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Google

Submission + - Google Docs and Spreadsheets Expanding

Submitted by
dhinckley
dhinckley writes: "Google announced today that they will indeed be adding Presentation software to their Docs and Spreadsheets package. With the announcement they revealed that they have purchased Tonic Systems to help them with the new Presentation software and hope to have it ready by sometime this summer. Google's office package is starting to look a bit more comparable to Microsoft Office."

Feed Wi-Aquarium: the WiFi-enabled fish tank (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Wireless

We've seen everything from WiFi-enabled PMPs, robots, and even gardens, but a recent creation showcased at the Embedded Systems Conference in California took remote access abilities underwater. While not as profound as a bay-patrolling nuke detector, Lantronix's Wi-Aquarium was able to grab the bronze for its snazzy internet-enabled fish tank, which reportedly "allows users to remotely control and monitor their aquarium anytime from anywhere in the world." Moreover, users can login and keep an eye on the situation via webcam, and they can even dictate the water temperature, lights, and filter from afar. The standout feature, however, is the ingrained ability of the tank to send the owner emails containing status reports of several key metrics, which should certainly keep you connected to your sea-dwelling pets no matter your location. Now this is what Tamagotchi should have been from the start, eh?

[Via The Raw Feed]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Microsoft

Submission + - Codeplex loses 1000s of projects' code, no backups

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: From:
http://www.codeplex.com/CodePlex/Wiki/View.aspx?ti tle=System%20Outage%20Report&referringTitle=Home

System Outage Report
Current Outages:

Status update as of April 16th:

At 3pm PDT on April 11th an operator error occurred that caused source control and issue tracker data on one of the Microsoft CodePlex servers to be accidentally overwritten. During the standard data recovery effort, a recovery backup configuration oversight was discovered in the routine backup process for this CodePlex server which is still impacting immediate restoration of some of the data.

Note: The content in the Wiki as well as the release files have not been affected. This current outage only affects projects that were hosted on TFS03.

We are continuing to work on this situation as a matter of highest priority. All affected projects have now had their source control and issue tracker functionality restored however the status of the source control and issue tracker data for some projects remains unknown at this time. We will continue to report back on the issue.

Again, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. The necessary corrections are already in place to ensure this situation will not occur again.
The Courts

Submission + - Judges Reject Appeals From Webcasters

Submitted by YeSL
YeSL writes: Internet radio broadcasters were dealt a setback Monday when a panel of copyright judges threw out requests to reconsider a ruling that hiked the royalties they must pay to record companies and artists. A broad group of public and private broadcasters, including radio stations, small startup companies, National Public Radio and major online sites like Yahoo Inc. and Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, had objected to the new royalties set March 2, saying they would force a drastic cutback in services that are now enjoyed by some 50 million people.

Feed WWDC Jobsnote to run three hours? (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

As the days grow longer and Mother Nature finishes shaking off the last remnants of a cold, dark winter, a young man's fancy naturally turns to Apple's upcoming Worldwide Developers Conference starting June 11th, and if a recent update to the gathering's official site proves accurate, this year's keynote is gonna be a doozy. Apple Insider points out that the newly-posted WWDC schedule shows a three-hour chunk of time blocked out for the Monday morning Jobsnote -- a mighty feat even for such a seasoned public speaker -- which could indicate an unusually long speech filled with Leopard revelations, shiny new toys, and lots of "un-be-lievables." Still, no matter what goes down, the main takeaway here is that we may be in for three straight hours of liveblogging. Have fun, Ryan!

[Via Apple Insider]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Communications

Vonage Admits They Have No Workaround 345

Posted by Zonk from the i-hear-violins dept.
drachenfyre writes "It looks like Vonage has no workaround for their recent patent infringements. This means if a permanent stay isn't granted it is likely that it will be the end of the line for Vonage. What will happen if millions of phone customers suddenly lose their service? Their own filing to the court stated 'While Vonage has studied methods for designing around the patents, removal of the allegedly infringing technology, if even feasible, could take many months to fully study and implement.'"
United States

CS Programs Changing to Attract Women Students 596

Posted by Zonk from the too-much-y-already dept.
Magnifico writes "The New York times is running an article about a push by American universities to actively recruit women into Computer Science courses. The story, 'Computer Science Takes Steps to Bring Women to the Fold', explains that the number of women in CS is shrinking: 'Women received about 38 percent of the computer science bachelor's degrees awarded in the United States in 1985, the peak year, but in 2003, the figure was only about 28 percent, according to the National Science Foundation.' One of the largest barriers to recruiting women to the field is the nerd factor. To attract women students to the CS field, 'Moving emphasis away from programming proficiency was a key to the success of programs Dr. Blum and her colleagues at Carnegie Mellon instituted to draw more women into computer science.' Changes at CMU increased women students in the CS program from 8 percent to nearly 40 percent."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft tries to strong-arm Florida senators

Submitted by
lisah
lisah writes: "Microsoft apparently took issue with a bill on the floor of the Florida senate and sent three lobbyists to persuade Senators to change its wording before it is signed. As chair of the House Committee on Audit & Performance, Rep. Ed Homan saw an opportunity to save taxpayers some money by exploring open source solutions as the state prepares to upgrade the computers and software at the Department of Health. He inserted some language to that effect into bill 1974 before it got to its first committee approval, but Microsoft started pressuring senators almost immediately to have it removed. From the article, '...within 24 hours three Microsoft-paid lobbyists, all wearing black suits, were pressuring members of the Senate Committee on Governmental Operations (COGO) to remove the words they didn't like.""

Feed Vintage mechanical spectacles take you way back (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Wearables

We've seen eyewear of just about every variety, and while we wouldn't necessarily recommend crafting your own over seeing an optometrist, Y4G3R's mechanical spectacles are probably better to look at than through. The brass-clad glasses resemble a mishmash of steampunk and modern DIY prowess, and while you may have seen a set similar to these worn in movies from decades ago, the mechanics here are likely superior. According to their creator, the "temple arms retract and the ear hoops pivot under for compact(ish) storage," and furthermore, "the bridge is spring loaded, extending another few centimeters when worn." So if you're curious to see just how neatly a pair of homegrown specs can plicate, click on through for the aftermath.

[Via Wired]

Continue reading Vintage mechanical spectacles take you way back

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Communications

Submission + - Are mobile phones wiping out our bees?

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward Inc.
Anonymous Coward Inc. writes: "Snippet from article . "Seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world's harvests fail. They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world — the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon — which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe — was beginning to hit Britain as well.""
Google

Schmidt Says YouTube 'Very Close' to Filtering System 108

Posted by Zonk from the so-close-and-yet-so-far dept.
cnetfeed writes "Google CEO says an automated system will soon be available to track pirated content and prevent it from being uploaded to video sharing site. The system was supposed to be rolled out as early as last October, and the long delay in brining the technology online has resulted in ill will from companies like NBC and Viacom. 'Network executives accused Google of stalling so YouTube could reap the big traffic that professionally-created shows generate. Viacom filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Google last month and accused Google of massive intentional copyright infringement. "Ah Viacom," [CEO Eric Schmidt] Schmidt said. "You're either doing business with them or being sued by them...we chose the former, but ended up the latter." Schmidt took the opportunity to poke fun at Microsoft's assertion that Google's pending acquisition of DoubleClick may be a threat to fair competition. Other companies, including Yahoo and AT&T have also asked regulators to review the transaction closely.'"
Role Playing (Games)

Submission + - WoW Addiction Results in Death of Toddler

Submitted by Henry V .009
Henry V .009 writes: The Albuquerque Journal reports that Federal authorities have just charged Rebecca Wulf for allowing her 3-year-old daughter to starve to death, surrounded by "cat feces, moldy food and unwashed dishes" while Rebecca played World of Warcraft. I thought Slashdoters might want an early heads up on what is likely to become a big news story. Having worked with abused children in the past, I can say that the stories I hear of WoW addiction cases are on the level of hard drug addiction stories — in my opinion at least, this can no longer be dismissed as a 'you can be addicted to anything' issue anymore.

Feed The 2006 Engadget Awards: Vote for Wearable Device of the Year (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Announcements, Wearables

Now's your chance to cast your ballot for the 2006 Wearable Device of the Year! Our Engadget Awards nominees are listed below, and you've got until 11.59PM EST on Sunday, April 15th to file your vote. You can only vote once, so make it count, and may the best tech win! The nominees: Aliph Jawbone Bluetooth headset, HAL-5 robotic suit, Motorola / Oakley O ROKR, Nike + iPod, Shure E500PTH, and Sony Ericsson MBW-100 Bluetooth watch.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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