Please create an account to participate in the Slashdot moderation system

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror

Slashdot videos: Now with more Slashdot!

  • View

  • Discuss

  • Share

We've improved Slashdot's video section; now you can view our video interviews, product close-ups and site visits with all the usual Slashdot options to comment, share, etc. No more walled garden! It's a work in progress -- we hope you'll check it out (Learn more about the recent updates).

Check out Videos
×

+ - Enjoy Emulation with an Adapter for All Retro Controllers by: Bliss-Box->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "With 4-Play you can connect any original console controller to a computer with up to four players at once.
The 4-Play is a universal console-to-USB controller adapter with 4 controller ports which allow up to 4 players to play at the same time on the Windows, Mac, Linux, or the PS3 with almost any controller of their choosing.

It uses adapter cables which allow a variety of console controllers to plug into the 4-Play's universal controller port. This allows the 4-Play to support a wide variety of controllers on one USB adapter. The best part? NO DRIVERS!

With the 4-Play almost any console controller in the history of gaming can now be used on Windows, OSX, Linux, Raspberry Pi, Android, and even the PS3!

The 4-Play does not require the installation of software drivers by the user. It's a plug-and-play device right out of the box. Any operating system that is USB aware and can support USB hubs will work with the 4-Play."
Link to Original Source

+ - Inside Bratislava's low-cost, open source bike share solution->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "The Bike Kitchen started WhiteBikes in Bratislava after a failed attempt by the city to finance a similar program. At first users shared donated bikes with the same lock code. They needed a system that would work somewhat automatically without the need for manual rentals (e.g. somebody giving out bicycles).

From there, smsBikeShare was born. Users registered with a mobile phone number and could send basic SMS commands (RENT, RETURN, FREE, WHERE, etc.). The system used an inexpensive SMS gateway API and a local message-back number to receive and respond to messages. Shared bicycles have a coded U-lock with a four-digit number, and upon renting a bike, users receive a code to unlock the bicycle and another to reset it to once they are done.

Send a message, receive the answer, unlock the bike, reset the lock, and you're off pedaling."
Link to Original Source

+ - The Guy Who Ruined Dogecoin->

Submitted by sarahnaomi
sarahnaomi (3948215) writes "Dogecoin was never supposed to be taken seriously.

The cryptocurrency based on the doge meme was originally started for shits and giggles. It attracted lighthearted individuals who were more interested in cracking jokes than in getting rich quick, who preferred to donate coins for causes both silly and serious than to hoard troves of digital treasure.

But its greatest strength was also its greatest weakness. The dizzying rise in popularity made Dogecoin a target. Its strong sense of community made it vulnerable.

For a predator, Dogecoin was simply irresistible.

Now, a little more than a year after the alternative cryptocurrency exploded onto the market, a man accused of stealing as much as $4 million worth of digital currency after taking over the online exchange platform MintPal has likely been arrested in the UK, according to multiple reports. But like so much in the bizarre saga of Dogecoin, the truth is difficult to pin down."
Link to Original Source

+ - Self-Driving Cars Will Be in 30 U.S. Cities by the End of Next Year->

Submitted by schwit1
schwit1 (797399) writes "Automated vehicle pilot projects will roll out in the U.K. and in six to 10 U.S. cities this year, with the first unveiling projected to be in Tampa Bay, Florida as soon as late spring. The following year, trial programs will launch in 12 to 20 more U.S. locations, which means driverless cars will be on roads in up to 30 U.S. cities by the end of 2016. The trials will be run by Comet LLC, a consulting firm focused on automated vehicle commercialization.

“We’re looking at college campuses, theme parks, airports, downtown areas—places like that,”"
Link to Original Source

+ - How IBM attracts, promotes and keeps women in tech->

Submitted by backabeyond
backabeyond (2830749) writes "The National Association for Female Executives list of top 50 companies for executive women list had only FOUR tech companies on it. IBM is one and it has been on the list for 17 years. The company has a bunch of programs designed to support women including classes. Sounds like its policies are replicable elsewhere..."
Link to Original Source

+ - Ask Slashdot: Why there is not a campaign against "Cloud Exclusive Hardware" ?

Submitted by martiniturbide
martiniturbide (1203660) writes "Today we can see a lot of hardware that is being sold that only works only against a cloud. There are many examples, like the Belkin NetCam HD+ (wifi webcam) that only works if you run it against their service (by seedonk) and if you don’t want to use their cloud, this hardware is useless. This is happening with a lot of new hardware and it does mean that you get the device cheap for being locked to their cloud, you are paying full price for this devices. On the internet there are just little groups trying to hack some of this hardware, but the consumer does not seems to care that if the manufacturer discontinue the service the hardware will be useless. Why there are no complains against this kind of hardware on the internet? Is it useless to fight “cloud exclusive hardware”? Should we care about it? Or we are so used to disposable hardware that we don’t care anymore?"

+ - Source 2 Will Also Be Free

Submitted by jones_supa
jones_supa (887896) writes "Valve is officially debuting its Source 2 engine at GDC this week alongside a host of other new technologies, and it's expected to launch at a competitive price: free. The news of its release coincides with Epic making Unreal Engine 4 free-to-download and Unity announcing a full-featured free version of Unity 5. Valve is making a show of marketing Source 2 not just to developers, but game creators of all stripes — including Steam Workshop creators. "With Source 2, our focus is on increasing creator productivity," stated Valve engineer Jay Stelly in a press release confirming the launch. "Given how important user generated content is becoming, Source 2 is designed not for just the professional developer, but enabling gamers themselves to participate in the creation and development of their favorite games." It's worth noting that Valve also plans to release a version of Source 2 that's compatible with Vulkan, the open-standard graphics API that's considered heir apparent to OpenGL."

Comment: Estimates are not the problem... it just sucks (Score 1) 347

by martiniturbide (#49141995) Attached to: The Programmers Who Want To Get Rid of Software Estimates
Is this real or maybe my english reading skills are not good enough to understand it.

Incorrect estimates are the problem. When non-experience people estimate, or when management force to under-estimate that is the real issue.

Estimates are necessary in software development, but of course that "estimating" sucks just like "deadlines", "taxes", "death", "breaking up with your girlfriend in person", "no wifi", "cancer", "divorce" and many other things.

I have a solution, why don't you go to your boss and say "Estimating sucks, and I would not do that because I don't want to compromise any time. So you can "Estimate" my monthly salary according to whatever deadline we will never accomplish".... that sounds fair.

Comment: Death to the MLC (Score 1) 164

by martiniturbide (#48818871) Attached to: The Mainframe Is Dead! Long Live the Mainframe!
I had been out of (what I used to know) the mainframe scene for a long while. The zOS was great an everybody loved the mainframe with the exception of the financial department. It was because of the "Monthly License Charge" that some Mainframe models used to have, the software was never licensed to you, it was "rented", so if you didn't pay the MLC you must disconnect the mainframe. Is the MLC over? Does anybody knows?

+ - Google aims to be your universal translator->

Submitted by mpicpp
mpicpp (3454017) writes "The latest Google Translate uses your phone's camera to read foreign street signs — even when off line.

Google is beaming a bit closer to Star Trek's universal translator with the newest edition of its Translate app.

Rolling out over the next few days for iOS and Android users, the latest version of Google Translate offers two key features — the ability to instantly converse with someone speaking in a different language and the capability to translate street signs and other images into your native language.

Both features have been available in the Android app to some extent. For example, Google Translate for Android has long offered real-time translation of conversations. But Google's goal behind the latest version of the app is to enhance and simplify the features so they work more quickly and fluidly without any lag time.

The latest version of Google Translate aims to change that. To converse with someone speaking in a different language, a user chooses his language and that of the other speaker. He then taps the microphone icon in the app, starts speaking in his native or selected language, and then taps the mic icon again. The app will recognize which of the two languages is being spoken, and then the two speakers can carry on their conversation without having to keep tapping the mic.

In a test of the app's instant translation, The New York Times said it did prove to be a step forward; though, it's not science fiction just yet. The app fared best with short sentences that didn't include jargon, and it worked better when the users paused between each translation.

Google also has beefed up the app's ability to translate street signs. Previously, you'd have to take a photo of the foreign text to get a translation of it. Now, you simply point your camera at the sign and the translated text appears overlaid on your screen — even if you're not connected to the Internet. This feature is made possible courtesy of Quest Visual's Word Lens app for iOS and Android, which Google acquired when it purchased the company last May.

This feature supports English translated to and from French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Google says it's working to add more languages."
Link to Original Source

+ - Man Saves Wife's Sight by 3D Printing Her Tumor->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Michael Balzer, a former software engineer and Air Force technical instructor, found himself unsatisfied with a doctor's diagnosis of a small tumor behind his wife's left eye. Balzer had recently become proficient at creating 3D models, so he asked the doctor for the raw medical imaging data and took a look himself. In addition to correcting a later misdiagnosis, Balzer 3D printed models of his wife's cranium and helped neurosurgeons plan a procedure to remove the tumor, instead of waiting to see how it developed, like previous doctors had recommended. During the procedure, surgeons found the tumor was beginning to entangle her optic nerve, and even a six-month wait would have had dire consequences for her eyesight.

Medical researchers like Dr. Michael Patton believe this sort of prototyping will become "the new normal" in a very short time. "What you can now do through 3D printing is like what you’re able to do in the software world: Rapid iteration, fail fast, get something to market quickly. You can print the prototypes, and then you can print out model organs on which to test the products. You can potentially obviate the need for some animal studies, and you can do this proof of concept before extensive patient trials are conducted."
Link to Original Source

+ - Ammonia Leak Alarm on the ISS Forces Evacuation of US Side, Crew Safe

Submitted by BabelBuilder
BabelBuilder (3984043) writes "A possible ammonia leak aboard the ISS this morning caused the crew to evacuate the US side of the station. All crew aboard the station is safe. According to Universe Today, "NASA says that an alarm sounded in the US segment at about 4 a.m. EST. indicating a possible ammonia leak. As a result, all six Expedition 42 astronauts and cosmonauts evacuated the US segment." NASA thinks the alarm triggered by the ammonia leak might be a false alarm, but is going over their data."

Take your work seriously but never take yourself seriously; and do not take what happens either to yourself or your work seriously. -- Booth Tarkington

Close