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Biotech

Umbilical Cord Blood Banking? 409

Posted by kdawson
from the banking-on-future-research dept.
Maestro writes "There must be many parents (and soon-to-be parents) here at Slashdot. What are your thoughts on umbilical cord blood banking? This seems like a major question for our newborn; the question is almost as stressful for us as naming the baby. Given Obama's stance on stem cells, the topic is timely. My understanding is that while the current uses for cord blood are limited, the sky's the limit for the future of stem cell therapies. But with the initial cost over $1000, and ongoing yearly fees, is it worth it?"
Sci-Fi

Peter Jackson to Produce 'The Hobbit'

Submitted by P3NIS_CLEAVER
P3NIS_CLEAVER writes "Peter Jackson and New Line Cinema have buried the hatchet and have reached an agreement to share the proceeds with MGM. This is good news for us geeks who did not want to see the franchise ruined!"
Wireless Networking

Kismac development discontinued due to German law.->

Submitted by BDaniels
BDaniels writes "Kismac is an excellent wireless sniffer app for OSX. The original developers announced today that they are ceasing development due to upcoming changes in German law that will make it illegal to possess this sort of 'hacking tool':

"German laws change and are being adapted for "better" protection against something politicians obviously do not understand. It will become illegal to develop, use or even posses KisMAC in this banana republic (backgound: the change of 202c StGB)."

They are asking for others outside Germany to take over the code and continue development."
Link to Original Source
Censorship

Global Warming Oppression Goes Both Ways-> 1

Submitted by
Reverend Darkness
Reverend Darkness writes "With all of the stories about climate change scientists being silenced by the Bush Administration comes an EPA investigation into a letter from the president of ACORE that threatens the career of a scientist who dares question the cause of climate change. From the article (in the Washington Times):

"It is my intention to destroy your career as a liar," Mr. Eckhart wrote. "If you produce one more editorial against climate change, I will launch a campaign against your professional integrity. I will call you a liar and charlatan to the Harvard community of which you and I are members. I will call you out as a man who has been bought by Corporate America. Go ahead, guy. Take me on."

... and it's not the first time he's made such threats."
Link to Original Source
Operating Systems

Historical Look At First Linux Kernel->

Submitted by LinuxFan
LinuxFan writes "KernelTrap has a fascinating article about the first Linux kernel, version 0.01, complete with source code and photos of Linus Torvalds as a young man attending the University of Helsinki. Torvalds originally planned to call the kernel "Freax", and in his first announcement noted, "I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones." He also stressed that the kernel was very much tied to the i386 processor, "simply, I'd say that porting is impossible." Humble beginnings."
Link to Original Source
Graphics

LightZone for Linux free

Submitted by
wolflarsen0
wolflarsen0 writes "Like many companies, Light Crafts releases its flagship application — the RAW photo converter LightZone — for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. But although the Windows and OS X versions of LightZone cost hundreds of dollars, the Linux version is absolutely free. It is a lucky break, too, because LightZone is a powerful tool that bests many of its expensive competitors on both quality and ease of use."
Privacy

Spyware given seal of approval to be installed

Submitted by smooth wombat
smooth wombat writes "Just when you thought headway was being made against spyware, along comes TRUSTe which has certified the first ten applications that have passed the certification process for TRUSTe's Trusted Download Program.

From the press release:

"The companies whose applications have passed the challenging certification process for the Trusted Download whitelist are all demonstrating a commitment to protecting consumer privacy," said Fran Maier, executive director and president of TRUSTe. "By completely informing users about the particulars of the downloads they offer up front, the participating companies are increasing transparency and giving control to users."

Some of the software which has been certified includes Coupon Bar 5.0 from Coupons Inc, Crawler Toolbar 4.5.0 from Crawler LLC and Save/SaveNow from WhenU.com."

That feeling just came over me. -- Albert DeSalvo, the "Boston Strangler"