Comment Re: I can't even (Score 1) 45
It already exists. Take a look at CureCoin
Comment Everyone "knows"?! (Score 1) 1
"Everyone" also "knows" that phone calls can be listened in to. "Everyone" "knows" that USPS packages could be physically opened if someone has both access and intent. "Everyone" "knows" that their homes could be broken into regardless of any locks by, for example, breaking a window. Does this mean that any of these actions should be legal without a proper warrant. WTF kind of ridiculous argument is this?
Comment Re: Cubic gigaparsec ... (Score 5, Informative) 184
(2.93799895 Ã-- 10^79) liters in cubic gigaparsec divided by about 2.5 million liters per Olympic pool, so roughly 1.1751996e+73 pools.
Comment Re:Divergence (Score 1) 154
The large range is exactly due to the fact that the point of "divergence" is essentially arbitrary, especially considering nobody was there to observe. The concept of individual species itself is arbitrary, and many exceptions exist to the "able to reproduce and produce fertile offspring" rule. Its nothing more than a useful baseline that aids in communication, sorta like lewis structures in chemistry
Comment Re:Restitution? (Score 2) 294
Who said he shouldn't be punished? Of course he should be punished, and he will be. Restitution, however, is a financial payment from the criminal to the victim to compensate them for harm caused them during the commission of a crime. Nobody was actually harmed, therefore nobody is entitled to restitution.
Comment Re:Restitution? (Score 1) 294
Sure, here.
Comment Re:Restitution? (Score 1) 294
Well since the "hitman" was an undercover agent, and the target was not actually tortured and killed, I'll repeat myself. Who was actually, personally harmed as a direct result of his actions?
Comment Restitution? (Score 1) 294
To whom? Who has he harmed that deserves restitution simply by doing something the government does not like?
Comment Re:Apple will sue (Score 2) 286
From iOS? Looks pretty similar to something that pre-dates it by quite a bit... http://bitchin100.com/dlpilot/icon.png
Digg.com Attempts To Suppress HD-DVD Revolt 1142
fieryprophet writes "An astonishing number of stories related to HD-DVD encryption keys have gone missing in action from digg.com, in many cases along with the account of the diggers who submitted them. Diggers are in open revolt against the moderators and are retaliating in clever and inventive ways. At one point, the entire front page comprised only stories that in one way or another were related to the hex number. Digg users quickly pointed to the HD DVD sponsorship of Diggnation, the Digg podcast show. Search digg for HD-DVD song lyrics, coffee mugs, shirts, and more for a small taste of the rebellion." Search Google for a broader picture; at this writing, about 283,000 pages contain the number with hyphens, and just under 10,000 without hyphens. There's a song. Several domain names including variations of the number have been reserved. Update: 05/02 05:44 GMT by J : New blog post from Kevin Rose of Digg to its users: "We hear you."
A Single-Photon Server 75
Roland Piquepaille writes "A team of German physicists at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics has built a single-photon server with just one atom. They've trapped ultra cold atoms of rubidium in a vacuum chamber and applied laser pulses from one side. The generated photons were of 'high quality,' meaning their energy was very similar from one test to another, and that their properties could be controlled. The researchers think this new way to generate single photons will help the field of quantum information processing. "
The Physics of Santa 172
Roland Piquepaille writes "If you don't believe that Santa Claus can deliver presents to millions of homes in a single night, Larry Silverberg, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University (NCSU), explains that Santa's society of elves has an understanding of physics and engineering that exceeds our own. In fact, Santa Claus and his crew really can deliver presents in one night because of their advanced knowledge of electromagnetic waves, the space/time continuum, nanotechnology, genetic engineering and computer science. For example, he doesn't carry presents. He uses a nano-toymaker to fabricate toys grown atom by atom inside the children's homes. Very entertaining reading... Here is a link to additional details and pictures of Santa and his elves flying over New Zealand."
Penguins Disappearing From Southern Hemisphere 218
The Scotsman is running a piece looking at the mysterious disappearance of penguins from all around the world. A biologist who studies the rockhopper penguin characterizes the population crash as 'sinister', as scientists are still baffled as to why almost 30% of the birds have vanished. From the article: "Grant Munro, the director of Falklands Conservation, said there were fears that rockhoppers might become extinct. 'If the present situation were to carry on then it's not a particularly great forecast. It doesn't look like they are suddenly going to start increasing in numbers ... In the Falklands, they are part of everyday life. If you head down to the beach you are going to see penguins.'"
Gaia Project Agrees To Google Cease and Desist 323
Dreben writes "Gaia, an opensource project to develop a 3D API to Google Earth, has decided to comply with a request from Google. The search giant's Chief Technologist, Michael Jones, contacted the project with a request to cease and desist from all past, present and future development of the Gaia project. Amongst other things, they cited 'improper usage of licensed data,' which Google licenses from assorted third party vendors. They are going so far as to request anyone who has ever downloaded any aspect of Gaia to purge all related files. From the post to the freegis-l mail list: 'We understand and respect Google's position on the case, so we've removed all downloads from this page and we ask everybody who have ever downloaded gaia 0.1.0 and prior versions to delete all files concerned with the project, which include source code, binary files and image cache (~/.gaia).' How does such a request, likely to have turned into a demand, affect fair usage? While the API is intended to interface with the the Google Earth service, Google Earth is nothing without the data. Yet at the same time, Google openly publishes their own API which uses the same data in the same manner."
Laser Turns All Metals Black 333
Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers at the University of Rochester have found a way to change the properties of almost any metal by using a femtosecond laser pulse. This ultra-intense laser blast creates true 'black metal' from copper, gold or zinc by forming nanostructures at the surface of the metal. As these nanostructures capture radiation, the metals turn black. And as the process needs surprisingly low power, it could soon be used for a variety of applications, such as stealth planes, black jewels or car paintings. But read more for additional references and a picture of this femtosecond laser system."
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