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The Internet

Submission + - Wikipedians are 42% Liberal, 8% Conservative

Submitted by
Jon
Jon writes: "Jimmy Wales has claimed that Wikipedians are more likely to be liberal, and Wikipedia has been accused of liberal bias. But a sampling of 901 Wikipedians reveals surprising statistics. 42% of Wikipedians self-identify as liberal (49% is current American average) 8% of Wikipedians self-identify as conservative (41% is current American average) 42% of Wikipedians self-identify as libertarian (5% is a rough American average) So liberals are proportionately represented on Wikipedia, conservatives are very under-represented, and libertarians are extremely over-represented."
Patents

Submission + - Sequoia Claims VC Firm Ripped Off its Website

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "VC giant Sequoia Capital has sued ComVentures, accusing it of copyright infringment related to the firm's website design: http://www.pehub.com/wordpress/?p=622 ________________________ The VSP Capital Memorial trophy is awarded each year to the venture capital firm that most effectively turns itself into a punching bag. The 2007 frontrunner is ComVentures. First came the recent FilmLoop flap, in which ComVentures engineered the sale of one portfolio company to another. Now comes another troubling development: While ComVentures was working to sell FilmLoop last December, it also was being sued by Sequoia Capital for copyright infringement. ComVentures says the case has since been "resolved amicably," even though no resolution has yet appeared in the court's online records system. Neither Sequoia nor its attorney returned request for comment or confirmation (download all relevant court filings after the jump). This is a bizarre story for two reasons. First, because of how dumb ComVentures seems to have been. Second, because such cases generally get resolved long before they reach litigation. According to court documents, both Sequoia and ComVentures redesigned their websites last year. Sequoia went first with an August 30 launch, and even took the unusual step of registering the site as an original work of authorship with the U.S. Copyright Office. Soon after, the firm's servers began "to detect significant and prolonged access to the site from someone sharing the IP address for, and presumably within, the ComVentures network." A printout of Sequoia's server logs were filed with the court, and can be downloaded below as Docs 2. In all there were 373 recorded visits. Six weeks later, ComVentures unveiled its own redesign. The new site had a number of striking similarities to the Sequoia site, in terms of both setup and style. For example, check out this ComVentures page and this Sequoia Capital page. Pay particular attention to the geography and company-stage navigation bars. Had the complaint stopped here, I would have assumed that some ComVentures lackey/designer had simply made a mistake in not knowing that you can't rip off someone else's site. He/she was told that the ComVentures brain-trust admired the Sequoia site, and took that to mean "copy it." After all, the first question any web designer asks when building a new site is: "What other sites do you like?" And maybe that's exactly what happened. But what happened next is bizarre. Sequoia's Mike Moritz called ComVentures chief Roland van der Meer to complain on at least two separate occasions. Sequoia's outside counsel also formalized the request in a letter to ComVentures' outside counsel. The complaint alleges that ComVentures agreed to make "certain changes," but then that the only real changes made were that the offending pages were not directly linkable from the ComVentures homepage. In other words, the alleged copyright infringement remained, but was just a bit harder to find. Again, I would like to think this was a slip up (sometimes hard to find all legacy pages) — except that the offending pages STILL are online nearly three months after the suit was filed. Maybe there was concern that full retreat would be perceived as admittance of guilt, but ComVentures isn't willing to get into that level of detail with me (not that I blame them). Sequoia had been seeking both real and punitive damages, and I do not know if any money changed hands via the apparent settlement. But I do know that this is just one more headache ComVentures did not need right now..."
Education

Submission + - Student protests "Racism"; threatens Educa

Submitted by
Fred
Fred writes: "Through education, we've improved our ability to understand one another and grow more tolerant towards racial, ethnic, political and religious differences. Today, we're finding it more and more difficult to distinguish between racist speech and intellectual discourse in academia. Below is an article on point, it discusses a recent University of Wisconsin Law School controversy: a student demands an apology from a law professor for his in-class commentary on race and our legal process. Title: "Is speech really free? www.racism.edu" The author contends that neither the Professor or his comments were racist and to determine otherwise and punish the scholar for his remarks is a threat to our educational learning process about race, tolerance and general cultural differences. Published in the Badger Herald Professor Kaplan allegedly said, Hmong men have no talent other than to kill and All second-generation Hmong end up in gangs and other criminal activity. Also, All Hmong men purchase their wives, so if he wants to have sex with his wife and she doesnt consent, you and I call it rape, but the Hmong guy is thinking man, I paid too much for her."
Power

GE Announces Advancement in Incandescent Technology 619

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the never-underestimate-ingenuity dept.
finfife writes to tell us that GE has announced an advancement in incandescent technology that promises to increase the efficiency of lightbulbs to put them on par with compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). "The new high efficiency incandescent (HEI(TM)) lamp, which incorporates innovative new materials being developed in partnership by GE's Lighting division, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, and GE's Global Research Center, headquartered in Niskayuna, NY, would replace traditional 40- to 100-Watt household incandescent light bulbs, the most popular lamp type used by consumers today. The new technology could be expanded to all other incandescent types as well. The target for these bulbs at initial production is to be nearly twice as efficient, at 30 lumens-per-Watt, as current incandescent bulbs. Ultimately the high efficiency lamp (HEI) technology is expected to be about four times as efficient as current incandescent bulbs and comparable to CFL bulbs. Adoption of new technology could lead to greenhouse gas emission reductions of up to 40 million tons of CO2 in the U.S. and up to 50 million tons in the EU if the entire installed base of traditional incandescent bulbs was replaced with HEI lamps."The California legislature may want to revisit the wording of their proposed ban on incandescents (AB 722). How about mandating a level of efficiency rather than assuming that innovation can't happen?"
Media

Submission + - What is the best Media Center software out there?

Submitted by
brm1974
brm1974 writes: "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_center

For the product by J. River.
A media center is a computer adapted for playing music, watching movies and pictures stored on a local harddrive or on a (in some cases wireless) network, watching DVD movies and often for watching and recording television broadcasts.

Have You guys tried any of those?
What do you think?

        * SageTV
        * Front Row (Apple)
        * GeeXboX (Linux)
        * GBPVR (Windows)
        * SesamTV (http://www.sesamtv.com)
        * MythTV (Linux)
        * Freevo (Linux)
        * Elisa (Linux) (http://www.fluendo.com/elisa/index.php)
        * My Media System (Linux)
        * MediaPortal
        * TVedia
        * Windows XP Media Center Edition
        * Xbox Media Center (not to be confused with Windows XP Media Center eXtender)
        * Domotix (http://www.mydomotix.com)
        * XLobby (windows) http://www.xlobby.com/"
The Internet

Submission + - The coming Internet revolution in science

Submitted by
vacognition
vacognition writes: "http://vacognition.wjh.harvard.edu/faq.html
This linked FAQ discusses why Harvard's Visual Cognition Laboratory is setting up an Internet-based lab. The Internet may soon change how the cognitive and social sciences are conducted, much in the way the open source movement has changed software, wikipedia has changed information gathering, etc. In the traditional lab-based model, scientists pay a small number of people to be subjects, subjecting them to a lot of testing. (By "a lot", I mean typically 1 hour, but it can last much longer.) The experiments are very carefully controlled in the lab. Now, as bandwidth has increased dramatically, it is possible to post a short (i.e., 1-5min) experiment online and get thousands of volunteers to participate, gathering just a little data from each. Of course, the controls scientists use in the lab (controlling the size of display, the timing, etc.) are much less exact. But for many experiments, the sheer amount of data more than makes up for these extra random factors. This is not only a different way of doing cognition and social science — one that makes the process much more open and accessible for everybody — but is also allows for new types of experiments. In the past, an experiment that involves asking subjects only one question was often hard to do because you may need very large numbers of subjects. Again, the Internet solves this problem. I'm not arguing that Web-based experiments will make the laboratory obsolete, but they are going to make huge change in the feasibility of many types of experiments and in the way in which they are conducted. That's the theory, anyway, behind my own new Web-based experiments. A fair number of other labs are already doing on-line experiments, but this lab is one of the very first to put vision experiments on the Internet. (Many have thought vision experiments require too much control over timing, display size, etc., to be effective on the Internet. Most Web-based experiments are surveys.) Those of you who object to blatant advertising should ignore the link, but both of you who want to read more and/or participate in my study, go to http://vacognition.wjh.harvard.edu./ I apologize for the blatant advertizing, but my excitement about the concept is very sincere, and I think it's something that would be of interest to slashdot readers..."
Windows

Submission + - Benefits of Windows User Access Control

Submitted by
Abtin Forouzandeh
Abtin Forouzandeh writes: "Having used Vista for a few months, something keeps nagging me about windows user account control. For UAC to be useful, the user needs to have a fair amount of knowledge about a) what UAC is, b) what application its blocking, c) the consequences of blocking the action, and d) an alternate approach if the blocked action did something useful. Anyone who has ever worked with end-users can tell you that they are generally disinterested in learning anything about computer usage beyond how to use word and make a spreadsheet. Frankly, even as a highly technical user, I nearly always approve the UAC dialog even if I don't know the consequences. Since users lack knowledge, and Vista keeps asking esoteric/ambiguous questions, then users will always approve UAC dialogs.

So my question is, since UAC so clearly fails in its goal of making computing more secure, and substantially increases complexity, why is it common wisdom that turning off UAC is "not recommended"? For 99% of users, is there any true downside? Or has the community come up with ways to make UAC useful?"
Books

Submission + - Language Copyrights: Death of Online Dictionaries?

Submitted by toQDuj
toQDuj writes: Once upon a time, non-Danes could have the pleasure of understanding at least the written language using online dictionaries (http://danish.nigilist.ru/cgi-bin/nph-dict.cgi).
Funnily enough, the knowledge of turning one language into a (more) intelligible one, is now deemed copyrightable by publishers of dictionaries.
As can be read from the site, where the site owner has published the (two) cease and desist letters, no longer is this translation site to exist. The lawyers, on behalf of Gyldendalske Boghandel have requested the cessation of the site. In time, other publishers step in line and abolish all that is online translation-worthy.
Space

Submission + - Reactionless Space Drive

Submitted by
Jeffrey Beer
Jeffrey Beer writes: "REACTIONLESS SPACE DRIVE by Jeffrey Beer The device described below, as invented by the author, is intended as a propulsion system for spacecraft. It is able to generate a forward motion without ejecting mass rearward. Name of device: Relativistic Variable Mass Synchrotron What it does: Asymmetrical Momentum Force Generator The "reactionless drive" consists of a circular particle accelerator, a synchrotron. The elecrons would travel around the synchrotron at a constant speed. But, on half of the circuit, the electrons would be made to vibrate in a direction perpendicular to the path being travelled (probably with electrostatic plates), moving as close to the walls as possible with each oscillation. So, there would be a vertical, up-down oscillating movement of the electrons during one-half of their journey around the track. If they were oscillated at near light-speed, their mass would increase over this portion of their journey around the track. Therefore, the momentum generated would be greater on that side of the track and the entire synchrotron would experience a net force in that direction. Of course, with the current technology available, the force would be very small, probably too small to be practical. But, it would still be interesting in that it would demonstrate that a reactionless drive is theoretically possible altogether. The Relativistic Variable Mass Synchrotron is able to generate a net force using the principles of Einstein's relativity theory. It is important to note that the speed of the electrons around the track is not changed. Only their vertical motion is changed over part of the track. This way, their variable mass can be used to generate a unidirectional force. An alternative method would be to have the electrons travel up and down a cylinder with negatively charged electrode plates at each end. After the electrons (or other charged particles) bounced off the bottom electrode, the group of electrons could be made to spin rapidly in a cyclonic fashion just above the inside wall of the cylinder, in a motion perpendicular (horizontal) to the direction of their journey up the cylinder. By being made to spin at near-light speed, their mass would increase. Then, as the electrons bounced off the negatively charged top electrode plate and were sent down the cylinder, the momentum of the impact would be transferred to the cylinder. During their downward journey, the rotating motion of the electrons would be slowed or stopped, thus reducing their mass. They would then be deflected off the bottom electrode, imparting less momentum to the cylinder than they did at the top. Then, after the deflection, the electrons would be accelerated again before bouncing off the top cylinder. Note that mass is not increased or decreased during the acceleration phase, but only during the time when the electrons are coasting. As a result, there would be a net upward force generated on the cylinder, prompting the cylinder to move upward, provided it is not restrained by a gravitational field or other impediment. The principle is the same as with the circular particle accelerator described above. These devices, if perfected, would function as a method of propelling spacecraft without ejecting mass. The End."
Music

Submission + - Virgina Bans "Imposter" Bands

Submitted by
NoVA
NoVA writes: "Virginia passed a state law banning "imposter" bands. Basically the law states that no group can perform under the name of the original band unless there is at least one original member performing in the group. Exceptions to this rule are if those performing own the rights to the band name in question. This is a fine able offense of $5,000 to $15,000 per infraction. This law will more than like effect older bands that still tour under their original name while many of their original members are deceased or have since left the group."
Movies

Submission + - Bruce Willis: Defender of cyberspace

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "If he can handle it, and I am sure he can Bruce Willis is set to save cyberspace this summer in the fourth installment of the "Die Hard" series called Live free or Die Hard (or Die Hard 4.0 as it's being called in Europe). And he'll be doing it with the help of the Mac guy, Justin Long, who played the Mac in the "I am a Mac" commercials. This time out Willis' retired, divorced and semi-alcoholic character John McClane takes on a cyber-terrorist who attempts to take down the United States' computer systems on the Fourth of July. I am certain the cyber-criminal here won't be as good as the original "Die Hard" enemy, Hans Gruber (aka: Alan Rickman) but I digress. http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1184 2"
Robotics

Submission + - Greatest invention since the TV remote

Submitted by
netbuzz
netbuzz writes: "Couch potatoes everywhere lost a hero recently with the passing at age 93 of Robert Adler, inventor of the remote control. Stepping up to fill Adler's shoes, however, is recent Duke graduate John Cornwell, who brings us a heretofore unimaginable convenience: the "Beer Launching Fridge." ... Better get yours now before they're outlawed by the health nannies.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1184 0"
Science

New Sub Dives To Crushing Depths 245

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the deeper-and-longer dept.
University of Washington Scientists are reporting that they have a new autonomous underwater vehicle that increases both the attainable depth and duration of deployment over current submersibles. Weighing in at just under 140 pounds, the "Deepglider" is able to stay out to sea for up to a year and hit depths of almost 9,000 feet. "Deepglider opens up new research possibilities for oceanographers studying global climate change. The glider's first trip revealed unexpected warming of water near the ocean floor, and scientists are interested in studying whether the temperatures are related to global warming."
Businesses

Submission + - How Do We Fix Innovation in Technology?

Submitted by
Unusual.Interest
Unusual.Interest writes: "Big companies have a hard time hearing the little guy. That's been proven pretty well by the guy in the process of storming the Googleplex over at CanGoogleHearMe.com very much like you'd attempt to break into Fort Knox with an army. And it's Google — famous for being open to innovation. The story being told by Aaron Stanton at the site is fascinating because it outlines an extraordinary process for something that should be mundanely simple — easy exchange of ideas. But as soon as a company reaches a certain size, contacting them in a serious way becomes an issue for reality blogs, somehow as if it were the stuff of legends. Now, I wish the best of luck to Aaron, but the fact that his blog has been so successful (Alexa rated it as the 5th fastest growing website in the world last week) indicates there's a problem with the system here that needs to be addressed. I watched The Astronaut Farmer yesterday in the theater and came home frustrated, which I don't think was its intention. So this is the question — How do the rest of us get our ideas out there? I really want to know."

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