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Submission + - Sounds of Tech Past (itworld.com)

Submitted by
itwbennett
itwbennett writes: "If you're of a certain generation, the screech of a modem, the stuttering song of the dot matrix printer, and the wet slap of a mimeograph machine can transport you to simpler (or at least slower) times. JR Raphael has rounded up 20 tech sounds on the brink of extinction for your listening torture. We're only sorry we don't have smell-o-vision to bring you that sweet mimeograph scent."
Earth

Submission + - Millions in China Live in Energy Efficient Caves

Submitted by
Hugh Pickens writes
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Barbara Demick reports in the LA Times that more than 30 million Chinese people live in caves, many of them in Shaanxi province where the Loess plateau, with its distinctive cliffs of yellow, porous soil, makes digging easy and cave dwelling a reasonable option. The better caves protrude from mountains and are reinforced with brick masonry and some are connected laterally so a family can have several chambers. Electricity and even running water can be brought in. "Most aren't so fancy, but I've seen some really beautiful caves: high ceilings and spacious with a nice yard out front where you can exercise and sit in the sun," says Ren, who works as a driver in the Shaanxi provincial capital, Xian. "It's cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It's quiet and safe." In recent years, architects have been reappraising the cave in environmental terms, and they like what they see. "It is energy efficient. The farmers can save their arable land for planting if they build their houses in the slope. It doesn't take much money or skill to build," says Liu Jiaping, director of the Green Architecture Research Center in Xian and perhaps the leading expert on cave living. Liu helped design and develop a modernized version of traditional cave dwellings that in 2006 was a finalist for a World Habitat Award, sponsored by a British foundation dedicated to sustainable housing. Meanwhile a thriving market around Yanan means a cave with three rooms and a bathroom (a total of 750 square feet) can be advertised for sale at $46,000. "Life is easy and comfortable here. I don't need to climb stairs. I have everything I need," says 76-year-old Ma Liangshui. "I've lived all my life in caves, and I can't imagine anything different.""
Canada

Canada CRTC Rules Against Usage Based Billing 117

Posted by samzenpus from the internet-buffet dept.
iONiUM writes "In a somewhat surprising end to the ongoing fight between large ISPs (a duopoly in Canada), and independent ISPs, the CRTC has ruled in favor of the small ISPs. This means that independent ISPs can continue to have unlimited plans offered to customers. From the article: 'Under the CRTC’s new capacity-based approach, large telephone and cable companies will sell wholesale bandwidth to independent ISPs on a monthly basis. Independent ISPs will have to determine in advance the amount they need to serve their retail customers and then manage network capacity until they are able to purchase more. Alternatively, large companies can continue to charge independent ISPs a flat monthly fee for wholesale access, regardless of how much bandwidth their customers use. Both billing options give independent ISPs the ability to design service plans and charge their own customers as they see fit.' Score one for the citizens."
Moon

Decades-Old Soviet Reflector Spotted On the Moon 147

Posted by Soulskill from the always-in-the-last-place-you-look dept.
cremeglace writes "No one had seen a laser reflector that Soviet scientists had left on the moon almost 40 years ago, despite years of searching. Turns out searchers had been looking kilometers in the wrong direction. On 22 April, a team of physicists finally saw an incredibly faint flash from the reflector, which was ferried across the lunar surface by the Lunokhod 1 rover. The find comes thanks to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which last month imaged a large area where the rover was reported to have been left. Then the researchers, led by Tom Murphy of the University of California, San Diego, could search one football-field-size area at a time until they got a reflection."

Comment Re:Attacking the short poll in the tent (Score 1) 664

by Director of Acronyms (#26207175) Attached to: Will People Really Boycott Apple Over DRM?

to add to this, I can't seem to find a way to deauthorize a computer remotely

There's an option in the iTunes Music Store Account settings to deauthorise all the computers you have authorised. I had to do this recently - http://www.apple.com/itunes/features/ says :

Authorize and Deauthorize : Purchases you make from the iTunes Store can be played on up to five computers that you authorize using your iTunes Store account name and password. To authorize or deauthorize a single computer, choose Authorize Computer or Deauthorize Computer from the Store menu. If all 5 authorizations are being used, you can deauthorize all your computers at one time by choosing View My Account from the Store menu and selecting Deauthorize All.

Doesn't stop your problem when you get past five machines, but really who is actively using that many machines to manage their music?

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