Iberian - Slashdot User

Comment Re:This has been on my mind for a few years ... (Score 1) 990

by Iberian on Tuesday November 25, 2008 @03:41PM (#25890121) Attached to: Should We Clone a Neanderthal?

It seems that everyone assumes cloning includes memories. It doesn't. Whatever species is cloned and then nurtured in our current environment will be just like us. The opinion he gives will either be what he thinks we think he should think or just his opinion significantly influenced by the social interaction he has had.

In short it will not be as if some primitive society is reborn and brought to this brave new world to provide an eye opening commentary on the state of our society.

Submission + - Linux Developer On Trial For Murdering His Wife 1

Submitted by Iberian on Friday November 30, 2007 @04:21PM

Iberian writes: From HardOCP
Linux Developer On Trial For Murdering His Wife A Linux developer is on trial for murder after his wife went missing last year. This ends up being tech news because the guy is responsible for developing the default file system on Suse Linux/openSUSE, Slackware, Xandros, Linspir and others.

Submission + - International Polar Year beginning

Submitted by VENONA on Monday February 26, 2007 @06:36PM

VENONA writes: While officially beginning on March 1st, various preliminary things (blogs, etc.) are up at ipy.org. From the press release:

"26 February, 2007 International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008 officially gets underway on 1 March, 2007. IPY, which is a programme of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), will be the largest internationally coordinated scientific research effort in 50 years."

"During the course of IPY, thousands of scientists, from over 60 countries and a wide range of research disciplines, will carry out 220 science and outreach projects under six major themes..."

Submission + - The ghost of the Newton haunts Apple's iPhone

Submitted by

PetManimal

on Monday February 26, 2007 @06:28PM

PetManimal writes: "David Haskin has looked back at why the Newton failed to succeed in the early PDA market, and warns that Apple may be setting itself up for a similar failure with the iPhone. The iPhone appears to have a revolutionary interface, and the product has generated tons of interest from the Mac community — just like the Newton did, back in the 1990s. But the iPhone also shares with the Newton a hefty starting price — $500 for the iPhone, vs. $700 (in 1993 dollars) for the Newton. And Joe Public may not be so keen on the cost, as recent survey data suggests (see Slashdot discussion). Moreover, Haskin notes that the iPhone will have to deal with two additional factors that were not issues for the Newton: Competition, and wireless service providers: 'Besides overcharging for iPhone, Apple faces significant competition, something it didn't face in 1993 when it launched Newton. And you can bet that competition from the likes of Samsung and LG will both be good (although probably not as good as iPhone) and most assuredly cheaper. It's also becoming clear that Apple may be suffering from excessive hubris. That is evident by its strong demands on its partner in the U.S., Cingular/AT&T. The demands, including a slice of the cellular revenues and control of the sales channel, were so strong that Verizon Wireless turned the deal down. I'm more convinced than ever that, after an initial frenzy of publicity and sales to early adopters, iPhone sales will be unspectacular. If Apple doesn't respond quickly by lowering the price and making nice to AT&T, which surely will be ticked off, iPhone may well become Apple's next Newton. Remember that two years after Newton was introduced, a smaller, cheaper PDA appeared — the Palm Pilot — which truly did rock the world.'"

Submission + - A justification for better IT

Submitted by

Thede

on Monday February 26, 2007 @06:12PM

Thede writes: "Computerworld has an article about productivity research by Marshall Van Allstyne, Sinan Aral, and Erik Brynjolfssonto that ought to be a boon IT. From the article: "In the past decade, studies have shown that IT leads to increased corporate productivity, but until recently, no one had measured how it affects work at the individual desktop level." (Until now)

They actually measured the flow of email from individuals then analyzed each person's activity relative to the network. "Among the surprises, IT didn't necessarily make projects faster but it did dramatically increase productivity by facilitating multitasking. They also found that IT-supported social networks predicted productivity better than experience. Now you can tell your boss the project's late but your productivity is up, and beers with the buddies really matter!"

The data (including 125,000 email messages) was collected over 5 years in several professional services firms.

http://computerworld.com/action/article.do?command =viewArticleBasic&taxonomyId=14&articleId=281734&i ntsrc=hm_topic

The original papers are online:
http://ssrn.com/abstract=887406
http://ssrn.com/abstract=942310"

Surveillance Cameras Get Smarter 186

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday February 26, 2007 @06:05PM from the walk-without-rhythm-and-you-won't-attract-the-one dept.

kog777 writes to mention that the IB Times is taking a look at where surveillance camera technology is headed. Soon researchers tell us that cameras will be available that not only record, but are able to interpret what they see. "The advancements have already been put to work. For example, cameras in Chicago and Washington can detect gunshots and alert police. Baltimore installed cameras that can play a recorded message and snap pictures of graffiti sprayers or illegal dumpers. In the commercial market, the gaming industry uses camera systems that can detect facial features, according to Bordes. Casinos use their vast banks of security cameras to hunt cheating gamblers who have been flagged before."

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