Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:Why the book world needs good editors (Score 1) 571

by Nathgar (#20643749) Attached to: Fantasy Author Robert Jordan Passes Away
I'm going to go with option three. Raving fans demanding a book asap. With most writers (Jaqueline Carey, Terry Goodkind, David Drake to name a few) on a year to year and a half cycle, Jordans 2+ year cycle on some of the books had fans wanting the books sooner and faster. For books 7,8,9,10 Tor, and Jordan opted for a half editing cycle to get the books out faster to appease the fans. Book 11 which was one of the better ones in the series had a full editing cycle. I think if Tor and Jordan had opted to give it a full editing cycle for those 4 books we'd have series that read differently and flowed better. A lot of fans wanted it as soon as Jordan said my part is done undermining just how important those editors were to keeping his story somewhat focused.
The Internet

YouTube AntiPiracy Policy Likened to 'Mafia Shakedown' 103

Posted by Zonk from the i-hear-that's-a-growth-industry dept.
A C|Net article discusses reactions to YouTube's newly proposed antipiracy software policy. The company is now offering assistance for IP holders, allowing them to keep track of their content on the YouTube service ... if they sign up with the company for licensing agreements. A spokesman for Viacom (already in a fight with YouTube to take down numerous video clips) called this policy 'unacceptable', and another industry analyst likened it to a 'mafia shakedown.' YouTubes cites the challenges of determining ownership of a given video clip as the reason for this policy, and hopes that IP owners will cooperate in resolving these issues. Some onlookers also feel that these protestations are simply saber-rattling before an eventual deal: "'The debates are about negotiations more than anything else--who's going to pay whom and how much,' said Saul Berman, IBM's global media and entertainment strategy leader."
Software

Submission + - Rebuilding George Washington

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "According to The Arizona Republic, American researchers have created realistic faces of George Washington by using 3-D scanning, forensics technology and software. They started by scanning a bust of the first U.S. President when he was 53 and developed a special software with the help of an anthropologist to build realistic models of his face at different ages. Once the digital images were created and validated, a New York studio built statues of George Washington as a 19-year-old surveyor, a commander in chief at age 45 and taking the oath of office at Federal Hall at the age of 57. These statues can now be seen at the George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate. And the technology behind this re-creation can be used on other famous characters. Read more for additional details and pictures of George Washington's rebuilt faces and statues at various ages."
Space

Submission + - Average Joe to Pay for Trip in Space with Website

Submitted by
Ben Riecken
Ben Riecken writes: "Ben Riecken, a flight instructor from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, aims to pay his way into space by selling 200,000 pixel ads for $1 a piece on MyTripInSpace.com. Daytona Beach, Florida, February 19, 2007 — Ben Riecken, a flight instructor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, hopes to finance his trip into space onboard SpaceShipTwo with Virgin Galactic using the power of the internet. Ben Riecken designed MyTripInSpace.com after being invited by SpaceShipOne astronaut, Brian Binnie, to the Mojave Desert to see the spacecraft and a take a ride in the simulator. "This spacecraft is a beast. What a thrill! And I was just in the simulator! I have to be part of this venture", says Ben. Virgin Galactic is set to become the world's first spaceline taking private individuals to space and back onboard SpaceShipTwo, a new generation of commercial spacecraft, based on the X Prize winning prototype SpaceShipOne. Tickets are now on sale for $200,000 for one trip to space. With money being the main obstacle to not being able to go into space, Ben is not about to give up. "Space has been a playground for the government and the extremely rich. It's time for a change. I want to show that a regular guy who has a passion for aviation and space can achieve this goal despite a $30,000 a year salary", explains Ben. Companies and individuals can advertise on Ben's homepage by buying a 10x10 pixels block for $100. The $100 allows you to display a logo along with a message and a weblink. "When it comes to advertising on the internet, buying pixels is very cost effective", says Ben. Alex Tew, an entrepreneur from England brought this concept to the forefront with his million dollar homepage (www.milliondollarhomepage.com). "I am not trying to be a millionaire like Alex Tew. I just want to have a ticket in space and share my experience with everyone who dream to go in space and believe it is impossible for them to achieve this goal", says Ben. Ben Riecken is no stranger to challenges. He already holds an aviation record by flying into all 105 airports in the state of Florida in less then 48 hours. In July of 2006, he also took one of his students on the ultimate flying lesson by crossing the North Atlantic onboard a twin engine aircraft (www.northatlanticchallenge.com). Find out more about Ben Riecken's homepage at www.mytripinspace.com."
The Courts

Cisco Extends Negotiations on iPhone 74

Posted by Zonk from the just-a-little-bit-longer dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Apple and Cisco have just a short while longer to discuss the use of the iPhone name for Apple's new product. Cisco has extended the deadline for a resolution out to February 21st. The two companies are seeking a peaceful resolution to their problems, and the deadline was extended to 'reach an agreement on trademark rights and interoperability.' Early this month, Cisco put their lawsuit on hold to start these negotiations - it's easy to understand why they wouldn't want to scrap a whole month's worth of discussion over a few final details."
Quake

Submission + - Quake Ported to Nintendo DS

Submitted by Croakyvoice
Croakyvoice writes: Simon Hall has ported the classic First Person Shooter Quake over to the Nintendo DS

the program, working state and game data have been squeezed into the four megabytes of main memory it requires either shareware or commercial pak files, Amiga and PC paks have been successfully used total conversions and mods should work, assuming they respect the tiny memory size networking currently has been removed, but will return at a later date.
It's funny. Laugh.

Translation of Macrovision Response to Jobs on DRM 284

Posted by CmdrTaco from the worth-a-read dept.
BoboB-69 writes "Daring Fireball has posted a humorous, and accurate PR-speak to Plain English translation of Macrovision's CEO's response to Steve Jobs' Open Letter on DRM. Highly recommended reading for slashdotters everywhere."
User Journal

Journal Journal: E-Ink and rollable displays

Journal by msobkow

The latest article on rollable E-Ink displays sounds an awful lot like the PDA video phones used in one of the Gene Roddenberry series. They just happen to be black and white prototypes, and still need some improvement on things like voice and touch-screen input. Tag in the biometric thumb scan security, and you'd have one interesting little overpriced device. :)
Displays

Rollable E Ink Displays Get Real 116

Posted by CmdrTaco from the just-don't-crease-it dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Two years ago Philips unveiled a prototype of a functional electronic-document reader, called the Readius, which could unroll its display to a scale larger than the device itself. Unfortunately, that was only a prototype. According to Cnet, however, Polymer Vision, which spun out from Philips in 2006, has redesigned the Readius and turned it into a real product that it is going to be available by the end of this year. There are some notable differences between this Readius and the prototype version, in particular, the ability to display 16 shades of grey instead of just 4 and the connectivity options. What doesn't make sense though, is given the energy efficiency and easy-to-read high contrast functionality of E Ink, why other than Motorola with its Motofone, has no other cell phone manufacturer incorporated E Ink technology into its handsets?"
NASA

Submission + - Take out asteroid soon, UN urged

Submitted by stevedmc
stevedmc writes: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21247126-2,00 .html

THE United Nations has been urged to launch a space mission designed to take out an asteroid threatening to smash into the Earth in 2036.

In scenes straight out of Hollywood action movie Armageddon, a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists say they are monitoring an asteroid named Apophis, which has a one in 45,000 chance of striking Earth on April 13, 2036.

A recent congressional mandate for NASA to upgrade its tracking of near-Earth asteroids is expected to uncover a host of threatening space rocks in the near future, former astronaut Rusty Schweickart said.

"It's not just Apophis we're looking at. Every country is at risk. We need a set of general principles to deal with this issue," Mr Schweickart, a member of the Apollo 9 crew that orbited the moon in March 1969, told an American Association for the Advancement of Science conference.

Mr Schweickart plans to present an update this week to the UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on plans to develop a blueprint for a global response to an asteroid threat.

The Association of Space Explorers, a group of former astronauts and cosmonauts, intends to host a series of high-level workshops this year to flesh out the plan and will make a formal proposal to the UN in 2009, he said.
Space

Interstellar Ark 703

Posted by CmdrTaco from the yeah-good-luck-with-that dept.
xantox writes "There are three strategies to travel 10.5 light-years from Earth to Epsilon Eridani and bring humanity into a new stellar system : 1) Wait for future discovery of Star Trek physics and go there almost instantaneously, 2) Build a relativistic rocket powered by antimatter and go there in 22 years by accelerating constantly at 1g, provided that you master stellar amounts of energy (so, nothing realistic until now), but what about 3): go there by classical means, by building a gigantic Ark of several miles in radius, propulsed by nuclear fusion and featuring artificial gravity, oceans and cities, for a travel of seven centuries — where many generations of men and women would live ? This new speculation uses some actual physics and math to figure out how far are our fantasies of space travel from their actual implementation."
Space

Submission + - Einstein's twin paradox resolved

Submitted by
slashthedot
slashthedot writes: "An Indian American scientist Subhash Kak from Louisiana State University has resolved the 100+ years old Einstein's twin paradox. "The fact that time slows down on moving objects has been documented and verified over the years through repeated experimentation. But, in the previous scenario, the paradox is that the earthbound twin is the one who would be considered to be in motion — in relation to the sibling — and therefore should be the one aging more slowly. Einstein and other scientists have attempted to resolve this problem before, but none of the formulas they presented proved satisfactory. Kak's findings were published online in the International Journal of Theoretical Science, and will appear in the upcoming print version of the publication."
"The implications of this resolution will be widespread, generally enhancing the scientific community's comprehension of relativity. It may eventually even have some impact on quantum communications and computers, potentially making it possible to design more efficient and reliable communication systems for space applications."
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-02/lsu -lpr021407.php"
Microsoft

Submission + - The *REAL* facts of Linux vs Windows ?

Submitted by yorugua
yorugua writes: From the report: "Considering the publicity that has surrounded — and, despite super new security-focused Service Packs, continues to surround — Windows security issues, Microsoft's determination to demonstrate that Linux is less secure than Windows shows a certain chutzpah. The company has however had some support here; Forrester, for example, provides some numbers that can be used to support the contention that Microsoft flaws are less severe, less numerous and fixed faster. And although there's a general readiness among users to believe that Windows is a security disaster area, there's also a reasonable amount of support for the view that Linux would get just as many security issues if it had anything like Windows' user base.". PDF available at http://regmedia.co.uk/2004/10/22/security_report_w indows_vs_linux.pdf . Let the flam^H^H^H^Hdiscussion begin.

Slashdot Top Deals

Intel CPUs are not defective, they just act that way. -- Henry Spencer

Close