Doofus - Slashdot User

Tablet computer designed 15 years before iPad; prior art, anyone?-> 0

Submitted by Doofus on Saturday March 10, @08:47AM

Doofus writes "The Washington Post has a profile of Roger Fidler, who "invented" the tablet computer in the 1990s, while working as a visionary for newspaper firm Knight-Ridder. He is now embroiled in the Apple/Samsung legal war, as an expert witness. Fidler admits that other prior art influenced him, such as the tablets being used as computing devices in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Prior prior art."
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Tablet computer designed 15 years before iPad; prior art, anyone?-> 0

Submitted by Doofus on Friday March 09, @04:20PM

Doofus writes "Roger Fidler, who worked for Knight-Ridder, had a "skunk-works" lab next door to Apple in the 1990s.

Fidler invented the "tablet" computer in 1994, long before Apple patented the design (2004). Of course, he admits (in the article) that the tablets in 2001: A Space Odyssey may have influenced him. Prior prior art."
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School system choose Windows 7 tablet over iPad-> 0

Submitted by Doofus on Friday February 17, @11:37AM

Doofus writes "Network World is reporting that the Charlottesville City public school district has selected a Fujitsu tablet running Windows 7 over the Apple iPad. The school's IT team decided that the Fujitsu Windows 7 tablet came out ahead of the iPad on security and durability.
The integrity of iPad's glass was an issue, and Fujitsu's tablet can withstand shock resulting from drops and also can operate in demanding environments, said Dean Jadlowski, director of technology for the Charlottesville City Schools, in a statement. The Q550 can last longer in backpacks and reduce repairs, which could reduce maintenance costs.

"
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Bill Gates: 'I wrote Steve Jobs a letter as he was-> 0

Submitted by Doofus on Saturday January 28, @09:02PM

Doofus writes "Bill Gates wrote Steve Jobs an appreciative letter before Jobs' death. The letter apparently meant so much to Jobs that he kept the letter by his bed in the days leading up to his death."
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Learn to code, it's fun and easy!-> 0

Submitted by Doofus on Thursday January 12, @04:05PM

Doofus writes "In another of an increasing number of opinion pieces I've seen in many places, an author is citing Bloomberg's promise to "learn to code" as a reason why everyone and his or her sibling should learn to write software.

Anyone else afraid of the rush of the unskilled masses into the coding trenches? Anyone else remember the flood of wanna-bes several years ago who were incapable of doing real programming but wanted the $ real coders were making?"
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Flying Spaghetti Monster visits Leesburg VA-> 1

Submitted by Doofus on Friday December 16, @04:59PM

Doofus writes "The Washington Post has an interesting article about the growing local conflicts over the use of the Loudoun County Courthouse grounds for holiday themed and religious displays. The Flying Spaghetti Monster has made an appearance, along with pirates."
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Skynet becomes more real every day-> 0

Submitted by

Doofus

on Tuesday September 20 2011, @06:49AM

Doofus writes "An article in yesterday's Washington Post, A future for drones: Automated killing, describes the steady progress the military is making toward fully autonomous networks of targeting and killing machines.

Does this (concern|scare|disgust) any of you?
After 20 minutes, one of the aircraft, carrying a computer that processed images from an onboard camera, zeroed in on the tarp and contacted the second plane, which flew nearby and used its own sensors to examine the colorful object. Then one of the aircraft signaled to an unmanned car on the ground so it could take a final, close-up look.

Target confirmed.

This successful exercise in autonomous robotics could presage the future of the American way of war: a day when drones hunt, identify and kill the enemy based on calculations made by software, not decisions made by humans. Imagine aerial “Terminators,” minus beefcake and time travel.

The article goes on to discuss the dangers of surrendering to fully autonomous killing, concerns about the potential for "atrocities", and the nature of what we call "common sense"."
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IE IQ Report a Hoax-> 0

Submitted by Doofus on Thursday August 04 2011, @06:48AM

Doofus writes "Slashdot — editors, submitters, and commenters alike — were all snowed by the recent "study" about Internet Explorer user community having a lower mean IQ than users of other browsers. The linked story describes the hoax.
CNN, NPR, CNET, London’s Daily Mail, Forbes, and BBC were among the many outlets that ran stories citing the report. But members of the public quickly raised eyebrows over the supposed findings, pointing out that that AptiQuant appeared to have set up its site only last month, the BBC reported Wednesday in a story on the elaborate hoax. Readers also discovered that the photographs used on AptiQuant's page were taken from the site of an established French research company.

"
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Is AI research really about immortality?-> 0

Submitted by Doofus on Friday July 29 2011, @02:04PM

Doofus writes "In the New Scientist article, Existence: Where did my consciousness come from?, the author references a theory of consiousness proposed by Giuilio Tononi of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The theory, at bottom, is that a human being's consciousness is the result of the brain's "integration" of all available information, both internal and external (e.g., sensory stimuli).

Rather than building machinery to house artificial, programmed intelligences, is the true root of AI research about creating machines complex enough to transfer human consciousness from biological to non-biological, potentially immortal scaffolding?"
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Doctor Who's Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane), dead-> 0

Submitted by Doofus on Tuesday April 19 2011, @11:07PM

Doofus writes "NPR reports that Elisabeth Sladen, who played the Doctor's assistant Sarah Jane, has died. Sladen played opposite Jon Pertwee and then Tom Baker, and eventually earned her own show. BBC stories here, including a picture with K9, and here."
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