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Comment Re:I know i'm going to get zapped by this but... (Score 1) 199

I think so but at the same time it reminds me of "old school" cable where people were buying the Mike Tyson fight and charging for it, i personally saw the Tyson and Holyfield fight (Tyson bit off his ear) and had to pay $20.00 for it and it lasted what? Fifteen seconds? Thank god the $20.00 paid for beer afterward.

That seems to be the problem in my mind, the Companies concerned are not getting a cut of that revenue.

Comment I know i'm going to get zapped by this but... (Score 1, Interesting) 199

I found out about Popcorn time from Huffington post last week and used it 3 times. It was amazing. If you did not get the chance to see it then, too bad. Netflix sucks by comparison for something that lasted 4 day's.

Now as for legality, I feel something might have been illegal about it (hehe) but i wish it were not. I am totally unashamed about what i did. It truly was something to see.

Submission + - NASA Offers Bounty for Improved Asteroid Detection Algorithms

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Dara Kerr reports at CNET that NASA is launching an "Asteroid Data Hunter" contest to reach out to people to help create algorithms that identify asteroids in images captured by ground-based telescopes and will give away $35,000 in awards to competition winners. The winning solution must increase the detection sensitivity, minimize the number of false positives, ignore imperfections in the data, and run effectively on all computer systems. "Current asteroid detection initiatives are only tracking one percent of the estimated objects that orbit the Sun," says Chris Lewicki. "We are excited to partner with NASA in this contest to help increase the quantity and knowledge about asteroids that are potential threats, human destinations, or resource rich." NASA's goal is to discover those unknown asteroids and then track and characterize them. For the contest, citizen scientists will be allowed to study images taken from ground-based telescopes to see if they can develop improved algorithms for identifying asteroids. If dangerous asteroids are found, NASA could determine if they'd be viable for a re-direction into a lunar orbit. “For the past three years, NASA has been learning and advancing the ability to leverage distributed algorithm and coding skills through the NASA Tournament Lab to solve tough problems," said Jason Crusan, NASA Tournament Lab director. "We are now applying our experience with algorithm contests to helping protect the planet from asteroid threats through image analysis.”

Submission + - Both Genders Think Women Are Bad at Basic Math (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: Think women can’t do math? You’re wrong—but new research shows you might not change your mind, even if you get evidence to the contrary. A study of how both men and women perceive each other's mathematical ability finds that an unconscious bias against women--by both genders--could be skewing hiring decisions, widening the gender gap in mathematical professions like engineering.

Submission + - Scientists Build Thinnest Possible LEDs (ibtimes.com)

Submitted by minty3
minty3 writes: LEDs are commonly found in TV screens, computer monitors and light bulbs. While the light sources are known to be small, scientists have recently built the thinnest possible LEDS using tungsten diselenide. The nano-sized LEDs are arguably stronger and more energy efficient than their thicker counterparts.

Submission + - New Diet, Sexual Attraction May Have Spurred Europeans' Lighter Skin (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: Why do some humans have lighter skin than others? Researchers have longed chalked up the difference to tens of thousands of years of evolution, with darker skin protecting those who live nearer to the equator from the sun’s intense radiation. But a new study of ancient DNA concludes that European skin color has continued to change over the past 5000 years, suggesting that additional factors, including diet and sexual attraction, may also be at play. In particular, when blue eyes and blonde hair first arose, they may have been considered so unique--and desirable--that anyone who had them had a sexual advantage.

Submission + - How Engineers Are Building A Power Station At The South Pole

Submitted by KentuckyFC
KentuckyFC writes: One of the more ambitious projects at the South Pole is the Askaryan Radio Array, a set of radio antennas under the ice that will listen for the tell tale signals of high energy neutrinos passing by. This array will eventually be over a thousand times bigger than the current largest neutrino detector: Icecube, which monitors a cubic kilometre of ice next door to the planned new observatory. But there's a problem. How do you supply 24/7 power to dozens of detectors spread over such a vast area in the middle of the Antarctic? The answer is renewable energy power stations that exploit the sun during the summer and the wind all year round. The first of these stations is now up and running at the South Pole and producing power. It is also helping to uncover and iron out the various problems that these stations are likely to encounter. For example; where to put the batteries needed to supply continuous power when all else fails. The team's current approach is to bury the battery to protect it from temperature extremes. That works well but makes maintenance so difficult that scaling this approach to dozens of power stations doesn't seem feasible. That's a problem for the future but for the moment, green power has finally come to the white continent.

Submission + - Your Audi Talks To Stop Lights Before You See Them 1

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: We've all been there: You're approaching a stop light and suddenly it goes from green to yellow, then quickly to the dreaded red. But what if your car could predict the timing of that stop light ahead? Audi has just introduced a traffic-light recognition system that can allow drivers to anticipate changing traffic lights. The Audi Online Traffic system reads from a city's central traffic computer, and transmits that information to the driver through the car's Driver Information Display. The system will also be able to tell drivers how long the lights they're sitting at will stay red, letting it prime an engine start-stop system. Audi says this could help drivers save time, and fuel too. That's likely true, but will it also gives drivers a sense of whether they can actually beat the light if they speed up?

Submission + - High yield urban vegetable gardening system with LED lighting (robohub.org) 2

Submitted by Hallie Siegel
Hallie Siegel writes: An indoor cultivation system that uses LED lighting instead of sunlight. “This is a 5-tiered cultivation system. For smaller heads of lettuce, you can harvest about 1,500 heads in one month. If this were to be fit into a container of about 20 feet (6m), it would be equivalent to 970 sq. meters. Thus with 16 sq. meters, you could produce an amount that is on par with 970 sq. meters.”

Submission + - Ukraine May Have To Rearm With Nuclear Weapons Says Ukrainian MP (usatoday.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: USA Today reports, "Ukraine may have to arm itself with nuclear weapons if the United States and other world powers refuse to enforce a security pact that obligates them to reverse the Moscow-backed takeover of Crimea, a member of the Ukraine parliament told USA TODAY. The United States, Great Britain and Russia agreed in a pact "to assure Ukraine's territorial integrity" in return for Ukraine giving up a nuclear arsenal it inherited from the Soviet Union after declaring independence in 1991, said Pavlo Rizanenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament. ... Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the commitments in the agreement are not relevant to Crimea because a "coup" in Kiev has created "a new state with which we have signed no binding agreements." The U.S. and U.K. have said that the agreement remains binding and that they expect it to be treated "with utmost seriousness, and expect Russia to, as well.""

Submission + - The Man Making Bank Off Tesla and SpaceX (businessweek.com) 1

Submitted by pacopico
pacopico writes: Silicon Valley venture capitalists have not always been the first to back Elon Musk's super risky ideas. In fact, as Businessweek reports, a firm in Chicago called Valor Equity run by Antonio Gracias has been the quiet, major investor behind Tesla, SpaceX and SolarCity. With Tesla and SolarCity's shares soaring, Valor is doing very well and has capitalized big time on Musk's success. Oddly, its next major move has nothing to do with technology but will be instead to take Dunkin' Donuts and Little Caesars to Mexico and China. The firm is looking to become the Auto Nation of food.

Submission + - One Bitcoin Miner is Mining $8 Million Each Month (ibtimes.co.uk)

Submitted by DavidGilbert99
DavidGilbert99 writes: While most people are toiling in their bedrooms to try and optimise their graphics cards to most efficiently crack the complex mathematical equations needed to mine a bitcoin, one Seattle-based bitcoin enthusiast has taken things to a whole new level. Dave Carlson has two warehouses full of purpose built mining rigs running 24/7 and which are mining an estimated $8 million every month — though his electricity bill is a bit high....

Submission + - NYT Op-Ed: Stop Glorifying Hackers (nytimes.com)

Submitted by Geste
Geste writes: Diane McWhorter, an author, take to the March 8th NYT Op-Ed pages with a plea to Stop Glorifying Hackers. Among other things she rails against providers' tendencies to "blame the victim" with advice on improved password discipline. But what lesson are we to learn from this lecture? From someone who emails lists of passwords to herself?

Submission + - LABONFOIL: Portable Bond-Style Lab Promises Low-Cost Detection and Diagnosis (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: A European project coordinated by Ikerlan and CIC microGUNE is developing a James Bond-style automated laboratory called "LABoratory skin patches and smart cards based ON FOILs and compatible with a smartphone" (LABONFOIL). Using lab-on-a-chip technology and smart patches to detect a wide variety of substances and diagnose diseases, the goal of the project is to create a cheap, portable laboratory that can interact with smart devices.

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