Forgot your password?

Close
typodupeerror

Comment: Re:Hello World! Computer Programming for Kids and (Score 1) 525

My son has used this book, and I can thoroughly recommend it. It leads the kid through programming by getting them to write various games in python - increasing in complexity throughout. When I was kid learning to program, writing games is what I first wanted to do. The book gets the tone just right, and I think my son has enjoyed working with it.

Comment: Re:Don't like beer. (Score 1) 840

by Elessar (#36632098) Attached to: With regards to beer, I prefer it to be:

SNAP! Well almost snap. I don't like coffee (or tea), or smoking. I like beer, but turned teetotal 2.5 years ago for health reasons. Also don't do drugs (or religion, so being a mormon is definitely off).

Now, I'll just sit here by myself, reading slashdot and drinking my water. I'm enjoying myself dammit!!

Graphics

The First Photograph of a Human 138

Posted by samzenpus
from the fist-cheese dept.
wiredog writes "The Atlantic has a brief piece on what is likely to be the first photograph (a daguerreotype) showing a human. From the article: 'In September, Krulwich posted a set of daguerreotypes taken by Charles Fontayne and William Porter in Cincinnati 162 years ago, on September 24, 1848. Krulwich was celebrating the work of the George Eastman House in association with the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Using visible-light microscopy, the George Eastman House scanned several plates depicting the Cincinnati Waterfront so that scholars could zoom in and study the never-before-seen details.'"
Software

Ubuntu Replaces F-Spot With Shotwell 361

Posted by timothy
from the such-pretty-pictures dept.
climenole writes "Finally! The much discussed F-Spot vs. Shotwell battle is over. The new default image organizer app for Ubuntu Maverick 10.10 is going to be Shotwell. This is a much-needed change; F-Spot was simply not enough. Most of the times when I tried F-Spot, it just keeps crashing on me. Shotwell on the other hand feels a lot more solid and is better integrated with the GNOME desktop. Shotwell is also completely devoid of Mono."
Linux

Deadline Scheduling Proposed For the Linux Kernel 113

Posted by timothy
from the work-expands-to-fill-the-available-time-slices dept.
c1oud writes "At the last Real-Time Linux Workshop, held in September in Dresden, there was a lot of discussion about the possibility of enhancing real-time capabilities of Linux by adding a new scheduling class to the Linux kernel. According to most kernel developers, this new scheduling class should be based on the Earliest Deadline First (EDF) real-time algorithm. The first draft of the scheduling class was called 'SCHED_EDF,' and it was proposed and discussed on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML) just before the workshop. Recently, a second version of the scheduling class (called 'SCHED_DEADLINE,' to meet the request of some kernel developers) was proposed. Moreover, the code has been moved to a public git repository on Gitorius. The implementation is part of a FP7 European project called ACTORS, and financially supported by the European commission. More details are available."
First Person Shooters (Games)

Playing a First-Person Shooter Using Real Guns 225

Posted by Soulskill
from the and-shovels dept.
Blake writes "A group called Waterloo Labs rigged up a few accelerometers to a large wall and projected a first-person shooter onto it. Using some math, they can triangulate the position of impacts on the wall, so naturally they found someone with a gun and bought a large case of ammunition. Even cooler, this group usually posts a 'how we did it' video a few weeks after a project's debut, including source code."
Image

Japanese Researchers Create Skiing Robot 52 Screenshot-sm

Posted by samzenpus
from the can-it-ski-the-k-12 dept.
An anonymous reader writes "In a bid to better understand the art of an effective ski turn researchers have recently built a robot to simulate the exact movements of a skier. The team of researchers from Kanazawa University in Japan built the ski robot to investigate the existing movements of skier's turns and see if there is any room for improvement on current techniques."
Data Storage

Break through in storage capacities->

Submitted by Elessar
Elessar writes "The BBC is running an article here about a break through made at Glasgow University in storage capacities. The article is light on technical detail, but claims that using the technique 0.5 petabytes can be squeezed onto a chip the size of a two pence piece (a little larger than the size of a quarter). From the article: "The fact these switches work on carbon means that they could be embedded in plastic chips so silicon is not needed and the system becomes much more flexible both physically and technologically.""
Link to Original Source

Comment: Re:Mobile Farms (Score 1) 388

by Elessar (#17287388) Attached to: World's Largest Wind Farm Gets Green Light
One of the biggest problems with offshore electricity generation is how you hook the power you generate back into the grid. Obviously there has to be some kind of cable going from where you are generating back into some form of onshore infrastructure to distribute the electricity to where it needs to be to be useful.

France To Force iTunes to Open to Other Players? 325

Posted by ScuttleMonkey
from the capitalism-doesn't-always-play-nice dept.
JordanL writes "It appears that France is pushing through a law that some feel may force Apple to open iTunes to other players. From the article: 'Under a draft law expected to be voted in parliament on Thursday, consumers would be able to legally use software that converts digital content into any format. It would no longer be illegal to crack digital rights management -- the codes that protect music, films and other content -- if it is to enable to the conversion from one format to another.'"

Sony Already Lost Media War to Apple? 325

Posted by Zonk
from the tech-products-fight dept.
Declan McCullagh writes "Sony's Walkman was the king of media players. Now Apple's iPod is, and Sony Connect was a flop. But Sony's problems may soon be even bigger: the company is having a remarkably difficult time coordinating software development across different divisions and continents, and some managers are worried that things may be getting worse. Will Apple's recent forays into the living room create even more of a problem for Sony?"

Comcast Accused of Blocking VoIP 325

Posted by Zonk
from the comcastic-is-not-a-word dept.
kamikaze-Tech writes "Comcast, the largest USA Broadband provider is being accused of VoIP blocking, just days before they release their own VoIP offering. According to a long standing thread on the Vonage Forums, many Comcast ISP users are unable to use Vonage. Tempers are flaring: 'Although you will see all manner of opinions on this thread, there seems to be a sentiment that - politely put - Comcast could really be doing a better job of carrying Vonage bits.' Looks as though this could be the beginning of the broadband quality wars, with Comcast taking the first step."

Know Thy User.