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arkhan_jg (618674)

arkhan_jg
  (email not shown publicly)

  Hardware: Mouse or Trackball? 2007-08-01 11:59

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 01 2007, @11:59AM
from the one-for-the-wife dept.
Loconut1389 writes "I've been an avid mouse user for years, but lately all of the wrist movements have added up and combined with a desire for some added precision when not using my tablet in photoshop, I decided to purchase a large trackball. Logitech makes a few with a small, thumb controlled ball, but it looked like you'd get a tired thumb and have no added precision. After searching around, it seems that the only large one really available is a Kensington for about $90. Only CompUSA seemed to even carry the kensington in-store (and had none in stock). After ordering one online and using it for a few days now, I don't know how I ever lived with a mouse. The trackball has better precision, less wrist movement, and even gaming is pretty cool/easy with it (can spin it to whip around real quick, etc). All that said, it seems like trackballs have all but vanished except in medical fields (sonograms, etc) and perhaps graphic arts. I'm left insanely curious why trackballs haven't resurfaced now that optical technologies have fixed the main problems of old trackballs (and mice). Do you use a trackball? If so, are you in graphic design?"
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 [+] story, hardware, inputdev, trackpad, tracking, centipede, marblemadness
Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday August 01 2007, @10:33AM
from the still-no-excuse-for-you dept.
Tech.Luver writes "Gene Expression reports, "Tyler Cowen quotes from a new study testing the relationship between grades and delayed sexual activity. Last December I passed a paper along to Razib showing that high-school age adolescents with higher IQs and extremely low IQs were less likely to have had first intercourse than those with average to below average intelligence. (i.e. for males with IQs under 70, 63.3% were still virgins, for those with IQs between 70-90 only 50.2% were virgin, 58.6% were virgins with IQs between 90-110, and 70.3% with IQs over 110 were virgins) In fact, a more detailed study from 2000 is devoted strictly to this topic, and finds the same thing: Smart Teens Don't Have Sex (or Kiss Much Either). ""
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 [+] story, science, humor, idiocracy, noshitsherlock, duh

  Cigarettes - 11 percent more nicotine since 1998 2007-01-18 19:41 FiReaNGeL

Submitted by FiReaNGeL on Thursday January 18 2007, @07:41PM
FiReaNGeL writes "A reanalysis of nicotine yield from major brand name cigarettes has confirmed that manufacturers have steadily increased the levels of nicotine in cigarettes. This independent analysis, based on data submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) by the manufacturers, found that increases in smoke nicotine yield per cigarette averaged 1.6 percent each year, or about 11 percent over a seven-year period (1998-2005). Nicotine is the primary addictive agent in cigarettes."
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 [+] submission, science, biotech

  MySpace sued by 4 online predator victims 2007-01-18 15:01 doug141

Submitted by doug141 on Thursday January 18 2007, @03:01PM
doug141 writes "Four families have sued News Corp. and its MySpace social-networking site after their underage daughters were sexually abused by adults they met on the site.

"In our view, MySpace waited entirely too long to attempt to institute meaningful security measures that effectively increase the safety of their underage users," said a plaintiff's lawyer.

The lawyers who filed the latest lawsuits said the plaintiffs include a 15-year-old girl from Texas who was lured to a meeting, drugged and assaulted in 2006 by an adult MySpace user, who is currently serving a 10-year sentence in Texas after pleading guilty to sexual assault.The others are a 15-year-old girl from Pennsylvania, a 14-year-old from upstate New York and two South Carolina sisters, ages 14 and 15. Last June, the mother of a 14-year-old who says she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old user sued MySpace and News Corp., seeking $30 million in damages. That lawsuit, pending in a Texas state court, claims the 19-year-old lied about being a senior in high school to gain her trust and phone number."
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 [+] submission, court, parents

  Commercial DVR Software Comes to Desktop Linux 2007-01-18 14:43 Dustin Isom

Submitted by Dustin Isom on Thursday January 18 2007, @02:43PM
Dustin Isom writes "Linspire, Inc. developer of the commercial desktop Linux operating system of the same name and Freespire, the community desktop Linux operating system, and SageTV, a pioneer in personal video recording and home media center technologies that combine television, music and related media into a complete, easy-to-use home media experience, today announced the availability of SageTV Media Center Version 6 for users of the Linspire and Freespire desktop Linux operating system. SageTV Media Center software lets users watch, pause and record TV programs on their desktop and living room Linux PCs and provides a single user interface for accessing online video as well as personal music, photos and videos stored on the personal computer. The optional SageTV Placeshifter also enables users to access their home TV and entire PC-based media library on any Internet-connected Linspire PC at home or away from home."
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 [+] submission, linux, debian

  Pluto Probe Snaps Jupiter Pictures 2007-01-18 14:13 sighted

Submitted by sighted on Thursday January 18 2007, @02:13PM
sighted writes "The New Horizons probe, on its way to Pluto and beyond, is now speeding toward Jupiter. Today the team released some of the early data and pictures, which are the first close-range shots of the giant planet since the robotic Cassini spacecraft passed that way in 2001."
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 [+] submission, space