Goeland86 - Slashdot User

Submission + - SCO increasingly vigorous with great prospects (people.com.cn)

Submitted by fineous fingers on Friday August 17, 2007 @05:24AM

fineous fingers writes: Won't someone please put a stake in their heart! I really had to do a double-take on this one. And why does the "People's Daily Online" care about SCO?

Submission + - iPhone users fight AT&T in Vermont, Alaska (blorge.com)

Submitted by

destinyland

on Friday August 17, 2007 @05:07AM

destinyland writes: "AT&T forbids iPhone contracts in Alaska, Vermont, and parts of 15 other states. But in these states "iPhone rebels" simply violate AT&T's contract and surf the networks of AT&T's wireless partners. "We will spot that very quickly," an AT&T spokesman insists, adding they would then "most likely" terminate that person's service. But other users simply open a P.O. Box in a different state — and hope AT&T thinks they're just roaming a lot. It's yet-another grass roots challenge to AT&T's exclusive carrier status. As one user complained, "I do not need Steve Jobs or the others in Cupertino, California deciding who my cellphone carrier should be.""

Submission + - Hezbollah Releases Video Game (msn.com) 1

Submitted by

stoolpigeon

on Friday August 17, 2007 @04:45AM

stoolpigeon writes: "An msnbc blogger reports that on Thursday, Hezbollah released a game, "Special Force II" The game is based on the 34 day battle between Hezbollah and the Israeli military last year. Players can go into Israel to capture Israeli soldiers, launch rockets on Israeli towns and take on Israeli armor. Apparently killing Israeli soldiers garners the player bonus points. The game was said to be retailing for $10. A cnn story on the game states that the game is a tribute to what Hezbollah describes as, "...a divine victory." and a tool to teach children tactics in warfare."

Submission + - Are You Pro-Choice?

Submitted by

theodp

on Wednesday July 11, 2007 @12:59AM

theodp writes: "You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your work computer. Or can you? While corporate technology managers usually pick laptops, software and other technology for employees, Computerworld reports some tech managers are finding workers can do a better job when they choose and buy the equipment themselves."

Submission + - 300mpg! and street legal - the Enertia Motorcycle (enertiabike.com)

Submitted by on Tuesday July 10, 2007 @07:53PM

An anonymous reader writes: Brammo launches the Enertia, world's first production electric motorcycle FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Brammo Launches the Enertia, World's First Production Electric Motorcycle Ashland, Oregon — July 10th — Brammo Motorsports today announced the Enertia, the world's first production, zero-emissions and battery powered plug-in electric motorcycle. (http://www.enertiabike.com/ http://press.enertiabike.com/ ) With the goal of creating momentum for change in the way vehicles are conceived and created, Brammo has delivered this groundbreaking motorcycle. The Enertia's range of 45 miles significantly exceeds the daily commute for the average U.S. consumer of 29 miles. Battery charge time is 3 hours to full re-charge. Borrowing from racing technology, the Enertia utilizes a carbon fiber chassis producing an ultra strong, light-weight vehicle platform of just 275 lbs. The chassis integrates six lithium-phosphate batteries from supplier Valence Technology that together produce the power to propel the Enertia to a top speed of over 50 mph. Paul Seredynski, MSN autos said, "For those looking to make a lifestyle change, or for a cool "green" machine to get around town on, few options exist that can compete on so many levels." "We believe consumers are eager to adopt vehicles that have a fraction of the carbon footprint of a today's cars", says Craig Bramscher, Chairman & CEO of Brammo Motorsports, "Our Enertia electric motorcycle empowers people to make this choice today." Brian Wismann, Brammo Director of Design said, "It is extremely satisfying to design a vehicle that people can both feel good about using and appreciate the way it looks." Brammo's Enertia is the first of a line of plug-in electric commuter, commercial and recreational vehicles under development. About Brammo Brammo (http://www.brammo.com/) is a premier specialty vehicle manufacturer developing sustainable performance products for the next generation of transportation. Through integration of digital engineering and high impact design, Brammo transforms ideas into compelling products. Located in Ashland, Oregon the company was founded in 2002 and is a privately held. PR contact — press@brammo.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it — (888) 201-6204 http://www.brammo.com/ http://www.enertiabike.com/ http://press.enertiabike.com/ Brammo Motorsports

Submission + - A robotic cable inspection system

Submitted by

Roland Piquepaille

on Thursday May 17, 2007 @01:33PM

Roland Piquepaille writes: "In a very short article, Popular Science reports that researchers at the University of Washington have built a robotic cable inspection system. This system should help utility companies to maintain their networks of subterranean cables. The robot, dubbed Cruiser, is about 4-feet-long and is designed like a snake. When it detects an anomaly on an underground cable, it sends a message to a human operator via Wi-Fi. The first field tests took place in New Orleans in December 2006. But a commercial version should not be available before 2012. Read more for additional details and pictures of the Cruiser in action."

Submission + - Bright idea: new LEDs will dazzle handhelds, PC s

Submitted by

coondoggie

on Thursday May 17, 2007 @01:26PM

coondoggie writes: "Researchers next week will show off new technology that promises to make PC screens, handheld device readouts and televisions brighter, slimmer and less expensive.UCLA researchers have recently achieved the highest lumens per watt ever recorded for a red phosphorescent LED or light-emitting diodes, using a new combination of plastic, or polymer, infused liquid — and they did it at half the current cost. The LEDs will be presented at the Society for Information Display 2007 conference in Long Beach, Calif., from May 20 through 25, according to UCLA materials science and engineering professor Yang Yang and his graduate researcher Jinsong Huang. http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1525 9"

Submission + - Why the hate for database music management?

Submitted by

conigs

on Thursday May 17, 2007 @01:19PM

conigs writes: "One of the things we as geeks often champion is a database file system. We tend to agree that it would offer much more freedom over the antiquated file-folder paradigm. Our files are digital; they can live anywhere. Why should they be limited to existing in one folder/directory (saved searched/aliases/shortcuts/links aside)? If we acknowledge the advantages of a database file system, why do so many people rally against a database music/media library? Music already has a plethora of metadata associated with it, making flexible, on the fly organization possible. Why limit its organization to a rigid folder hierarchy? This issue tends to come about often when discussing iTunes/iPod and how so many people just want to drag their music from their file system and not be bothered by the database.

The general complaints about Apple/iTunes/iPods aside, what do people have against a database music library?"

Submission + - Why web pirates can't be touched

Submitted by gwoodrow on Thursday May 17, 2007 @01:01PM

gwoodrow writes: Forbes has a brief article about, essentially, the ultimate futility of fighting online pirates. From the article:

'Pirates don't just plunder. In Sweden, it seems, they also believe in sharing.

As the world's largest repository of BitTorrent files, ThePirateBay.org helps millions of users around the world share copyrighted movies, music and other files — without paying for them.

That's illegal, of course — at least it is in the U.S. But when Time Warner's (nyse: TWX — news — people ) Warner Bros. studio accused them of breaking U.S. copyright law in 2005, the pirates gleefully reminded the movie company that they didn't live in America, but rather in "the land of vikings, reindeer, Aurora Borealis and cute blond girls."'

Also touches on the many YouTube clones and AllofMP3.com. Nothing that most of us regular slashdotters haven't read/heard before, but a decent article nonetheless.

Submission + - JFK bullet analysis was wrong

Submitted by

Spy Handler

on Thursday May 17, 2007 @12:58PM

Spy Handler writes: "Researchers analyzing bullet fragments from the 1963 Kennedy assassination using new techniques say that the government's 1976 conclusion that the bullets came from only one gun (Oswald's) is wrong."

Submission + - Purdue Researchers Generate Hydrogen From Water +

Submitted by Control Group on Thursday May 17, 2007 @12:58PM

Control Group writes: A team of researchers at Purdue University, led by Jerry Woodall, have have developed a method to extract hydrogen from water by using an aluminum/gallium alloy.

Hydrogen is generated spontaneously when water is added to pellets of the alloy, which is made of aluminum and a metal called gallium. The researchers have shown how hydrogen is produced when water is added to a small tank containing the pellets. Hydrogen produced in such a system could be fed directly to an engine, such as those on lawn mowers.
.

The key, they say, is the addition of the gallium, "because it hinders the formation of a skin normally created on aluminum's surface after oxidation." The gallium is not consumed by the process, meaning it can be reused. The aluminum, of course, oxidizes and must be recycled. While the current price of aluminum means this won't be cost-competitive with gasoline in the near term, in combination with fuel cell technology, immediate gains could be realized.

Submission + - Google Nudes Win on Appeal

Submitted by astonishedelf on Thursday May 17, 2007 @12:53PM

astonishedelf writes: http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/archives/20 07/05/17/google_nudes_win_on_appeal.html Google nudes win on appeal By Jack Schofield / Google 01:44pm Back in 2004, a company called Perfect 10 sued Google on the grounds that its use of thumbnails violated its copyrights. This attracted attention because of the subject matter — nude photography — and because it represented a significant challenge to the working of the Web. (Perfect 10 also sued Amazon.) Google has now won the case on appeal, according to the Washington Post. It says: The appeals court ruled that the thumbnails fell within a "fair use" exception in copyright law because they play a role in the search process and thus have a function different from that of the original photos. "We conclude that the significantly transformative nature of Google's search engine, particularly in light of its public benefit, outweighs Google's superseding and commercial uses of the thumbnails in this case," Judge Sandra S. Ikuta wrote for the panel. However, "Yesterday's ruling was not a complete victory for Google, because the judges directed the lower court to reconsider a separate finding in the company's favor," says TWP. Basically, it seems the problem is that while Google's thumbnails may not infringe copyright, it was linking to sites that do infringe copyright — and knowing that, not stopping it.

Submission + - When will broadcast TV die?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 17, 2007 @12:49PM

An anonymous reader writes: This article about how to hook up your PC to your living room TV ends up predicting that "I think in the future, the broadcast stations will all turn off. There is a very limited amount of content on them." The billion+ videos on sites like YouTube, Revver or LuluTV dwarf the broadcast and cable stations that are "numbered in the hundreds." Is the snacky nature of Internet video going to rollover the old school broadcast stations? Or will the low cost of broadcasting to millions give the old stations a perpeptual advantage of the new Internet sites that must pay bandwidth to deliver each and every copy?

Submission + - The First Terabyte Hard Drive--Review

Submitted by

mikemuch

on Thursday May 17, 2007 @12:04PM

mikemuch writes: "ExtremeTech has a review and benchmarks of the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 1TB Hard Drive, which ushers in the terabyte age. It performs well on HDTach and PCMark benchmarks, though not as speedily as professional-grade drives. It could be just the ticket for digital media junkies."

Submission + - Firefox going the big and bloated IE way?

Submitted by abhinav_pc on Thursday May 17, 2007 @11:49AM

abhinav_pc writes: Wired is carrying an article on Firefox becoming big and bloated much like its bête noire competetor, IE. From the article: "... with Firefox 3.0 poised for release this summer, the "IE killer" is in danger of morphing into an early Fat Elvis ...

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