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Submission + - To Save the Internet We Need To Own The Means Of Distribution (huffingtonpost.com)

Submitted by indros13
indros13 writes: Net neutrality took a hit when the FCC gave its blessing to "internet fast lanes" last week and one commentator believes that the solution is simple: public ownership of the hardware.

Owning the means of distribution is a traditional function of local government. We call our roads and bridges and water and sewer pipe networks public infrastructure for a reason. In the 19th century local and state governments concluded that the transportation of people and goods was so essential to a modern economy that the key distribution system must be publicly owned. In the 21st century the transportation of information is equally essential.

Is the internet essential infrastructure? Should local governments step in to preserve equality of access?

Submission + - NASA Honors William Shatner With Distinguished Public Service Medal

Submitted by Hugh Pickens DOT Com
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Red Orbit reports that after nearly 50 years of warping across galaxies and saving the universe from a variety of alien threats and celestial disasters, Star Trek’s William Shatner was honored with NASA’s Distinguished Public Service medal, the highest award bestowed by the agency to non-government personnel. “William Shatner has been so generous with his time and energy in encouraging students to study science and math, and for inspiring generations of explorers, including many of the astronauts and engineers who are a part of NASA today, ” said David Weaver, NASA’s associate administrator for the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “He’s most deserving of this prestigious award.” Past recipients of the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal include astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory director and Voyager project scientist Edward Stone, theoretical physicist and astronomer Lyman Spitzer, and science fiction writer Robert Heinlein. The award is presented to those who “ have personally made a contribution representing substantial progress to the NASA mission. The contribution must be so extraordinary that other forms of recognition would be inadequate.”

In related news Shatner’s one-man show “Shatner’s World” was presented in nearly 700 movie theaters nationwide on April 24 providing audiences a behind-the-scenes look at Shatner’s career and life. “Everything can be termed positively and that’s what I attempt to do in this one-man show,” he said. “This one-man show is very important to me. It’s the culmination of a long career.”

Submission + - Earliest Known Pterosaur Described (nationalgeographic.com)

Submitted by damn_registrars
damn_registrars writes: A fossil of the earliest known Pterosaur flying reptile was found recently in China. Named Kryptodrakon progenitor, it was described in a paper published yesterday in the journal current biology (http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822%2814%2900322-4) (paywalled by Elsevier). A less restrictive summary of the findings is in National Geographic (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140424-pterodactyl-pterosaur-china-oldest-science-animals/).

Submission + - New DARPA Program to Develop Prosthetics With Lifelike Sensory Feedback (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: Many modern prosthetic limbs are so intricate that they seem like something from the sci-fi cyborg realm. Unfortunately, to the wearer these marvels still feel like lumps of dead metal and plastic. DARPA's recently announced Hand Proprioception and Touch Interfaces (HAPTIX) program aims to change this. Using implantable sensors linked wirelessly to external modules, the goal is to provide lifelike prosthetic limbs with such a high degree of sensory feedback that they bring a sense of being part of the the wearer’s body, not something just strapped on.

Submission + - Punching Mantis Shrimp Inspires Super-Tough Composites (gizmag.com)

Submitted by Zothecula
Zothecula writes: A new lightweight, super strong material has been discovered thanks to one of nature’s most violent sociopaths. The peacock mantis shrimp may look like a colorful, reasonably mild-mannered aquarium dweller, but its claws have the punch of a .22 bullet. A team of researchers led by University of California, Riverside, has developed a carbon composite that imitates the claw’s structure. The result is a promising new material that may one day be used to build cars and airplanes.

Submission + - New Shape Born From Rubber Bands (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: Physicists playing with rubber bands have discovered a new shape. In an attempt to create a spring that replicates the light-bending properties of cuttlefish ink sacs, a team of researchers suspended two rubber strips of different lengths. Connecting the bottoms of the two strips to a cup of water, the shorter band stretched to the same length as the longer one. After gluing the two stretched strips together, the researchers gradually drained the water from the cup. As the bands retracted and twisted from the reduced strain, the researchers were shocked to see the formation of a hemihelix with multiple rainbow-shaped boundaries called perversions. The team hopes their work inspires nanodevices and molecules that twist and transform from flat strips into predetermined 3D shapes on demand.

Comment Re:Free warrant! (Score 3, Informative) 461

by fey000 (#46823241) Attached to: Supreme Court OKs Stop and Search Based On Anonymous 911 Tips

1) Police officer sees car he wants to search

2) Police officer calls 911 placing an anon tip

3) Police officer gets to do whatever the hell he wants.

historically, authority figures getting to do whatever the hell they want has worked out pretty well.

Jesus tapdancing Christ, this has been refuted three times now. The tip did not warrant the search, the tip only warranted pulling the driver over. The marijuana smell warranted the search, something that was not introduced by this ruling. As for #2, did you even read the digest? The ruling only accounts for when anonymity does not hold.

Get the tinfoil hat out of your eyes and read TFA please.

Submission + - Net Neutrality legislation approved.

Submitted by rwiggers
rwiggers writes: Known as the Marco Civil — or Bill of Rights — it would enshrine freedom of expression, the right to privacy and the principle of web neutrality. This could be understood as a response from the president Dilma to the NSA spying on her and is expected to be sanctioned soon.
Some aspects are quite interesting, content can only be removed by judicial order, net neutrality is written in law ans ISPs must take action to ensure privacy of communications.
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-...
http://www.techweekeurope.co.u...
http://g1.globo.com/politica/n...

Submission + - Bitcoin: The Gamification of Waste (wordpress.com)

Submitted by Marc D Hall
Marc D Hall writes: Bitcoin is a way to get people to tie up physical resources to produce entities that exist for no reason other than as a means to transfer physical resources into their possession. We have produced a system that encourages people to tie up resources in order to gain resources while doing literally nothing productive. You could argue something similar about gold coins; but at least an argument could be made (IMO an invalid one) that the upside is we get gold out of the ground. Not even this upside exists for Bitcoins. Bitcoins are literally useless whether we have them or not.

Submission + - Russia Writes Off 90 Percent Of North Korea Debt (reuters.com)

Submitted by jones_supa
jones_supa writes: In Russia, the State Duma lower house on Friday ratified a 2012 agreement to write off the bulk of North Korea's debt. It said the total debt stood at $10.96 billion as of Sept. 17, 2012. Russia sees this lucrative in advancing the plans to build a gas pipe and railroad through North to South Korea. The rest of the debt, $1.09 billion, would be redeemed during the next 20 years, to be paid in equal installments every six months. The outstanding debt owed by North Korea will be managed by Russia's state development bank, Vnesheconombank. Moscow has been trying to diversify its energy sales to Asia away from Europe, which, in its turn, wants to cut its dependence on oil and gas from the erstwhile Cold War foe. Russia's state-owned top natural producer Gazprom is dreaming shipping 10 billion cubic meters of gas annually through the Koreas. Russia has written off debts to a number of impoverished Soviet-era allies, including Cuba. North Korea's struggling communist economy is just 2 percent of the size of neighboring South's.

Submission + - Is there a place for me in this world?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: I'm mildly autistic and in my mid 30s. I know I'm not the smartest person ever — not even close — but I'm pretty smart: perfect scores on SAT, etc., way back in high school and a PhD from a private research university you've heard of. I don't consider intelligence a virtue (in contrast to, say, ethical living); it's just what I have, and that's that. There are plenty of things I lack. Anyway, I've made myself very good at applied math and scientific computing. For years, without ever tiring, I've worked approximately 6.5 days a week all but approximately 4 of my waking hours per day. I work at a research university as research staff, and my focus is on producing high-quality, efficient, relevant scientific software. But funding is tough. I'm terrible at selling myself. I have a hard time writing proposals because when I work on mushy tasks, I become depressed and generally bent out of shape. My question: Is it possible to find a place where I can do exactly what I do best and keeps me stable — analyze and develop mathematical algorithms and software — without ever having to do other stuff and, in particular, without being good at presenting myself? I don't care about salary beyond keeping up my frugal lifestyle and saving a sufficient amount to maintain that frugal lifestyle until I die. Ideas? Or do we simply live in a world where we all have to sell what we do no matter what? Thanks for your thoughts.

Submission + - DARPA developing the ultimate auto-pilot software (networkworld.com)

Submitted by coondoggie
coondoggie writes: Call it the ultimate auto-pilot — an automated system that can help take care of all phases of aircraft flight-even perhaps helping pilots overcome system failures in-flight. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will in May detail a new program called Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) that would build upon what the agency called the considerable advances that have been made in aircraft automation systems over the past 50 years, as well as the advances made in remotely piloted aircraft automation, to help reduce pilot workload, augment mission performance and improve aircraft safety.

Comment Re:This (Score 2) 304

by fey000 (#46756623) Attached to: Is Crimea In Russia? Internet Companies Have Different Answers

Are you sure it was only 90%? Last I heard it was 123%.
Which is fully understandable. Putin, much like Kim Jong-iI, is so filled with awesomeness that people can express more than 100% of their love towards him. Furthermore, IEEE has declared that this percentage can only go down when Putin does manly things with his shirt on, which is very rare.

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