Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror

Comment Re:Hilarity (Score 1) 368

Whilst it might be extremely juvenile I got a good chuckle out of "your mother":
- "Measure the popularity of your mother on the internet"
- "Explore your mother in 3D" (uhhhhh)
- "Alert me about your mother"

Brilliant way to spend a Friday afternoon at work ;)

Comment Re:Dirty use? (Score 1) 145

I'm not sure what its like in other countries but the Australian Federal Police has been, for quite a while now, watching online RMTs as many criminals are in fact laundering their money through gold/isk/whatever services.Considering how little auditing there is on in game transactions I'm not surprised that they've taken to it readily.

Comment Re:Use the API against them. (Score 2, Interesting) 149

Whilst I'm sure there will be something like AdBlock for Twitter I can imagine them making the terms of use for the API so that doing so would be a violation of their TOS. Considering that many of the clients are ad supported already (and Twitter has mentioned that there might be a revenue sharing arrangement in the works) the larger majority would comply with the new ads, lest they get blocked and overtaken by another client that does.

Comment Re:Predictable (Score 1) 149

Facebook is already in decline, and will tank once something "better" comes along. The Twitter phenomenon isn't new... it's just the newest version of the same thing.

I think you might be confusing Facebook with MySpace since the former hasn't showed any signs of decline. In fact they've been growing at a fairly consistent rate for the past year or so and are nipping at Google's heels for that number 1 most visited spot on the net. MySpace on the other hand has been in decline for well over a year.

Would you care to cite a few examples of a Twitter-esque service that came before Twitter? The only other microblogging service that's been around almost as long as them (off the top of my head) is Tumblr and even they were launched about a year later. There were of course those engaged in microblogging before such services existed, but Twitter was still arguably the first to market.

Comment Re:Nuclear waste (Score 1) 622

Citation provided.

Whilst it doesn't appear that there is actually legislation preventing the reprocessing of nuclear waste on American soil there seems to be a "lack of formal approval" from the government to allow anyone to do it. There's been funding for projects for looking into the technology but as of right now it does not appear that the government has given the required approval for reprocessing to occur.

Comment Re:As evil as it sounds... (Score 1) 225

While this is true it doesn't take much to become a registered business in Australia. I went through the auDA to get my domain name registered and was held up because of this. 20 minutes later I had a registered ABN and no questions about whether I was actually conducting business under it. So whilst the idea behind it is sound, the implementation is somewhat lacking.

Granted now they have some of my details on record but none of them were above being fudged.

Comment Re:Coverage map (Score 1) 89

AIS data is also used for things like oil spills and search and rescue. When I used to work for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority we had a couple incidents where the AIS data was used to reconstruct the events leading up to the disaster (such as the pacific adventurer one earlier this year). They also use it to track any vessels going near the Great Barrier Reef without having a qualified pilot on board (basically someone who knows their way around the reef) so the vessel doesn't crash into anything.

I can't speak for other countries though, but in Australia we're definitely using AIS data as part of our safety programs.

Comment Gigabyte T1028X (Score 1) 176

After spending about a week searching for a decent netbook I came across this little beasty:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Notebook/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=3191

10.1" screen and a decent amount of grunt behind it. The reviews I've read on it so far seem to be positive and I've ordered one for myself since the only other option was the T91, which you mentioned. The difference in features between the two was more than enough to justify the higher price on the T1028X, although the clincher for me was the screen.

Since I got mine for under AU$900 it would seem to fit the bill quite nicely for you :)

Comment Feels a little bit slashvertismenty... (Score 1) 43

Whilst I like the basic idea the whole article seems dedicated to peddling his wares. Sure he's giving away the basic concepts and some implementation details away but the primary focus of the article is to drive sales to his new income avenue. I would've understood if he built another business based on the concept (that would've shown it works for smaller outfits as well) but from what I can tell he's basically using the Techdirt name to peddle wares on his readership.

Maybe I'm just jealous because I can't monetize anything I've done on the Internet..... :)

Image

NIH Spends $400K To Figure Out Why Men Don't Like Condoms 844

The National Institutes of Health has given $423,500 to researchers at Indiana University's Kinsey Institute to figure out why men don't like to wear condoms. The institute will also study why men have trouble using condoms and investigate "penile erection and sensitivity during condom application." "The project aims to understand the relationship between condom application and loss of erections and decreased sensation, including the role of condom skills and performance anxiety, and to find new ways to improve condom use among those who experience such problems," reads the abstract from Drs. Erick Janssen and Stephanie Sanders, both of the Kinsey Institute.
Education

Getting Beyond the Helldesk 474

An anonymous reader writes "I've been working as a helpdesk monkey for over a year in a small-medium sized law firm of around 200 users and I don't know if my patience and sanity can last much longer. I'd like to remain in IT, but in less of a front-line role where I can actually get some work done without being interrupted every five minutes by a jamming printer or frozen instance of Outlook. There isn't really any room for progression at my current employer, and with the weak job market it seems I can only move sideways into another support role. I've been considering a full-time Masters degree in a specialized Computer Science area such as databases or Web development, but I don't know if the financial cost and the loss of a year's income and experience can justify it. Do any Slashdotters who have made it beyond the helpdesk have any knowledge or wisdom to impart? Is formal education a good avenue, or would I better off moving back home, getting a mindless but low-stress job, and teaching myself technologies in my free time?"

Comment Good first step. (Score 1) 189

An Australian Space Science program is great first step to getting Australia involved in space but for the most part I'll bet that it will rely on either currently deployed satellites and probes or will piggy back onto other's work. Whilst we might be a resource rich country we don't have the spare cash to invest in a fully fledged space program.

We might see a couple Australian experiments going along for a ride with the big wigs of space (Russia and the USA) but I wouldn't expect much more then that for a long, long time. It's a real shame since we have so much spare room for testing experimental rockets and the like.

It could be a great stepping stone for aspiring Australian astronauts and space researchers to get into other programs. We already ship a lot of our talent overseas why not our aeronautical people to! :P

Comment Funny way to turn the pirates over to their side. (Score 4, Insightful) 186

Seems Microsoft might be trying to make the best of a bad situation when it comes to people pirating their software, but turning them into beta testers. Sure you have to give them something for free but in the end you'll get a whole lot of people who would just pirate your software anyway doing a whole lot of free QA for you. Pretty smart move if you ask me.

Funnily enough I didn't hear anything about Microsoft pursuing the Pirate Bay for hosting the torrent of their latest builds, which seems to support this theory. Anyone seen anything?

Slashdot Top Deals

To be is to program.

Working...