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Submission + - Sounds of Tech Past (itworld.com)

itwbennett writes: "If you're of a certain generation, the screech of a modem, the stuttering song of the dot matrix printer, and the wet slap of a mimeograph machine can transport you to simpler (or at least slower) times. JR Raphael has rounded up 20 tech sounds on the brink of extinction for your listening torture. We're only sorry we don't have smell-o-vision to bring you that sweet mimeograph scent."
Earth

Submission + - Millions in China Live in Energy Efficient Caves

Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Barbara Demick reports in the LA Times that more than 30 million Chinese people live in caves, many of them in Shaanxi province where the Loess plateau, with its distinctive cliffs of yellow, porous soil, makes digging easy and cave dwelling a reasonable option. The better caves protrude from mountains and are reinforced with brick masonry and some are connected laterally so a family can have several chambers. Electricity and even running water can be brought in. "Most aren't so fancy, but I've seen some really beautiful caves: high ceilings and spacious with a nice yard out front where you can exercise and sit in the sun," says Ren, who works as a driver in the Shaanxi provincial capital, Xian. "It's cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It's quiet and safe." In recent years, architects have been reappraising the cave in environmental terms, and they like what they see. "It is energy efficient. The farmers can save their arable land for planting if they build their houses in the slope. It doesn't take much money or skill to build," says Liu Jiaping, director of the Green Architecture Research Center in Xian and perhaps the leading expert on cave living. Liu helped design and develop a modernized version of traditional cave dwellings that in 2006 was a finalist for a World Habitat Award, sponsored by a British foundation dedicated to sustainable housing. Meanwhile a thriving market around Yanan means a cave with three rooms and a bathroom (a total of 750 square feet) can be advertised for sale at $46,000. "Life is easy and comfortable here. I don't need to climb stairs. I have everything I need," says 76-year-old Ma Liangshui. "I've lived all my life in caves, and I can't imagine anything different.""
Apple

Submission + - Apple Tried to Hire Linus Torvalds, Kill Linux (omgubuntu.co.uk)

butilikethecookie writes: The founder of Linux was invited to Apple HQ in Cupertino by Steve Jobs at the turn of the millennium, where is was invited to join Apple and work on (what would become) OS X. The lure? ‘Unix for the biggest user base’.The catch? That he would have to stop development on Linux, a condition that led Torvalds to flatly refuse the offer. Imagine: no Linux would have meant no Ubuntu, no Chrome OS, and no Android; the entire ecosystem of technology could have been dramatically changed by acceptance of this one job offer.
Moon

Decades-Old Soviet Reflector Spotted On the Moon 147

cremeglace writes "No one had seen a laser reflector that Soviet scientists had left on the moon almost 40 years ago, despite years of searching. Turns out searchers had been looking kilometers in the wrong direction. On 22 April, a team of physicists finally saw an incredibly faint flash from the reflector, which was ferried across the lunar surface by the Lunokhod 1 rover. The find comes thanks to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which last month imaged a large area where the rover was reported to have been left. Then the researchers, led by Tom Murphy of the University of California, San Diego, could search one football-field-size area at a time until they got a reflection."

Comment Re:Attacking the short poll in the tent (Score 1) 664

to add to this, I can't seem to find a way to deauthorize a computer remotely

There's an option in the iTunes Music Store Account settings to deauthorise all the computers you have authorised. I had to do this recently - http://www.apple.com/itunes/features/ says :

Authorize and Deauthorize : Purchases you make from the iTunes Store can be played on up to five computers that you authorize using your iTunes Store account name and password. To authorize or deauthorize a single computer, choose Authorize Computer or Deauthorize Computer from the Store menu. If all 5 authorizations are being used, you can deauthorize all your computers at one time by choosing View My Account from the Store menu and selecting Deauthorize All.

Doesn't stop your problem when you get past five machines, but really who is actively using that many machines to manage their music?

The Internet

Submission + - Internet jihad begins?

dbreeze writes: According to http://www.debka.com/ "Osama bin Ladens followers announced Monday, Oct. 29, the launching of Electronic Jihad. On Sunday, Nov. 11, al Qaedas electronic experts will start attacking Western, Jewish, Israeli, Muslim apostate and Shiite Web sites. On Day One, they will test their skills against 15 targeted sites and expand the operation from day to day thereafter until hundreds of thousands of Islamist hackers are in action against untold numbers of anti-Muslim sites." http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=4723. "The electronic war they have declared could cause considerable trouble on the worlds Internet." Better get your downloading done.

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