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Comment: Re:Ars Scrapes the bottom of the barrel (Score 0) 161

by Lulfas (#39592939) Attached to: The Story Behind Australia's CSIRO Wi-Fi Claims
Was this an obvious invention/solution? No That is part of where the question comes in. All the tech used was already invented and known about. Of the three key pieces, OFDM was in papers from the 50s, interleaving in the 60s, and forward error correction in the late 60s. There was even a modem made on these principles sold to the US military 20 years earlier.
Crime

Flawed Forensic Evidence Explains Anthony Acquitta 1

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes "CNN reports that as public outrage reaches critical mass over Casey Anthony's release from jail, trial observers who agree with the jury's verdict say holes in the state's forensic case in a trial based largely on circumstantial evidence help explain why she was acquitted in daughter Caylee's death. "A courtroom isn't a scientific lab and evidence shouldn't come in before it has been accepted in a relevant scientific community," says professor Adina Schwartz. Arguably, the most disputed testimony came from Dr. Arpad Vass, the inventor of a new method of testing air for chemicals indicative of decomposition who told the jury that testing of air samples, carpet, scrapings from the wheel well and a spare tire cover from the car found a handful of compounds associated with human decomposition. "He comes in and says, I have invented this new air analysis system and I can tell this is a decomposing body. He didn't say it was consistent, he said it had to be a decomposing body. That's the kind of grandiose claim that you can pretty much never make in forensic science because we don't yet have the research and facts to back it up," says Schwartz. A rare method of analyzing a strand of hair for signs of decomposition was also presented to the jury, much to the surprise of forensic scientists and lawyers watching the case. "I wouldn't call it all junk science, but it wasn't ready for court, and just by letting it in doesn't mean the jury's going to buy it," says defense lawyer and forensic consultant Keith Murray. "I'm sure we'll see more of this stuff down the road; hopefully it'll be more refined by then. It just wasn't ready for prime time.""
Social Networks

Researcher Trolls MMO, Ethical violations->

Submitted by Chas
Chas writes "Approximately two years ago, a story popped up on Slashdot about a researcher, David Meyers (aka Twixt) who had supposedly spent time "studying" players in the City of Heroes MMO. At the time, there was a lot of media attention about the subject. After a short time, it dropped and nothing more was heard on it until now.

Apparently one of the players who was upset did more than simply rant on a board. The player, who had some of their own training in sociology contacted both NCSoft and Loyola University to notify them about the ethical violations of experimenting on people (especially minors) without their permission.

Since then the Mr. Meyers has scrubbed almost all reference to his paper from his CV, and a book deal was quietly killed."
Link to Original Source

Online collaboration helps Mumbai attack victims->

Submitted by
GillBates0
GillBates0 writes "CNN has a nice story about how online collaboration swiftly helped form a centrally organized online disaster effort during Wednesday's Mumbai attacks. India accounts for almost one fifth of the world's cell phone subscribers. At a time when chaos reigned, and voice calls were jammed, a loose collaboration of techies, laymen, and good samaritans quickly collaborated online via social media, Wikipedia, Google docs and other online resoureces to coordinate blood donors, assistance, rides, and other services to help the victims of the attack."
Link to Original Source
Education

Tennessee Bill Helps Teachers Challenge Evolution 735

Posted by Soulskill
from the dueling-with-zombie-darwin dept.
sciencehabit writes "In a 70-28 vote yesterday, the Tennessee House of Representatives passed HB 368 (PDF), a bill that encourages science teachers to explore controversial topics without fear of reprisal. Critics say the measure will enable K-12 teachers to present intelligent design and creationism as acceptable alternatives to evolution in the classroom. If the bill passes, Tennessee would join Louisiana as the second state to have specific 'protection' for the teaching of evolution in the classroom."

Unix: Some say the learning curve is steep, but you only have to climb it once. -- Karl Lehenbauer