Cherita Chen - Slashdot User

Submission + - Tractor Beam to Prevent Aircraft Missile Attack

Submitted by mattnyc99 on Thursday March 08, 2007 @12:36PM

mattnyc99 writes: In the race against aircraft terrorism, Boeing's remote control system reported yesterday won't be the only solution. But Northrop Grumman has finally begun testing its laser-powered Guardian defense system in the fight against missiles targeting commercial jets, with nine FedEx cargo jets now carrying the infrared laser deflection system aboard their fuselages. The false heat signature operation is not that unlike Boeing's own airborne laser turret, but the Pentagon's new Global Strike system makes it clear that the U.S. may even have more of an upper hand on offense than defense when it comes to missile technology.

Submission + - Meat-eating cow

Submitted by

scottblascocomposer

on Thursday March 08, 2007 @12:26PM

scottblascocomposer writes: "I'm surprised I haven't seen this anywhere on Slashdot yet. A village in India has found itself with a chicken-disappearance problem, but it's not dogs or any of the usual suspects to blame. No, a calf has been caught in the act of snatching chickens "with the precision of a jungle cat.""

Submission + - Joost to Announce Deal With JumpTV

Submitted by

TIME Magazine

on Thursday March 01, 2007 @01:13PM

TIME Magazine writes: "TIME Exclusive: Joost Plans to Announce Deal With JumpTV. TIME has learned that Joost will announce "a deal with JumpTV, the world's largest distributor of international TV stations, to begin distributing programming from some of the 270 stations in 70 countries that JumpTV owns rights to." TIME's Jeremy Caplan calls Joost a "potentially huge revolution" that will move TV to the internet, with easy-to-use, dvd-quality features and the possibility of more than 50,000 channels. He writes, "Viacom, which recently yanked its programs from YouTube, has now signed a deal to supply Joost with movies from Paramount and programming from MTV , Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and other stations." Complete story at http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1 595049,00.html The March 12, 2007 issue of TIME goes on sale on Friday, March 2"

Submission + - Military nanotechnology - how worried should we be

Submitted by

Michael Berger

on Thursday February 01, 2007 @05:50PM

Michael Berger writes: "All major powers are making efforts to research and develop nanotechnology- based materials and systems for military use. Asian and European countries, with the exception of Sweden (Swedish Defence Nanotechnology Programme), do not run dedicated programs for defense nanotechnology research. Rather, they integrate several nanotechnology-related projects within their traditional defense-research structures, e.g., as materials research, electronic devices research, or bio-chemical protection research. Not so the U.S. military. Stressing continued technological superiority as its main strategic advantage, it is determined to exploit nanotechnology for future military use and it certainly wants to be No. 1 in this area. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is a major investor, spending well over 30% of all federal investment dollars in nanotechnology. Of the $352m spent on nanotech by the DoD in 2005, $1m, or roughly 0.25%, went into research dealing with potential health and environmental risks. In 2006, estimated DoD nanotechnology expenditures will be $436m — but the risk-related research stays at $1m. (full story at http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=1015.php)"

Maxwell's Demon Soon A Reality? 148

Posted by Zonk on Thursday February 01, 2007 @05:23PM from the chomp-chomp-evil-snacking dept.

DMiax writes "Reuters reports that a group of scientists from University of Edimburgh may have realized a nanomolecular engine - a Maxwell's Demon. The device selects and traps other molecules based on their direction of motion. Physicist James Maxwell first imagined the nano-scale device in 1867, and the research team cites him as the basis for their understanding of how lights, heat, and molecules interact. The device is powered by light, and may spur advances in nano-scale technology to new heights in coming years."

Submission + - The State vs Jehovah's Witnesses

Submitted by

CohibaVancouver

on Thursday February 01, 2007 @05:09PM

CohibaVancouver writes: "There's an interesting legal battle brewing in British Columbia. In January, a woman in Vancouver gave premature birth to sextuplets. That's news in itself, but what's really interesting is that the parents are Jehovah's witnesses. Typically, in order to survive, 'preemies' need blood transfusions, and the parents have refused to allow them for religous reasons.

As a result, the state has been seizing the babies and giving them the transfusions so they have a better chance of survival. Once the transfusions are complete the babies are 'given back' to their parents.

The relationship between the parents and doctors are reported as 'strained' and now there's a court battle brewing to prevent the further seizing of the babies by the state.

Fascinating stuff. You can read more here:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/20 07/02/01/sextuplet-transfusion-070201.html"

Submission + - Google Image Search Goes Undercover

Submitted by

sgbett

on Thursday February 01, 2007 @05:04PM

sgbett writes: "So google changed there image search results page recently to a slicker web 2.0 approach, and in doing do have hidden what could be considered to be one of the most vital pieces of image metadata behind a mouseover. Imagaine a world where search only returned page titles, with no clue as to content — Could it be that google have got the UI wrong for once?"

Submission + - NVIDIA Vista Driver Class Action Lawsuit Readied

Submitted by igibo on Thursday February 01, 2007 @04:42PM

igibo writes: The NVIDIA support forums are chock full of angry early adopters clamoring for functional Vista drivers to use with their multi-hundred (thousand!) dollar GPUs. Presently, there are a group of outspoken, outraged customers seeking compensation via a class action lawsuit. Me? I just want to be able to rotate my secondary display!

Submission + - Best language for an occasional programmer?

Submitted by

the_womble

on Thursday February 01, 2007 @04:31PM

the_womble writes: "I am never going to be a developer, but I write a little bit of code occasionally. A simple CMS written in TCL a few years ago, a few Wordpress plugins, things like that. I am now thinking of more ambitious projects.

I am most interested in websites and CMSs, but it would be useful to be able to whip up a simple GUI as well. What languages and tools should I learn. Programming only occasionally needs a language with a clear syntax and a small core language — so I do not forget it all between times. Development tools also need to be simple. Libraries need to be well documented. Finally, it should be fun to work with.

So, what should I learn? My own research has not got me further than "Ruby and Scheme look nice". What do you think?"

Submission + - Massive Cloud Seen Over Titan's North Pole

Submitted by

sighted

on Thursday February 01, 2007 @03:30PM

sighted writes: "NASA has published intriguing images that show a giant cloud, half the size of the United States, at Saturn's moon Titan. It may be responsible for the material that fills the recently-discovered lakes."

Submission + - Satellite Explodes on launchpad

Submitted by

chriseyre2000

on Thursday February 01, 2007 @03:13PM

chriseyre2000 writes: "Satellite explodes on launch pad: http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/070130_sealau nch_explosion.html Why it the worlds media ignoring this?"

Submission + - Google does no evil?

Submitted by

Earl Shannon

on Thursday February 01, 2007 @03:04PM

Earl Shannon writes: "The Raleigh News and Observer is carrying this story on Google's recent lobbying efforts to obtain concessions in order to place a center in western North Carolina. It provides a contrast to what we usually hear and say about Google. I'll let the reader decide if this diminishes their opinion of Google any. Frankly my opinion for the General Assembly of North Carolina ( State Government ) isn't what it should be."

Submission + - Battery startup has a powerful pitch ... and pitch

Submitted by

netbuzz

on Thursday February 01, 2007 @02:45PM

netbuzz writes: "http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1102 6

A Massachusetts startup promises lithium-ion laptop batteries that fit existing architectures, dramatically reduce recharging times, enhance safety and last for the typical three-year life of a machine. HP was handling the introductions of Boston-Power at DEMO 07 this morning, so they've got a powerful friend. They also have a dynamic CEO in Christina Lampe-Onnerud."

Submission + - Learning Enough Math To Understand String Theory?

Submitted by I am not Brian Greene on Thursday February 01, 2007 @02:22PM

I am not Brian Greene writes: Is it possible for mere mortals to learn enough math on their own to understand, say, string theory or its alternatives? I've grown tired to gloss over any formula and while I thorougly enjoyed Greene's Fabric of Cosmos, I'd like to be able to understand more. Would a more technical work be accessible for a self-learner (with a technical degree obtained many years ago)? I realize it's going to take a few years.

Submission + - Vista Home not allowed for Virtualization

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 01, 2007 @01:44PM

An anonymous reader writes: Apparently, Microsoft is requiring that people purchase either Enterprise or Ultimate editions of Vista, if they plan to run it under virtualization. Kinda sucks for all the Mac users planning on running Vista under Parallels. On the other hand, I wonder how MS plans to enforce this?

http://parallelsvirtualization.blogspot.com/2007/0 1/vista-is-here-so-what-does-it-mean-for.html

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