Will Fisher - Slashdot User

Comment WarGames and Nightline (Score 1) 612

by AcidTag on Monday October 01, 2012 @03:49PM (#41517279) Attached to: Ask Steve Wozniak Anything

This isn't a question, rather a thank you. When I was a kid, WarGames played on network television for the first time. Later that night, Nightline had an interview with you where Ted Koppel posed the question "What would you do if someone hacked into your systems?" you reply "I'd hire him". Thank you for that! I had been dabbling in program on your Apple ][ and other home computers, but my parents didn't see a future in it. Not until they heard your response. Without there support I wouldn't be a software engineer today!

Submission + - Google Awarded Face-To-Unlock Patent (cnet.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 05, 2012 @01:35PM

An anonymous reader writes: CNet reports that Google was awarded a patent yesterday for logging into a computing device using face recognition (8,261,090). 'In order for the technology to work, Google's patent requires a camera that can identify a person's face. If that face matches a "predetermined identity," then the person is logged into the respective device. If multiple people want to access a computer, the next person would get in front of the camera, and the device's software would automatically transition to the new user's profile. ... Interestingly, Apple last year filed for a patent related to facial recognition similar to what Google is describing in its own service. That technology would recognize a person's face and use that as the authentication needed to access user profiles or other important information.'

Submission + - Has filesharing stemmed the flow of new music? (ssrn.com)

Submitted by Kavafy on Monday November 21, 2011 @01:01PM

Kavafy writes: In a new working paper, economist Joel Waldfogel attempts to estimate the continued flow of high-quality new music since the emergence, at the turn of the millennium, of Napster, the daddy of all file sharing services. Waldfogel concludes that there is "no evidence that changes since Napster have affected the quantity of new recorded music or artists coming to market."

Submission + - 26,000 Customers Lost Internet Access Friday

Submitted by AcidTag on Monday November 21, 2011 @12:53PM

AcidTag writes: My girlfriend discovered Friday night that her ISP OpenRange had ceased operations with no warning. It had been previously reported that OpenRange would continue operations through the end of the year. Her and 26,000 other rural customers are now without Internet access.

Submission + - How to love a programmer (squawknet.net) 1

Submitted by

hwf829

on Thursday August 25, 2011 @06:57PM

hwf829 writes: "After several months into a relationship, as a programmer, I've finally come to terms with what love is. There are basically some things that people miss when they think of programmers, and which doesn't have to be. So here goes my article."

Submission + - JPEGmini – the Future of Image Compression? (megapixel.co.il) 3

Submitted by

Iddo Genuth

on Thursday August 25, 2011 @04:37PM

Iddo Genuth writes: "An Israeli company recently unveiled what might be the next generation of image compression technology. Based on the JPEG format, the new JPEGmini is compatible with existing JPEG but capable of reducing the file size of an image by up to 5X without any visible loss of image quality. A revolution on its way? MegaPixel.co.il set out to test it and talk with the developers."

Submission + - XBMC Bridges the communications gap with the TV (tested.com)

Submitted by

Malard

on Thursday August 25, 2011 @03:28PM

Malard writes: "Home theatre systems have forever suffered from the bain of multiple remote controls. One for the HTPC and at least one other for the TV. Pulse-Eight working with XBMC have built a USB — CEC Adapter allowing users to consolidate their remotes and even throw out HTPC specific remotes in favour of their TV or Blu-Ray remote control."

Submission + - RealNetworks crushes Dutch webmaster for hyperlink (pcadvisor.co.uk)

Submitted by suraj.sun on Thursday August 25, 2011 @03:02PM

suraj.sun writes: RealNetworks has sued the owner of a website in The Netherlands for displaying a hyperlink to a competing freeware package. As the company seeks compensation for its claimed losses, the 26-year-old man is borrowing money from family to survive.

The case started in 2010 when RealNetworks demanded that the computers belonging to Hilbrand Edskes and his family be confiscated. A Dutch judge granted this in an ex-parte ruling, based on an alleged violation of copyright law and trademark law. The company claims that Edskes was hosting the infringing software. The move to secretly obtain the order was meant to ensure that evidence wasn’t deleted.

Edskes has a website, Codecpack.nl, that links to a wide variety of freeware programs. One of these is "Real Alternative", a competitor of the mediaplayer RealPlayer from RealNetworks.

However, Edskes wasn’t hosting the software, but just redirected to other sites for the actual download. The complaint turned out to be based on a hyperlink to the software. To date there have been two court sessions, and in December Edskes will have to testify under oath.

PC Advisor: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/tech-industry/3299285/realnetworks-crushes-dutch-webmaster-for-hyperlink/

Submission + - More Photoshopped Evidence In Apple vs. Samsung (itworld.com)

Submitted by

jfruhlinger

on Friday August 19, 2011 @01:24PM

jfruhlinger writes: "It seems that Apple can't stop Photoshopping evidence in its EU lawsuit against Samsung. We already saw that the company used trickery in its side-by-side comparison of the iPad and Galaxy Tab; now it appears that it's fudging the comparison between the iPhone and Galaxy S as well."

Submission + - OSX Lion ships with faulty NVidia Drivers (apple.com)

Submitted by TeaCurran on Thursday August 04, 2011 @02:59PM

TeaCurran writes: Apple OSX Lion shipped with new NVidia video drivers that are causing anyone with a mid 2010 Macbook Pro to get a kernel panic every 5-10 minutes. Apple knew about the issue before shipping lion, hasn't responded to the issue, and is censoring posts in their support forum that mention words like 'boycot' and 'petition'. NVidia has responded that the drivers are the responsibility of Apple so they won't deal with the issue. How a major hardware manufacturer can ship such a faulty product without getting much press about it is completely beyond me.

Comment Re:I'm curious... (Score 1) 380

by Will Fisher on Tuesday July 12, 2011 @11:01AM (#36734194) Attached to: The Fanless Spinning Heatsink

There is 0.3mm of air between the base plate and the spinning impeller. Because this air gap is thin, wide and sheared (i.e, the top part is spinning and the bottom part isn't - so you get lots of convection), the thermal resistance of the air gap is actually very low.

Submission + - Diver Snaps First Photo of Fish Using Tools (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit on Friday July 08, 2011 @05:14PM

sciencehabit writes: While exploring Australia's Great Barrier Reef, professional diver Scott Gardner heard an odd cracking sound and swam over to investigate. What he found was a footlong blackspot tuskfish holding a clam in its mouth and whacking it against a rock. Soon the shell gave way, and the fish gobbled up the bivalve, spat out the shell fragments, and swam off. Fortunately, Gardner had a camera handy and snapped what seem to be the first photographs of a wild fish using a tool.

Submission + - Mini Infrared Theremin (pyroelectro.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 07, 2011 @02:58PM

An anonymous reader writes: ....IR sensors used to detect the distance between the sensor and an object are a perfect fit for a DIY Theremin because they are low cost and they are reliable enough to get the project working. The idea here is that instead of using antennas, we'll use infrared proximity and be able to play an instrument, the Mini IR Theremin!

Submission + - LulzSec Document Dump Shows Cops' Fear Of iPhones (itworld.com)

Submitted by

jfruhlinger

on Friday June 24, 2011 @02:30PM

jfruhlinger writes: "People are starting to comb through the details of the law enforcement documents made public by LulzSec. Blogger Kevin Fogarty noticed one interesting trend: The cops seem very anxious about iPhones, particularly apps that would allow encounters with a police officers to be recorded. Ironically, the cops seem extremely concerned with protecting their own privacy, but the documents encourage police to examine iPhones during the course of interacting with the public to see what apps they have."

Submission + - It's Official – Cell Phones are Killing Bees (inhabitat.com)

Submitted by kdawson (3715) on Monday June 13, 2011 @01:00PM

kdawson (3715) writes: Scientists may have found the cause of the world’s sudden dwindling population of bees – and cell phones may be to blame. Research conducted in Lausanne, Switzerland has shown that the signal from cell phones not only confuses bees, but also may lead to their death. Over 83 experiments have yielded the same results.

The signals cause the bees to become lost and disoriented. The impact has already been felt the world over, as the population of bees in the U.S. and the U.K. has decreased by almost half in the last thirty years – which coincides with the popularization and acceptance of cell phones as a personal device.

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