Comment: Asimov's 3 laws (Score 1) 95
Sounds like a robot defending itself.
The Pizza Tracker 2
Posted
by
samzenpus
If you are one of those people who just has to know the status of your pizza, accurate to within 40 seconds, Domino's has a solution for you. Pizza Tracker. Yes, Pizza Tracker is the cure for all of your slice anxiety. Chris McGlothlin, technology chief at Domino's actually says, "It's an emotional roller coaster when you order. Customers wonder: Did they get my order? Are they taking care of me? Will it show up?"
+ - RIAA Wants $1.5 Million Per CD Copied->
Submitted
by
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "Not content with current statutory damages, the RIAA is pushing for higher damages for infringement, damages that would total $1.5 million for copying a CD with ten songs. It's all part of debate over the proposed PRO-IP Act, one which William Patry, a lawyer who wrote the seminal seven-volume reference on US copyright law, called the most 'outrageously gluttonous IP bill ever introduced in the US.'"
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Air Sex *NSFW*
1
Posted
by
samzenpus
samzenpus writes "Just when I think it can't get any stranger the Japanese come up with the idea of air sex. It's for people who really like air guitar and have never touched another person. At least it looks safe, except for your dignity of course."
Wired: Foreigners Keep Out! High Tech Mapping Starts to Redefine International Borders->
From feed
by
wiredfeed
Where does America end? In the age of high-tech undersea mapping, redefining long-settled borders is a trillion-dollar question.
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
+ - RIAA Website Wiped Clean by Hackers 2
Submitted
by
An anonymous reader writes "Apparently the RIAA forgot to hire a decent programmer. With a simple SQL injection, all the content from their website has been wiped from the site.
It started out on the social news website Reddit, where a link to a really slow SQL query was posted. While the Reddit users were trying to kill the RIAA server, someone allegedly decided to up the ante and wipe the site's entire database with just a simple SQL injection."
It started out on the social news website Reddit, where a link to a really slow SQL query was posted. While the Reddit users were trying to kill the RIAA server, someone allegedly decided to up the ante and wipe the site's entire database with just a simple SQL injection."
+ - Perl.com hijacked 2
Submitted
by
dbrossard
dbrossard writes "It appears as if www.perl.com has been hijacked. Browsing to it with a web browser redirects you to one of those annoying ad/domain squatters. However, using wget you can get the actual index page from perl.com's website. If you look really fast while loading you will see the URL icon too."
Science Daily: Scientists Uncover Role Of Cancer Stem Cell Marker: Controlling Gene Expression->
From feed
by
sdfeed
Scientists have made an extraordinary advance in the understanding of the function of a gene previously shown to be part of an 11-gene "signature" that can predict which tumors will be aggressive and likely to spread. The gene, USP22, encodes an enzyme that appears to be crucial for controlling large scale changes in gene expression, one of the hallmarks of cancer cells.
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
+ - Flexible work hours increase productivity 35%->
Submitted
by
Technical Writing Geek
Technical Writing Geek writes "This is radical stuff. So radical that Cali and Jody rolled ROWE out in several divisions over a couple years before fully briefing CEO Brad Anderson on the program (he's now an enthusiast). Today, nearly all of the 4,000 headquarters employees are working in ROWE and there are plans for pilots among retail employees this year (which will be interesting to watch).
The results have been spectacular: an average 35% boost in productivity in divisions working in ROWE and a decrease in voluntary turnover by 52-90% depending on department. (Interestingly, involuntary turnover increased among ROWE workers — while it might seem like slacker paradise, shirkers have no place to hide when the only measure of work is results. What's more, as the number of meetings fell, collaboration and teamwork improved.) Just as important, employee engagement and other "soft" metrics (like energy and hours of sleep and family time) went up significantly.
http://www.mavericksatwork.com/?p=108"
Link to Original Source
The results have been spectacular: an average 35% boost in productivity in divisions working in ROWE and a decrease in voluntary turnover by 52-90% depending on department. (Interestingly, involuntary turnover increased among ROWE workers — while it might seem like slacker paradise, shirkers have no place to hide when the only measure of work is results. What's more, as the number of meetings fell, collaboration and teamwork improved.) Just as important, employee engagement and other "soft" metrics (like energy and hours of sleep and family time) went up significantly.
http://www.mavericksatwork.com/?p=108"
Link to Original Source
+ - Prosthetic-limbed runner disqualified from Olympic->
Submitted
by
contraba55
contraba55 writes "Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee sprinter, has been denied a shot at the Olympics... for being too fast. The runner — who uses carbon-fiber, prosthetic feet — was reviewed by the International Association of Athletics Federations (or IAAF), a review which found the combination of man and machine to be too much for its purely human competitors. According to the IAAF report, the "mechanical advantage of the blade in relation to the healthy ankle joint of an able bodied athlete is higher than 30-percent." Additionally, Pistorius uses 25-percent less energy than average runners due to the artificial limbs, therefore giving him an unfair advantage on the track... or so they say. Oscar is expected to appeal the decision, saying a lack of variables explored by the single scientific study calls for deeper investigation into the matter."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
+ - Drug Marketed to Enhance Gaming Abilities->
Submitted
by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes "A German PC maker has decided to market FPSBrain, a drug geared at increasing your gaming abilities. From the manufacturer, "Being ambitious computer players ourselves, we are almost daily working on optimizing our computer systems in order to achieve maximum performance. Despite all the investment, one factor has not been considered: the player himself. FpsBrain was developed to maximize the playing skills of the computer player." Basically vitamins and caffeine."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
+ - FDA Approves Cloned Animals for Food->
Submitted
by
DeltaV900
DeltaV900 writes ""The long-awaited FDA report concludes that foods from healthy cloned animals and their offspring are as safe as those from ordinary animals, effectively removing the last U.S. regulatory barrier to the marketing of meat and milk from cloned cattle, pigs and goats."
Next on the approval list for the FDA: Soylent Cow."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
+ - Microsoft responds to strange Xbox 360 signal->
Submitted
by
Lizarazu
Lizarazu writes "A Computerworld article reports that after over a month Microsoft has finally issued a 43-word statement on the report of a strange, strong radio signal apparently generated by its Xbox 360 game console that was originally noticed by a New York College.
Microsoft's statement says the problem could be anything, and that Microsoft should not be blamed because the Xbox meets federal requirements, and that it has not received reports about it.
The entire statement, averaging about one word per day, is: "Any number of scenarios could account for wireless LAN disruptions in a college dorm environment where several electronic devices operate in close proximity. Xbox 360 complies with all applicable FCC regulations and we have not received reports that would indicate such a problem."
According to the story however, Microsoft are guilty of a severe case of beating around the bush."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
+ - Filming an Invasion Without Extras
Submitted
by
Ponca City, We Love You
Ponca City, We Love You writes "Kevin Kelly has an interesting blog post on how a World War II D-Day invasion was staged in a few days with four guys and a video camera using batches of smaller crowds replicated computationally to produce very convincing non-repeating huge crowds. Filmmakers first used computer generated crowds about ten years ago ago and the technique became well known in the Lord of the Rings trilogy but now crowds can be generated from no crowds at all — just a couple of people. "What's new is that the new camera/apps are steadily becoming like a word processor — both pros and amateurs use the same one," says Kelly. "The same gear needed to make a good film is today generally available to amateurs — which was not so even a decade ago. Film making gear is approaching a convergence between professional and amateur, so that what counts in artistry and inventiveness.""
Science Daily: New Way To Block Destructive Rush Of Immune Cells Found->
From feed
by
sdfeed
Researchers have found a way to selectively block the ability of white blood cells to "crawl" toward the sites of injury and infection when such mobility drives disease, according to a new study. The results suggest a new treatment approach for autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis, and for conditions made worse by misplaced inflammation, like atherosclerosis, stroke and transplant rejection, researchers said.
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source