Is {pluto|sedna} A Planet? 594

Posted by timothy from the three-votes-for-maybe dept.
Dr. Zowie writes "NASA's announcement last week of Sedna's discovery reignited the debate over whether Pluto is a planet. Dr. Alan Stern a noted planetary scientist and leader of the New Horizons mission to Pluto, pours on some gasoline with this article in which he skewers the various arguments against Pluto-as-planet. Choice quotes include 'You wouldn't deny a chihauhau a place among dogs because it is too small,' and 'if your brain was so completely full of names of people that it just couldn't take any more, would anyone new who you met after that, therefore not be a person?'"
The Almighty Buck

Getting A Laptop With The Low U.S. Dollar 1039

Posted by timothy from the used-to-be-volvos-in-sweden-this-way dept.
An anonymous reader submits "I am heading to the U.S. pretty soon and am keen to take advantage of the low US$ to buy a laptop. The differences in prices are astounding - on dell.com (US) you pay $2049 for a Precision M60 - in the UK this costs 1620.33UKP, or $2999. That is a fair difference! It makes it cheaper for me to fly to the US to buy it and carry it home than it is for me to buy it in the UK. Now, that said, it isn't particularly easy to find a place to buy a laptop from, since most of the places don't ship to the UK (or it takes weeks) and it is difficult to get stuff delivered to your hotel ... any suggestions of how I can get a good laptop in the New York area when I am only there for 4 days?"
The Almighty Buck

Freeware for Windows -- Where Did It Go? 308

Posted by Cliff from the missing-in-action dept.
Talahamut asks: "The other day, I was planning on recording a radio show by running my stereo's output into my PC. Oooh, that sucks - WinXP's Sound Recorder limits you to 60 sec. recordings. Oh well, I'll just go online and grab a little WAV recorder. 30 minutes later, I'm frustrated because all I find is crippleware (time-limited, of course...) that records every format under the sun from any sound stream imaginable. What happened to the small home-brewed Windows utilities that used to be so easy to find online years ago? All the freeware sites I checked had nothing but commercial crippleware. Is there no place to find simple programs like that anymore?"
Security

Increasing Computer Security through Hardware? 69

Posted by Cliff from the when-passwords-are-too-much-of-a-hassle dept.
Audiostar asks: "I am interested in adding some security to several of my computers, but am unsure as to which product to go with. I would like to use some sort of external security measure, such as a pen drive token or something similar. I had considered custom building a key card and reader to install on all my machines, but once I started thinking about the cost and time of building a card reader for each of my computers it became rather impractical. Does anyone have any suggestions for external locking devices or software? I would prefer something that I could use on both my Windows and Linux machines, but protecting the Windows machines are the top priority. I don't need anything too fancy, just an added layer of protection from the multitude of various people who come in and out of my place of business everyday. I own a 128mb flash disk watch, so possibly using that as a token would be both easy and geek chic. Any suggestions on what to install?"
Patents

Prior Art for Hyperlink Order Tracking in Email? 44

Posted by Cliff from the the-'many-eyes'-concept-on-something-other-than-code dept.
Davesbud asks: "I'm trying to invalidate a patent that claims to have invented 'placing a hyperlink in an email which in turn provides the recipient with order status or tracking information.' I am searching for any web pages, articles, newsgroup/forum discussions, brochures or the like, published before December of 1997, that describes this idea. You've seen this if you've ordered almost anything online or shipped by FedEx or UPS. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks."
The Almighty Buck

Tech Work in the Boonies? 178

Posted by Cliff from the life-and-work-outside-of-the-concrete-jungle dept.
ERIAMJH asks: "I am a tech working in the metro DC area and my wife wants/desires/requires/NEEDS to move out to a rural area. She can't stand the city/suburb living any longer, and I either go along or she goes without me. I've thought of the telecommute option, or maybe start a small business in an under-served area. I've been doing all kinds of tech work for the last 9 years. I've been slowly moving from the sys admin side to software development. I'm now working on prerequisites for a Computer Science MS. I work for a large defense contractor on a government contract. I would love to work on smaller projects with more individual input, but I worry I will end up working construction or plumbing. Have any of you moved from the hustle bustle of the big city to the peaceful countryside and actually found good work?"
Science

Cheap Solar Cooling Solution? 147

Posted by Cliff from the solar-power-without-the-batteries dept.
An anonymous reader asks: "I would like to use solar panels to generate enough power to run an air-conditioner that is only needed when the sun is out. The problem lies in the cost of the battery bank, where one can quickly run to thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars. Given the state of current solar panel technology, what kind of unique solutions have people come up with to handle the voltages of this setup WITHOUT the use of a battery bank?"
The Internet

Broadband Access Leading to Internet Breakdown? 505

Posted by Cliff from the the-dangers-that-come-with-the-territory dept.
TwistedSpring asks: "As bandwidth costs become cheaper and more people adopt cable or DSL over standard dial-up connections, the time it takes to distribute worms and other unwanted or malicious material (read: spam) across the Internet decreases. After noting the current surge in Internet worms and the so-called Darwinist evolution of these things into more and more powerful incarnations, I wonder: will the proliferation of broadband Internet access deal a serious blow to current freedoms on the Internet?"
Handhelds

Do Working Cell Phone Demos Exist Anymore? 72

Posted by Cliff from the try-before-you-buy dept.
Peridriga asks: "I've been using the same cell phone now for going on about 4 years. I personally love it but, new technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi, etc leave me wanting more from my 24/7 tool. I haven't gotten rid of it because I can work it in almost any condition (dark, drunk, asleep), with only occasional glances at the screen. Menu functionality, layout, ergonomics, and button layout are of real importance simply because I want a phone I don't have to think about using. The problem comes in that none of the cell stores/kiosks/provider retail outlets/etc have working demos of phones available. Simply shells of the phone model physically attached to the displays. How am I supposed to drop down $200-$500 on a top-of-the-line phone when I can't even see how it works? Does anybody know of a provider that has working demo models of phones on display so you can actually see what your buying? How about websites that review phones with their function and purpose in mind, not just the specs and the manufacturer provided marketing fluff?"
The Almighty Buck

Personal Experiences with HomeCS? 34

Posted by Cliff from the are-they-worth-the-trouble dept.
whoami-ky asks: "If you believe the info on their homepage, HomeCS is 'the Internet's Premier work from home career portal which unites thousands of job seekers and employers everyday.' But, when you try to apply for a job through them, you're immediately asked to pony up $29.95 for a 'lifetime' membership. Has anyone used this company to successfully find a telecommuting job? They have a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Anybody gotten a refund? A quick Google search on the term HomeCS didn't seem to show any positive or negative feedback (I only went through the first 3 or 4 pages of results)."
Books

Improving Your Mental Math Skills? 136

Posted by Cliff from the outperforming-an-abacus dept.
Infrared-Archer asks: "I want to learn how to do most math calculations in my head. That way I won't have to reach for the calculator for problems I should be able to do mentally. Of course there are various websites (beat the calculator) that show many tricks, but I am looking for a comprehensive solution (books, websites) that shows how to solve of wide range of math problems mentally. Any suggestions?"
Businesses

Leave a Safe IT Job for Music Tour? 133

Posted by Cliff from the should-he-stay-or-should-he-go dept.
DecisionTime asks: "In this US economy, it took me a whole year to find my current IT job, where I've been for less than a year. It's fairly dull, but pays ok, and I believe it is relatively safe. Now, I've been given the chance to use my talents and tour full time with a band overseas. With the corresponding drop in expenses, my net income on this tour would remain about the same as now. However, music jobs are inherently risky, yet the touring could become long term. On the other hand, I could potentially be IT job searching again within four months with a dubious hole on my resume. I'm single and have no kids or major commitments, but I do not want to destroy my IT career either for the future. I can't get unbiased advice where I am, so perhaps Slashdot can lend me some wisdom?"
GUI

Modernizing the Save Icon? 365

Posted by Cliff from the death-to-the-floppy! dept.
floppy-less asks: "In nearly every modern GUI, the floppy disk icon is used to symbolize saving files. With the fate of floppy disks becoming apparent, what will become of the esteemed 'Save to Disk' icon? Will it become a CD-R? a hard drive? a portrait of Jesus?"

Fedora Prepares For Xorg Instead of XFree86 491

Posted by timothy from the sea-change-or-teapot-tempest dept.
ZuperDee writes "I noticed in the development branch of Fedora today that they appear to be in the process of creating new xorg RPMs, and from the looks of the changelogs in those RPMs, it looks like their ultimate plan is to switch from XFree86 to the XOrg Foundation's implementation of X11. Anyone else here think this could signal the beginning of a new trend in Linux distributions, and that XOrg could end up becoming the new de-facto X11 implementation?" (See this earlier story,too.)

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