Jake Dodgie - Slashdot User

Submission + - Programmer Making Thought-controlled Robot Avatars (theepochtimes.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @11:36PM

An anonymous reader writes: Software developer Robert Oschler is creating a program to give quadriplegics robotic avatars, by syncing a thought-detecting Emotiv EPOC electroencephalogram (EEG) headset with a WowWee Rovio telepresence robot. The ‘Robodance 5’ software he’s currently funding through Kickstarter would let them control the robots using only their thoughts and emotions, which means even people with severe paralysis could use the device. He also plans to create an online network for quadriplegics to meet, make friends, and hang out by linking to each other’s robots using their minds.

Submission + - Apache sever can be DoSSed over 3G (scmagazine.com.au)

Submitted by

mask.of.sanity

on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @10:38PM

mask.of.sanity writes: "Researchers have used the Apache killer exploit to launch a denial of service attack against servers over a 3G celluar network.

The exploit, released over the weekend on Full Disclosure, issues partial content requests to Apache httpd which causes the daemon to swap memory to the file system, eventually triggering a denial of service attack."

Submission + - For Energy Savings, LEDs Outshine Solar Panels (scientificamerican.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @10:35PM

An anonymous reader writes: Also a story on the bulb that is going to replace the incandescent bulb.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1771287/the-durable-energy-efficient-light-bulb-of-the-future-comes-from-philips?partner=rss

Submission + - Laptops without numeric keypad

Submitted by cciardi on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @10:05PM

cciardi writes: Looking for a midsize laptop (15") that doesnt have a numeric keypad on the right side. This ends up putting the trackpad offset to the left, which is somewhat annoying. Aside from the Dell XPS 15z and Mac Pro are there any new laptops out there that dont have a numeric keypad and offset trackpad? I really need your help because my wife will launch back any laptop that comes with a keypad directly into my forehead.

Submission + - New Video Brings Portal to Life (tekgoblin.com)

Submitted by

NaklsonofNakkl

on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @09:46PM

NaklsonofNakkl writes: "The Portal series was an amazing blend of gameplay, storytelling and puzzles, which left players wishing there was a portal gun they could use in real life. A recent YouTube video bring a cinematic view on what it would be like to see a portal gun in real life."

Submission + - BTDigg a DHT Based Search Engine (activepolitic.com)

Submitted by bs0d3 on Tuesday August 23, 2011 @08:03PM

bs0d3 writes: BTDigg is a new bittorrent site, well sort of. As it is the first torrent site that has no database, no uploaders, and no moderators. It works solely by scraping the dht network and returning results as they appear. An interesting aspect of the site is where it predicts how likely it is that a file is fake or not.

Comment Re-Badged Linux (Score 1) 2

by Jake Dodgie on Monday May 23, 2011 @12:49AM (#36214170) Attached to: What will the upcoming C64 / Amiga reboot change?

Reading through the blurb on what this OS will do, you have to wonder, are they really spending millions of dollars writing all this functionality from scratch?
Some how I doubt it, considering that the hardware is an Atom processor stuffed into a keyboard form factor, my bet is on a custom linux build brimming with open source software all re badged with shiny commodore buttons.
I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but I don't think you could consider it a revolutionary NEW OS for the masses.

Comment Re:so what (Score 1) 75

by Jake Dodgie on Sunday May 08, 2011 @09:07PM (#36067674) Attached to: Kepler May Uncover Numerous Ring Worlds

Didn't you know, a Dyson Sphere radiates energy that makes it look like a Red Giant, so we may have already discovered hundreds of them.

Submission + - My Social Security Number, should I give it up? 2

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 09, 2011 @11:58PM

An anonymous reader writes: I've recently gone through hell with my ISP and everytime I call them up they want the last 4 digits of my SSN. WHY? Do they think someone is impersonating me to falsely report that my modem is getting no signal from Comcast?

This drove me mad enough that I called Qwest to set up DSL service, I thought they were charging too much, but I was willing to give it a try just so I could tell Comcast to pound salt. But they wanted my SSN too. I said no and the customer rep said he could try to get it approved without a SSN. After waiting about 10 minutes he came back and said I couldn't get DSL from Qwest without a SSN. This is despite the fact that I offered to pre-pay with a credit card. He said I might be a deadbeat who had skipped out on Qwest in the past.

The point here is that denying your SSN to private enterprises will likely result in you being unable to obtain these services.

If I'm offering cash in hand, or credit which is backed up by Visa/MasterCard or whoever, but refuse to give up my SSN why would you turn down my money?

Submission + - Air Force to blast second super-secret spaceship (networkworld.com)

Submitted by

coondoggie

on Thursday March 03, 2011 @05:43PM

coondoggie writes: "The US Air Force will launch a second secretive spaceship, the X-37B, tomorrow if the weather holds and all systems are go.

The first X-37B, known as Orbital Test Vehicle 1, launched April 22 last year and stayed in space conducting experiments for some 220 days. The Air Force stated. The ship fired its orbital maneuver engine in low-earth orbit to perform an autonomous reentry before landing, the Air Force stated."

Submission + - TSA Pat Downs, Searches After Passengers Get Off T (shtfplan.com) 4

Submitted by intellitech on Sunday February 27, 2011 @06:06PM

intellitech writes: According to a first-hand video account from a train station in Savannah, Georgia, the Transportation Security Administration is now performing security pat downs and bag searches AFTER passengers disembark from their trips. This could be expected from a country like China or the former Soviet Union, but there is simply no legitimate justification for such actions in the United States of America, unless our government is now attempting to mimic authoritarian regimes, which seems very much to be the case.

Submission + - Refusing to show ID and recording TSA is legal (techdirt.com) 1

Submitted by Cowmonaut on Monday January 24, 2011 @07:27PM

Cowmonaut writes: TechDirt is reporting that Phillip Mocek has been acquitted by a jury. For those of you who do not know, Mocek refused to show his ID to the TSA to board a flight, as his legal right. The TSA disputed this and charged him with four misdemeanors (disorderly conduct, concealing his identity, refusing to obey a police officer, and criminal trespass) when he persisted and recorded the incident. It's sad that its news when someone stands up to something as basic as the TSA thuggery, and more depressing that its news when its upheld in court.

Submission + - Duke Nukem Forever (dukenukem.com)

Submitted by dakohli on Thursday December 16, 2010 @12:07AM

dakohli writes: So, I was just in Best Buy (Canada) and saw the Duke Nukem Forever pre-order cards!

The Game is due out in the new year:

"All great things take time... a lot of time," laughs Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. "After a hiatus from the video game world, Duke Nukem is back and better than ever. The return of the King from the glory days of shooters will satisfy our patient, die-hard fans, as well as a new generation of bubble gum-chewing, flat top and shades-wearing bad-asses. Make no mistake about it — Duke Nukem Forever is a testament to the era of when shooters were bodacious and fun."

So Slashers, what do you think? Does this game have even a small chance of living up to expectations? Or, will Duke, just fade into oblivion?

Submission + - Goldeneye Source released (tekgoblin.com) 2

Submitted by tekgoblin on Tuesday December 14, 2010 @02:27AM

tekgoblin writes: Were you a fan of the original Goldeneye on N64? Well this 5 year Half-Life 2 mod called GoldenEye Source has just come out of beta and fully released free. The game is a fan-made creation with the objective to bring the original experiences from GoldenEye on N64 back to life. I remember spending hours upon hours playing Goldeneye on the N64 and was sad seeing it go.

Submission + - Inside Wikileaks ally, Anonymous (zdnet.com.au)

Submitted by lukehopewell1 on Thursday December 09, 2010 @02:06AM

lukehopewell1 writes: Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and a Swiss bank have all been victims of the online militaristic revenge tactics of DDoS-ing hacker group Anonymous after the aforementioned companies pulled their support from whistleblower site Wikileaks. But who are Anonymous, and what are it's members really like?

ZDNet Australia managed to catch up with a member of the Anonymous attack squad.

One Anonymous attacker claimed that he and very few others attacked the PayPal blogs site because they felt the whistleblower's plight was similar to their own fight against cash-laden copyright laws.

But crippling the global MasterCard home page sites takes coordination and decision-making, which, in a hive-mind rabble of a thousand angry, overly excited online activists, is surely not an easy task?

Slashdot Top Deals