Comment What does this kid get for christmas ? (Score 0) 410
I would love to be the kind of dad who could do this, but my daughter would prefer it in pink or come with horses & cell phone.
Submission + - Sticky Tape Found To Emit Terahertz Radiation (newscientist.com)
An anonymous reader writes:
WILL sticky tape ever cease to amaze? Peeling it can generate terahertz radiation, raising the possibility of a cheaper alternative to lasers for medical imaging. Peeling sticky tape has already been shown to produce X-rays, so Joseph Horvat and Roger Lewis of the University of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia, tried to see if it could create lower-frequency terahertz radiation. "We were rather pleasantly surprised to obtain a clear signal in our first attempt," says Horvat. Strongly adhesive Scotch Magic 810 tape and weakly adhesive electrical tape both yielded strong terahertz signals, ranging from 0.1 to 10 terahertz, but only about a microwatt of power, too little for practical use (Optics Letters, vol 34, p 2195). Horvat says that refinements should increase the power by orders of magnitude.
It may be old news to
Submission + - Linux highlighted as threat to Microsoft (arnnet.com.au)
begituindah writes: Red Hat and Canonical have been highlighted as threats to Microsoft's Window's client business for the first time in a submission by the software giant to the US SEC.
The article claims the rise of Linux in netbooks has forced MS to acknowledge the two companies' performance in its Form 10-K submission.
In the past Microsoft has only said Red Hat's server tools business was a threat. But in the article the author says:
"The filing goes on to note, in a thinly veiled reference to netbooks, that Linux has gained what Microsoft characterizes as "some acceptance" as an alternative client OS to Windows, in particular in "emerging markets" where "competitive pressures lead OEMs to reduce costs and new, lower-price PC form-factors gain adoption."
http://www.arnnet.com.au/article/313782/microsoft_acknowledges_linux_threat_windows_client
Submission + - Monthly fee proposal for solar users dropped (thedenverchannel.com)
Nate writes: As slashdot earlier reported that Xcel Energy proposed a monthly fee for Solar Panel users, Xcel Energy has withdrawn the proposal.
Submission + - Goodbye Apple. Hello Music Production on Ubuntu. 1
Adam Wrzeski writes: "Create Digital Music has an interesting article on Kim Cascone's switch from Apple to Linux for audio production:
The computer functioned as both sound design studio and stage instrument. I worked this way for ten years, faithfully following the upgrade path set forth by Apple and the various developers of the software I used. Continually upgrading required a substantial financial commitment on my part.
I loaded up my Dell with all a selection of Linux audio applications and brought it with me on tour as an emergency backup to my tottering PowerBook. The Mini 9 could play back four tracks of 24-bit/96 kHz audio with effects — not bad for a netbook. The solution to my financial constraint became clear, and I bought a refurbished Dell Studio 15, installed Ubuntu on it, and set it up for sound production and business administration. The total cost was around $600 for the laptop plus a donation to a software developer — a far cry from the $3000.00 price tag and weeks of my time it would have cost me to stay locked-in to Apple. After a couple of months of solid use, I have had no problems with my laptop or Ubuntu. Both have performed flawlessly, remaining stable and reliable."
The computer functioned as both sound design studio and stage instrument. I worked this way for ten years, faithfully following the upgrade path set forth by Apple and the various developers of the software I used. Continually upgrading required a substantial financial commitment on my part.
I loaded up my Dell with all a selection of Linux audio applications and brought it with me on tour as an emergency backup to my tottering PowerBook. The Mini 9 could play back four tracks of 24-bit/96 kHz audio with effects — not bad for a netbook. The solution to my financial constraint became clear, and I bought a refurbished Dell Studio 15, installed Ubuntu on it, and set it up for sound production and business administration. The total cost was around $600 for the laptop plus a donation to a software developer — a far cry from the $3000.00 price tag and weeks of my time it would have cost me to stay locked-in to Apple. After a couple of months of solid use, I have had no problems with my laptop or Ubuntu. Both have performed flawlessly, remaining stable and reliable."
Submission + - Expedition to Explore Texas Size Plastic 'Island' 1
Peace Corps Online writes: "BBC reports that an expedition called Project Kaisei leaves this month bound for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch a huge "island" of plastic debris in the Pacific Ocean estimated to be twice the size of Texas to study the impact of the waste on marine life. "Every piece of trash that is left on a beach or ends up in our rivers or estuaries and washes out to the sea is an addition to the problem, so we need people to be the solution," says Ryan Yerkey, the project's chief of operations. The garbage patch occupies a large and relatively stationary region of the North Pacific Ocean bound by the North Pacific Gyre, a remote area commonly referred to as the horse latitudes. The rotational pattern created by the North Pacific Gyre draws in waste material from across the North Pacific Ocean, including the coastal waters off North America and Japan. As material is captured in the currents, wind-driven surface currents gradually move floating debris toward the center, trapping it in the region. "You are talking about quite a bit of marine debris but it's not a solid mass," adds Yerkley. "Twenty years from now we can't be harvesting the ocean for trash. We need to get it out but we need to also have people make those changes in their lives to stop the problem from growing and hopefully reverse the course.""
Submission + - AMD Launches 785G Chipset With DX10.1 IGP and UVD2 (hothardware.com)
bigwophh writes: "AMD has delivered a series of solid and affordable mainstream chipsets with integrated graphics, over the past few years. Today the company announced the launch of the new 785G chipset, which is compatible with all existing socket AM3 processors, as well as legacy AM2+ products. A new addition to the 700 series chipset is DDR3 support, though the new family can also support low cost DDR2. Perhaps the biggest new feature offered by the 785G over its predecessors is a Radeon HD 4200 integrated graphics processor clocked at 500MHz. While the HD 4200 carries the same default clock as the older Radeon HD 3200 IGP, it offers higher performance, as well as HDMI 1.3 support, and enhancements to AMD's Unified Video Decoder (UVD) engine."
Submission + - Teen dies in chinese gaming rehab camp
An anonymous reader writes: "A teen, who was sent to a rehabilitation camp in China to cure his internet addiction was beaten to death by his trainers.
While this is considered a cure for Internet addiction, it was not what the parents of Deng Senshan, 16, had in mind when they sent him to the camp. The three supervisors who allegedly beat him to death have been arrested."
Seen on: http://www.fudzilla.com/content/view/14916/1/
Submission + - Solar Cycle Linked to Global Climate (spacefellowship.com) 2
Matt_dk writes: "Establishing a key link between the solar cycle and global climate, new research led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) shows that maximum solar activity and its aftermath have impacts on Earth that resemble La Niña and El Niño events in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The research may pave the way toward better predictions of temperature and precipitation patterns at certain times during the Sun's cycle, which lasts approximately 11 years."
Comment Re:Take the shit to get the cream (Score 0) 474
I recant this AC's previous statement,
My advice to you is to show your potential. Just sitting there doing the same thing day in day out shows how much of a drone you are. I spent several years working as a support drone myself mainly due to the fact I was lazy and really had no ambition to move up.having a Kid makes you rethink everything. I show them what you can do and at every opportunity apply for those jobs as they come up. Do not sit content until your in the position of your chose or employment of your choosing.
My advice to you is to show your potential. Just sitting there doing the same thing day in day out shows how much of a drone you are. I spent several years working as a support drone myself mainly due to the fact I was lazy and really had no ambition to move up.having a Kid makes you rethink everything. I show them what you can do and at every opportunity apply for those jobs as they come up. Do not sit content until your in the position of your chose or employment of your choosing.
Why a Hard Disk Is a Better Bargain Than an SSD 403
Lucas123 writes "While solid state disks may be all the rage, what's often being overlooked in the current consumer market hype is that fact that hard disk drive prices are at an all-time low — offering users good performance and massive amounts of capacity for 10 to 30 cents a gigabyte. And in a side by side comparison of overall performance of consumer SSDs and HDDs, it's hard to justify spending 10 times as much for a little more speed."
Comment Oppurtunity comes a knockin (Score 0) 468
I look at this as a opportunity for Kindle to sell the idea of using them instead of books. other than Amazon making a bundle on book sales, they would have a kindle in every students hands. Course if they broke the school could sell the student one for a profit.and the family could transfer the books to the new device.
All I see with this idea is PROFIT, PROFIT, PROFIT
Internet Tax Approved By Louisiana House 305
Stinky Litter Box writes "WWL-TV in New Orleans reports that the Louisiana House voted 81-9 on Thursday to propose that a '15-cent monthly surcharge should be levied on Internet access across Louisiana to fight online criminal activity.' Can you say 'slippery slope?' The good news is that Gov. Jindal opposes such a tax. Full disclosure: I grew up in south Louisiana and worked for WWL-TV in the late '70s."
Protecting the Apollo Landing Sites From Later Landings 339
R3d M3rcury writes "The Lunar X-Prize is a contest offering $20 million to the first private organization to land and maneuver a robotic rover on the moon. There is also a $1 million bonus to anyone who can get a picture of a man-made object on the moon. But one archeologist believes that 'The sites of early lunar landings are of unparalleled significance in the history of humanity, and extraordinary caution should be taken to protect them.' He's concerned that we may end up with rover tracks destroying historic artifacts, such as Neil Armstrong's first bootprint, or that a mistake could send a rocket slamming into a landing site. He calls on the organizers to ban any contestant from landing within 100KM of a prior moon landing site. Now he seems to think this just means Apollo. What about the Luna and Surveyor landers? What about the Lunokhod rovers? Are they fair game?"
Anti-Piracy Dog Uncovers Huge Cache of Discs 283
sgt scrub writes "I've never thought about sniffing my CDs before buying them but that is all about to change. According to this Yahoo! news article, dogs can be trained to tell the difference between a legit copy of a DVD and one from those pesky pirates. From the article, 'A DVD-sniffing anti-piracy dog named Paddy has uncovered a huge cache of 35,000 discs in Malaysian warehouses, many destined for export to Singapore, industry officials said on Wednesday. Paddy was given to Malaysia by the MPA to help close down piracy syndicates, which churn out vast quantities of illegal DVDs. The dog is specially trained to detect chemicals in the discs.'" We ran a story about anti-piracy dogs being trained in Ireland a few years ago.
