories/stories/KMS B-20070108-dsbp-uacomputer.1f466f22.html"
Submission + - Solar powered car attempts to break record
Snowdon writes: "Jaycar Sunswift III today started on its 4000km across the Australian outback, in an attempt to beat the 8.5 day record from Perth to Sydney. The team expects to complete the journey in 6 days, depending on the weather. It is a seriously innovative machine, with the aerodynamic design iteratively optimised on 80 CS lab computers over three months, custom-built carbon-fibre wheels, chassis, suspension and steering components, and custom-built power electronics and telemetry/control systems (components of which presently use Linux, but will soon run Iguana/Wombat). It is the result of several years' work by both undergraduate and postgraduate students at UNSW. Keep track of the team's progress by visiting www.sunswift.com."
