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Comment I have a computer attached to my TV... (Score 1) 264

My "TV" is used perhaps 50 percent of the time as a computer display, either to show Netflix rentals, as a display for my MP3 collection, etc. Even when I use it as a TV, I'm running a DVR, which is essentially a heavily modified Linux box.

Also, my Prius has a display used for showing fuel efficiency as well as the rear-view camera picture. Does that count?

Comment What this shows us (Score 2) 209

This doesn't show how stupid people are about their passwords; quite the opposite. All you're using the password for is to comment on a stupid blog post. It's actually kind of interesting that a lot of people seem understand that concept and so don't spend a lot of time generating a secure password.

Comment Re:I dunno man (Score 1) 348

I agree, thinness is probably overrated, but lightness isn't. Since we don't have flexible high-res screens, however, the "fold-in-half" laptop isn't going to show up any time soon.

I have an original MacBook Air, and absolutely love having a full-size notebook in such a lightweight package. I really value the full-sized screen and keyboard, and I bought a very small bag that's easy to carry along with me. Now when I'm out and about, I'm carrying a laptop *and* case that is smaller and lighter than most laptops out there. I even have room for a magazine or a book and a notepad.

That said, I actually don't see anything in these new models that will convince me to ditch my nearly-3-year-old MBA.

Comment Re:Color is hard to do (Score 1) 398

You might be able to do it with something less than 1/4 the b/w resolution, by using, say, half the pixels for black, then distributing the other three colors over the remaining half. You'd have lower resolution for color images, but text would crisper and cleaner. So if you could double the pixel resolution, you could add color without decreasing b/w resolution.

OTOH, I'm not sure this would actually work at all. When you print a halftone, you can actually overlap colors. You can physically print Cyan over the Black. But with e-ink, each pixel has to be a particular color. So you couldn't have a black screen if only half of your pixels have the option of displaying black. It would be gray at best.
Transportation

1000-mph Car Planned 380

Smivs notes a BBC report on a British team planning a 1000-mph record-breaking car. The previous land-speed record broke the sound barrier. The proposed vehicle will get from 0 to 1,050 mph in 40 seconds. "RAF pilot Andy Green made history in 1997 when he drove the Thrust SSC jet-powered vehicle at 763 mph (1,228 km/h). Now he intends to get behind the wheel of a car that is capable of reaching 1,000 mph (1,610 km/h). Known as Bloodhound, the new car will be powered by a rocket bolted to a Typhoon-Eurofighter jet engine. The team-members have been working on the concept for the past 18 months and expect to be ready to make their new record attempt in 2011."
Education

Submission + - New site collects expert blog posts (researchblogging.org)

word munger writes: "Yesterday we launched an important new version of an significant website. ResearchBlogging.org has collected over 1,700 blog posts from hundreds of scientists and other researchers, giving readers an expert take on cutting-edge research. It's different from other "science blogging" sites because every post on the site is written by someone who's actually read the original peer-reviewed study, instead of just passing along a press release or an abstract. Registered users can "flag" posts that don't meet our guidelines, so we ensure that only the best stuff gets published on our site."
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Copyright advocacy group violates copyright (scienceblogs.com)

word munger writes: "Commercial scholarly publishers are beginning to get afraid of the open access movement. They've hired a high-priced consultant to help them sway public opinion in favor of copyright restrictions on taxpayer-funded research. Funny thing is, their own website contains several copyright violations. It seems they pulled their images directly from the Getty Images website — watermark and all — without paying for their use! Clearly their agenda is simply to make using copyrighted materials inconvenient and expensive for everyone but THEMSELVES."
Censorship

Submission + - The F-bomb most popular, N-word most offensive

word munger writes: "The F-word is censored from nearly all U.S. broadcast TV (except when someone like Bono slips it into a live telecast), but people use it every day in casual conversation. Meanwhile vicious insults like "nappy-headed ho," while they did result in Don Imus's firing, are repeated ad nauseum on every newscast covering the event. What curse words are truly offensive, and who do they offend the most? On Cognitive Daily, we surveyed over 700 readers to find out. The results? The F-word is only mildly offensive — not even as offensive as "ho." What's more, as people get older, they react more negatively to some words, like "suck" and "ho," but other words bother them less. It all suggests that censoring particular words makes less sense than evaluating words in context. Depending on who is watching and when, the FCC might want to reassess its censorship policy."

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