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NASA

New Theory About the Source of Pioneer Space Probe Deceleration 156

Posted by samzenpus from the solving-a-mystery dept.
First time accepted submitter deathcow writes "After forty years, a fresh perspective on old Pioneer data leads to new conclusions as to why the Pioneer probes are decelerating. Many theories to the slowing probes have persisted over the years — was it gravity? some type of unforeseen radiation? dark matter? Thanks to the data backup preservation efforts of a NASA Ames Research engineer, mountains of old telemetry data were still available for studying this curious anomaly."
Government

Could Crowd-Sourced Direct Democracy Work? 594

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the kicking-back-pints-of-hemlock dept.
maccallr writes "The Occupy movement is getting everyone talking about how to fix the world's economic (and social, environmental, ...) problems. It is even trialling new forms of 'open' democracy. Trouble is, it's easy to criticize the physical occupiers for being unrepresentative of the general population — and much of their debating time is spent on practical rather than policy issues. Well-meaning but naive occupiers could be susceptible to exploitation by the political establishment and vested interests. In the UK, virtual occupiers are using Google Moderator to propose and debate policy in the comfort of their homes (where, presumably, it is easier to find out stuff you didn't know). Could something like this be done on a massive scale (national or global) to reach consensus on what needs to be done? How do you maximize participation by 'normal folk' on complex issues? What level of participation could be considered quorate? How do you deal with block votes? What can we learn from electronic petitions and Iceland's crowd-sourced constitution? Is the 'Occupy' branding appropriate? What other pitfalls are there? Or are existing models of democracy and dictatorship fit for purpose?" One issue I see with a global version of something like this is all of the people in the world who haven't even heard of the Internet.

Comment Colorado School of Mines (Score 1) 913

by Alanbly (#36587834) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: CS Degree Without Gen-Ed Requirements?
<ShamelessPlug> I got my BS and MS in Mathematical and Computer Sciences at the Colorado school of Mines on 2007. I had to take exactly 6 courses (18 hours) of non-engineering courses to graduate with both degrees. Sure there was physics and chemistry and metallurgy, but very little liberal arts fluff. I learned C, assembly, and Perl in high school but after the first programming course (CS161) it was all new or more applied material than the practical programming had taught me. </ShamelessPlug>
Sci-Fi

The Science of Lightsabers 232

Posted by samzenpus from the this-had-better-have-nothing-to-do-with-midichlorians dept.
sethmad writes "As everyone who's ever passed the GRE knows, there are two major hypothetical operational problems with Star Wars lightsabers. More accurately I should say there were two problems, because I solved both of them."
Idle

Submission + - Solar-Powered Bikini Powers Your iPod (ecouterre.com)

Submitted by
fangmcgee
fangmcgee writes: "Capable of charging your cellphone or MP3 player, the solar bikini comprises thin, flexible photovoltaic film strips and USB connectors, woven together with conductive thread. Each bikini, coming in at just under $200, is entirely hand-stitched, requiring an average of 80 hours to make. No need to worry about your iPod running out of juice; the solar bikini will charge your favorite gadgets while you soak up the rays."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft and Nvidia Have Acquisition Pact (informationweek.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Infoweek is reporting that Microsoft has obtained the exclusive right to match any buyout offers for Nvidia. The obscure pact was uncovered in SEC documents, and apparently stems from Microsoft's licensing of Nvidia chips for the Xbox. But its real value now lies in the fact that Nvidia has become a major player in tablet chips, including chips for Windows 8 slates.

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