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Comment Re:email? (Score 1) 306

For OLED, the true best case scenario for low power usage is green text on a black background. This is because an OLED isn't a true RGB pixel layout. Instead, it typically runs RRGBB, with the red and blue pixels double sized for apparent longevity reasons.

The green pixel is half the size, so presumably half the power usage.

And I'm perfectly aware I've just pointlessly wasted 5 minutes of my life writing that. APPRECIATE IT, SLASHDOT. :-)

Comment Missing option - Tommy Flowers (Score 2, Interesting) 737

The true computing pioneer was Post Office engineer Tommy Flowers, who designed Colossus, the world's first programmable electronic computer.

After the war Flowers was granted £1,000 by the government, payment which did not even cover Flowers' personal investment in the equipment. His work in computing was not fully acknowledged until the 1970s because the project was restricted by the Official Secrets Act.

Comment Re:UK citizen? (Score 4, Insightful) 571

People have an issue with this because if convicted in America he will face the rest of his life (however long or short it may be) languishing in a high security American prison. In the UK we do at least give the majority of our prisoners the chance of rehabilitation.

The above comment disregarding the fact that a US jury is almost certainly likely to be biased against a foreigner; his inability to qualify for any capable legal aid; and an unfamiliarity with the US legal system seems to me an excellent reason to allow him to be tried at home. I imagine that they're also looking to try him under a terrorism-related charge, which is patently not what he set out to achieve.

However, this is now boiling down to a deeper issue of a massive disparity between the number of people extradited from the UK to the USA and vice-versa. I daresay the bulk of this is due to the fact that we do in fact harbour more potential terrorists, but at least some part of it is due to a government that just rolls over and takes it up the arse.

Comment Re:Suspect?.... (Score 3, Informative) 403

Coffin corner does not refer to a simple underspeed/overspeed condition. Limiting factor for speed at high altitude is Mach number, not IAS. Exceeding Mcrit leads to shockwave formation on the leading edge of the wing. This moves the centre of pressure rearwards and causes an uncontrollable nose-down pitching moment known as Mach Tuck.

It is this that can cause speeds to rise to the point where they're damaging to the airframe.

At coffin corner, slowing down will give pre-stall buffet, while speeding up gives mach buffet, the precursor to mach tuck. It's almost impossible to tell the difference between the two. Additionally, given the high TAS even small control inputs can have very rapid and extreme effects. It is exceptionally difficult to hand-fly an airliner at high altitude, especially without the benefit of automatic trim.

Software

Submission + - Vista - Ubuntu Install Comparison

Cokeisbomb writes: "Andrew Thomas, at the Inqurier has recently installed both Vista and the latest version of Ubuntu on his desktop and has compared the install process and initial setup. Although he has been using computers for 30+ years, his findings were different than what many of us might expect. From the article: "Well, I've only been playing with computers since 1972 and I couldn't make it work. Linux can see the Windows boxes and vice versa, but any attempt to access files is met with a login dialogue box that refuses any username and password I enter. So I've done what any normal person would do in the circumstances — give up"."
First Person Shooters (Games)

Submission + - Call of Duty 2 for Pocket PC

An anonymous reader writes: Six years ago we got PocketQuake. Since then, the Pocket PC has seen Tomb Raider, Worms, DoomGL, and numerous emulators. The latest big budget title to hit the Windows Mobile scene is Call of Duty 2, a direct port from the original and featuring OpenGL-ES support for the Dell X50v line of PDAs. The game was ported by Aspyr (the Mac games developers), and there's an exhaustive review (also in PDF, no ads) at PocketGamer.org.
Space

Submission + - Asteroid impact threat

Maggie McKee writes: "Kamchatkans and Venezuelans beware. A 20-million-tonne asteroid could be heading your way. Californians have even more reason to worry — the asteroid is more likely to hit the Pacific Ocean, triggering a tsunami that could devastate the west coast of North America. These are among the scenarios projected for asteroid Apophis, which researchers now say has a 1 in 45,000 chance of hitting Earth on 13 April 2036. Calculations show it would strike somewhere along a narrow track that stretches eastward from Siberia to the west coast of Africa. The threat, while small, is real enough to merit a United Nations protocol for dealing with the problem, experts say."
Portables (Games)

Submission + - Call of Duty 2 for Pocket PC released and reviewed

David Horn writes: "Acclaimed Mac developer Aspyr has released Call of Duty 2 for the Pocket PC, where "gamers will be transported to the front lines of World War II and experience battlegrounds with artillery and whizzing bullets" in full accelerated 3D. Over at PocketGamer.org we've got an exhaustive review (PDF, no ads) of the game, spanning five pages and featuring input from top Windows Mobile authors. This is an enormous leap forward for the Windows Mobile gaming scene, and if you have a Pocket PC you really ought to be considering this game."
Biotech

Bilingualism Delays Onset of Dementia 472

Dee writes with word of a Canadian study indicating that lifelong bilingualism delays the onset of dementia by 4 years. The scientists were reportedly "dazzled" by the results. From the article: "The researchers determined that the mean age of onset of dementia symptoms in the monolingual group was 71.4 years, while the bilingual group was 75.5 years. This difference remained even after considering the possible effect of cultural differences, immigration, formal education, employment and even gender as influencers in the results. "

Mars Probe May Have Spotted Sojourner Rover 149

Maggie McKee writes "NASA's eagle-eyed Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter may have spotted the tiny, toaster oven-sized Sojourner rover just a few meters away from its companion, the Mars Pathfinder lander. It appears to have crawled there in an attempt to re-establish contact with the lander after the lander had already died. But the pictures aren't clear enough to definitively ID the rover, and it's possible Sojourner simply took off on its own. If it were miraculously still alive after 10 years, it could be 3 kilometers away from Pathfinder — and probably impossible to find, even with MRO."

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