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Star Wars Prequels

Little Miss Sunshine Screenwriter Gets Nod For Star Wars: Episode VII 321

Posted by samzenpus from the pen-and-paper dept.
The screenwriter of Toy Story 3, and Little Miss Sunshine, Michael Arndt is writing the script for Star Wars: Episode VII according to Lucasfilm. From the article: "...The new movie has just entered pre-production and is slated to be released in 2015. It was announced just last month as Disney acquired Lucasfilm, but there’s still no word on what the major plot points of the new chapter will entail. However, Vulture reports that 'the studio’s brass want to bring back the three central characters of the original Star Wars: a much older Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo. No deals are in place with any of the original actors, though our source did say it had high ambition to sign up Mark Hamill, and EW recently reported that Harrison Ford was open to the idea of returning.'"
Earth

Submission + - 3M's first LED bulb uses TV tech to appeal to lighting Luddites (extremetech.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: One of the most exciting aspects of the advent of LED lighting has been the chance for companies to take unique approaches to how they want to solve the challenges presented by the shift in technology. Now 3M, a company not generally associated with light bulbs, has entered the LED market with its own novel design. The company developed an LED bulb that was able to take advantage of its experience in edge-lit TVs and LED backlighting. Rather than using a more conventional design, the Advanced Light — the company’s first home bulb — uses lightguides in order to distribute the light generated inside. This comes with some interesting advantages, most importantly a design that looks a lot like a conventional incandescent bulb and one that casts a similar light pattern.
NASA

Submission + - The Glare of Other Suns (skeptic.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Exoplanetary science has reached a fever pitch with indications from Kepler of other Earth-like planetary bodies in the universe. But Kepler's technology, though hardy, is already old. Kepler relies on observations of diminished starlight during planetary crossings. No light is detected from the planet itself. Over the last decade astronomers have been looking to direct observation to capture photons directly from planets. The challenge is obvious: how do you mask its sun? But the solutions are far from straightforward. This story follows a team of direct observers as they search the skies using the Hale telescope outfitted with machinery to image faint planets from hundreds of light years away.

Submission + - How to spot a crap tech job (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by absolovon
absolovon writes: All jobs are crap but some are worse than others, The Register has got a developer turned headhunter to come clean on how to dodge some of the bullets.
Programming

Submission + - Too old to program anymore? Nonsense!

Submitted by
Esther Schindler
Esther Schindler writes: "Why is it that young developers imagine that older programmers can't program in a modern environment? Too many of us of a "certain age" are facing an IT work environment that is hostile to older workers.

Lately, Steven Vaughan-Nichols has been been noticing that the old meme about how grandpa can't understand iPhones, Linux, or the cloud is showing up more often even as it's becoming increasingly irrelevant. The truth is: Many older developers are every bit as good as young programmers, and he cites plenty of example of still-relevant geeks to prove it. And he writes, "Sadly, while that should have put an end to the idea that long hours are a fact of IT life, this remnant of our factory-line past lingers both in high tech and in other industries. But what really matters is who's productive and who's not.""

Comment Re:Translation (Score 1) 866

by Gary (#41684637) Attached to: Parent Questions Mandatory High School Chemistry

I bet, per capita, the number of idiots in your country is the same as in the US. I believe it's a universal constant. The stories about parents forcing their children to take science and math classes and how the kids don't like it is hardly news worthy as the small number of stories of religious idiots taking their kids out of classes that teach evolution.
Idle

Drunk History Presents Nikola Tesla *NSFW* 91

Posted by samzenpus from the putting-on-your-history-goggles dept.
Amazingly accurate for someone so plastered. I think all history should be taught at this level of intoxication.

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I tell them to turn to the study of mathematics, for it is only there that they might escape the lusts of the flesh. -- Thomas Mann, "The Magic Mountain"

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