Comment Re:You know who I feel sorry for? (Score 1) 978
hmmm,well,what does seal taste like?
Ask Heidi Klum.
Robot Composed of "Catoms" Can Assume Any Form 168
philetus writes "An article in New Scientist describes a robotic system composed of swarms of electromagnetic modules capable of assuming almost any form that is being developed by the Claytronics Group at Carnegie Mellon. 'The grand goal is to create swarms of microscopic robots capable of morphing into virtually any form by clinging together. Seth Goldstein, who leads the research project at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, in the US, admits this is still a distant prospect. However, his team is using simulations to develop control strategies for futuristic shape-shifting, or "claytronic", robots, which they are testing on small groups of more primitive, pocket-sized machines.'"
World of Warcraft Gold Limit Reached, It's 2^31 479
Mitch writes "Blizzard apparently used signed integers for their World of Warcraft gold values as some people have recently hit the limit of 2^31. "Apparently that amount is 214,748 gold, 36 silver, 48 copper. After you reach that lofty sum, you'll no longer be able to receive money from any source in the game. While some responses to the original posts claim that this exact limit had previously been theorized to exist, there have been no reports of anyone in the game actually achieving this amount via legal means." I guess Blizzard didn't expect anyone to ever get close to that much gold in game."
How To Turn a Mini Maglite Into a Laser 605
Lucas123 writes "Using the laser from a DVD burner, this instructional video shows you how to create a hand-held laser that is powerful enough to light a match and pop a balloon. There's some soldering involved and the Maglite's bulb housing needs to be drilled out to fit the new laser diode, but with some basic skill, most people could do this. Just plain cool." Update: 07/09 12:23 GMT by KD : Warning, the device that results from following these instructions will blind you if you look into it.
Wikipedia Corrects Encyclopedia Britannica 381
javipas writes "Despite all the controversy about Wikipedia's work model, no one can argue the potential of a project that has so effectively demonstrated the usefulness of the 'wisdom of crowds' concept. And that wisdom has detected a large number of mistakes in one of the most revered founts of human knowledge, the Encyclopedias Britannica. Among the wrong information collected on this page are the name at birth of Bill Clinton and the definition of the NP problems in mathematics."
Submission + - Mike Gravel: "I would legalize marijuana."
had3l writes: In an interview on C-SPAN, democratic candidate Mike Gravel stated that he would change the drug policy and
legalize marijuana: "Marijuana is a simple one, we legalize it, and you should be able to buy it at a liquor store, just like you buy alcohol". Other candidates have stood up against the present "War on Drugs", but he is the first one to mention legalization.
Submission + - "Open Office made me switch to Mac"
Gary writes: Australian software developer news site Builder AU are reporting on National ICT Australia's Professor Gernot Heiser blunt words for the OpenOffice community at OpenCeBIT this week — "If you want to be successful in open source it can't just be a 'me too' product. Anything that's not the best technology will not work ... enterprise is willing to pay for the best. OpenOffice is not the best ..." Has the OpenOffice.org community been resting on their laurels?
Submission + - Illegal Hex Code in Indelible Tattoo Ink
SPQR_Julian writes: "So... how do you DMCA a tattoo off of a person?" Body Modification E-magazine(BME) is fairly well the premier authority and source of information for modified people. So when the owner Shannon Larratt put out the call to see if anyone had (or would get) the HD-DVD code tattooed on their skin, it was only a matter of time before someone did.
Now the question is, what will the MPAA do in response?
Submission + - Windows Uptime Maximum 3 Months
An anonymous reader writes: Ever see the Windows vs Linux uptime graphs? I think NetCraft has some really good ones comparing Apache and IIS web-servers. Well they're the most inaccurate measurement of uptime available to mankind and should be completely ignored when comparing uptime propensity of a particular operation system.
The reason? Microsoft forces you to reboot your server after applying security updates. So if we say Microsoft releases a critical update 4 times a year, we can conclude that the average uptime of a Microsoft server is 3 months. Pretty quick and easy math. No graphs needed here.
What do you think should be a proper measurement of uptime?
Is Microsoft guilty of falsely advertising their products as reliable? Could that be grounds for misrepresentation?
Journal Journal: US Military Cracks Down on Front Line Bloggers.
Wired is reporting a new set of rules for US enlisted men that will all but shut down front line bloggers and sharply curtail email and other communications.
Submission + - Article on $2000 mercury cleanup now on Snopes
Dilaceratus writes: On Monday Slashdot ran a thread on an article by Steven Milloy (that ran in the Financial Times and Fox News) claiming that it was going to cost $2000 for a Maine woman to clean up the mercury from a broken compact fluorescent light bulb. In what must be a record (even for FOX News) this story has made it to the Snopes.com Urban Legends site, since Milloy (and the WorldNetDaily article he lifted the story from) entirely misrepresented both the costs and the dangers of cleaning up a broken fluorescent.
New Jersey Turnpike As a Power Source? 264
New Jersites writes "New Jersey, home of the eponymous Jersey barrier, is considering wind turbines powered by the breeze generated from traffic on the Jersey Turnpike. The wind turbines won't be built on the side of the highway. They will be built inside — what else? — the Jersey barriers. By replacing sections of solid concrete with Darius turbines, they might be able to harvest enough energy to power a light-rail line."
Submission + - Joost Signs on New Partners, Opens Up Invites
rm69990 writes: The new Joost internet television service, formerly known as the Venice Project, announced a handful of new content distribution agreements. In addition to previously-announced content deals with CBS and Viacom, Joost will also carry programming from CNN and other Turner Broadcasting System properties. Current beta users will also be able to invite anyone to sign up with Joost in advance of the service moving out of its beta phase later this month, as opposed to the old system where invites were sparse, much like the very early days of Gmail.
Feed News: Goozex game trading site adds Mac titles (macworld.com)
Submission + - Equifax refuses to activate fraud alert
wonko writes: "I recently lost my wallet. There's a good chance it was stolen. Inside the wallet were my driver license, several credit cards and my social security card, which was there because I was starting a new job the next morning. I filed a fraud alert, but Equifax refused to activate the alert, which comes very close to violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act and leaves me open to identity theft.
I'm in a unique situation. Equifax claims they won't activate the fraud alert until I send them proof of my identity and current address; however, since I just moved, the address they have on record is my old address, and I can't prove I live there because I don't live there anymore. I also can't send them a copy of my social security card or driver license because I haven't received the replacements yet.
Have other Slashdotters had similar experiences with any of the big credit reporting agencies? What advice do you have that might help me convince Equifax to activate the fraud alert so I'm not wide open to identity theft?"
I'm in a unique situation. Equifax claims they won't activate the fraud alert until I send them proof of my identity and current address; however, since I just moved, the address they have on record is my old address, and I can't prove I live there because I don't live there anymore. I also can't send them a copy of my social security card or driver license because I haven't received the replacements yet.
Have other Slashdotters had similar experiences with any of the big credit reporting agencies? What advice do you have that might help me convince Equifax to activate the fraud alert so I'm not wide open to identity theft?"
