Comment NLC's have been noted over a hundred years ago (Score 1) 132
So is that evidence of alien visitation?
Comment Sapphire (Score 1) 406
I just wanted to point out that while they are not pure aluminum, Sapphire, ruby, and several other transparent or nearly transparent gem stones are crystals made up of aluminum oxide -- colors are caused by natural or synthetic doping with trace elements. Chances are, if you have an expensive analog watch, you probably have a piece of 'transparent aluminum' ensuring your time piece is readable and does not get scratched easily.
I have a real problem with getting too excited over this article, and clearly the people who did the work are playing on star trek's popularity to garner more media attention than is really warranted.
Comment Physical Abuse (Score 1) 357
I have never had a flash drive long enough to wear out the flash cells, and I can't say I have seen them fail electrically.
I have however gone through at least 5 usb keys over the last few years, all due to physical abuse:
-Laundry (went through at least twice without failing, 3rd time's the charm)
-Loose/worn USB contacts: at least two different drives, after that I stopped buying the cheapest ones available
-Soup: Spilled in my bike bag, and caused the usb key to corrode internally, and probably caused a short because I didn't notice the soup had leaked into the casing until after I plugged it in
-Clumsiness: I dropped one on a hard wood floor, and then rolled over it with my desk chair. Another one broke the USB contacts off when I tripped and banged it with my leg. At least that one left a nice bruise in self defense.
I would love to see a completely sealed usb key that uses something like the Apple laptop power cable connections (mag safe, I think it is called) for the connection. Perhaps if it had a titanium case and complete water-proof seal, it might survive my abuse for more than 3 months!
Comment Digging into TFA: Hate speech (Score 1) 358
The anonymous posters were allegedly posting hate speech. Hate speech becomes a problem because the people targeted by the hate speech have rights to personal safety and security vs. the posters rights to free speech. Note that hate speech is speech specifically pushing for hate crimes to be performed against individuals of the hated group, as opposed to just an exchange of opinions.
I wanted to point this out because while there is value in anonymous free speech, even for people who I disagree with, there is a point where this kind of speech leads to actual harm, and I fully support the court in bringing these people to justice.
Comment one hippo all alone... (Score 1) 599
calls 2 hippos on the phone...
I have read that Sandra Boyton book to my 3 year old so many times I can recite it from memory.
I fear I will be 85 and going senile, and I will still be able to counts hippos.
Comment Re:Old news (Score 1) 224
I have one of these mercury key chains -- a christmas present -- and it does indeed present itself as a CDROM drive in order to get the autoplay to run.
Of course, I am still trying to figure out if this particular alert is an actual problem, or if it is just a packed executable to save space on the device.
Submission + - Canada considering DMCA like restrictions
CokeJunky writes: According the The Toronto Star, the Canadian government has tabled the much discussed copyright law which includes penalties for possessing copyrighted material, and includes anti-circumvention provisions. While it explicitly allows you to transfer materials you own to a portable device you own, you are not allowed to circumvent anti-copying technology to do it.
At least in Canada, we currently have a minority government — to those non-Canadians here, that means that the ruling party can't pass a bill without help from at least one of the other major parties. I strongly recommend that you Canadians that oppose this write letters and send them by snail mail to your MP's and tell them about the problems with this law. Believe it or not, taking part in a democracy means more than just voting.
Your Cat Wants Armor 3
What would you get if you crossed The Society for Creative Anachronism with an old cat lady? Cat armor of course. Now the age old question of whether or not a cat thrown into battle lands on its feet can be answered. To keep the playing field level, they've also made mouse armor.
Submission + - The Programmer Dress Code? (codethinked.com)
vinlud writes: Justin Etheredge made a nice collection of our heroes of the computer industry: "I really want to know what it is about programming, or computers in general, that makes people want to grow a beard, have long hair, and dress like a slob. So there you have it, my totally incomplete list of bearded, long haired, casually dressed visionaries. Got any other great pictures of any computer scientists/software engineers? Let us know in the comments!"
Submission + - A Fourth Universal Field
Ordovico writes: "Here's a contribution that didn't survive in Wikipedia because the subject matter is not (yet) covered in peer-reviewed journals. I'm posting it here just to find out whether it's welcome and will attract comment.
In 2006 former NASA researcher Edwin Klingman proposed a fourth and final field, which he dubbed the "C-Field," as a fundamental field of the universe, on a level with the gravitational, magnetic and electrical fields first described mathematically by James Clerk Maxwell. If Klingman's theory is correct, it obviates the need for quantum chromodynamics and for string theory. His theory has explanations for the nuclear structure of protons and electrons, for the inflationary universe and for the existence of dark matter. Unlike string theory, it provides testable predictions — one of which is that the Higgs boson does not exist.
After Klingman published his theory in 2007 under the title, The GeneMan Theory (2007, Ekom Publishing) isbn 978-0-0701765-4-8, available at http://www.geneman.com/, a reader discovered that Maxwell had in fact proposed the same concept and that it had been ignored by nearly all subsequent researchers. The basic equation of The GeneMan Theory, recognizable as an extension of Maxwell's equation, is F=q(E+vXB)+m(G+vXC)."
Submission + - Storm Worm spams 250, 000 users with stock pop-up (securecomputing.net.au)
negsss writes: "Some 250,000 computer users, who likely never knew their machines had been seeded with the notorious Storm Worm virus, received confirmation this week when a pop-up stock spam message appeared on their desktops.
Their machines, normally used to power the Storm botnet to deliver spam and malware-laced messages, became a self-spamming tool, experts said. The pop-up ad, which executes upon receiving a remote command, encourages users to buy stock in a thinly traded company called Hemisphere Gold Inc."
Submission + - Predator-Style Helmets Allow Pillots to See Throug (fliiby.com)
nitroy2k writes: When I look at this, I have to say that the fellows from Daily Mail.com were right. It is only the neck and shoulders that prove there is a human being in there somewhere. And this isn't any Star Trek or Final Fantasy kind of trick, but the next generation of RAF fighter pilots' look, which kinda makes you wish you were in the army. Since I went hiding under my bed when seeing this, mostly because of the piercing green eyes staring out from behind the visor, I guess there is nothing more I can say about the design of these way-to-cool accessories.
http://blog.fliiby.com/archives/2007/11/11/predator-style-helmets-allow-pillots-to-see-through-planes/
Submission + - StorageTek tape silo turned Lawn Mower Shed (webhop.org)
Anonymous Coward writes: "I thought someone might like to see my
Lawn Mower Shed.
It used to hold a whopping 2.4TB of DMF Tape storage.
Today 2.4TB is pretty weak for something the size of a barn. Instead I use my StorageTek to keep the Lawn Mower out of the rain. Isn't progress grand?"
Submission + - AT&T Censors Anti-Bush Pearl Jam Lyrics (rollingstone.com)
feed_me_cereal writes: While performing at Lollapalooza in Chicago, Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vetter inserted the lyrics "George Bush, leave this world alone" and "George Bush, find yourself another home" into a rendition of "Daughter" sang to the tune of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall". Those lyrics were censored out of the Lollapalooza webcast from AT&T's "Blue Room". AT&T denies willful culpability, citing this incident as a "mistake". One wonders what implications this will have in the net neutrality debate.
Submission + - Verizon tech sets fire to house -- accidentally
netbuzz writes: "Next time the phone company blows off a service appointment you might want to stop for a moment and be thankful that at least they didn't set fire to your house. Of the Verizon tech who started this electrical fire, a deputy fire chief says: "He's lucky he's not dead."
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/18314"
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/18314"
