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Submission + - New technology can increase the bandwidth of WiFi systems by 10 times (phys.org)

Submitted by chasm22
chasm22 writes: Researchers at Oregon State University have invented a new technology that can increase the bandwidth of WiFi systems by 10 times, using LED lights to transmit information.

The system can potentially send data at up to 100 megabits per second. Although some current WiFi systems have similar bandwidth, it has to be divided by the number of devices, so each user might be receiving just 5 to 10 megabits per second, whereas the hybrid system could deliver 50-100 megabits to each user.

Submission + - $56,000 Speeding Ticket Issued Under Finland's System of Fines Based on Income

Submitted by HughPickens.com
HughPickens.com writes: Joe Pinsker writes at The Atlantic that Finish businessman Reima Kuisla was recently caught going 65 miles per hour in a 50 zone in his home country and ended up paying a fine of $56,000. The fine was so extreme because in Finland, some traffic fines, as well as fines for shoplifting and violating securities-exchange laws, are assessed based on earnings—and Kuisla's declared income was €6.5 million per year. Several years ago another executive was fined the equivalent of $103,000 for going 45 in a 30 zone on his motorcycle. Finland’s system for calculating fines is relatively simple: It starts with an estimate of the amount of spending money a Finn has for one day, and then divides that by two—the resulting number is considered a reasonable amount of spending money to deprive the offender of. Then, based on the severity of the crime, the system has rules for how many days the offender must go without that money. Going about 15 mph over the speed limit gets you a multiplier of 12 days, and going 25 mph over carries a 22-day multiplier. Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, France, and Switzerland also have some sliding-scale fines, or “day-fines,” in place, but in America, flat-rate fines are the norm. Since the late 80s, when day-fines were first seriously tested in the U.S., they have remained unusual and even exotic.

Should such a system be used in the United States? After all, wealthier people have been shown to drive more recklessly than those who make less money. For example Steve Jobs was known to park in handicapped spots and drive around without license plates. But more importantly, day-fines could introduce some fairness to a legal system that many have convincingly shown to be biased against the poor. Last week, the Department of Justice released a comprehensive report on how fines have been doled out in Ferguson, Missouri. "Ferguson’s law enforcement practices are shaped by the City’s focus on revenue rather than by public safety needs," it concluded. The first day-fine ever in the U.S. was given in 1988, and about 70 percent of Staten Island’s fines in the following year were day-fines. A similar program was started in Milwaukee, and a few other cities implemented the day-fine idea and according to Judith Greene, who founded Justice Strategies, a nonprofit research organization, all of these initiatives were effective in making the justice system fairer for poor people. “When considering a proportion of their income,people are at least constantly risk-averse. This means that the worst that would happen is that the deterrent effect of fines would be the same across wealth or income levels,” says Casey Mulligan. "We should start small—say, only speeding tickets—and see what happens."

Submission + - California blue whales rebound from whaling (washington.edu)

Submitted by vinces99
vinces99 writes: The number of California blue whales has rebounded to near historical levels, according to new research by the University of Washington, and while the number of blue whales struck by ships is likely above allowable U.S. limits, such strikes do not immediately threaten that recovery. This is the only population of blue whales known to have recovered from whaling – blue whales as a species having been hunted nearly to extinction.

Blue whales – nearly 100 feet in length and weighing 190 tons as adults – are the largest animals on Earth and the heaviest ever, weighing more than twice as much as the largest known dinosaur, the Argentinosaurus. They are an icon of the conservation movement and many people want to minimize harm to them, according to Trevor Branch, UW assistant professor of aquatic and fishery sciences.

“The recovery of California blue whales from whaling demonstrates the ability of blue whale populations to rebuild under careful management and conservation measures,” said Cole Monnahan, a UW doctoral student in quantitative ecology and resource management and lead author of a paper on the subject posted online Sept. 5 by the journal Marine Mammal Science. Branch and André Punt, a UW professor of aquatic and fisheries sciences, are co-authors.

California blue whales, most visible while feeding 20 to 30 miles off the California coast, range fom the equator to the Gulf of Alaska. Today they number about 2,200, according to monitoring by other research groups, which is likely about 97 percent of the historical levels.

Submission + - What Are the Most Confounding Features of Various Programming Languages? (itworld.com)

Submitted by itwbennett
itwbennett writes: Every programming language has its own unique quirks, such as weird syntax, unusual functionality or non-standard implementations, things that can cause developers new to the language, or even seasoned pros, to scratch their heads in wonder (or throw their hands up in despair). ITworld's Phil Johnson has rounded up some of the WTFiest — from the + operator in JavaScript to the trigraphs in C and C++ and indentation level in Python. What programming language oddities cause you the most grief?

Submission + - NYPD Starts Body Camera Pilot Program (nytimes.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: In the wake of the Michael Brown shooting, calls for continuous recording of all police activity have been loud and strenuous. Now, one of the biggest police forces in the world will begin testing body cameras. The New York Police Department announced a pilot program to test the wearable cameras in high-crime districts. "[T]he participation of the New York department, with its 35,000 uniformed members and vast footprint on the country’s policing policy, could permanently shift the balance in favor of the cameras, which both civil libertarians and many police chiefs have cited as a way to improve relations between citizens and law enforcement, particularly in heavily policed minority communities." The NYPD will be testing hardware from two manufacturers: Vievu and Taser International. While the 60-camera pilot program will get running for about $60,000, IT costs are expected to quickly outstrip that amount.

Submission + - Star Within a Star: Thorne-Zytkow Object Discovered (discovery.com)

Submitted by astroengine
astroengine writes: A weird type of ‘hybrid’ star has been discovered nearly 40 years since it was first theorized — but until now has been curiously difficult to find. In 1975, renowned astrophysicists Kip Thorne, of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, Calif., and Anna Zytkow, of the University of Cambridge, UK, assembled a theory on how a large dying star could swallow its neutron star binary partner, thus becoming a very rare type of stellar hybrid, nicknamed a Thorne-Zytkow object (or TZO). The neutron star — a dense husk of degenerate matter that was once a massive star long since gone supernova — would spiral into the red supergiant’s core, interrupting normal fusion processes. According to the Thorne-Zytkow theory, after the two objects have merged, an excess of the elements rubidium, lithium and molybdenum will be generated by the hybrid. So astronomers have been on the lookout for stars in our galaxy, which is thought to contain only a few dozen of these objects at any one time, with this specific chemical signature in their atmospheres. Now, according to Emily Levesque of the University of Colorado Boulder and her team, a bona fide TZO has been discovered and their findings have been accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters.

Comment Re:How many? (Score 1) 342

by CapeDoryBob (#46827989) Attached to: Aereo To SCOTUS: Shut Us Down and You Shut Down Cloud Storage

Broadcasting was based on the inability of radio or tv to be individually addressable at the time the physical implementation was worked out. Advertising was therefore used to finance the broadcasters, who sold their audiences to their advertisers. I wonder if the broadcasters are shooting themselves in the foot by denying themselves Aereo's audience. Maybe they could work out a deal where Aereo gives them data on Aereo's users for each broadcast. Then they will have something to sell their advertisers. It might be handy, for example, to view a Miami station's news before I begin my Florida vacation, on my HDTV instead of my smaller monitor.

But why should the public interest or convenience mean anything , when there are monopoly rents to collect?

Submission + - Microsoft Ships Surface Pro 2 Tablets with Wrong, Slower Processor

Submitted by SmartAboutThings
SmartAboutThings writes: Microsoft launched the Surface Pro 2 tablet in October 2013 with several hardware upgrades, like the new 1.6GHz Core i5-4200U processor specifically optimized for longer battery life and increased performance. Three months later, Microsoft decided to upgrade the CPU with a 1.9GHz Core i5-4300U unit that would be capable of taking these improvements even further. Albeit Redmond has kept a low profile for the somewhat significant improvement, tech savvy buyers were aware of the change. Now, according to some new reports, it seems that the company is still shipping the old models to buyers, despite the fact that Microsoft has promised to deliver only upgraded models featuring the new CPU. The new processor is said to come with 20% higher clock speed and 15% to 20% better overclocked clock speed.

Submission + - DEA PowerPoint shows how agency hides investigative methods from trial review (muckrock.com)

Submitted by v3rgEz
v3rgEz writes: CJ Ciaramella stumbled upon some recently interesting documents with a recent FOIA request: The DEA's training materials regarding parallel construction, the practice of reverse engineering the evidence chain to keep how the government actually knows something happened away from prosecutors, the defense, and the public.

  “Americans don’t like it," the materials note, when the government relies heavily on classified sources, so agents are encouraged to find ways to get the same information through tactics like "routine" traffic stops that coincidentally find the information agents are after.

Public blowback, along with greater criminal awareness, are cited among the reasons for keeping the actual methodologies beyond the reach of even the prosecutors working with the DEA on the cases.

Comment Re:How about Ceramic Engines ? (Score 1) 368

by CapeDoryBob (#45887315) Attached to: Australian Team Working On Engines Without Piston Rings

I'm not an engineer.... but.....

Ceramics have much higher melting temperatures than metals. This could lead to an engine with a much higher operating temp and therefore higher thermal efficiency., i.e. much better mileage.

What I'd like to see is someone build an engine with all the bells and whistles: Ceramic block, ringless pistons, high temp coolant ( no water )..and lubricant.

What would the mileage be? And could it be manufactured in the millions?

Comment Snowden vs Pollard? (Score 1) 354

by CapeDoryBob (#45847863) Attached to: The New York Times Pushes For Clemency For Snowden

If Jonathan Pollard was right, does that make Snowden right?

If Pollard was wrong, isn't Snowden wrong too?

Does Snowden's "service to humanity" compare to Pollard's "service to Israeli intelligence"?

Now, Pollard was an officer in the US military. Snowden was a mere "contractor" for the NSA. What were their obligations?

I'd like to see a debate on these questions.

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