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Comment Won't matter (Score 1) 664

by CWRUisTakingMyMoney (#26199177) Attached to: Will People Really Boycott Apple Over DRM?
Part of me wonders if this is not-trivially for publicity, like Greenpeace goes after Apple a couple times a year. But either way, not many people will care and I certainly doubt that they'll convert anybody. iTunes does, IIRC, sell non-DRM'd music (at a premium but also at a higher bitrate), and the DRM they do have is fairly unobtrusive as DRM goes. I don't like DRM'd media any more than the next person, but I can think of much worse offenders to go after than Apple.

Comment Re:It's a bit like arguments about God (Score 1) 683

by CWRUisTakingMyMoney (#25794643) Attached to: Science's Alternative To an Intelligent Creator
I'm a theist (of a rather popular sort that I won't get into because I do NOT want to argue the merits of my belief---no one will win). Arguments about God and its existence are always pointless because God as most of us theists believe in it is omnipotent. And when you have an omnipotent God, the rules of logical argument break down. So, yes, when I consider how the Universe formed, I conclude that it cannot have created itself, that something must have brought it into being. I choose to call that thing God and to ascribe to it other qualities in line with my beliefs.

Yes, now, you say, I must deal with how God was created. No, I don't, because God as I believe in it is omnipotent; an omnipotent thing can do anything it wants, including create itself. Science isn't paradox-free, either. [1]

Besides, what of scientists who are also atheists? They say the universe was formed out of a larger multiverse. How was the multiverse formed? Infinite regression (I like that term) comes into play HERE, not when an omnipotent God exists (or is assumed to exist). I strongly doubt that it is possible to prove the existence of God to anyone aside from oneself, just as I strongly doubt that it is possible to prove God's nonexistence to anyone but oneself.

[1] I'm not saying this as a knock against science. I'm a student, not in a scientific field, but I very much enjoy and respect science and most scientists. I don't feel science needs to exist without a God. I do, however, agree that one cannot resort to "God did it" within the scientific method. (I just think the scientific method cannot answer everything.)

Comment Re:What? (Score 1) 374

by CWRUisTakingMyMoney (#25759999) Attached to: US Supreme Court Allows Sonar Use
Nope, I was referring to the court's Opinion. I've had enough experience with legal "journalism" to know that the actual written opinion of the court is much more reliable than any news story written about it. I'm just too lazy to wade through the thing right now.
Hardware Hacking

Huge Credit Fraud Ring Sends Europeans' Data To Pakistan 166

Posted by timothy from the we-keep-our-biggest-credit-thieves-in-d.c. dept.
marshotel excerpts from a story at the Wall Street Journal: "European law-enforcement officials uncovered a highly sophisticated credit-card fraud ring that funnels account data to Pakistan from hundreds of grocery-store card machines across Europe, according to U.S. intelligence officials and other people familiar with the case. Specialists say the theft technology is the most advanced they have seen, and a person close to British law enforcement said it has affected big retailers including a British unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Tesco Ltd."
Television

CNET UK Credits Claim That Apple Will Release Networked TVs 110

Posted by timothy from the logical-progression dept.
r2k writes "While the Apple rumours posted yesterday highlight some of the most commonly talked-about opinions, a writer for CNet UK sat down with Mahalo's Jason Calacanis, who told CNet he knew for a fact that Apple is developing fully networked LCD TV sets. As the writer points out, Apple dropped 'Computer' from its company name for a very good reason."
Education

How US Schools' Culture Stifles Math Achievement 888

Posted by timothy from the expensive-gubmint-babysitting-castles dept.
Zarf writes "I'd like to file a bug report on the US educational system. The New York Times reports on a recent study that shows the US fails to encourage academic talent as a culture.'"There is something about the culture in American society today which doesn't really seem to encourage men or women in mathematics," said Michael Sipser, the head of M.I.T.'s math department. "Sports achievement gets lots of coverage in the media. Academic achievement gets almost none."' While we've suspected that the US might be falling behind academically, this study shows that it is actually due to cultural factors that are devaluing the success of our students. I suspect there's a flaw in the US cultural system that prevents achievement on the academic front from being perceived as valuable. Could anyone suggest a patch for this bug or is this cause for a rewrite?"
Communications

Choosing a Replacement Email System For a University? 485

Posted by timothy from the did-I-leap-off-the-page dept.
SmarkWoW writes "The university I attend is currently looking to change the way in which is provides its students with an email service. In the past they used a legacy mail system which can no longer fit their needs. A committee has narrowed the possibilities down to three vendors: Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo. Representatives from these three vendors will be coming to our college and giving a presentation on the advantages of their systems. We're looking at other services these companies provide such as calendaring and integration with existing software that our university runs. What questions would Slashdot readers ask during these Q&A sessions? Which of these three companies would you recommend? Why? What advantages would each have that college-level students would take advantage of? What other aspects should we consider when making our decision?"
Privacy

20 Hours a Month Reading Privacy Policies 161

Posted by kdawson from the half-the-bailout-every-year dept.
Barence sends word of research out of Carnegie Mellon University calling for changes in the way Web sites present privacy policies. The researchers, one of whom is an EFF board member, calculated how long it would take the average user to read through the privacy policies of the sites visited in a year. The answer: 200 hours, at a hypothetical cost to the US economy of $365 billion, more than half the financial bailout package. Every year. The researchers propose that, if the industry can't make privacy policies easier to read or skim, then federal intervention may be needed. This resulted in the predictable cry of outrage from online executives. Here's the study (PDF).
The Military

Researchers To Build Underwater Airplane 263

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the journey-to-the-bottom-of-the-sea dept.
coondoggie writes to tell us that DARPA seems to still be having fun with their funding and continues to aim for the "far out." The latest program, a submersible airplane, seems to have been pulled directly from science fiction. Hopefully this voyage to the bottom of the sea is of the non-permanent variety. "According to DARPA: 'The difficulty with developing such a craft come from the diametrically opposed requirements that exist for an airplane and a submarine. While the primary goal for airplane designers is to try and minimize weight, a submarine must be extremely heavy in order to submerge underwater. In addition, the flow conditions and the systems designed to control a submarine and an airplane are radically different, due to the order of magnitude difference in the densities of air and water.'"
United States

Voters In Many States Must Register By October 6 182

Posted by kdawson from the there-is-no-late dept.
Will F. Johnston writes "Voters in AK, AR, AZ, CO, DC, FL, GA, HI, IN, KY, LA, MI, MS, OH, PA, TN, TX, and VA must register to vote by tomorrow, October 6, in order to vote in November. Other deadlines coming up soon: IL and NM are October 7. MT is Oct. 6, but you can do same-day registration at the elections office. UT is also Oct. 6, but you can register in person until the 20th."
The Media

Jobs Rumor Debacle Besmirches Citizen Journalism 286

Posted by kdawson from the unverified-is-not-the-same-as-unfiltered dept.
On Friday someone posted a false rumor that Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack on CNN's unverified citizen journalism site, iReport. Apple's stock price went vertical, losing 9% before Apple stepped in and denied the rumor; the stock then recovered most of its loss. The SEC is investigating. PCWorld looks at the hit taken by citizen journalism as a result of this incident. "[The] increasingly blurred line between journalism and rumor is a serious concern for Al Tompkins, the broadcast/online group leader at The Poynter Institute — a specialized school for journalists of all media forms. 'How could you possibly allow just anybody to post just anything under your [CNN] label unless you have blazing billboards that say, "None of this has been verified, we've not looked at any of this, we have no idea if this is true"?' he asks."
Windows

MS Reportedly Adds 6 Months of Vista Downgrade 244

Posted by kdawson from the charting-a-course-to-windows-7 dept.
LiteralKa sends in a poorly sourced Reg story claiming that Microsoft has granted OEMs six more months to sell PCs using Windows Vista with the support to downgrade to Windows XP. OEMs can now offer such arrangements until July 31, 2009 — the previous deadline was January 31, 2009. The article claims as source "a Reg reader" without further details. Neither Microsoft nor any OEM has confirmed the rumor, and only a few scattered bloggers have picked it up.
Biotech

Scientists Closer To Creating Artificial Noses 99

Posted by samzenpus from the can-you-smell-me-now dept.
Scientists at MIT have moved closer to being able to create an artificial nose after finding a way to mass-produce smell receptors. The MIT RealNose project seeks to recreate the most complex and least-understood of the five senses: smell. The team plans to work with researchers around the world to develop a portable microfluidic device that can identify various smells, including diseases with unique odors, such as diabetes and certain cancers.

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