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Submission + - Generating power on the road's surface (www.tno.nl)

Submitted by janestarz
janestarz writes: In Amsterdam Dutch research organisation TNO has presented a new concept today: SolaRoad. With this innovation TNO and the North-Holland Province hope to contribute to sustainable energy infrastructure and long term climate-neutral mobility.The material will be tested in the town of Krommenie for an expected period of five years. The first test piece will only be a 100 meters long stretch of bike path.
"This top layer is roughened so that cyclists and later cars can grip the road. It will also counter the reflection of the sun." said Sten de Wit van TNO.
The original press release in Dutch is available; as well as an article on a second-party site (Dutch here). Google translate has some problems with the Dutch translation, though.
Firefox

Submission + - Firefox overtakes Internet Explorer in Europe

Submitted by mvar
mvar writes: Boston, USA and Dublin, Ireland; Tuesday 4th January, 2011: Firefox overtook Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) to become the number one browser in Europe in December 2010 according to StatCounter, the free website analytics company. The firm's research arm StatCounter Global Stats reports that in December, Firefox took 38.11% of European market share, compared to IE's 37.52%.

"This is the first time that IE has been dethroned from the number one spot in a major territory," commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. "This appears to be happening because Google's Chrome is stealing share from Internet Explorer while Firefox is mainly maintaining its existing share."

Comment Re:It has a GPS too (Score 1) 221

by janestarz (#34742404) Attached to: Samsung Set To Introduce Android-Based iPod Touch Competitor
There are some fixes for the GPS issue on these forums:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=728611&page=1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=731462&highlight=gps

Haven't tried it myself as I don't yet have root access, but this supposedly fixes your GPS fix. =) My GPS has once saved my ass in Germany when I drove to the wrong town (Goch-Kessel reads as Kessel, stadt Goch) and has given me a number of severe headaches as well. I love my little Galaxy S to death, but I do not count on its navigation ever.

Submission + - 4chan has been DDOSed

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: According to the 4chan status page all of the 4chan boards have been DDOSed and are down. How ironic.
Biotech

Submission + - DNA to Determine if Lincoln's Assassin Got Away

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens
Hugh Pickens writes: "CNN reports that DNA tests will soon take place that that could finally put to rest debate about whether Abraham Lincoln's killer escaped capture and lived for years before committing suicide. According to history books, John Wilkes Booth was cornered 12 days after shooting President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre and killed in a tobacco barn before being laid to rest in a family plot but there have been several historians over the years not entirely satisfied with this version who say Booth got away and was actually able to live another 38 years. Now descendants of Booth's brother have agreed to exhume the body of Edwin Booth so his DNA can be tested against vertebrae of the man shot in the barn in an effort to put the family drama to rest. "If it compares favorably, that's the end of the controversy. That was Booth in the barn, end of case," says Jan Herman, chief historian for the Navy Medical Department. "If it doesn't match, you change American history.""
Ubuntu

Submission + - Ubuntu Powered Tablet Spotted! (gadgetizor.com)

Submitted by dkd903
dkd903 writes: The year 2010 had been all buzz with tablets and a similar trend is expected during the year 2011 too. We have already seen a lot of Android powered tablets. But how does a tablet powered by Ubuntu sound? A Chinese manufacturer TENQ has launched a tablet called P07. The device is said to be running Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition and the boot time reported to be almost instant.
Privacy

Submission + - Mozilla Posts File Containing Registered User Data (securityweek.com)

Submitted by wiredmikey
wiredmikey writes: Mozilla Mistakenly Posts File Containing Registered User Data — Mozilla today sent an email to registered users of its addons.mozilla.org site, letting them know that it had mistakenly posted a file to a publicly available Web server which contained data from its user database including email addresses, first and last names, and an md5 hash representation of user passwords.

Submission + - 150 year old, Civil War Message Decoded (huffingtonpost.com)

Submitted by
MrShaggy
MrShaggy writes: "RICHMOND, Va. — A glass vial stopped with a cork during the Civil War has been opened, revealing a coded message to the desperate Confederate commander in Vicksburg on the day the Mississippi city fell to Union forces 147 years ago. The dispatch offered no hope to doomed Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton:"

Comment Re:Hoorah! (Score 3, Insightful) 805

by janestarz (#21009079) Attached to: Geek and Gadgets Set Cross-US Speed Record
Except for the fact that on the German Autobahn, people expect this. There are many stretches of road that you are allowed to drive as fast as you can go, if traffic allows. All the German people driving cars know that there might be cars on those stretches that are doing 200kph. It's not just the fact that you are paying attention as a driver, but that the other cars around you are paying attention as well. I've done the German Autobahn as a passenger at 160-180 kph (my father was driving and I hated every second of it) and as a driver (135 kph is fast enough for me) and your mirrors become your best friend. You keep an eye on traffic in front and behind you, anticipate speeds and you'll do fine.

There are also stretches of road in Germany that you're not allowed to go too fast, sometimes with speed limits of 80 kph because the difference in speed between the trucks (LKW's) and regular cars would become too great. And most people abide just fine by it, because they know it can get really dangerous. Sure, the BMW's and Mercedeses and Porsches will accelarate very fast once the speed limits are raised again, but they keep their speed mania in check when danger is close.

I live in the Netherlands and when I crossed back over the border after a trip to Germany, within 5 kilometers of the border you can tell the difference in driving style. I'd drive in Germany any day, despite the speed limits or the lack thereof. Just because Germans can anticipate and think about what they are doing and what impact they might have on other peoples lives.
Roy does not.
Role Playing (Games)

Submission + - Roman Army: Online World Record (jointheromanarmy.co.uk)

Submitted by
Sam Cash
Sam Cash writes: "Dorling Kindersley (DK) have just launched a new online game to promote their Eyewitness Books series. The game allows users to create and maintain a Roman soldier, who operates within an army of online users, individuals gain points for answering quizzes, referring friends and logging on a daily. The premise of the game is to work your way up the rankings of the Roman Army, to be at the very top.

The game is aimed at all ages and is designed to help them learn different aspects of Ancient Rome, the game actually appeals to a wide variety of individuals from the young to Rome enthusiasts to the old. Dorling Kindersley also aim to make into the Guinness Book of Records by assembling the biggest online army.

http://www.jointheromanarmy.co.uk/"

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