Comment Re:Subject (Score 2, Insightful) 280
As long as we get some return on the investment I'm all for it
Like, say, protection from terrorists?
Comment Re:I say "go for it!" (Score 2, Interesting) 672
Can't they first wait until humanity advances a bit further into space?
Comment Re:Duh (Score 5, Funny) 746
No, it's not. There, a picture of me:
Comment Re:Duh (Score 4, Funny) 746
All the Linux distributions are "bloated" [...]
My Gentoo is not.
Comment Re:Poor productivity (Score 1) 87
I'm not that sure if the same system (democracy) works for china as it does in the US. Too many people with too much different opinions. I think China would immediately split up in many little nations...
Comment Same image? (Score 1) 82
Did you notice how the image with the 2 hands in the upper left of their website is the same as for Slashdots "Social Networking" category, as for example in the facebook-breastfeeding news?
Falcon 9 Is Now Fully Integrated At Cape Canaveral 82
RobGoldsmith writes "SpaceX's Falcon 9 is now fully integrated: an update from Elon Musk states 'Falcon 9 is now fully integrated at the Cape! Today we mated the 5.2 m payload fairing to the Falcon 9 first stage. This was the final step in the integration process — one day ahead of schedule.' New images are now available showing the first fully integrated Falcon 9 Rocket. Once the launch mount and erector are complete, SpaceX will transfer Falcon 9 on to the erector and raise it to vertical early in 2009."
Comment Re:Patent Trolls are a GOOD thing... (Score 1) 250
This has nothing to do with innovation, they simply exploit the system - that's all. I had similar feelings like the parent about patents, but we need them anyway. And I don't think that large corporations spend so much money to fight about something which we'll drop later anyway.
Google, Apple, Microsoft Sued Over File Preview 250
ClaraBow writes with this excerpt from MacWorld:
"A small Indiana company has sued tech heavyweights Microsoft, Apple, and Google, claiming that it holds the patent on a common file preview feature used by browsers and operating systems to show users small snapshots of the files before they are opened. ... Cygnus's owner and president Gregory Swartz developed the technology laid out in the patent while working on IT consulting projects, McAndrews said. The company is looking for 'a reasonable royalty' as well as a court injunction preventing further infringement, he said. ... Cygnus applied for its patent (#7346850) in 2001. It covers a 'System and method for iconic software environment management' and was granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office in March of this year."
Alien Comet May Have Infiltrated the Solar System 208
New Scientist has a piece about Comet Machholz 1, whose uncommon molecular composition suggests, but does not prove, that it may be an interloper from another star system. "Comet Machholz 1 isn't like other comets. David Schleicher of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, measured the chemical makeup of 150 comets, and found that they all had similar levels of the chemical cyanogen (CN) except for Machholz 1, which has less than 1.5% of the normal level. Along with some other comets, it is also low on the molecules carbon-2 and carbon-3."
Scandinavian Scientists Designing Robotic Snakes 129
Cowards Anonymous writes "The Sintef Group, a research company based in Trondheim, Norway, announced that it's designing a robot based on snakes. The 1.5-meter long robots, which are made of aluminum, are being designed to inspect and clean complicated industrial pipe systems that are typically narrow and inaccessible to humans. The intelligent robots have multiple joints to enable them to twist vertically and climb up through pipe systems to locate leaks in water systems, inspect oil and gas pipelines and clean ventilation systems."
Children Concerned By Parents' Web Habits 381
praps writes "Children are becoming increasingly worried about their parents' Internet habits, according to a report just released in Sweden. Unsurprisingly, dads surfing for pornography is the most common problem, but chatroom addiction also featured in the report — as is a mother who has become obsessed with World of Warcraft. 'This summer she has been sitting up all day and all night and she forgets what's important to me,' wrote the woman's 13-year-old daughter. 'And when she's not at the computer she's like a lost soul. She just looks straight ahead and says nothing.'" There are also a lot of scammers out there who like nothing better than to find retirees who they can sucker into get-rich-quick schemes involving real-estate, stock options, and convincing the neighbors to be part of a "downstream" for MLM marketing ploys.
