Submission + - US Navy to have laser weapons in 2 years (slate.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: Light on details, but the article sources Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, who says they are past the R&D and are being integrated into the fleet.
Submission Summary: 0 pending, 47 declined, 20 accepted (67 total, 29.85% accepted)
Submission + - Reverse-Engineered Irises Look So Real, They Fool Eye-Scanners (wired.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: If you've ever had your eyes scanned, be sure to install new ones every 90 days.
Submission + - Why Autonomous Cars Won't Catch On (slate.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: Only rich people will be able to pay for a completely automous car. Auto-autos will only go the speed limit. Rich people don't like to go slow. Ergo, there won't be any market for automatic cars.
Wait, I hear you say. The rich guy will just modify his car to go faster. But, if you go over the limit it's a fine, but to mess with the safety systems of even your own vehicle is probably a felony. Much more likey: The rich will get new laws passed to make it legal for automatic cars to go much, much faster than human driven vehicles.
Wait, I hear you say. The rich guy will just modify his car to go faster. But, if you go over the limit it's a fine, but to mess with the safety systems of even your own vehicle is probably a felony. Much more likey: The rich will get new laws passed to make it legal for automatic cars to go much, much faster than human driven vehicles.
Submission + - Why Amazon wants to pay sales tax (slate.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: A while ago, Amazon caved on paying individual states sales taxes. Now we know why. Amazon is setting up same day delivery warehouses, *everywhere*. They will put most normal retailers out of business.
Submission + - Space Aliens shot Kennedy (salon.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: "Earlier this year, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) asked, on its online Open Government Forum, for suggestions from the public about what it could do to create greater transparency. The #1 most popular idea? Get those Kennedy records out ...
But instead of dealing honestly with this matter, the feds have resorted to disinformation. In an interview with the Boston Globe, the Archivist of the United States claimed that at two public forums held on open records, the most public comments came from people interested either in the JFK assassination or in UFOs."
The thing is, there was very little interest in UFOs. So, where did that come from? It must be the original documents. If the archivist of the US conflates interest in the Kennedy assassination with interest in UFOs, there must be a reason.
But instead of dealing honestly with this matter, the feds have resorted to disinformation. In an interview with the Boston Globe, the Archivist of the United States claimed that at two public forums held on open records, the most public comments came from people interested either in the JFK assassination or in UFOs."
The thing is, there was very little interest in UFOs. So, where did that come from? It must be the original documents. If the archivist of the US conflates interest in the Kennedy assassination with interest in UFOs, there must be a reason.
Submission + - South Korean Robot Prison Guards (slate.com)
Submission + - Fox experment in peril (slate.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: In 1957, Russian geneticist Dmitry K. Belyaev tried to domesticate foxes in one human lifetime. (He also produced violently, anti-domestic foxes).
The foxes would be considered fully domesticated only when they obeyed human commands as dogs do. That part of the experiment is still unfinished. Now the project is running out of money.
Kickstarter to the rescue? Would you want a domesticated fox?
The foxes would be considered fully domesticated only when they obeyed human commands as dogs do. That part of the experiment is still unfinished. Now the project is running out of money.
Kickstarter to the rescue? Would you want a domesticated fox?
Submission + - Doctors "cheating" on board certifications (cnn.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: After taking board exams, doctors have been routinely getting together to remember and reproduce as much of the exam as they can. These notes are then bound and reproduced. According to the American Board of Dermatology the exams are protected by copyright laws, and any reproduction, not approved by the board, is illegal. While I have no doubt that the Board believes this, and pays lawyers to believe it as well, I don't think they understand copyright. Perhaps they should invest in better testing methods.
Submission + - Creative people more likely to cheat (livescience.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: Obviously, this is a bit of bias on the part of non-creative researchers, and a bit of a stretch to call fudging a psychological test to be "unethical". Just because we can think outside the box, doesn't make it wrong.
Submission + - Naked Mole Rats from Outer Space (slate.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: Apparently, Naked Mole Rats don't get cancer, get when zapped with Gamma Rays or fed 50 times the carcinogens that would kill a mouse. (or us)
Submission + - Termination rights of 35 year old recordings (nytimes.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: "When copyright law was revised in the mid-1970s, musicians, like creators of other works of art, were granted “termination rights,” which allow them to regain control of their work after 35 years, so long as they apply at least two years in advance. Recordings from 1978 are the first to fall under the purview of the law..."
Since the recording companies are just looking out for their artists, there won't be much of a problem here.
Since the recording companies are just looking out for their artists, there won't be much of a problem here.
Submission + - Internet Use affects Memory (nytimes.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: Having information readily available makes people work less hard to remember things.
Submission + - Jury Nullification (nytimes.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: This guy was passing out pamplets on courthouse steps in Manhattan and other places. Clearly this is First Amendment stuff. Now he's being indicted on a charge of Jury Tampering. He says he doesn't target jurors, but gives the information to anyone.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/26/nyregion/26jury.html?hp
This isn't specifically a "Rights Online", but if they can stop people from handing out pamphlets, what's to stop them from turning off websites? http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/02/16/2239245/US-Govt-Mistakenly-Shuts-Down-84000-Sites#comments
Submission + - FOSS Textbooks (nytimes.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: Scott G. McNealy, cofounder and former CEO of Sun Microsystems is helping the free textbook movement.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/technology/01ping.html?src=me&ref=general
Mr. McNealy, the fiery co-founder and former chief executive of Sun Microsystems, shuns basic math textbooks as bloated monstrosities: their price keeps rising while the core information inside of them stays the same. “Ten plus 10 has been 20 for a long time,” Mr. McNealy says.
Submission + - DivX Redux (nytimes.com)
Maximum Prophet writes: "In the last year and a half, a broad alliance of high-tech companies and Hollywood studios has been trying to address this problem through an organization called the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, or DECE.
...
The group is setting out to create a common digital standard that would let consumers buy or rent a digital video once and then play it on any device."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/technology/04video.html?8dpc
That is, any newly purchased from them device. And the alliance doesn't include Apple, so eliminate the iPod, and iPhone.
The group is setting out to create a common digital standard that would let consumers buy or rent a digital video once and then play it on any device."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/technology/04video.html?8dpc
That is, any newly purchased from them device. And the alliance doesn't include Apple, so eliminate the iPod, and iPhone.
