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+ - A Computer-based Smart Rifle with Incredible Accuracy, Now On Sale->

Submitted by WheezyJoe
WheezyJoe writes "A story on NPR reports that the TrackingPoint rifle went on sale today, and can enable a "novice" to hit a target 500 yards away on the first try. "The rifle's scope features a sophisticated color graphics display. The shooter locks a laser on the target by pushing a small button by the trigger... But here's where it's different: You pull the trigger but the gun decides when to shoot. It fires only when the weapon has been pointed in exactly the right place, taking into account dozens of variables, including wind, shake and distance to the target. The rifle has a built-in laser range finder, a ballistics computer and a Wi-Fi transmitter to stream live video and audio to a nearby iPad. Every shot is recorded so it can be replayed, or posted to YouTube or Facebook."
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+ - Explosive Hog-Shit Foam->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "According to a presentation by agricultural researchers at the University of Minnesota, there's quicker, tangible ways for shit to kill us. Layers of noxious foam–up to four feet thick–collect atop vats of manure at hog farms. Working as an airseal, the foam can capture large amounts of flammable methane beneath its bubbly surface. A stray spark from a welder, a mechanical heat element, or a worker's cigarette can create flash-fires and incredible blasts, capable of incredible destruction.

While reports in the past have labeled farm explosions as "mysterious," awaiting evidence to link them to the shit bubbles, U of M's research offers some best practices for dealing with the fast-growing foam. Ventilation is key, and agitation of the stew is helpful. There is also talk of using monesin, an antibiotic generally given to cattle to help them grow faster, to treat the pits of dispair. Twenty-five pounds of monesin is effective in preventing half million-gallon tanks from foaming."
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+ - Build a Supercomputer Replica of the Human Brain->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Even by the standards of the TED conference, Henry Markram’s 2009 TEDGlobal talk was a mind-bender. In the four years since Markram’s speech, he hasn’t backed off a nanometer. The self-assured scientist claims that the only thing preventing scientists from understanding the human brain in its entirety—from the molecular level all the way to the mystery of consciousness—is a lack of ambition. If only neuroscience would follow his lead, he insists, his Human Brain Project could simulate the functions of all 86 billion neurons in the human brain, and the 100 trillion connections that link them. And once that’s done, once you’ve built a plug-and-play brain, anything is possible. You could take it apart to figure out the causes of brain diseases. You could rig it to robotics and develop a whole new range of intelligent technologies. You could strap on a pair of virtual reality glasses and experience a brain other than your own. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/05/neurologist-markam-human-brain/all/"
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+ - Automakers meet rules with 'compliance cars'->

Submitted by jehan60188
jehan60188 writes "FTA:

Automakers are in the uncomfortable position of building mostly at a loss a class of small electric cars that garner a lot of attention but few sales just to satisfy rules imposed by one state, California.

As a result, they've acquired the name "compliance cars."

They include electric versions of such familiar models as the Chevrolet Spark, Honda Fit and Toyota RAV4.

Most are being produced primarily or solely to meet California's mandate that large automakers sell a percentage of zero-emission cars in order to sell traditional cars in the state. Hybrids and natural gas cars aren't considered good enough, and hydrogen fuel-cell cars are still a ways off, so battery cars are the quickest way to comply.

Though automakers have held splashy unveilings of these electrics, they often are selling by the hundreds in an industry where tens of thousands determine profitability.

Limiting losses on the cars, not making a profit, has become the carmakers' initial goal. The state requires them not just to make but to sell the cars, and that has meant taking losses to bring down sale or lease prices on the relatively pricey cars to move them.

Last month, Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said his company would limit production of the electric Fiat 500e because it will lose $10,000 on each. "Doing that on a large scale would be masochism to the extreme," he said.

The Fiat 500e, at $32,500 before subsidies, is almost twice the price of the base model of a conventional base Fiat 500, but the company has discount-lease and other plans to add to government subsides and cut the final cost.

Like many of the other such cars, the 500e will be sold only in California when it rolls out this summer.

The California rules apply to automakers that sell at least 60,000 vehicles a year in the state, which means the Detroit makers, plus Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

Analisa Bevan, sustainable-technology chief for California's Air Resources Board, says 10 other states also will adopt California's zero-emission mandate.

Hybrids, CNG cars and clean-burning gas engines don't count. "They don't get us far enough" to meet air quality and climate-change goals like electrics, she says.

The compliance cars stand in contrast to the electric Nissan Leaf or Tesla Model S, which are being promoted nationwide with the goal of commercial success.

Some automakers are trying to straddle the line. Ford says, for instance, that its $39,200 Focus electric is being sold at select dealers in all states except Wyoming and West Virginia. Even at that, Ford sold 566 through April this year, compared with 84,455 conventional Focuses.

A service of YellowBrix, Inc."
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Comment: Re:Gun control however... (Score 1) 856

by mhajicek (#43700257) Attached to: California Lawmaker Wants 3-D Printers To Be Regulated
Reducing guns does reduce gun crime, but it tends to increase violent crime in general. I've never heard a gun control advocate use violent crime numbers, only gun crime numbers. Do some research on that and you'll answer your own questions. Also, knowing that my attacker is likely to go to prison after killing me would be a small comfort. Which brings me to the subject of the police. While they will usually protect the innocent if they have the chance, they cannot and will not be everywhere at all times. They cannot protect you from a home invasion or a back alley mugging unless you have the means to defend yourself for at least five minutes.

+ - How Should the Law Think About Robots?->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "With the personal robotics revolution imminent, a law professor and a roboticist (called Professor Smart!) argue that the law needs to think about robots properly. In particular, they argue that we should avoid "the Android Fallacy" — the idea that robots are just like us, only synthetic. Direct link for download: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2263363_code400644.pdf?abstractid=2263363&mirid=1."
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+ - State Department Demands Takedown of Printable Gun Schematics.->

Submitted by moeinvt
moeinvt writes "In the latest episode of the 3D-printed gun saga, Forbes reports that the U.S. Department of State has demanded that the plans and blueprints for the 3D-printed gun components be immediately "removed from public access". In a letter sent to Cody Wilson, the feds claim that the plans must be reviewed and approved by the "Directorate of Defense Trade Controls" (DDTC) to ensure that making them publicly available does not violate the "International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)" rules. Full text of the letter published in the Forbes article."
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+ - Thousands protesters in Beijing street, Chinese media and websites in lockdown

Submitted by centralcommittee
centralcommittee writes "Thousands of people, mostly migrant workers from Anhui province, held protest today (5/8/2013) on the 2nd Ring Road of Beijing, south of Temple of Heaven. The protest is in response to Beijing police's mishandling of the death of a girl from Anhui province, who was alleged to be gang-raped by shopping mall security guards and fell to her death last Friday. The government has deployed hundreds of police plus helicopters against the protesters, traffic near the protest site was blocked for miles. Currently the name of the shopping mall "Jingwen" has become a restricted word in major Chinese websites, user cannot post anything containing this word. The Chinese search engine Baidu also refuses to display any result for this word while Google returns more than 800,000 results for this word."

+ - The new AI, where neuroscience and artificial intelligence meet.->

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "We're seeing a new revolution in artificial intelligence known as deep learning, algorithms modeled after the brain have made amazing strides and have been consistently winning both industrial and academic data competitions with minimal effort. Are we ready to blur the line between hardware and wetware?"
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Distress, n.: A disease incurred by exposure to the prosperity of a friend. -- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"

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