Submission + - IBM to buy Sun (cyclismo.org)
capt.Hij writes: "NPR's Marketplace is reporting that IBM is in talks to purchase Sun. They say the deal could go through soon."
Comment No - Not at all (Score 4, Insightful) 539
I know it is not fashionable to read the article or look at this from a different perspective, but Mr. Blount explicitly brought this issue up in the article. He said that providing such services to sight impaired people is something they have done for a long time and have no desire to end.
He is also not saying that this is a copyright violation. What he explicitly said is that the kindle creates extra value for the work. In return the people who created the material should share in that extra value.
It is fine to disagree with this statement. I personally think that market forces should determine the worth of the product. If you want to argue, though, you should argue against the points that he brought up instead of changing the subject and using a "straw man" argument.
Comment Re:Clever, actually (Score 3, Insightful) 230
Actually, I was thinking rsync over ssh. It is not so clear from the article, but if this is the case then it is big. The combination of rsync and ssh is one of the most used tool combinations for me. If it is rsync "like' then that should reduce the bandwidth issues that you (rightfully) raise.
Comment Terrible Idea (Score 4, Interesting) 498
Just because someone is a great scientist does not mean the person is a good administrator or a good politician. The sad truth is that politicians will not care if he has a Nobel Prize and will think nothing of tearing him down for no reason other than they can. Everybody has limitations, and it would be better to get someone who can listen to scientists and engineers and also be a great administrator.
Submission + - Particle Physicists Share the Physics Nobel
somegeekynick writes: The 2008 Nobel Prize in Physics has been jointly awarded to Yoichiro Nambu of the University of Chicago 'for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics.' and Makoto Kobayashi of the KEK lab and Toshihide Maskawa of the Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, both in Japan, 'for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature.'
Submission + - Mummified Dinosaur Astonishes Scientists (techluver.com)
Tech.Luver writes: "Fossil hunters have uncovered the remains of a dinosaur that has much of its soft tissue still intact. Skin, muscle, tendons and other tissue that rarely survive fossilisation have all been preserved in the specimen unearthed in North Dakota, US.
The 67 million-year-old dinosaur is one of the duck-billed hadrosaur group. While they call it a mummy, the dinosaur is not really preserved like King Tut was.
The dinosaur body has been fossilized into stone. Unlike the collections of bones found in museums, this hadrosaur came complete with skin, ligaments, tendons and possibly some internal organs, according to researchers.
( http://techluver.com/2007/12/03/mummified-dinosaur-astonishes-scientists/ )"
Submission + - IBM Releases Lotus Office Package for no charge (lotus.com)
capt.Hij writes: "The International Tribune is reporting that IBM is offering Lotus Symphony for no charge. They are making the software available for windows and linux systems. The software and more details are available at the IBM site."
Submission + - Acer Buys Gateway to Become #3 PC Manufacturer (reuters.com)
dill writes: "Taiwan's Acer will buy Gateway for $710 million, creating the world's No. 3 PC maker and doubling its U.S. presence while dealing a blow to arch-foe Lenovo's efforts to grow in Europe."
Submission + - XBOX failure draining money from Microsoft
Big Nothing writes: "The various technical difficulties with the XBOX 360 has previously been covered here on slashdot. Now various news sources are reporting that the repair costs for Microsoft are going to be a whopping $1bn. Microsoft will extend the warranty to cover repairs related to the "red lights of death" problem up to three years after purchase."
Submission + - Intellectual Property on the Menu (buzzle.com)
capt.Hij writes: "Buzzle.com has a story about the owner of a restaurant in New York City who is suing a former chef for copying the look and feel of her restaurant. She is also saying that the chef stole her intellectual property, the recipe for her Caesar salad:
What seems to have upset Ms Charles in particular is Ed's Caesar, a $7 (£3.50) salad that she alleges in the legal action was taken from her own recipe. But Ms Charles acquired the recipe from her mother, who, in turn, wheedled it out of a chef in Los Angeles.
"
Submission + - Cyberbullying gains momentum (bbc.co.uk)
interglossa writes: "A report by the Pew Internet Project reported on the BBC news web site indicates a rising incidence of cyberbullying among online teenagers, with slightly higher incidence among those visiting social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Tactics cited include being "the victim of an aggressive email, IM or text message" and "having a rumor spread about them online"."
