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Comment Re:That's odd... (Score 2, Informative) 432

Einstein didn't studied alchemy, Isaac Newton did in the 17th century, when matter structure was far from know. During Einstein lifetime the basis for modern chemistry (excluding quantum chemistry) were already known, and rudimentary atomic theories were largely accepted among the scientists of the time.
Google

Google's $10 Local Search Play 193

thefickler writes "Google has come come up with a novel way to boost the information it has about local businesses. As part of its Business Referral Representative program, Google is offering individuals up to $10 to visit local businesses and tell them about Google Maps and Google AdWords, collect information (such as hours of operation and types of payment accepted), and take digital photos of the business. Reaction to the program has been mixed."
PHP

Submission + - Develop multitasking applications with PHP V5

An anonymous reader writes: Many PHP developers believe that because standard PHP lacks threading capabilities, it's impossible for a practical PHP application to multitask. Not true... PHP doesn't support threading in the way other languages like the Java programming language or C++ do, but the examples in this article show that PHP can exploit in-process multitasking and has more potential for speed-ups than many realize.
Software

Submission + - A Better Open Source Webmail?

CandyMan writes: "Recently I have been forced to go back to a certain open source webmail (name withheld to protect the touchy), and I can't say I would recommend it to anyone. For emergencies maybe, but not for daily use. Lightning-quick full-text indexing and Javascript UI tricks in Gmail and Yahoo! mail have spoilt me forever, and I guess that most webmail users out there would feel the same. Old-style html-only webmail applications just don't cut it anymore. Which is your favourite webmail client? Is it a bare-bones html-only application, or does it have a fancier interface?"

Feed First interview: Sam Hocevar, new Debian Project Leader (newsforge.com)

Sam Hocevar recently became the next Debian Project Leader (DPL), defeating seven other candidates while running on a platform that emphasized ways to improve how project members interact. Hocevar's election comes at a time when Debian may be losing mindshare among both users and developers to Ubuntu, and looking for ways to improve its efficiencies and to mend internal divisions. Recently, Linux.com discussed these challenges with Hocevar via email in his first interview since his election.
Encryption

Submission + - Quantum Cryptography Hacked

An anonymous reader writes:
A team of researchers has, for the first time, hacked into a network protected by quantum encryption. Quantum cryptography uses the laws of quantum mechanics to encode data securely. Most researchers consider such quantum networks to be nearly 100% uncrackable. But a group from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge was able to 'listen in' using a sort of quantum-mechanical wiretap. The trick allowed them to tease out about half of the data, in a way that couldn't be detected by those transmitting or receiving the message.
Unix

Submission + - Is Solaris a viable Desktop OS?

An anonymous reader writes: This is the thought pondered by this article while reviewing the latest offering of Solaris OS by sun microsystems. One of the inherrent strengths of Solaris is that its code has seen several security audits over a period of time. Now with PC hardware raising the bar on the minimum memory requirement for running an OS (Courtesy: Vista), it has suddenly become viable to consider Solaris as a desktop OS. And eventually, (if and) when Sun releases Solaris under GPLv3, it will remove the one major stumbling block faced by Free software enthusiasts which keeps them from embracing this robust OS.

Feed Disabled inventor crafts DinnerUp pet feeder (engadget.com)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

After a solid four-mile run on the Doggy Treadmill, it's not too tough to understand why Fido is famished, but for folks who are disabled in ways that make bending down or moving around in general difficult, getting the pet food from the pantry to the bowl has been a serious chore. Thanks to a retired engineer (who was stricken by cerebral palsy) that figured he better solve his own problem rather than wait for someone else, the DinnerUp apparatus was concocted, and now it's on the brink of commercialization. The device mounts onto a kitchen counter or door and relies on a hand crank / clutching system in order to lift the attached bowls to a level that's easy to reach, after which it's lowered back down to the anxious pets below. Currently, Ray Dinham is assembling the units himself and offloading them to "satisfied customers" for £70 ($140) apiece, but it shouldn't be long before the manufacturing is "outsourced to a UK-based firm" and these gain some serious worldwide traction.

[Via BBC]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!


Feed Scientists Unravel Clue In Cortisol Production (sciencedaily.com)

Biologists have discovered an important step in the production of the hormone cortisol production. Given the hormone's importance to health, understanding how it is made is essential to producing medications that can alter its production.
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - To Buy, Or Create Computers?

Scienceboy writes: Something I've noticed is that alot of nerds and /.-ers usually tear apart the computers that they buy, and change them to their own specifications, whether it be hardware or software. My question is this: For the person who usually does this sort of stuff, is it worth it anymore to buy computers from a retail provider, only to change it so much that there are barley any original parts? Or is it better just to buy the parts that you know you are going to use and build it yourself?
United States

Submission + - Supreme Court rules for environmental regulation

gamer4Life writes: News sources everywhere are reporting that the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled 5-4 in favor of giving authority to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gases coming from automotive vehicles. From the article:

The states and environmental groups who brought the case said the US government had a legal duty, under the Clean Air Act, to restrict greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA had argued that the 1970 Act did not give it the powers to impose limits because CO2 was not deemed to be a pollutant.
The Bush administration has consistently rejected capping greenhouse gas emissions, saying such a move would be bad for business.
Security

Submission + - New paint provides wireless network protection

thefickler writes: Forget WEP and WPA; I'm switching over to the EM-SEC Coating System, a recently announced paint developed by EM-SEC Technologies that acts as an electromagnetic fortress, allowing a wireless network to be contained within painted walls without fear of someone tapping in or hacking wireless networks.

The EM-SEC Coating System is clearly the most secure option aside from stringing out the CAT5, and can be safely used to protect wireless networks in business and government facilities.
Graphics

Submission + - Compiz and Beryl teams consider merging

mu22le writes: The Compiz and Beryl teams are discussing a merger. Posts on the Compiz forum and Beryl mailing list indicate that the projects are discussing how to execute a merger and work together to deliver a single compositing window manager to give "bling" to the Linux desktop. Beryl forked from Compiz last year, at the time, the Beryl developers said that the split was amicable but necessary because the two projects had different goals. Now it looks like the projects have found common ground.

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