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Earth

Clam That Was Killed Determining Its Age Was Over 100 Years Older Than Estimated 366

Posted by samzenpus from the oldest-there-is dept.
schwit1 writes "In 2006, climate change experts from Bangor University in north Wales found a very special clam while dredging the seabeds of Iceland. At that time scientists counted the rings on the inside shell to determine that the clam was the ripe old age of 405. Unfortunately, by opening the clam which scientists refer to as 'Ming,' they killed it instantly. Cut to 2013, researchers have determined that the original calculations of Ming's age were wrong, and that the now deceased clam was actually 102 years older than originally thought. Ming was 507 years old at the time of its demise."

Comment Re:And the latest- Death Panels in Oregon (Score 1) 42

by Marxist Hacker 42 (#45428445) Attached to: I guess I've completed Kübler-Ross, or something

It is philosophically. Due to the Euthanasia law, and the feedback against it, hospice care has taken a big leap forward in Oregon. It's pretty easy to see that hospice is cheaper than the cure in cancer cases; and that 9 grams of poison is even cheaper yet. Thus the link, thus my comment. It all comes down to pennies over people.

Comment Re:Meh (Score 1) 49

by A nonymous Coward (#45428263) Attached to: Serious proposals to replace obamacare begin

1. That's the first time anyone has ever tried a reverse ad hominem attack on me. Yay!

2. A one-sided conversation is not a conversation. Once commenced, a conversation is not under control of any single party to it. This is not a panel discussion and you are not the moderator of one. if you don't like the path the conversation taken -- if you now wish you had not made that first post -- too bad. Drop out if you want.

You have argued nothing except that you are butt hurt over being called out on your attempts to artificially limit the definition of corruption and cronyism. Your subsequent attempts to pretend you didn't start the topic and switch horses in mid-stream is interesting. I can only guess your first post embarrasses you so much you want to disown it.

If, instead, all you want to do now is argue about what degree of butt hurt you are, find a mirror. But if you want to argue about what crony corruption is, feel free to respond again. I'm sure slashdot's servers can withstand your efforts.
Businesses

Sears To Convert Old Auto Centers Into National Chain of Data Centers 167

Posted by timothy from the where's-roebuck-all-this-time? dept.
1sockchuck writes "Sears plans to convert dozens of Sears Auto Center stores into a national chain of server farms, saying it wants to be "the McDonald's or Starbucks of data centers." The strategy is an evolution of Sears Holdings' previously announced plan to turn old Sears and Kmart stores into IT centers. Instead, it will focus on the more than 700 Sears Auto Centers, which include many stand-alone cement buildings on mall perimeters. Ubiquity Critical Environments, the data center arm of Sears, will team with Schneider Electric to turn these sites into data centers. They'll use repeatable modular designs to add power and cooling infrastructure, targeting at least 23 smaller cities where there currently aren't many options for IT outsourcing."

Comment Re:Trucks in Texas (Score 1) 293

by timothy (#45427620) Attached to: Tesla Planning an Electric Pickup Truck, Says Elon Musk

Even ("merely") moving big things in-town would be a great thing for an electric truck; I don't have two cars, which (living in Austin, but having occasional need and desire to drive long distances*) means I have a gas-fueled, fairly efficient car (Subaru Impreza). Even with IKEA furniture, though, that means I can't haul around anything too big ;) An electric *truck* would be really cool IMO as a 2d vehicle, though ... 5 years out, this is really tempting. I wonder where battery tech will be then ... if it meant that the gas car (though at a lower MPG) would be long-distance vehicle, and I could drive around town in an electric truck, I'm OK with that. But especially when a lot of the time on I-35 around here is spent idling in a swamp of exhaust, I'd rather the around-town one be an electric, overall. Trade-offs!

* And I want to hit more of just such places as you name!

 
Transportation

Tesla Planning an Electric Pickup Truck, Says Elon Musk 293

Posted by timothy from the ok-this-may-drag-me-in dept.
cartechboy writes "Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk says the company will make an electric pickup truck to compete with America's best-selling Ford F-Series pickups. Musk made the comment yesterday at the end of an interview at a tech conference in New York. Surrounded by questioners, Musk was asked if Tesla would ever make commercial fleet trucks (like for UPS or Fed Ex) and he responded that a consumer truck would be the company's best answer, because America's pickup truck sales numbers don't lie — that's what buyers want, and if Tesla wants to replace the most gasoline miles possible, that's what they should build. Musk said it will be about five years before the company builds its pickup however, giving it time to focus on another hurdle: breaking into the pickup market. Texas is where trucks rule, and Texas, as we know, is the Bermuda Triangle for Tesla." That also gives me five years to save up for one, and (just maybe) five years for Ford, et al to jump in, too.

Submission + - Tesla Planning an Electric Pickup Truck, Says Elon Musk

Submitted by cartechboy
cartechboy writes: Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk says the company will make an electric pickup truck to compete with America's best-selling Ford F-Series pickups. Musk made the comment yesterday at the end of an interview at a tech conference in New York. Surrounded by questioners, Musk was asked if Tesla would ever make commercial fleet trucks (like for UPS or Fed Ex) and he responded that a consumer truck would be the company's best answer, because America's pickup truck sales numbers don't lie--that's what buyers want, and if Tesla wants to replace the most gasoline miles possible, that's what they should build. Musk said it will be about five years before the company builds its pickup however, giving it time to focus on another hurdle: breaking into the pickup market. Texas is where trucks rule, and Texas, as we know, is the Bermuda Triangle for Tesla.
Government

ATF Tests Show 3D Printed Guns Can Explode 233

Posted by timothy from the atf-vs-the-people dept.
Lucas123 writes "The ATF has been testing 3D printed guns over the past year and, not surprisingly, has found that depending on the thermoplastics, 3D printers and CAD designs used, some can explode on the first attempt to shoot them. The ATF published videos this week of the tests on YouTube showing what looked like a Liberator model of a 3D gun exploding upon being fired. Another model, created with the popular ABS polymer and an advanced printer, could fire as many as 8 shots. The tests were published at a time when a law passed in 1988 banning the sale of guns made entirely of plastic is set to expire next month." I hope they post the videos when they do the same tests on Solid Concepts' 1911.

Submission + - HDMI Dongle Turns TVs Into Giant Android Tablets (linuxgizmos.com) 2

Submitted by __aajbyc7391
__aajbyc7391 writes: The BiggiFi Indiegogo project is nearing its funding goal for a $79 HDMI dongle that essentially turns HDTVs into supersized Android tablets. The BiggiFi device is claimed to let users run unmodified Android apps on their TVs using their phone or tablet as the TV’s touchscreen — including motion input for games — without screen-mirroring overhead latency. As explained by BiggiFi creator Karl Zhao, an Android app on the user’s phone or tablet collects touch input signals and transmits them over WiFi to a server daemon in the Android Framework layer on the BiggiFi device, which passes the event data to the device driver layer. When the action finally reaches the app, it's as though the BiggiFi/TV system has its own physical touchscreen. The result is claimed to be a fairly lossless Android experience, and requires no modification to Android apps. The process supports input gestures such as slide, scroll, pinch, zoom, and soft keyboard input, and also supports vibration and accelerometer movements, enabling tilting for gameplay, according to the project. Camera and mic input will be added in the future. Oh, and an app for using iPhones and iPads as the remote touchscreen is also being developed.

Submission + - NFL and college football teams are racing to install Wi-Fi to attract rabid fans (citeworld.com)

Submitted by mattydread23
mattydread23 writes: Last year, the Philadelphia Eagles did a major upgrade to the Wi-Fi in their home stadium, and yesterday the team sponsored and event for other football teams interested in following suit. Writer Todd Weiss talked to execs from the Cincinnati Bengals and Alabama Crimson Tide to find out why they were so anxious to follow suit. Pat Neiser, sales manager for the Bengals, explains it's all about attracting rabid younger fans and turning them into lifers: "We want to make sure that young fans, who are getting out of college now, will be season ticket holders when they have future discretionary income,"
The Almighty Buck

Startup Touts All-in-One Digital Credit Card 222

Posted by timothy from the fewer-pieces-to-steal dept.
First time accepted submitter NoImNotNineVolt writes "Coin, a Y Combinator-backed startup, has started accepting pre-orders for a device as slim as a standard piece of payment plastic that can hold eight credit, debit, and gift cards in its dynamic magnetic stripe. Paired with the Coin smartphone app via Bluetooth low energy, card details can easily be swapped in and out of the device. A minimalist user interface on the device itself allows the owner to toggle between the loaded cards and then swipe just as they would their ordinary card. All card details are encrypted (both on the device and in the smartphone app), and the device's on-board battery is expected to last for two years of typical usage. No support for chip&pin (EMV) yet, so this may have limited utility outside of the USA. They expect to start shipping in summer of 2014."
Books

Google Books Case Dismissed On Fair Use Grounds 124

Posted by timothy from the read-away dept.
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "In a case of major importance, the long simmering battle between the Authors Guild and Google has reached its climax, with the court granting Google's motion for summary judgment, dismissing the case, on fair use grounds. In his 30-page decision (PDF), Judge Denny Chin — who has been a District Court Judge throughout most of the life of the case but is now a Circuit Court Judge — reasoned that, although Google's own motive for its "Library Project" (which scans books from libraries without the copyright owners' permission and makes the material publicly available for search), is commercial profit, the project itself serves significant educational purposes, and actually enhances, rather than detracts from, the value of the works, since it helps promote sales of the works. Judge Chin also felt that it was impossible to use Google's scanned material, either for making full copies, or for reading the books, so that it did not compete with the books themselves."

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