agentforsythe - Slashdot User

Submission + - Clean Energy Free Lighting - New Light Source (createthefuturecontest.com)

Submitted by

MNINVENTOR

on Saturday December 08, 2007 @06:44AM

MNINVENTOR writes: "NASA Tech Briefs: Flexible light source discovery gives off 24/7 light (equivalent to a 20 watt bulb) will create a brighter future for us all. Litroenergy surpasses all known available lighting options for cost/durability/reliability (12+ years) and safety has potential to save billions in energy costs world-wide. Anything can generate light now, with discovery. Development/design of long-life, self-luminous micro particles called Litrospheres (non-toxic) emit light continuously for 12 plus years (half-life point) without any exposure to a light or other energy (not effected by cold or heat). This extremely low cost material offers 24/7 light, which can be injection molded or added to paint. It is 5,000lb crush resistant, stable and constant light source (gives off no U.V. rays). It is designed to give off almost any color of light desired. Our goal is to mass produce this material and supply OEM's. Litroenergy has potential to save billions of dollars in energy costs world-wide. Litroenergy surpasses all known available lighting options for cost/durability/reliability (12+ years) and safety. The uses are unlimited as the imagination; however we predict the safety aspects to be the front runner in application (light safety tape, lighted life rafts/flotation equipment, light safety markings/equipment, etc.). Supplemental light source will be second as the material is bright and one can read by it, if you have some Litroenergy lighting you will not need to always turn on a light source that requires electricity. The use of Litroenergy in toys, sports/camping equipment, bikes and novelty uses will be close in applications. The fill rate of Litroenergy micro particles in plastic injection molding material or paint is about 20%. The cost to light up 8 ½ x 11 piece of plastic 1/8" thick is about .35 cents."

Submission + - Math Geek Software Smackdown (wired.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 08, 2007 @06:43AM

An anonymous reader writes: A movement is afoot among some mathematicians in academia to make the switch from expensive, closed-source calculation software to free, open-source alternatives. In early January, thousands of mathematicians will gather in San Diego for the joint meeting of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America. In the exhibition hall, Stein has paid the first-timers' rate of $400 to rent a booth alongside those of the major mathematical software companies, where he and students will hand out DVDs with copies of Sage.

Submission + - Lincoln's Tomb to be powered by georthermal energy

Submitted by

sm62704 (magrew)

on Friday November 30, 2007 @10:28AM

sm62704 (magrew) writes: "The Springfield State Journal-Register is reporting that Lincoln's Tomb will be partly powered by geothermal energy, the first public historic site in the US to do so. ""We're not aware of this being tried in a public historic site like this before, so we really don't have anything to compare it to," David Blanchette, spokesman for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency said.

Lincoln's legacy includes presiding over our only civil war and freeing the US's slaves. His visage appears on a five dollar bill, as well as on both sides of a penny. I never knew Lincoln was a nerd, but according to the SJ-R, Lincoln was the only US President to ever hold a patent.

The geothermal project at the Oak Ridge Cemetary is slated to be finished before Lincoln's 200th birthday in 2008. Let the global warming jokes begin..."

Submission + - Equifax refuses to activate fraud alert

Submitted by

wonko

on Monday April 30, 2007 @05:34PM

wonko writes: "I recently lost my wallet. There's a good chance it was stolen. Inside the wallet were my driver license, several credit cards and my social security card, which was there because I was starting a new job the next morning. I filed a fraud alert, but Equifax refused to activate the alert, which comes very close to violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act and leaves me open to identity theft.

I'm in a unique situation. Equifax claims they won't activate the fraud alert until I send them proof of my identity and current address; however, since I just moved, the address they have on record is my old address, and I can't prove I live there because I don't live there anymore. I also can't send them a copy of my social security card or driver license because I haven't received the replacements yet.

Have other Slashdotters had similar experiences with any of the big credit reporting agencies? What advice do you have that might help me convince Equifax to activate the fraud alert so I'm not wide open to identity theft?"

Submission + - Ardour 2.0 Released!

Submitted by

mtaht

on Monday April 30, 2007 @05:33PM

mtaht writes: "After two years of heavy development, the Ardour digital audio workstation has just been released for Linux (x86,x86_64,PPC) and Mac (x86,ppc). Ardour 2 can record, mix, and playback hundreds of channels of audio, supports hundreds of plugins, and sports a far more flexible and intuitive user interface. Is open source audio software ready to compete with Protools?"

Submission + - Adobe to Open Source Flex.

Submitted by

derrida

on Monday April 30, 2007 @05:26PM

derrida writes: "Adobe Systems Incorporated announced on 4/26 plans to release source code for Adobe® Flex(TM) as open source. This initiative will let developers worldwide participate in the growth of the industry's most advanced framework for building cross-operating system rich Internet applications (RIAs) for the Web and enabling new Apollo applications for the desktop. The open source Flex SDK and documentation will be available under the Mozilla Public License (MPL)"

Lone Programmer Writes 352 Webcam Drivers For Linux 450

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday April 30, 2007 @05:23PM from the twelve-cases-of-ballz-later dept.

mrneutron2004 writes "A French physician and ardent Linux supporter is the one man you can all thank for adding support for 352 webcams in Linux. The Open Source OS world may still be a bit of a mess when competing with the ease of Windows, but efforts like this make you wonder. One man with drive, tenacity, and no funding does what no one else can do. And none of the major Linux distributions back this guy's efforts, even the big players dipping into the corporate world's coffers."

Submission + - Artificial Snot Enhances Electronic Nose

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 30, 2007 @05:20PM

An anonymous reader writes: British researchers have created artificial snot (nasal mucus) to significantly enhance the performance of electronic noses, ScienceDaily reports. The researchers have coated the sensors used by odor-sensing devices with a mix of polymers that mimics the action of the mucus in the natural nose. This greatly improves the performance of the electronic devices allowing them to pick out a more diverse range of smells.

Submission + - Optimus Maximus LED Keyboard Debuts in November

Submitted by Laxori666 on Monday April 30, 2007 @05:19PM

Laxori666 writes: The Optimus Maximus keyboard, which Slashdot covered a few months ago, will finally debut in November. The keyboard comes with a 36x36 LED display on each key and promises the capability to easily and instantly switch the keyboard layout to anything that you want. It'll be a bit pricey at $1536, however.

Submission + - Global warming ... on Mars

Submitted by

PCM2

on Monday April 30, 2007 @05:07PM

PCM2 writes: "Scientists from Nasa say that Mars has warmed by about 0.5C since the 1970s. This is similar to the warming experienced on Earth over approximately the same period. Since there is no known life on Mars it suggests rapid changes in planetary climates could be natural phenomena."

Submission + - Why do Device Developers Prefer Debian?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 30, 2007 @05:06PM

An anonymous reader writes: LinuxDevices.com's survey results consistently show Debian to be the most popular distribution among device developers. For example, the just-completed 2007 survey indicated that Debian was used in device-related projects by 13 percent of the survey's 932 participants, roughly double the score of MontaVista, the most popular strictly-embedded distribution. In addition to Debian's 13 percent score, Ubuntu, which is based on Debian packages, jumped to 6 percent this year, its first year in the survey. In contrast, Red Hat, achieved a 5 percent score and Fedora came in at 6 percent, while SUSE scored just 2 percent. The complete 2007 Embedded Linux Survey results and analysis are here.

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