I bought a kit because I think this would be fun to do with my daughter. It is worth it for that experience alone. This also seems like a very fun activity to do for a classroom project. You get to go out and find things you want to sample, then do the test, etc. Geo tagging, and the like as well. Maybe it wont ultimately be successful, but it will certainly be a fun and educational experience for the participants.

This article is not about "Another social network" and I don't think Declara has much to do with why this deserves to be on Slashdot. This article is about a incredible person whose life and accomplishments should certainly be of interest to any respectable Nerd. Ramona sounds like a incredible and inspirational person. Can't wait for the movie!

Apparently, according to Wikipedia, I hit Stephen King with a truck... Who knew? I must have been drinking that night.

If this really ends up being the title, it is reason enough for me not to see it. World of Warcraft: The Movie $$ $$$$ Experience. There, fixed the title so that the layman can read what the studios read.

It is great to see this starting to take off. Between Google offering to buy some cities fiber networks, and now at least two companies coming up with a similar plan due to Google, the future of US broadband access is starting to look a little brighter! We might even have 1Gb to most homes by the time other developed countries have 10Gb. Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!

Modular design is certainly the way most new data centers are going!! And who is more modular than Lego????????

They should program in virtual 3 year old to attempt occasional toddler attacks on the puzzle, attempting to eat, and occasionally succeeding in carting off pieces it then the system has to scour it's house (system files?) to find...

This social site (minus the current security issues) has become a great networking and job hunting tool, IMO. He could, for example, create a full profile complete with as much detail about the skills he is really comfortable with, and start networking just with friends and his non-IT coworkers at first. He could then start to do IT as odd jobs (rent a coder, craigslist, etc) or volunteer work even for Churches and non-profits, etc. and ask the contacts he makes through those efforts to give him recommendations about his work, if they are happy with it, on linkedin. Recruiters seem to contact me through linkedin, more than any other service (Monster.com, dice.com, etc.) now.

"I have a friend who graduated with a degree in philosophy and sociology." I wouldn't consider that a formal degree either...

Protecting against surges (Transients) and Lightning strikes are 2 very different things. I have worked in some of the nicest tier IV data centers with state of the art redundant power systems and protection. Most Tier IV data centers will have a "Lightning Detection" system. They will count on their power systems and grounding to help, but still track area lightning strikes and be on alert to check things should lightning hit them or close to them. The reason is because there is not gaurantee's when it comes to lightning. That much energy can jump gaps in blown breakers, fuses, and circuits and cause all sorts of havoc, even if the Generator and UPS is still up. Now, transient surge suppression is a different issue and not too expensive for whole home systems IMO. It is not a guarantee, but it is better than nothing at all. http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=174 (this is link to APC residential hard wire panel mount surge suppression options at list cost). Couple a home solution like the APC units above that protects all the random outlets in your house, with strategically placed UPS systems (behind entertainment center, in the office, etc.) and you are getting a decent ammount of protection from the normal surges and near strikes. In closing, lightning is a odd thing. I have been in a house and care that where "stuck". In the car, almost everything was fine, radio lost its pre-sets and time, etc. but that was about it. I don't remember even having any fuses go out. In the house, some things where fried, others where fine. For example, my roommates TV was toast, but the main one in the living room was OK, neither where on UPS. The cordless phone was fine, but the speakers in the corded handset where toast and would only squeal when you turned on the phone.

As a data center consultant and engineer, I am impressed they are going to be given time to sleep and pods to sleep in. Are they hiring? I think I could like living in London... Just give me time to study and adjust to the differences between NEMA and IEC specifications, etc.

I am curious about this too. I also work in IT and with several hospitals as customers. The IT staff in the hospitals I work with, small, medium, and large, all talk about things walking away from rooms, lobbies, etc. Surely there is a better solution, possibly more cost effective too... Besides, you will need to be able to recharge it anyway, so why not look for something that can be put on a table with a long core for recharge? If you can do that, then you could possibly look at touch screen media displays that access a media server hosting your videos. Viewer users use would then just be a touch screen display for the content (probably a lot cheaper, depending on media server and cabling install cost). This also keeps it off of the wifi... which from what I see in hospitals around here, the customer access devices on internal WiFi, the better...

I feel sorry for Niklas if he has to help keep her feet warm at night!

leodesol (at) gmail (dot) com Thanks!