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Comment How is this not obvious? (Score 1) 131

by AlienBrain (#58688066) Attached to: The Dark Side of Dark Mode

Decades of research, then another decade in the 90s of everyone rediscovering for themselves how bad light fonts are on dark backgrounds when everyone made their own website. It was a shitshow, and generally plain old dark text on light backgrounds became the norm again. So called dark mode is just another fashion trend that's been available forever in custom themes, and it's just making a temporary comeback. Likely so marketing can come up with 'light mode' in a few years and say they're doing something cutting edge.

Comment Not uncommon (Score 1) 226

by AlienBrain (#33318296) Attached to: Medieval Copy Protection

I think these kinds of notes in books were not uncommon at all back in the day. My great grandfather wrote in several of the big books that were handed down "This book belongs to ____. If you take it, and don't give it back, then you are no darn good." We always kinda laughed at that in our family, but lots of people took that a little more seriously then.

Comment Try Wuala (Score 1) 467

by AlienBrain (#33166288) Attached to: Web-Based Private File Storage?

Wuala has a java based client that links to local file folders when it's running. It's encrypted on your computer before being stored over the network, so only you can decrypt everything. And if needed you can access things through their website too. Lots of sharing options also if you wanted to. It's worth checking out. Wuala.com
Spam

Spam King Escapes From Federal Prison 596

Posted by CmdrTaco from the must-have-hurt dept.
Bobfrankly1 writes "The FBI, IRS, and the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force are helping the US Marshals search for escaped 'Spam King' Edward 'Eddie' Davidson. He apparently jumped in a car with his wife, changed clothes at home, and hasn't been seen since." Update: 07/24 22:20 GMT by T : It seems that Davidson has been found, victim of a murder-suicide which also left two others dead.
Space

NASA Plans Probe to the Sun 352

Posted by CmdrTaco from the hope-they-bring-suntan-lotion dept.
FudRucker writes "For more than 400 years, astronomers have studied the sun from afar. Now NASA has decided to go there. 'We are going to visit a living, breathing star for the first time,' says program scientist Lika Guhathakurta of NASA Headquarters. 'This is an unexplored region of the solar system and the possibilities for discovery are off the charts.'"
The Courts

Large Hadron Collider Sparks 'Doomsday' Lawsuit 731

Posted by Zonk from the this-looks-like-a-job-for-superman dept.
smooth wombat writes "In what can only be considered a bizarre court case, a former nuclear safety officer and others are suing the U.S. Department of Energy, Fermilab, the National Science Foundation and CERN to stop the use of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) until its safety is reassessed. The plaintiffs cite three possible 'doomsday' scenarios which might occur if the LHC becomes operational: the creation of microscopic black holes which would grow and swallow matter, the creation of strangelets which, if they touch other matter, would convert that matter into strangelets or the creation of magnetic monopoles which could start a chain reaction and convert atoms to other forms of matter. CERN will hold a public open house meeting on April 6 with word having been spread to some researchers to be prepared to answer questions on microscopic black holes and strangelets if asked."
News

Geologists Claim Earth May Be Softer Around The Middle Than Previously Thought 98

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the creamy-nougat-center dept.
A new geological study is suggesting that what we know about the lower mantle of the Earth may have to be reevaluated. Since we are unable to actually sample the Earth at those depths, scientists rely on the use of seismic waves to study the lower reaches of the Earth. This new study suggests that material in the lower mantle has unusual characteristics that make sound move more slowly, suggesting a softer makeup than previously thought. "What's most important for seismology is the acoustic properties--the propagation of sound. We determined the elasticity of ferropericlase through the pressure-induced high-spin to low-spin transition. We did this by measuring the velocity of acoustic waves propagating in different directions in a single crystal of the material and found that over an extended pressure range (from about 395,000 to 590,000 atmospheres) the material became 'softer'--that is, the waves slowed down more than expected from previous work. Thus, at high temperature corresponding distributions will become very broad, which will result in a wide range of depth having subtly anomalous properties that perhaps extend through most of the lower mantle."
It's funny. Laugh.

'w00t' Named 2007 Word of the Year 244

Posted by CmdrTaco from the still-waiting-for-slashdotted-as-a-verb dept.
bukharin writes "'w00t', the "small word that packs a pretty big punch", has been named Word of the Year for 2007 by dictionary gurus Merriam-Webster. Visitors to the Merriam-Webster website were asked to vote for one of 20 commonly searched words and phrases. Facebook was the runner-up. Previously honored geek words include google (runner-up in 2006) and blog (winner in 2004)."
Bug

New Type of Fatigue Discovered in Silicon 108

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the beat-on-anything-long-enough dept.
Invisible Pink Unicorn writes "Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have discovered a phenomenon long thought not to exist. They have demonstrated a mechanical fatigue process that eventually leads to cracks and breakdown in bulk silicon crystals. Silicon — the backbone of the semiconductor industry — has long been believed to be immune to fatigue from cyclic stresses because of the nature of its crystal structure and chemical bonds. However, NIST examination of the silicon used in microscopic systems that incorporate tiny gears, vibrating reeds and other mechanical features reveals stress-induced cracks that can lead to failure. This has important implications for the design of new silicon-based micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) devices that have been proposed for a wide variety of uses. The article abstract is available from Applied Physics Letters."

Examining the New Bubble 186

Posted by Zonk from the don't-pop-it dept.
abb_road writes "Whether or not we're in the midst of another boom-bust cycle in technology is a matter of fierce debate. BusinessWeek discusses what constituted that last bubble and looks at current trends to see if we're on the verge of a new one. From the article: 'The Great Bubble of the late '90s shaped a generation of Internet entrepreneurs and investors much as the Great Depression shaped a generation of economizers in the mid-20th century. 'The bubble generation is much more attuned to the fact that things can get really out of hand,' says Bill Burnham, a former partner at Mobius Venture Capital. 'There's a level of caution that has been ingrained.'"

CmdrTaco becomes An Old(er) Man 339

Posted by Hemos from the it's-payback-time dept.
So, over the years, Rob, as only true friends do, has managed to cause my inbox to explode over the years. Now, it's payback time. That's right, our very own CmdrTaco is turning 30 today. I highly encourage you to drop him an e-mail at (remove the spam parts) maldaSPAM@SPAMslashdot.org. And of course, birthday presents of single malt scotch can be sent c/o of me. I'll...uh...make sure he gets them.

Urging Congress to Cancel the Ethanol Tariff 569

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the falling-on-deaf-ears dept.
reporter writes "The Wall Street Journal is urging Washington to discard the 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol. This tariff is effectively a subsidy for corn-based ethanol produced in the USA. Yet, producing ethanol from corn is highly inefficient and consumes 1 unit of energy for each 1.3 units of energy that burning ethanol provides. By contrast, ethanol derived from sugarcane (which is the sole source of ethanol in Brazil) yields 8.3 units of energy. Sugercane is about 7 times more efficient than corn. Some studies even show that corn yields only 0.8 unit of energy, resulting in a net loss of energy."

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