mass - Slashdot User

Molecular Interaction Maps using Googlemap 0

Submitted by

James

on Wednesday September 12 2007, @01:37PM

James writes "Was playing around on Google map api and an idea stuck me. Protein-protein Interaction map typically are huge and complex. It might just be possible to put it on Google Map. Markers can be placed on the map for additional comments, videos or pictures. Looking around maplib.net, think this should be the very first PPI image submitted. Anyone think this might be useful for knowledge sharing and collaboration? the map wiki:Protein-protein interaction"

Sun = Windows Server OEM-> 0

Submitted by strongmace on Wednesday September 12 2007, @01:36PM

strongmace writes "Everybody can now prepare to enjoy having Windows Server 2003 on Sun Hardware. See today's announcements here or here. You can also go to Sun's homepage for an audiocast."
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Is SEO worth it? 0

Submitted by

sabre307

on Wednesday September 12 2007, @01:29PM

sabre307 writes "Working as an IT Administrator for a small company means that I have to be the swiss army knife of technology, from programming to network administration to web master. Unfortunately, it means that quite often I get thrown into situations that I'm not really well versed in. Recently my boss approached me about Search Engine Optimization. Apparently he has been approached by a company that claims to specialize in this. I've taken a look at the company, and I'm not very impressed by them, but it has opened the door and now my boss wants me to do something to bring up our page ranking in search engines. I figured that the collective brains of /. could offer up some advice on how to handle it. First, do you have any ideas on things that could be done easily internally to improve our ranking? Second, are SEO companies worth the expense? Third, if they are worth the expense, how do you tell the wheat from the chaff or does anyone have any recommendations?"

Facebook under fire from breastfeeding advocates-> 0

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 12 2007, @01:29PM

An anonymous reader writes "After having images censored and even full user accounts canceled, a groundswell of support from Canadian groups who promote breastfeeding are angry at Facebook and say they should not have to defend a natural, healthy activity that is promoted by many medical groups and even the World Health Organization. "Photos containing an exposed breast do violate our terms and are removed," Facebook replied."
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Zinc lozenges an ineffective treatment for colds 1

Submitted by ardent99 on Thursday August 02 2007, @03:02PM

ardent99 writes "A new study (a meta-study?) shows that most of the past studies about the effectiveness of treating colds with zinc are severely flawed. The article finds that despite 20 years of research, the benefits of zinc lozenges as a therapy for the common cold have not been proven. A new study, published in the Sept. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, currently available online, reviews the 14 placebo-controlled studies from the past two decades and finds significant fault with 10 of the studies. Of the four remaining studies, three reported no therapeutic effect from zinc lozenge or nasal spray, and one study reported positive results from zinc nasal gel."

Terrorists are like Starfish (?)-> 0

Submitted by

Mark D. Drapeau

on Thursday August 02 2007, @02:39PM

Mark D. Drapeau writes "Could biological metaphors about networking and systems shed light on one of the most difficult issues of our time — terrorism? According to a new op-ed in the 31 July 2007 Washington Times, and a new book entitled The Starfish and the Spider, the answer is a resounding "Yes". An excerpt from the op-ed reads: *** Most large institutions are organized hierarchically with centralized leadership. Corporations have CEOs, armies have generals, countries have presidents. When competing against centralized organizations, promoting diffusion and disrupting cohesion are considered progressive. However, al Qaeda has a constantly mutating, horizontal structure composed of an inspirational catalyst in the form of Osama bin Laden and other central figures joined with numerous small groups brought together not by orders but ideology. Here, lack of structure is a strength. Little thought is given, however, to how such a decentralized terrorist network structure affects the strategy for combating it. "The Starfish and the Spider," a new book about corporate strategy written for a business audience, has a wider application — combating terrorism — and sheds light on this issue.*** Read more here: http://washingtontimes.com/article/20070731/COMMEN TARY/107310009/1012 And here: http://www.starfishandspider.com/"
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Americans Clueless About Cancer Risks-> 0

Submitted by

Invisible Pink Unicorn

on Thursday July 26 2007, @08:52AM

Invisible Pink Unicorn writes "A study conducted by the American Cancer Society found that a surprising number of Americans believe scientifically dubious claims concerning cancer, and that the groups with the greatest burden of cancer are the most likely to be misinformed. For example, the majority of survey respondents didn't think smoking was more likely to cause lung cancer than pollution — despite 87% of lung cancer cases being due to smoking. The most interesting finding was that people who described themselves as knowing the most about cancer were more likely to have false beliefs. Participants who labeled themselves as "very informed" about cancer were more likely to believe underwire bras cause breast cancer, or that quitting smoking did nothing to reduce cancer risks. The article abstract is availabe from the journal Cancer."
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FBI Requires a Warrant to Install Spyware 0

Submitted by mrogers on Thursday July 26 2007, @07:58AM

mrogers writes "The FBI requires a warrant to install spyware on a suspect's computer, according to a new appeals court ruling. An earlier ruling had appeared to grant the FBI permission to install spyware under the weaker provisions applied to pen registers, which record the telephone numbers or IP addresses contacted by a suspect. However, yesterday's amendment made it clear that the pen register provisions only apply to equipment installed at the suspect's ISP.

The FBI recently used spyware to determine the source of a hoax bomb threat, as reported here and here."

Blackdust, Anonymous Google For The Freedom Fighte-> 0

Submitted by Paris The Pirate on Thursday July 26 2007, @07:31AM

Paris The Pirate writes "Blackdust is an anonymous Google proxy — for the freedom fighter in you. From the site "When we search the web with Google its easy to forget that they are recording every search and every IP address. In fact unless you're very carefully with your cookies then Google probably knows you better than you know yourself. This freaks us out. And it should freak you out two. The fact that every aspect of our search behaviour is being recorded, and use of that data isn't really restricted by any laws or policies is a problem. Blackdust is the solution to the problem.""
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Privacy invaded by seeing yellow??-> 0

Submitted by

onebadv6

on Wednesday July 25 2007, @10:23AM

onebadv6 writes "Seeing Yellow Over Color Printer Tracking Devices by Bruce Byfield Bruce talks about the Electronic Frontier Foundation's revelation that most color printers contain encodings that are intended to prevent counterfeiting. Your right to privacy and anonymity are being compromised, he says.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000247"
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