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Space

Submission + - Dark energy lurks in hidden spatial dimensions? (newscientist.com) 1

Submitted by
Magdalene
Magdalene writes: "According to Stephen Battersby of the NewScientist.com news service; The mysterious cosmic presence called dark energy, which is accelerating the expansion of the universe, might be lurking in hidden dimensions of space. This idea would explain how the dimensions of space remain stable — one of the biggest problems for the unified scheme of physics called 'string theory'. In the NewScientist.com article, Brian Greene and Janna Levin of Columbia University liken the extra dimensions, including our our own 3d universe to membranes in higher dimensional space, they suggest that a "sterile neutrino" could exist in the extra dimensions, making its presence felt only as the source of dark energy.

There is no word yet on whether or not Sphere or Square are available for comment.

-m"
PHP

PHP 4 End of Life Announcement 125

Posted by Zonk from the sniffle dept.
perbert writes "The PHP development team has announced that support for PHP 4 will continue until the end of this year only. After 2007-12-31 there will be no more releases of PHP 4.4. Critical security fixes will be made available on a case-by-case basis until 2008-08-08. For documentation on migration for PHP 4 to PHP 5, there is a migration guide. There is additional information available in the PHP 5.0 to PHP 5.1 and PHP 5.1 to PHP 5.2 migration guides as well."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Don't Shave Your Butt Hair!!! (quixoticjourney.com)

Submitted by
Tadpole
Tadpole writes: "This poor bastard has one very unfortunate lesson to share with us all... apparently, butt hair serves a purpose, and terrible things happen when you shave it... Read on, but avoid drinking while reading so you don't choke while laughing!"
Privacy

Submission + - YouTube to Begin Using Video Fingerprinting (lawbean.com)

Submitted by
Spamicles
Spamicles writes: "YouTube will begin testing video recognition technology in conjunction with Time Warner and Disney. Testing will begin next month in hopes that the software, designed to recognize copyright content in videos, will be ready to roll out later this year, the company said. Google, which now owns YouTube, had agreed to implement some kind of technology to identify copyright content on its site so it can remove pirated content or negotiate with owners for a license."
Privacy

Submission + - Judge Orders FBI to Release Abuse Records (lawbean.com)

Submitted by
Spamicles
Spamicles writes: "A judge has ordered the FBI to release agency records about its abuse of National Security Letters (NSLs) to collect Americans' personal information. The ruling came just a day after the EFF urged the judge to immediately respond in its lawsuit over agency delays. This is the same case in which an internal FBI audit found that the bureau potentially violated the law or agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data about domestic phone calls, e-mails and financial transactions in recent years."
HP

Submission + - HP voids warrenty if linux is installed

Submitted by ShadowHywind
ShadowHywind writes: Having Hardware failures, I decided to call the HP tech support for help. They asked If i Had any other operating System installed, other then Windows. Because I duel boot, I said yes, I have linux and windows installed. He then quickly stated that If you install another operating system other then Windows, It will void your warranty. I quickly hung up the phone hoping that he wouldn't create a file sense i am working on month 4 of 3 years of my warranty. Is it right for a company to void a warranty just because you decide to install something other then windows?
The Media

Submission + - It's Official: Sirius & XM Agree To Merge

Submitted by
sovtekmidget
sovtekmidget writes: "From Radio Ink:
It's official: Sirius and XM have agreed to merge in a deal that will consolidate the only two companies in the business of subscription-only satellite radio. In a statement from both companies, it was announced that Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin will become chief executive of the new company while XM Chairman Gary Parsons will remain in that role. Under the agreement, the companies will be combined in a tax-free, all-stock merger of equals with a combined enterprise value of approximately $13 billion, which includes net debt of approximately $1.6 billion. The companies have approximately 14 million combined subscribers and analysts predict the deal will save both companies approximately $7 billion annually. Wait a minute, isn't this going to create a monopoly? As reported on slashdot before, the FCC was going to shoot this down, but it looks as if it's getting pushed through anyways."
Businesses

Submission + - Tesla to produce a standard electric

Submitted by WindBourne
WindBourne writes: Apparently, Elon Musk is going to sell Electric cars to the middle class masses, not just the wealthy.Musk's Tesla Motors, based out of San Carlos, California, will use the plant to produce its "WhiteStar" car — a four door, five passenger sports sedan which is 100 percent electric. I will be be nice to see this encourage GM/Ford/Toyota/Honda/etc to get the true hybrids and electrics out the door sooner, rather than later.
Microsoft

Submission + - WPF/E: Obseleting HTML, ECMAScript, Flash, Linux?

Submitted by foxed
foxed writes: Microsoft have released a preview of WPF/E. WPF/E provides applications designed for download to a browser based on a subset of Microsoft's XAML user interface markup language.

From the announcement:

"WPF/E" is the next-generation Web platform ... for delivering visually stunning and interactive user experiences on the Web and beyond. Supporting multiple operating systems (Windows and Macintosh), Microsoft "WPF/E" combines 2D animation, video, and audio within a compact yet flexible platform... AJAX-based applications ... can be organically upgraded to take advantage of "WPF/E" in a way that breaks rich Web-based applications out of the proprietary "black box" they exist in today.
Anyone else suspect this is an attempt to create a proprietary replacement for standards-based HTML and ECMAScript and Flash? And I note that Linux is not a supported platform. "Cross-platform" means Windows and Mac.
Linux Business

Pre-Installed Linux Tops Dell Customer Requests 509

Posted by kdawson from the please-sir-may-I-have-a-penguin dept.
dhart writes "Within only a few days of Dell opening a new customer feedback website, they discovered that the feature most requested (by an almost 2-to-1 margin!) is an option on all new Dell PCs: pre-installed Linux. (And the number 3 request is pre-installed Open Office.) I believe they'll have a harder time now with the tired old mantra 'There's no customer demand for Linux.'"
Transmeta

Submission + - What's happening with Transmeta

Submitted by
prostoalex
prostoalex writes: "At launch Tranmeta Corp. received tons of publicity — boasting Linux Torvalds among its employees, the energy-efficient microprocessor company was supposedly revolutionizing the world of microprocessors as we know it. Electronic Engineering Times provides an update on what's happening with Transmeta right now: "Transmeta last week laid off 75 employees, decreasing its worldwide work force by about 39 percent. Most of the cuts were in the engineering-services business, which is being discontinued. Sales and support offices in Taiwan and Japan are also being closed. Over the next two quarters, the company expects to further reduce head count by about 25 to 55 people.""
Role Playing (Games)

Submission + - Gamers perform better on surgical skill test

Submitted by Blindside
Blindside writes: Are surgeons who are also gamers at an advantage in the operating room? A new study showed that gamers had a distinct advantage in a surgical skills test. 'Neither years of training nor number of surgeries performed would predict performance on the laparoscopy skills test. Past gaming and current skills, in contrast, would. Those who had never gamed took significantly longer to complete the skills test, and had an error rate of roughly 1.5 times that of regular gamers. Similar correlations also held when gaming skills were tested: those scoring in the top third made nearly 50 percent fewer errors, and and performed the drill nearly 40 percent faster. For those keeping score at home, Super Monkey Ball 2 had the best correlation with surgical skills, Star Wars Racer Revenge the worst.'

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