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Comment Such 'demos' should be illegal. (Score 2) 273

(sarcasm) Well, the obvious solution is to prosecute Randy for violation of some type of copyright/jail-breaking/illegal use law. If we don't have one yet for this -- we can write one quickly! No need to have people worry about this type of stuff. Our economy is in shambles, we need people to use their cards! You can't grow GDP without breaking a few eggs! (/sarcasm)

Comment What, they can be friends offline! (Score 1) 415

I'm scandalized. Thank God the Government stepped in to control this type of fraternizing with students! But it doesn't make sense, they can still be friends "offline"??? Should the Government allow that? It really should be studied. What about being friendly outside of school -- sounds questionable. Could be risky.....
Microsoft

Submission + - .NET Gadgeteer - Microsoft's Arduino killer? (i-programmer.info)

mikejuk writes: .NET Gadgeteer is a new open source platform, from Microsoft Research, based on the use of the .NET Micro Framework. It brings with it lots of hardware modules that are backed by object oriented software. You simply buy the modules you need — switches, GPS, WiFi etc — that you need and plug them together. The software, based on C#, is also open source, and comes with classes that let you use the modules without having to go "low level". It seems like a really easy way to prototype new gadgets (see the videos).
Is this an Arduino killer?

The Almighty Buck

Submission + - IMF Chief Calls on US to Raise Borrowing Limit (go.com)

fysdt writes: "The International Monetary Fund's new chief foresees "real nasty consequences" for the U.S. and global economies if the U.S. fails to raise its borrowing limit.

Christine Lagarde, the first woman to head the lending institution, said in an interview broadcast Sunday that it would cause interest rates to rise and stock markets to fall. That would threaten an important IMF goal, which is preserving stability in the world economy, she said.

The U.S. borrowing limit is $14.3 trillion. Obama administration officials say the U.S. would begin to default without an agreement by Aug. 2.

Lagarde, who took over as managing director July 5, also addressed the fallout stemming from the sexual assault charges filed against her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn."

Science

Submission + - Watch IBM's Watson on Jeopardy - tonight! (jeopardy.com)

JohnMurtari writes: Calling all computer geeks! Don't miss watching IBM's Watson compete on Jeopardy against two of the best "human" players they've ever had.

Check IBMWatson.com for more details from IBM. This could be it — the computer that can finally talk and answer ambiguous questions. Who needs another search engine when IBM markets Watson?

Games

Capcom 'Saddened' By Game Plagiarism Controversy 163

Capcom's recent release of action platformer Maxsplosion for the iPhone caused indie developer Twisted Pixel to call Capcom out for copying the concept from their successful Xbox Live game 'Splosion Man. Twisted Pixel said they had no plans for legal action, since they were "too small to take on a company like Capcom." The indie studio had even pitched the game to Capcom for publishing at one point, but were declined. Now, Capcom has released a statement denying that Maxsplosion's development team had any knowledge of the meetings and saying, "MaXplosion was developed independently by Capcom Mobile. Nonetheless, we are saddened by this situation and hope to rebuild the trust of our fans and friends in the gaming community."
Linux

Embedded Linux 1-Second Cold Boot To QT 141

An anonymous reader writes "The blog post shows an embedded device cold booting Linux to a QT application all in just one second. This post also includes a link which describes what modifications were made to achieve this."
Medicine

High Fructose Corn Syrup To Get a Makeover 646

An anonymous reader writes "With its sweetener linked to obesity, some cancers and diabetes, the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) doesn't want you to think 'fructose' when you see high fructose corn syrup in your soda, ketchup or pickles. Instead, the AP reports, the CRA submitted an application to the FDA, hoping to change the name of their top-selling product to 'corn sugar.'"

Comment Easy excuse for parents with misbehaving kids? (Score 2, Insightful) 711

Folks, You just got to believe that some parents are "relieved" to have a misbehaving child diagnosed as ADHD and medicated. Then, it is not their fault. They can tell all their friends, "Johnny was acting out at school for a while, but he has ADHD and is now on medication..."

Like everyone else is saying I also would have put on drugs. All my elementary report cards said, "Johnny talks to much in class!" With enough positive and negative reinforcement -- I learned to control my behavior.

I was an Honor Graduate of the Air Force Academy and a jet instructor pilot -- and a programmer in my later years! I hate to think what would have happened if I'd been drugged.

Moon

Why NASA's New Video Game Misses the Point 205

longacre writes "Erik Sofge trudges through NASA's latest free video game, which he finds tedious, uninspiring and misguided. Quoting: 'Moonbase Alpha is a demo, of sorts, for NASA's more ambitious upcoming game, Astronaut: Moon, Mars & Beyond, which will feature more destinations, and hopefully less welding. The European Space Agency is developing a similar game, set on the Jovian Moon, Europa. But Moonbase Alpha proves that as a recruiting campaign, or even as an educational tool, the astronaut simulation game is a lost cause. Unless NASA plans to veer into science fiction and populate its virtual moons, asteroids and planets with hostile species, it's hard to imagine why anyone would want to suffer through another minute of pretending to weld power cables back into place, while thousands of miles away, the most advanced explorers ever built are hurtling toward asteroids and dwarf planets and into the heart of the sun. Even if it was possible to build an astronaut game that's both exciting and realistic, why bother? It will be more than a decade before humans even attempt another trip outside of Earth's orbit. If NASA wants to inspire the next generation of astronauts and engineers, its games should focus on the real winners of the space race — the robots.'"

Comment My degree in "Hotel Front Desk Admin" - no good!? (Score 1) 1138

What! You mean all the money I spent on getting that great degree in Hotel Front Desk Administration isn't worth $80,000! But all the commercials said it was.... maybe I should have gone for that Computer Science major after all!

Seriously - nothing wrong with being a receptionist or a lot of other jobs. But college catalogs seem to be more like vocational training schools -- just a lot more expensive!

Comment Re:What the X-37 is REALLY doing in orbit... (Score 1) 234

Technically, yes it is possible. However, it would require a massive amount of delta-v to rendezvous with a significant number of enemy sats. And, that doesn't provide any reason to make something that can return to earth. You could launch a vehicle capable of your proposed mission on a normal rocket. Also, the enemy would notice that you launched something that is visiting all of their sats. At least, they would know you were doing close-pass espionage runs. They will be monitoring the space near their sats to see if anything is on an intersecting orbit that they need to maneuver away from in order to avoid a collision.

You don't have to visit all of them in one mission and given the complexity -- why not reuse the vehicle (it would be cheaper). Regarding ground radar, it is not as easy as you think to keep a continual monitor and we probably have the best system there is. The X-37B also has a stealthy shape. The dual rudders is pure F-22. They said it was to fit into the nose of the Atlas for launch -- but it may also reduce radar signature.

Comment What the X-37 is REALLY doing in orbit... (Score 3, Interesting) 234

This is just conjecture. On a 'big' war day we are going to want to disable enemy satellites. We have ground based interceptors -- but there can be delays in launch windows, plus the 'bad' guys are going to be on guard and can take some evasive actions.

How about our little X-37 with a cargo bay and manipulator arm goes and pays those 'nasty' satellites a visit right now and attaches a few pounds of high explosive with a radio detonator. When the war starts you push a button and they all disappear!

Just in case they send a maintenance flight up, our little bomblets can also be equipped with a radio controlled 'spring' that detaches them from the satellite. No one is the wiser.

Possible?

Comment Re:Incorrect (Score 1) 447

This person is quite correct. I'm amazed people think that if I pay you to develop some software some scratch -- that you OWN the result? It is "work made for hire" and the person that pays, owns by default. Normally, when I'm involved in this type of work for a customers I'll add a clause that at least says I have the right to "reuse" portions of the code in other work -- most don't have a problem with that.

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