Comment Re:It has begun... (Score 1) 368
Zune?
Feed Engadget: Official: Vista SP1 released to manufacturing -- headed your way (engadget.com)
Filed under: Desktops, Laptops
We've been hearing rumors all morning that Microsoft would release Vista SP1 this week. Now, according to Reuters, Microsoft has just sent Vista SP1 to manufacturing. In a presentation to investors, Steve Ballmer also said that Microsoft has released Windows Server 2008 to manufacturing but won't formally launch until February 27th. Now we're just waiting for the SP1 download link and/or Windows Update package. Twiddle, twiddle... ah hell, we'll just update this post when we get it.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Submission + - Will Ron Paul smash single day donation record? (ronpaul2008.com)
An anonymous reader writes: https://www.ronpaul2008.com/
We are close to making history. In November, we mentioned that the all-time, single-day primary fundraising record is John Kerry's $5.7 million in 2004. At this hour, Ron Paul stands at $5.4 million.
Submission + - Spore available for pre-order (amazon.com)
The Iso writes: Will Wright's long awaited game Spore can now be pre-ordered from Amazon.com. The release date is 2008-03-03, so all you "next Duke Nukem Forever" jokers can help yourselves to an ample serving of humble pie.
Submission + - 'The' Kilogram looses weight
Maximum Prophet writes: The international Kilogram standard, kept at Sevres France, has lost 50 micrograms. The article doesn't say how long it took to loose this amount.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20744160/
Damn, I thought I felt the universe shift the other day. (:-)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20744160/
Damn, I thought I felt the universe shift the other day. (:-)
Google buys DoubleClick for $3.1 Billion 351
marvinalone writes "The New York Times reports that Google has purchased DoubleClick. That seems to be the conclusion to the speculation we've talked about earlier. From the article: 'Google reached an agreement today to acquire DoubleClick, the online advertising company, from two private equity firms for $3.1 billion in cash, the companies announced, an amount that was almost double the $1.65 billion in stock that Google paid for YouTube late last year.'"
Submission + - Presidential Candidate Uses YouTube
Aaron Wilson writes: "U.S. Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney kicks off YouTube's "You Choose Spotlight" by posting an informal video of himself. In the clip he calls for feedback videos from the YouTube community. "What do you believe is America's single greatest challenge?" Mitt says, "And what would you do to address it?"
While the YouTube community shoots back with mixed responses regarding political issues, there is general enthusiasm about a presidential candidate embracing the Internet community at large."
Journal Journal: Researchers Explore Scrapping Internet
NEW YORK (AP) - Although it has already taken nearly four decades to get this far in building the Internet, some university researchers with the federal government's blessing want to scrap all that and start over.
The idea may seem unthinkable, even absurd, but many believe a "clean slate" approach is the only way to truly address security, mobility and other challenges that have cropped up since UCLA professor Leonard Kleinrock helped supervise the first exchange of meaningless test data betwe
Submission + - I Sold My Soul on eBay
VTBassMatt writes: "Hemant Mehta sold his soul on eBay for $504. The buyer? Jim Henderson, the Christian author of a book on attracting the non-religious to church. Henderson and Mehta's arrangement: send Mehta to services at various churches, ranging from the tiny to the gargantuan, and have him record his observations in order to improve Christianity's "image" among the non-religious. The auction propelled Mehta into the media spotlight as the "guy who sold his soul on eBay", landing articles in the Wall Street Journal and Chicago Sun-Times , plus offers from Good Morning America and Fox News (among others). Net result of all this publicity? Mehta's book, I Sold My Soul on eBay: Viewing Faith Through an Atheist's Eyes. Read on for my review.
But first, two notes of disclosure. Most importantly, I know Mehta as a friend-of-a-friend; we spent two years in middle school together (in 1996-97), and I found out about this book through that mutual friend. Mehta was generous enough to send me an advance copy for this Slashdot book review. Secondly, I am not his target audience. Surprisingly, this atheist-penned book is published by a Christian publisher and intended for a Christian audience. The auction winner's influence shows here: like Henderson's work, Sold My Soul is really intended to show Christians how to better deliver their message to the ears of non-believers. I think it does more than that, however. Mehta's overarching theme is better understanding and dialogue between the various factions, none of whom plan to give up or disappear any time soon. If we're going to live with one another, Mehta reasons, why don't we learn from each other and learn to respect each other? (This is a stark contrast to the last book on religion that I read: Sam Harris's The End of Faith calls for the total removal of religion from society.)
At this point, you're likely wondering why this review appears on Slashdot. Religion is a frequent topic on this forum, and the responses people get are not always friendly. For one, I believe there are a large number of non-theist (or at least questioning) individuals here, and any book which calmly and dispassionately discusses non-theistic beliefs can help us better understand our own journeys with spirituality. On the other hand, a significant fraction of Slashdotters are probably religious to some extent, and the intelligent members of that category are really Mehta's target audience. <sarcasm>Everyone on Slashdot is brilliant, right?<sarcasm> Given that these two populations make up most of the readership here, Slashdot runneth over with the very people who ought to see Mehta's book.
Explanation aside, the book is a great, quick read for anyone with even a passing interest in religion and society. Mehta's friendly, conversational style makes it easy to understand his arguments, and his structure provides for a compelling read. He begins the book with a description of his own religious upbringing (his parents are Jainist immigrants from India), followed by his discovery of atheism in middle school, and a quick overview of the now-famous eBay auction. The next four chapters give Mehta's accounts of four classes of Christian churches: small, medium, large, and so-called mega-churches. Chapter 9 discusses what, in Mehta's eyes, works and doesn't work at church services (works: performing community service; doesn't work: an hour of music before the sermon begins). For chapter 10, Mehta outlines the conditions which would need to be fulfilled for him to believe in God and discusses a debate on faith he had with Pastor Tim Harlow as part of Rev. Harlow's sermon one weekend. The book closes with a discussion guide written by Ron R. Lee for church groups to use in "get[ting] more from this book."
Make no mistake: although Mehta is the Friendly Atheist, he pulls no punches when describing his experiences at church. For instance, he only enjoyed one of the four small churches he attended, and says so very plainly (even naming names):
Most of Mehta's candid points make sense and should be eye-opening for some Christians (and other religious people). However, there are areas where he comes across as hopelessly naive. For instance, he doesn't seem to understand what evangelical Christians mean when they use words like "saved". He asks what Christians believe they are saving him from. Nearly any evangelical tract or website gives a fairly concrete answer to what Christians believe they are saving non-believers from. Coming from an individual as smart as Mehta clearly is, I almost wonder if this naivete is intentional: a rhetorical device rather than a true misunderstanding.
Quibbles about Mehta's knowledge of Christian tenets aside, this is a fascinating read for people on both sides of the belief debate. The author's call for more dialogue and less misunderstanding is timely and sorely needed. Whether you are Christian, another religion, or non-religious, I believe you'll enjoy viewing faith through an atheist's eyes. Did Mehta become a Christian because of his church visits? No, but he did learn something, and you will, too."
But first, two notes of disclosure. Most importantly, I know Mehta as a friend-of-a-friend; we spent two years in middle school together (in 1996-97), and I found out about this book through that mutual friend. Mehta was generous enough to send me an advance copy for this Slashdot book review. Secondly, I am not his target audience. Surprisingly, this atheist-penned book is published by a Christian publisher and intended for a Christian audience. The auction winner's influence shows here: like Henderson's work, Sold My Soul is really intended to show Christians how to better deliver their message to the ears of non-believers. I think it does more than that, however. Mehta's overarching theme is better understanding and dialogue between the various factions, none of whom plan to give up or disappear any time soon. If we're going to live with one another, Mehta reasons, why don't we learn from each other and learn to respect each other? (This is a stark contrast to the last book on religion that I read: Sam Harris's The End of Faith calls for the total removal of religion from society.)
At this point, you're likely wondering why this review appears on Slashdot. Religion is a frequent topic on this forum, and the responses people get are not always friendly. For one, I believe there are a large number of non-theist (or at least questioning) individuals here, and any book which calmly and dispassionately discusses non-theistic beliefs can help us better understand our own journeys with spirituality. On the other hand, a significant fraction of Slashdotters are probably religious to some extent, and the intelligent members of that category are really Mehta's target audience. <sarcasm>Everyone on Slashdot is brilliant, right?<sarcasm> Given that these two populations make up most of the readership here, Slashdot runneth over with the very people who ought to see Mehta's book.
Explanation aside, the book is a great, quick read for anyone with even a passing interest in religion and society. Mehta's friendly, conversational style makes it easy to understand his arguments, and his structure provides for a compelling read. He begins the book with a description of his own religious upbringing (his parents are Jainist immigrants from India), followed by his discovery of atheism in middle school, and a quick overview of the now-famous eBay auction. The next four chapters give Mehta's accounts of four classes of Christian churches: small, medium, large, and so-called mega-churches. Chapter 9 discusses what, in Mehta's eyes, works and doesn't work at church services (works: performing community service; doesn't work: an hour of music before the sermon begins). For chapter 10, Mehta outlines the conditions which would need to be fulfilled for him to believe in God and discusses a debate on faith he had with Pastor Tim Harlow as part of Rev. Harlow's sermon one weekend. The book closes with a discussion guide written by Ron R. Lee for church groups to use in "get[ting] more from this book."
Make no mistake: although Mehta is the Friendly Atheist, he pulls no punches when describing his experiences at church. For instance, he only enjoyed one of the four small churches he attended, and says so very plainly (even naming names):
As the message went on, I found I wasn't enjoying myself in the same way I had in other churches. And it wasn't because I preferred sermons that were sugarcoated. Instead, I was put off by the lack of humor and the formality of Pastor Brad's presentation.
Most of Mehta's candid points make sense and should be eye-opening for some Christians (and other religious people). However, there are areas where he comes across as hopelessly naive. For instance, he doesn't seem to understand what evangelical Christians mean when they use words like "saved". He asks what Christians believe they are saving him from. Nearly any evangelical tract or website gives a fairly concrete answer to what Christians believe they are saving non-believers from. Coming from an individual as smart as Mehta clearly is, I almost wonder if this naivete is intentional: a rhetorical device rather than a true misunderstanding.
Quibbles about Mehta's knowledge of Christian tenets aside, this is a fascinating read for people on both sides of the belief debate. The author's call for more dialogue and less misunderstanding is timely and sorely needed. Whether you are Christian, another religion, or non-religious, I believe you'll enjoy viewing faith through an atheist's eyes. Did Mehta become a Christian because of his church visits? No, but he did learn something, and you will, too."
Submission + - SET - BitTorrent on steroids
A Pirate writes: "Assistant Professor David G. Andersen at Carnegie Mellon University has presented a technology that lets you download files that are just similar to each other. While Torrent and other protocols require the sources to be identical, Similarity-Enhanced Transfer allows you to download pieces of files that are similar, but not necessarily identical. Anderson mentions dubbed movies as an example where you would be able to download the video data from similar sources and focus the audio downloading the identical sources. Preliminary tests have shown a 70% improvement when downloading music."
Submission + - Review: Apple Appalls Where Xbox Excels
JiTL writes: Apple Inc. has graced the public with another smooth, white, exquisitely designed gadget, this time aiming at making it easier to play iTunes movies and songs on the living-room TV set.
Too bad, then, that where looks really matter — in the quality of the video on the TV screen — the $299 Apple TV comes up very short. It's as if Apple had launched an iPod that sounded like a cassette player.
Feed Google Earth as anti-genocide tool (com.com)
Blog: Google and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will be launching next week an initiative to bring attention to the ongoing crisis...
Feed Robotics: Engineers Announce Plastic, Air- And Light-driven Device More Precise (sciencedaily.com)
Engineers report the invention of a motor without metal or electricity that can safely power remote-controlled robotic medical devices used for cancer biopsies and therapies guided by magnetic resonance imaging. The motor that drives the devices can be so precisely controlled by computer that movements are steadier and more precise than a human hand.
Submission + - Earthlink Blocks all Gmail Accounts? .... Again?
PS3Penguin writes: "It appears Earthlink has listed Gmail as a "550 Dynamic/zombied/spam IPs blocked."
A little Googling finds this isn't the only recent Earthlink email issue.
Given this old Slashdot post ... is Earthlink once again a lost cause when it comes to email?"
Submission + - RIAA Announces New Campus Lawsuit Strategy
An anonymous reader writes: The RIAA is once again revising their lawsuit strategy, and will now be sending college students and others "pre-lawsuit letters." People will now be able to settle for a discount. How nice.
