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+ - PDP-11 still working in Nuclear Plants - for 37 more years-> 1

Submitted by Taco Cowboy
Taco Cowboy writes "Most of the younger /. readers never heard of PDP-11, while we geezers have to retrieve bits and pieces of our affairs with PDP-11 from the vast warehouse inside our memory lanes



PDP-11, the old work horse, are still proving their worth in GE nuclear plants, and they will be working there for 37 more years, until year 2,050

Which means, they are still trying to look for people who can work PDP-11

If you are out of a job, a knowledge of PDP-11 assembly language may land you a very comfy living

"
Link to Original Source

Comment: We have failed (Score 4, Insightful) 333

Look at yourselves. Go on, look at you. People of the United States, you've been had. Hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Run amuck

If it were people of Turkey or people of any banana republic, I can't fault them, not even a bit, for human beings are very easily bamboozled

However, for the Americans - I am one of them - THERE IS NO EXCUSE !!

The founding fathers had repeatedly reminded us, in their writings, of the dangers of letting the government runs amok

The founding fathers had even outlined what could went wrong, and what did went wrong in their time, and what they had done to rectify the wrongs

So many of our ancestors sacrificed so much in their struggle to regain their liberties, and yet, look at us

Are we even fit to call ourselves "AMERICANS" ??

We have failed

We have failed to uphold the spirit of America

We have failed the founding fathers

And more importantly, we have failed our children, and their children, in giving away our country and our liberties to the scoundrels

User Journal

Journal: Idealist Geeks ?

Journal by Taco Cowboy

Just heard the term "Idealist Geeks" over the BBC worldservice

The guy was talking about folks like Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden - digital age kids (geeks really) who are really good at the technology that spy agencies (like NSA) just can't do without

Of all the people in the world, why we Geeks have to take all the responsibilities all by ourselves ?

Comment: Innovation only from Google, FB, Apple ?? (Score 5, Insightful) 307

Without pioneering folks like Jack Kilby, you think we have electronic computers ?

Without hardware providers such as Intel which transformed CPU into affordable commodity items, you think we get $399 iPhone/iPad ?

And by the way, what kind of "innovation" FB has brought to the world ?

+ - UK government "muzzling" scientists->

Submitted by taikedz
taikedz writes "Fiona Fox, chief executive of the Science Media Centre (SMC), has claimed that leading scientists independently advising the UK government are being actively prevented from speaking to the public and media, especially in times of crisis when scientific evidence is necessary for a fully open and educated public debate, such as the current badger culling policy, and the past volcanic eruptions and ash fallout and their effects. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), whom many of these scientists are advising, denies any such practices."
Link to Original Source

+ - Birthday Song's Copyright Leads to a Lawsuit for the Ages->

Submitted by chriscappuccio
chriscappuccio writes ""The song “Happy Birthday to You” is widely credited for being the most performed song in the world. But one of its latest venues may be the federal courthouse in Manhattan, where the only parties may be the litigants to a new legal battle.

The dispute stems from a lawsuit filed on Thursday by a filmmaker in New York who is seeking to have the court declare the popular ditty to be in the public domain, and to block a music company from claiming it owns the copyright to the song and charging licensing fees for its use.

The filmmaker, Jennifer Nelson, was producing a documentary movie, tentatively titled “Happy Birthday,” about the song, the lawsuit said. In one proposed scene, the song was to be performed.""
Link to Original Source

+ - Sharp develops the worlds most efficient solar cell

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Sharp has achieved the world’s highest solar cell conversion efficiency of 44.4%, using a concentrator triple-junction compound solar cell. These solar cells are used in a lens-based concentrator system that focuses sunlight on the cells to generate electricity. Sharp’s concentrator triple-junction compound solar cells use a proprietary technology that enables the efficient conversion of sunlight into electricity by means of a stack of three photo-absorption layers, the bottommost of which is made from InGaAs (indium gallium arsenide)."

+ - Dotcom alleges Megaupload raid was part of deal to film The Hobbit->

Submitted by c0lo
c0lo writes "Kim Dotcom alleges, in an 20 mins interview with the Australian public television, that Megaupload was offered up by the New Zealand's PM "on a silver platter" as part of negotiations with Warner Brothers executives for shooting the Hobbit in New Zealand. He promises that he'll substantiate the claims in court.

He also says that the extradition case the US govt is weak and the reason behind the latest delay in extradition hearing (postponed from August this year to March next year) is an attempt to bleed Dotcom dry of his money

Also interesting, Dotcom says that the latest debacle of the massive scale online online surveillance by US spy agencies has triggered an "explosion" of interest in mega.co.nz, the "cloud storage" site with user generated encryption

Kim Dotcom uploaded yesterday on youtube a footage of the raid, as captured by security cameras in his mansion: helicopters, anti-terror police, silenced rifles fitted with scopes, dogs, already prepared tow trucks for his car collection"
Link to Original Source

Comment: Think again ! (Score 4, Interesting) 327

Because informed voters are extremely dangerous

Think again !!

Voters, whether they are of the "informed" group, or otherwise, most of them can not comprehend that much anyway

I was listening to BBC's world service just yesterday and they had a BRITISH PROFESSOR spinning his yarn for NSA

If a PROFESSOR can say things like that, you think Joe Six Pack can think otherwise ?

Comment: Human are stupid everywhere (Score -1, Flamebait) 327

Is it too late for the NSA to spin this as just a huge misunderstanding?

Actually taking this into consideration, no, it's not too late.

Too many Americans are too fucking stupid to give enough of a shit for these revelations to cause real change.

Actually too many humans staying OUTSIDE of the United States of America are as fucking stupid as those who stay inside.

There ought to be a great opportunity for creative advertising agencies to formulate new worldwide massive round of spin campaign for the very cash-rich No Such Agency

The Internet

NSA Surveillance May Have Dealt Major Blow To Global Internet Freedom Efforts 327

Posted by samzenpus
from the one-giant-bad-apple dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Simply put, the US government has failed in its role as the 'caretaker' of the internet. Although this was never an official designation, America controls much of the infrastructure, and many of the most popular services online are provided by a handful of American companies. The world is starting to sober up to the fact that much of what they've done online in the last decade is now cataloged in a top-secret facility somewhere in the United States. The goal has been to promote internet freedom around the world, but we may have also potentially created a blueprint for how authoritarian governments can store, track, and mine their citizens' digital lives."

"If it's not loud, it doesn't work!" -- Blank Reg, from "Max Headroom"

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