antialias02 - Slashdot User

Submission + - Paraglider survives after soaring to 32,000 feet

Submitted by mknewman on Friday February 16, 2007 @02:31PM

mknewman writes: ***You need to add an Aeronautics Topic under Science, Space is not appropriate and there are loads of interesting articles about non-space related flying topics*** — http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17185299/ Paraglider survives after soaring to 32,000 feet Woman awakens encased in ice after going higher than Mount Everest A German paraglider was encased in ice and blacked out after being sucked into a tornado-like thunderstorm in Australia and carried to a height greater than Mount Everest. She survived. The 2005 World Cup winner was lifted 32,612 feet (9,940 meters) above sea level by the storm near Manilla in New South Wales state while preparing for the tenth FAI World Paragliding Championships next week. A 42-year-old Chinese paraglider, He Zhongpin, was killed by the same weather system, apparently from a lack of oxygen and extreme cold, the organizers said. His body was found on Thursday 47 miles from his launch site. Wisnerska, whose flight was tracked by her personal GPS and computer, landed 40 miles from her launch site.

Silicon Valley - Still Important To Tech Advances 77

Posted by Zonk on Friday February 16, 2007 @02:16PM from the its-not-a-carbon-based-valley dept.

mrspin writes "This week the The New York Times sparked a lively debate by publishing an article which argued that, when it comes to creating innovative technology, geography still matters — and that Silicon Valley is the place to be. It's certainly true that Silicon Valley, compared with other innovation hot-spots, has the much needed Venture Capital and the connections that enable money to flow from one new company to another. Want proof? ZDNet takes a look at LinkSViewer, a new web-based visual networking tool for exploring capital relationships in Silicon Valley." Is the success of Valley-area projects the result of a more creative environment, or is the cachet of the area (and the resulting money) the reason behind their success?

Submission + - War of words over Wikipedia ads continues

Submitted by Willis W. on Friday February 16, 2007 @01:51PM

Willis W. writes: Wikipedia founder Jimbo Wales reiterates his opposition to advertising in response to reports that Wikipedia needs a major cash infusion. Responding to Jason Calacanis' charges that he 'has a fringe, anti-corporate bent to him' that is 'holding Wikipedia back,' Wales says that running ads on Wikipedia is not his decision to make. 'Though he personally dislikes the idea of advertising on Wikipedia, any decision to utilize ads would have to come from the community. At the moment, he won't rule anything out. "I can't say if I would ever support something like that," he tells Ars, "but I can say that I currently maintain the same position I always have: I am opposed to it."'

Vista Sales Expectations Too High, Office Doing Well 320

Posted by Zonk on Friday February 16, 2007 @01:43PM from the business-of-windowing dept.

PetManimal writes "A comparison of first-week retail sales of Vista compared to first-week sales of XP back in 2001 found that Vista sales were 60% lower. Steve Ballmer has admitted that earlier sales forecasts were 'overly aggressive,' but at least there is some good news for Microsoft: early Office 2007 sales were very strong compared to the early sales of Office 2003, despite almost no advertising or marketing until the retail launch at the end of January."

Journal Journal: GPL vs BSD - My take 1

Journal by chill on Friday February 16, 2007 @01:41PM

GPL can be summed up as "I'll share if you will, I won't if you won't." BSD can be summed up as "I'll share."

Feed Will MySpace Fly in Japan? (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed on Friday February 16, 2007 @01:12PM

The me-first attitude that makes the social networking site so successful in the United States may not play well in Japan, a more socially integrated society. By the Associated Press.

Submission + - Best games of the previous generation?

Submitted by Hatta on Friday February 16, 2007 @01:08PM

Hatta writes: I'm an avid gamer, but the hot new games never appealed to me. In fact, I'm perpetually a generation behind. I figure that games don't get any less fun because they're old. So with the recent release of the xbox 360, PS3, and Wii, it's about time for me to pick up a PS2 or XBOX. What games stand out as classics on each system? I'm particularly interested in RPGs, adventure games, platformers, and anything that's just too unique to miss.

'Daylight Savings Bugs' Loom 403

Posted by Zonk on Friday February 16, 2007 @01:07PM from the crush-those-critters dept.

An anonymous reader writes "ZDNet has front page coverage of the looming daylight savings changeover, and the bugs that may crop up this year. With the extension of daylight savings time by four weeks, some engineers and programmers are warning that unprepared companies will experience serious problems in March. While companies like Microsoft have already patched their software, Gartner is warning that bugs in the travel and banking sectors could have unforeseen consequences in the coming months. ' In addition, trading applications might execute purchases and sales at the wrong time, and cell phone-billing software could charge peak rates at off-peak hours. On top of that, the effect is expected to be felt around the world: Canada and Bermuda are conforming to the U.S.-mandated change, and time zone shifts have happened in other locales as well.'" Is this just more Y2K doomsaying, or do you think there's a serious problem here?

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