Comment Re:I iron coffee all the time (Score 2) 168
actualize green colorless radishes
are you in management?
are you in management?
Green Grid Argues That Data Centers Can Lose the Chillers 56
Nerval's Lobster writes "The Green Grid, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making IT infrastructures and data centers more energy-efficient, is making the case that data center operators are operating their facilities in too conservative a fashion. Rather than rely on mechanical chillers, it argues in a new white paper (PDF), data centers can reduce power consumption via a higher inlet temperature of 20 degrees C. Green Grid originally recommended that data center operators build to the ASHRAE A2 specifications: 10 to 35 degrees C (dry-bulb temperature) and between 20 to 80 percent humidity. But the paper also presented data that a range of between 20 and 35 degrees C was acceptable. Data centers have traditionally included chillers, mechanical cooling devices designed to lower the inlet temperature. Cooling the air, according to what the paper originally called anecdotal evidence, lowered the number of server failures that a data center experienced each year. But chilling the air also added additional costs, and PUE numbers would go up as a result."
Curiosity Rover Fires First Laser Beam At Martian Rock 167
A martian rock named "Coronation" was shot with 30 pulses over a 10-second period by Curiosity's laser today in order to determine what elements it was made of. “We got a great spectrum of Coronation — lots of signal,” Roger Wiens of Los Alamos National Laboratory, leader of the ChemCam scientific team, said in a press release today. “Our team is both thrilled and working hard, looking at the results. After eight years building the instrument, it’s payoff time!” Another rock known as N165 was selected for later testing.
Comment Re:Resources from TX Dept of Emergency Management (Score 1) 167
No kidding. 14 people dead and it's an emergency?
Comment Re:Replace 8-track Tape Player (Score 1) 212
forget that, mini-discs are the way to go.
Comment Re:Don't (Score 1) 350
if you're doing it just for your son, maybe. but i know some people still have relatives that aren't constantly at their computer. one of our grandparents turns her computer on once a month to do bills. for her, on dialup, she's not willing to spend time looking at tiny thumbnails to determine which pics to download to look at. instead, we print a pack of 20-30 every once in awhile, and send them to her or bring them with us. she loves them, especially because she can stick them on her fridge, take them to work, etc. and she knows and understand that if she loses them, its not a big deal because we've still got the digital versions at home.
Comment Re:Yeah (Score 2) 80
I can just imagine what it would be like to teach a class in American schools where half the kids don't even have a copy of the book.
no imagination necessary, just go to any inner city school. but that's not too bad, the teacher just ends up giving the textbooks to the half that can actually read.
no imagination necessary, just go to any inner city school. but that's not too bad, the teacher just ends up giving the textbooks to the half that can actually read.
Ask Slashdot: How To Give IT Presentations That Aren't Boring? 291
Dmitri Baughman writes "I'm the IT guy at a small software development company of about 100 employees. Everyone is technically inclined, with disciplines in development, QA, and PM areas. As part of a monthly knowledge-sharing meeting, I've been asked to give a 30-minute presentation about our computing and networking infrastructure. I manage a pretty typical environment, so I'm not sure how to present the information in a fun and engaging way. I think network diagrams and bandwidth usage charts would make anyone's eyes glaze over! Any ideas for holding everyone's interest?"
Comment Re:No (Score 1) 671
competent enough to install Linux or their own custom Windows image on there
I had this happen once. the "competent" user installed a pirated version of windows over the company image, didn't bother to put AV on there (which would have been included in the company image), had a partition with ISOs of at least a dozen pirated software packages (big ones, not joe blow's nifty gadget 1.0), and managed to infect his machine very badly before we caught it on the network and shut him down. i've still got his hard drive mounted on a plaque in my office.
I had this happen once. the "competent" user installed a pirated version of windows over the company image, didn't bother to put AV on there (which would have been included in the company image), had a partition with ISOs of at least a dozen pirated software packages (big ones, not joe blow's nifty gadget 1.0), and managed to infect his machine very badly before we caught it on the network and shut him down. i've still got his hard drive mounted on a plaque in my office.
Comment Re:Bandwidth Calculations (Score 1) 211
market research, probably a lot of phone/web surveys and/or focus groups where people are asked the same basic question with slightly different options:
would you pay $x for xGB of data? what about $x for yGB? what about $y for xGB?
Debt Reduction Super Committee Fails To Agree 954
Hugh Pickens writes "VOA reports that the latest effort to cut the U.S. government's debt apparently has ended in failure as leaders of the special 12-member debt reduction committee plan to announce that they failed in their mandate from lawmakers to trim the federal debt by $1.2 trillion over the next decade. Democrats and Republicans blame each other for the collapse of the effort. 'Our Democratic friends were never able to do the entitlement reforms,' said Republican Senator Jon Kyl. 'They weren't going to do anything without raising taxes.' Democratic Senator Patty Murray, one of the committee's co-chairs, says that the Republicans' position on taxes was the sticking point. 'The wealthiest Americans who earn over a million a year have to share too. And that line in the sand, we haven't seen Republicans willing to cross yet,' Now in the absence of an agreement, $1.2 trillion in across-the-board spending cuts to domestic and defense programs are set to take effect starting in January, 2013, and the lack of a deal will deprive President Barack Obama of a vehicle for extending a payroll tax cut and insurance benefits for unemployed Americans, which expire at the end of the year." (Though the official deadline for the committee's hoped-for plan is tomorrow — the 23d — they were to have provided it for review 48 hours prior.)
Comment Re:Computer science != IT jobs (Score 1) 297
yep, this is part of the problem. so many jobs are lumped together as "IT". I get umpteen million offers for network engineering, when i've never configured a router (other than my wireless one). but because my resume has something about understanding networking, i get those requests to apply.
Table Salt Could Help Boost HDD Storage Density By a Factor of 5 142
hypnosec writes "A team of researchers has managed to boost storage density on traditional magnetic platters as high as 3.3 terabits per square inch using a technique that relies on NaCl — table salt. (Comparatively, a recent 4TB Seagate drive had an areal density of 625Gb per square inch.) A research team used a technique called nanopatterning to create arrays of magnetic bits that have more regular features (PDF) than the current traditional, randomly distributed technique. Team leader Joel Yang compares the technique to a well known traveling trick; 'It's like packing your clothes in your suitcase when you travel. The neater you pack them the more you can carry.' Yang said, 'In the same way, the team of scientists has used nanopatterning to closely pack more of the miniature structures that hold information in the form of bits, per unit area.'"
IT Could Have Caught $2 Billion Rogue Trader 179
superapecommando writes "With the benefit of hindsight, IT experts are claiming that technical countermeasures at Swiss bank UBS could have stopped rogue trader Kweku Adoboli running up a $2 billion loss." If American Express and Visa can mine transaction data and put a stop order on credit cards when you unexpectedly buy gas out of state, it seems like there could be patterns to watch for when the amounts are in the billions, too.
Comment Re:Wrong idea (Score 1) 281
The Colonization Of Other Worlds: Who Will Bring It About And Why?
i'm willing to sign up to bring potato salad. but you're going to have to tell me how many people are coming.
