Comment Re:Dear lord, not Deckard Cain (Score 1) 423
Common you can tell who ever did his voice was just trying to sound like Sean Connery. It makes me laugh every time i hear him.
Submission + - General Motors: Driverless cars ready by 2018
Gregor Stipicic writes: " Cars that drive themselves — even parking at their destination — could be ready for sale within a decade, General Motors Corp. executives say.
"This is not science fiction," Larry Burns, GM's vice president for research and development, said in a recent interview.
GM plans to use an inexpensive computer chip and an antenna to link vehicles equipped with driverless technologies. The first use likely would be on highways; people would have the option to choose a driverless mode while they still would control the vehicle on local streets, Burns said.
He said the company plans to test driverless car technology by 2015 and have cars on the road around 2018.
"
Submission + - Mandatory internet filters to protect children (abc.net.au) 5
CaptainDefragged writes: Just announced on the Australian ABC News site Senator Conroy says it will be mandatory for all internet service providers to provide clean feeds, or ISP filtering, to houses and schools that are free of pornography and inappropriate material. ... Senator Conroy says anyone wanting uncensored access to the internet will have to opt out of the service, and will work with the industry to ensure the filters do not affect the speed of the internet.
Submission + - FBI zaps couple for shining laser at helicopter (networkworld.com) 3
coondoggie writes: "The US attorney's office and the FBI this week charged a California couple with shining a laser into the cockpit of a sheriff's department helicopter, a federal criminal complaint that could land them in jail for up to 20 years and earn them a $250,000 fine.
The federal criminal complaint was filed on December 13, against Jared Dooley and Kendra Snow. The complaint states that on November 8, 2007, at about 10:55 p.m., a green laser beam illuminated the cockpit of a Kern County Sheriff's Department helicopter, which was flying at 500 feet during routine patrol in Bakersfield, California. When the light hit the cockpit, it disoriented the Kern County Sheriff's pilot, causing pain and discomfort in his eyes for a couple of hours, the FBI said in a statement.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/23237"
Submission + - The Great Browser JavaScript Showdown 2
Thwomp writes: Over at Coding Horror Jeff Atwood has an interesting write up on the performance of JavaScript in the big four browsers. He has used WebKit's newly announced SunSpider to produce the results. He's also benchmarked the lasted Firefox Beta here. Overall the results seem surprising.
Submission + - Your worst IT workshop?
suntory writes: I am a lecturer at a Spanish university. This week had to attend a
workshop on "Advanced HTML and CSS" for the university staff. Some of
the ideas that the presenter (a fellow lecturer) shared with us:
- IE is the only browser that follows standards. You can see it clearly because it works for all sites, whereas Firefox and other browsers have problems displaying some of them.
- Frames and tables are the best way to organize your website.
- You can view the source for most CSS, Javascript and HTML files, so you can freely copy and paste what you feel like — the Internet is so free, you know.
- Same applies for images. If you can see them in Google Images Search, then you can use them for your projects.
Submission + - Wiimote as multi-touch display controller (gearlog.com)
Tmack writes: While hard-hacks with the Wiimote is somewhat Old News, this particular implementation is quite interesting. Using the infrared camera on the 'mote, pens with LED's instead of ink, and an LCD projector, Johnny Chung Lee of Carnegie Mellon University has created some software to use them as a cheap (relatively speaking) multi-touch display. Any surface you can project onto becomes an interactive multi-touch display, as demonstrated in the video in the page linked above. He has the software available for download from his website, along with some other neat projects.
Submission + - Nanowires boost laptop battery life to 20 hours
brianmed writes: Stanford researchers have found a way to use silicon nanowires to reinvent the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power laptops, cell phones, MP3 players and other portable devices. The new version, developed through research led by Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, produces up to 10 times the amount of electricity of existing lithium-ion batteries.
Submission + - Judge rules TorrentSpy destroyed evidence (arstechnica.com) 2
Come play kdice writes: "A federal judge has handed the MPAA a resounding victory in its copyright infringement lawsuit against TorrentSpy. Judge Florence-Marie Cooper entered a default judgment against Justin Bunnell and the rest of named defendants in Columbia Pictures et al. v. Justin Bunnell et al. after finding that TorrentSpy "engaged in widespread and systematic efforts to destroy evidence" and lying under oath about said destruction. After being sued, TorrentSpy mounted a vigorous defense, including a countersuit it filed against the MPAA in May 2006, but, behind the scenes, the court documents paint a picture of a company desperately trying to bury any and all incriminating evidence. TorrentSpy has announced its intention to appeal, but its conduct makes a reversal unlikely."
Submission + - The 'malware economy' evolves (zdnet.co.uk)
superglaze writes: "ZDNet UK has a feature on how the malware economy is turning into a recognisable traditional IT economy. Leasing botnets? Malware support? Welcome to the new age of computing. As the piece suggests, it's all gone Darwinian."
Google's OpenSocial Too Late To Be a Win? 82
DeeQ writes with a link to a post on News.com's social networking blog. Author Caroline McCarthy wonders if Google's OpenSocial initiative has missed its moment in the sun. It's been something like six weeks now since the search giant offered up its open-source social media initiative ... but where have been the usual swift victories? Moreover, OpenSocial isn't done yet, and it's not expected until sometime next year. In the meantime Facebook is capitalizing on Google's delay, and other networks are stepping in as well. "Kraus adds that some of the independent platform strategies would be necessary even if OpenSocial were finalized. One of them is LinkedIn's 'InApps,' which also aims to spread LinkedIn's data and influence outside the business-oriented social network through partnerships with other Web sites. 'OpenSocial so far is really about how developers embed their application into a social network,' Kraus explained. 'A good chunk of LinkedIn's APIs is about how LinkedIn extends their social-networking data into other sites.'"
Submission + - Auto Mileage Standards Raised to 35 mpg
Ponca City, We Love You writes: "The Senate just passed a bill that will increase auto mileage standards for the first time in three decades. The auto industry's fleet of new cars, sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans will have to average 35 mpg by 2020, a significant increase over the 2008 requirement of 27.5 mpg average for cars and 22.5 mpg for light trucks. For consumers, the legislation will mean that over the next dozen years auto companies will likely build more diesel-powered SUVs and gas-electric hybrid cars as well as vehicles that can run on 85 percent ethanol. Automakers had vehemently opposed legislation in June that contained the same mileage requirements and Fortune magazine reported that American automakers were starting the miles-per-gallon race far behind Japan and that the new standards could doom US automakers. At the time, Chrysler officially put the cost of meeting the proposed rules at $6,700 per vehicle. The White House announced the President will sign the bill if it comes to his desk."
Submission + - Robots that bounce in bed (nytimes.com)
nem75 writes: "The NY Times has a review of British AI researcher David Levy's book "Love and Sex with Robots". He claims that within a span of about 50 years the day will come, when people could actually fall in love with life-like robots and want to live with them instead of a human mate. While this may seem far fetched at first, he has some pretty interesting views on this. Like the sexual part being the easyest thing, what with brothels exclusively offering life-like sex dolls already existing in Japan and South Korea. The case he builds goes much further though, and certainly provides food for thought."
Submission + - Google: Too late for OpenSocial? (news.com)
DeeQ writes: Is the search king already too late to the party?
When Google unveiled its OpenSocial developer initiative at the end of October, observers hailed it as the future of the social Web. It's been over six weeks, and OpenSocial — which uses open-source code to allow any participating social media site to implement a common set of application program interfaces (APIs) and create "universal" applications — isn't finished, though developers believe it will be ready early in 2008. In the meantime, a number of partners have launched independent developer platform strategies, and Facebook has announced that other social networks will be able to use its own applications, rivaling what Google can offer.
When Google unveiled its OpenSocial developer initiative at the end of October, observers hailed it as the future of the social Web. It's been over six weeks, and OpenSocial — which uses open-source code to allow any participating social media site to implement a common set of application program interfaces (APIs) and create "universal" applications — isn't finished, though developers believe it will be ready early in 2008. In the meantime, a number of partners have launched independent developer platform strategies, and Facebook has announced that other social networks will be able to use its own applications, rivaling what Google can offer.
Submission + - Do Blackberry devices ruin your social life (idg.com.au)
StonyandCher writes: Finally staff have realised that Blackberry devices can strip away a balance between your work and social spheres, and have expressed fears about these devices taking over their lives.
An Australian federal government department stalled the distribution of a new fleet of BlackBerries following fears the devices would have a negative impact on the work/life balance of staff. Staff expressed fears about BlackBerries contributing to a longer working day and felt it was going a step too far because mobile phones are adequate for out-of-office contact.
The Blackberries were purchased for the Minister for Environment, Water, Heritage and Arts, Peter Garrett, as well as 40 other executives including senior departmental staff. However, access to the new devices was delayed after concerns were expressed about the BlackBerries infringing on the work/life balance of staff.
According to a source within the department, who requested anonymity, there are a number of government decision-makers that believe executive staff should rarely be contacted after-hours and if necessary can be contacted by mobile phone.
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As the trials of life continue to take their toll, remember that there is always a future in Computer Maintenance. -- National Lampoon, "Deteriorata"
