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Comment Keyword is "probably" (Score 1) 190

So they don't know if it was a "statistical fluctuation" - it may have been in fact the Higgs boson. Basically, they don't know. Point is, the Higgs boson would explain the difference between the massless photon and the massive W and Z bosons, which mediate the weak force. For those of you who don't know what that means, it's very important - it would help us better understand radioactive decay and just the universe in general - the Higgs boson has also been called "the God particle." Its existence would in theory allow time travel - it would also allow us to jump in and out of dimensions - so whether or not it exists is indeed very important - but they need to stop reporting on "oops" and "maybe's" until they have a definitive answer. No use in getting our hopes up just to dash them away...

Comment Interesting... (Score 1) 78

If dogs can sniff out cancer, than that means that certain cells have a "scent," otherwise the dogs are probably just smelling cigarette smoke. But say they can "smell" certain cells and differentiate them from others. Well, there is a lot more research to be done there...can they sniff out heart-attacks before they happen, by smelling someone's breath and determining their risk factor? Can they sniff out diseases and prevent epidemics by someone's breath? Smell may in fact be the key to the next-generation of preventative medicine and curing illnesses before they take hold.

Comment Anyone who takes this deal is an idiot! (Score 1) 418

Getting paid to drop out of college? These kids are going to need that $100,000 just to pay back the loans they've already taken, only now they'll have nothing to show for it. Now, if you're already about to fail out this is a great idea, but otherwise, I think it's really dumb. College is not just about learning, it's an experience in of itself, where we learn who we really are, what we really want to do in life, etc. Coming out of high school I thought I knew it all, I thought I could start my own company, I thought I wanted to be a doctor, blah blah blah. How wrong I was - I could not handle a company with the limited experience I had at that point in my life, and I ended up figuring out I really didn't want to be a doctor, but rather go into IT. And I'm much happier for it! Had I dropped out of college, and taken this guy's deal, I would've had no degree, and a failed company with a lot of debt. I'm not saying nobody can do it, there's many cases of those that did, but they are a vast minority - most people would fail miserably and then have no degree to fall back on, not to mention missing out on the whole college experience.

Only idiots would take this deal, and shame on this guy for offering it - unless his intent of course is to eliminate his future competition now :-)

Comment More damaging for Apple than most think... (Score 1, Interesting) 374

One of the key selling points that entices a lot of novice users to buy an Apple over a PC is lack of malware/virii. The other key selling points being ease of use/reliability/stability. This latest outbreak, while not particularly damaging, and while not really a threat as the user still must "install it," is getting a ton of media attention and is thus removing the "cloak of invulnerability" that Macs have been advertised to have against malware and virii. So now when a novice user, who doesn't know any better, has to choose between the more expense Mac vs a cheaper PC, will the remaining key selling points be enough to entice them to pay the higher premium? Many people switch solely on the reason of not dealing with virii/malware, but now that they will have to deal with that (whether or not it's true is irrelevant as in many novices minds Macs are now vulnerable) they might just stick with their PC. Bottom line - this is going to really hurt Apple a lot more than most people realize, as they will no longer have the novice users switching just to avoid virii and malware. Apple's "cloak of invulnerability" has been removed...and whether the remaining key selling points will sustain them remains to be seen.

Comment Obviously... (Score 2) 73

I can "see" why the blind would like this! (excuse the bad joke!) Then again, how would a blind person, who has never been able to see before, be able to function in a world where all of a sudden (s)he could see? (s)He would be overwhelmed, and would have to re-learn everything - walking, etc., as his/her balance and entire life to that point had been based upon their other senses...I wonder if anyone has taken into account if any blind people actually "want" to see? I mean I can't see in the 4th dimension, but if you told me I could, would I really want to? I'm guessing many people wouldn't want to (at least not permanently).

Comment Ppl who give up freedom for safety deserve neither (Score 1) 619

Why is it that more and more people are willing to give up freedoms and privacy for what "appears" to be increased safey? To me, if 10,000 more people "escape getting a deserved ticket" in order to maintain my freedom of driving (no black boxes in cars), I am fine with that! To take the point further, I would say if 10,000 more people (myself and family included) had to DIE to keep our right to privacy alive (no ridiculous procedures at the airport, no black boxes, no video cameras ANYWHERE, no big brother, period!) I would say it would be a welcome trade! Why don't more people think this way? What's the point of living if you aren't free and have no privacy? Instead, people say "if giving up my privacy/freedom/etc. would save even 1 life, it's worth it!" I *strongly* disagree...freedom first!!!

Comment A Better Idea For Online Music Distribution (Score 1) 240

Better idea - make all music/mp3s free - however - either add advertisements for like 5 seconds at the beginning of each song (annoying but doable), OR, somehow incorporate a url or a link or an option into mp3 players and computers so that if you "like" a song you've downloaded, you can choose to contribute $1 or some amount to the artist. I think artists would make much more money this way, I mean I would certainly contribute for songs I liked, and it would ALL go to the artist and not the stupid record companies. Plus it would encourage artists to make every song good, rather than coming up with "filler" songs to fill a CD. Then again, of course record companies would never do this, as they'd go out of business...but would they really be missed?
Piracy

Anti-Piracy Lawyers 'Knew Letters Hit Innocents' 240

nk497 writes "A UK legal watchdog has claimed lawyers who sent out letters demanding settlement payments from alleged file-sharers knew they would end up hitting innocent people. The Solicitors Regulators Authority said the two Davenport Lyons lawyers 'knew that in conducting generic campaigns against those identified as IP holders whose IP numeric had been used for downloading or uploading of material that they might in such generic campaigns be targeting people innocent of any copyright breach.' The SRA also said the two lawyers lost their independence because they convinced right holders to allow them to act on their behalf by waiving hourly fees and instead taking a cut of the settlements. The pair earned £150,000 of the £370,000 collected from alleged file-sharers. Because they were looking to recoup their own costs, the lawyers ignored clients' concerns about the negative publicity the letter campaign could — and eventually did — cause, the SRA claimed."
Cellphones

US May Disable All Car Phones, Says Trans. Secretary 1065

gambit3 writes "The US government may require cars to include scrambling tech that would disable mobile-phone use by drivers, and perhaps passengers. 'I think it will be done,' US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said on Wednesday morning. 'I think the technology is there and I think you're going to see the technology become adaptable in automobiles to disable these cell phones.' LaHood is on a self-described 'rampage' against distracted driving, and if making it impossible to use a mobile phone while in a car can save lives, he's all for it."
Censorship

A Single Re-Tweet Lands Chinese Woman in Labor Camp 273

lee1 writes "A woman in China has been sentenced to a year of 're-education' in a labor camp for the crime of 'disrupting social order' after retweeting a joke on Twitter (which is entirely banned in China, but popular nonetheless). Cheng Jianping had repeated a Twitter comment suggesting that nationalist protesters smash Japan's pavilion at the Shanghai Expo, adding the words 'Charge, angry youth.' At the time, China and Japan were feuding over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, and groups of young Chinese had been demonstrating against Japan, smashing Japanese products; the tweet amounted to gentle chiding of the protesters. Ms. Cheng may also have been targeted because she is a human rights activist: she had signed petitions calling for the release of China's jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo. She has been detained in the past for several other 'crimes,' including criticizing China's Communist Party."

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