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10 Worst Evolutionary Designs 232

Posted by samzenpus from the everyone-makes-mistakes dept.
JamJam writes "Besides my beer gut, which I'm sure has some purpose, Wired is running a story on the 10 Worst Evolutionary Designs. Ranging from baby giraffes being dropped 5-foot during birth to Goliath bird-eating spiders that practically explode when they fall from trees."
Businesses

Apple and the Scalability of Secrecy 155

Posted by Soulskill from the ask-the-government-about-that dept.
RobotsDinner writes "Anil Dash has a thoughtful exploration of Apple's notorious devotion to secrecy, and argues that not only is there a limit to its feasibility, but that recent events show Apple has reached that limit already. 'If the ethical argument is unpersuasive, then focus on the long-term viability of your marketing and branding efforts, and realize that a technology company that is determined to prevent information from being spread is an organization at war with itself. Civil wars are expensive, have no winners, and incur lots of casualties.'"

Comment Re:If a used bookstore can sell used books... (Score 1) 664

by limber (#28217291) Attached to: Publishers Want a Slice of Used Game Market

If the used games market is sooo lucrative that publishers think they should get a cut of it... then from a business perspective really what they should do, is start their own Game Stop equivalent stores that sell used games.

It would be similar to the (somewhat evil) approach that Ticketmaster took -- they realized there was a huge aftermarket for scalper tickets, and they were missing out on the margins. So they set up a subsidiary business to cater directly to that resale market. (nevermind the ongoing class action lawsuit...).
Cellphones

Mexican Government To Document Cell Phone Use 232

Posted by Soulskill from the i'm-sure-criminals-will-oblige dept.
Alyssey writes "The Mexican government wants to have a database to track every cellphone number in the country (in Spanish, Google translation) and whom it belongs to. They want to tie in the CURP (Unique Registration Population Code in Spanish, like the Social Security Number in the US) with cellphone numbers. If Mexicans don't send in their number and CURP via SMS before April 10, 2010, their cellphone number will be blocked. The new law was published back in February and is going into effect now."
Books

Was the Amazon De-Listing Situation a Glitch Or a Hack? 396

Posted by Soulskill from the can't-it-be-both dept.
Miracle Jones writes "As Amazon struggles to re-list and re-rank gay, lesbian, and adult books on their website after massive public outcry against the secretive partitioning process, they are claiming that the entire situation was not the result of an intentional policy at all, are not apologizing, and are instead insisting that the situation was the result of 'a glitch' that they are now trying to fix. While some hackers are claiming credit for 'amazonfail,' and it is indeed possible that an outside party is responsible, most claims have already been debunked. How likely is it that Amazon was hacked versus the likelihood of an internal Easter weekend glitch? Or is the most obvious and likely scenario true, and Amazon simply got caught implementing a wildly-unpopular new policy without telling anyone?"
Math

String Theory Put to the Test 407

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the line-em-up-and-shoot-em-down dept.
secretsather writes to mention that scientists have come up with a definitive test that could prove or disprove string theory. The project is described as "Similar to the well known U.S. particle collider at Fermi Lab, the Large Hadron Collider, scheduled for November 2007, is expected to be the largest, and highest energy particle accelerator in existence; it will use liquid helium cooled superconducting magnets to produce electric fields that will propel particles to near light speeds in a 16.7 mile circular tunnel. They then introduce a new particle into the accelerator, which collides with the existing ones, scattering many other mysterious subatomic particles about."
Businesses

Submission + - How safe is your employment application data?

Submitted by
Carlos
Carlos writes: "I recently returned to the U.S. after working overseas for the past 16 years. As I visit job sites and corporate sites, I'm finding two issues with applying online I hope Slashdot readers could comment on. I understand security and background checks are important to most employers, however, it seems to me that far too many online applications are asking for sensitive data, such as my social security number and driver's license number. How long is my data stored in their database? Who has access to such data? It seems that every month we hear about a company that has customer/client data stolen or mishandled. I feel that such data shouldn't be required during "step one" (ie filling out the initial online account in the career section). I'll provide such data when I've been contacted by a staff for an interview. Do Slashdot readers simply bypass such employers, or do they just hand over their identity? The second point relates to the pages upon pages we have to endure with an online application. Some companies make the process smooth, for example using a form of OCR with an uploaded resume. There's nothing worse than getting to step 9 (out of 20 steps) and getting a timeout error in your browser! I hope HR people who are reading this, will take a closer look at their employment process. I'm sure some readers might say, "They make the process hard on purpose — weeding out the lazy applicants." I fully understand this point and I'm not looking for an easy way into a company, but filling out 20 step applications at 30 companies a day, everyday, can eat a lot of time when hunting for a position."
Biotech

Submission + - The worst sounds in the world: official

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Over 1.1 million votes have been counted and the results are in. But the worst sound is not fingernails on a blackboard (16th), or babies crying (3rd). The number one is truly sickening . . . vomiting.
Google

Submission + - How to fix Googleplexity

Submitted by
jawadshuaib
jawadshuaib writes: "This article argues that Google's many "other" products are destroying the company's powerful brand. Moreover, as the company expands further away from its core business, the company will become more difficult to maintain. The recent Orkut downtime, Gmail email loss, and Google's relentless self promotion through search are only a few examples of this. Instead of expanding out, Google should vertically integrate by focusing on one thing they do best; Search. For the past few months, Sergey Brin has been asserting "features not products" quite often, and this analysis basically pushes that idea forward."
Displays

Submission + - First Look at the Smallest Projector in the World

Submitted by
Iddo Genuth
Iddo Genuth writes: "Projector technology has improved considerably in the last few years, but although brightness, contrast, and color are better than ever, size still remains an issue for those looking for a true portable device. Enter the world's smallest and lightest projector — only a few inches long and with a weight of a mobile phone, the new laser-LED-based projector can easily slip into any pocket. The new projector should be out in the second half of 2007 with a cost in the low several hundred dollar range."
Biotech

Submission + - Nano-particles slide through mucus

Submitted by galactic_grub
galactic_grub writes: Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found a way to make nano-particles pass through mucus. They did this by coating the particles with a chemcial to make them hydrophilic. As gross as it might sound, the researchers say this could be a significant medical breakthrough. This is because nanoscale drug capsules could deliver medicine to the intestine, or other organs, over longer periods than normal drugs.
Microsoft

Submission + - Warning! Don't Move that Xbox 360 -- Game Ruined!

Submitted by
njkid1
njkid1 writes: "Micheal Mullen of GameDaily, tells us how slightly moving his console in a horozontle position ruined his game.. Whats next for this over $400 dollar console?http://www.gamedailyxl.com/2007/01/23/warn ing-dont-move-that-xbox-360-game-ruined&ncid=AOLGA M000500000000024"
Google

Submission + - Google Sues Leo Stoller for Racketeering

Submitted by
EdwardianDandy
EdwardianDandy writes: "Leo Stoller — the Chicago attorney who has successfully sued companies like Paramount and Northrop Grumman because he claims to own the trademark "stealth" (as in stealth bomber) — has finally been sued by Google for racketeering. Stoller has been harassing Google for years, arguing that he owns the trademark "Google," and submitting forged documents to the courts to prove his case."
Businesses

Why Don't More CIOs Become CEO? 279

Posted by CmdrTaco from the because-they-know-better dept.
jcatcw writes "Thornton May is mystified by the very small number of Fortune 500 companies that led by former CIOs. "Knowing what we know about CIOs — that is, that most are smart, hardworking, supremely aware of how the business works and increasingly savvy regarding the workings of external customers' minds — the failure of more CIOs to become CEO has to be one of the biggest mysteries of our age.""

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