779805
submission
elrous0 writes:
The Mythbusters are once again putting the much-disputed claim of Archimedes' famous "heat ray" to the test, and they're looking for 300 volunteers in the San Francisco area to help. As many of you may recall, the pair originally dispelled the ray as a myth, only to face a challenge from students at MIT, who claimed they could replicate the ancient superweapon. Unfortunately, the MIT students were unable to recreate the experiment under real-world conditions when the Mythbusters put them to the test in 2005. Now it looks like Adam and Jamie are back to the myth once again and need your help to put the issue to rest once and for all (or at least until the next group of would-be math geniuses comes along). Will you be one of the 300 to defend Greece?
303133
submission
elrous0 writes:
As part of a "Revenge of the Nerds"-inspired PR stunt, a Washington Linux user group is holding a "Nerd Auction" and appealing to local sororities to exchange dates and makeover advice for their computer skills and homework assistance. "The problem is that we're all still nerds. Let's face it, guys. If anyone's going to bid on us, we'll need some spicing up," writes Washington State Linux Users Group president Ben Ford on the group's website. "And who better to help with that than sorority girls who like nothing better than a makeover?" So far there has been no comment on how a Linux user group is going to help sorority girls with their Windows machines.
254947
submission
elrous0 writes:
Denis Kvasov, former head of the infamous Russian music download site "allofmp3.com" was acquitted by a Russian court today for alleged copyright infringement stemming from the site's sales of unlicensed music.
"The prosecution did not succeed in presenting persuasive evidence of his involvement in infringing copyright law," said judge Yekaterina Sharapova. "Everybody who uses soundtracks has to pay a certain amount of their income to the rights holders and this company has done that," she said. "MediaServices has paid a certain amount of money to ROMS."
A local official with the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which is representing copyright holders in the case, said it would appeal the decision.
159053
submission
elrous0 writes:
CNN, the Inquirer, et. al. are reporting that Europe's "Galileo" program is facing a serious financial and technical crisis and may be permanently stalled. The European program, designed to be a superior answer to the United States' "Global Positioning System" (GPS), has faced numerous hurdles since its incenption. To date, the Galileo program has succeeded in launching only one of its 30 planned satellites and has been beset by delays and cost overruns. Apparently, squabbling between the eight companies in the consortium behind the project is responsible for many of the problems. The project is now threatened with an EU takeover. But many are skeptical that even the EU can save the flagging program.
