Comment Re:It's not gunna happen.. (Score 1) 242
Also, in a lot of the US there isn't a real choice between ISPs. As in there's only one broadband provider in your area.
Telescope Spots Solar Tsunami 76
scdeimos writes "The prototype of a new solar patrol telescope in New Mexico recorded a tsunami-like shock wave rolling across the visible face of the Sun following a major flare event on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The shock wave, known as a Moreton wave, also destroyed or compressed two filaments of cool gas at opposite sides of the solar hemisphere." From the article: "'These large scale 'blast' waves occur infrequently, however, are very powerful. They quickly propagate in a matter of minutes covering the whole Sun, sweeping away filamentary material,' said Dr. K. S. Balasubramaniam. 'It is unusual to see such powerful waves encompassing the whole sun from ground based observatories. Its significance comes from the fact that these waves are occurring near solar minimum, when intense activity is yet to pick up.'"
Ancient Swords Made of Carbon Nanotubes 293
brian0918 writes "Nature reports that researchers at Dresden University believe that sabres from Damascus dating back to 900 AD were formed with help from carbon nanotubes. From the article: 'Sabres from Damascus are made from a type of steel called wootz. But the secret of the swords' manufacture was lost in the eighteenth century.' At high temperatures, impurities in the metal 'could have catalyzed the growth of nanotubes from carbon in the burning wood and leaves used to make the wootz, Paufler suggests. These tubes could then have filled with cementite to produce the wires in the patterned blades, he says.'"
Exclusive Interview With Greg Bear 74
Joe Dickerson writes, "Aberrant Dreams, an Atlanta-based online magazine, has posted an exclusive interview with science fiction great Greg Bear. The interview covers topics from what it was like being the son-in-law of Poul Anderson, to his newest book (Quantico), to plans for upcoming books. While you're there, check out their other exclusive interviews with the likes of Alastair Reynolds, Stephen Baxter, and Gerald W. Page."
Copyright Protection Problems For OSS Project 390
An anonymous reader writes "There's a federal case in the Northern District of California where copyright for open source is being challenged. The free software project JMRI discovered that a commercial company was
using some of their files in a product, in violation of the license. They added a copyright claim to an ongoing legal action about cybersquatting, software patent abuse, etc. The patent case was covered on Slashdot back in June but the copyright part is new. The other side came back with an argument that copyright law didn't apply, simply because they software was 'being given away for free.'"
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