Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
Microsoft

Submission + - Nokia' s First "REAL" Windows Phone (i-programmer.info)

mikejuk writes: And so it begins.
There is a very real sense in which Windows Phone 7 has been on hold since the deal between Microsoft and Nokia for it to switch from Symbian to Windows Phone 7. Nokia has just launched the Lumia 800, its first Windows 7 phone, and it is basically a modified N9. CEO Stephen Elop said:
"It's a new dawn for Nokia"
he also called it
"the first real Windows Phone"
and
"We believe it is the first ever instantiation of the Windows Phone platform that properly embodies, complements and amplifies the design sensibilities of Windows Phone"

This certainly confirms the reason why developers might have been holding off creating apps for earlier devices. The bad news is that it is being launched in Europe now but the US wont see one until early 2012 so missing the holiday season.
Now we have to see if Nokia's hardware can make a sucess of Microsoft's software.

Government

New Bill Would Put DHS In Charge of 'Critical' Private Networks 193

GovTechGuy writes "A new bill unveiled Wednesday by House Homeland Security chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) would give the Department of Homeland Security the authority to enforce federal cybersecurity standards on private sector companies deemed critical to national security. The Homeland Security Cyber and Physical Infrastructure Protection Act of 2010 authorizes DHS to establish and enforce risk and performance-based cybersecurity standards on federal agencies and private sector companies considered part of the country's critical infrastructure. Such firms include utilities, communications providers and financial institutions."

Comment Re:Give VirtualBox a try! (Score 2, Informative) 384

I've set up all of my kids with Ubuntu Linux boxes running VirtualBox for Windows. Things to note, reverting to a saved state will lose ALL saved documents, files, etc. You need a link from Windows to a folder on Linux for your users so that important files aren't lost. There's another option to set up a 2nd HDD, which would be unaffected by reverting states, but I haven't done that - although the documentation is there. Because Photoshop and Lightroom are memory / performance hogs I'd set up a test linux partition and try it all out before committing. Depending on your needs for Linux a nice lightweight desktop instead of Gnome or KDE would be a smart move for the box running Photoshop. Good luck.

Comment Re:Your math is wrong, or you are a driving hazard (Score 1) 206

I can and have done the drive from NJ to FL many times - 900 miles in 14-15 hours (no big deal when you have 2 drivers). In any event, the problem statement was that the recharge time is currently so long that you need a place to sleep so that there's actually enough time to charge the car. People make trips like this all the time, not 10 times a year, but a ton of people drive to college or home, go to visit family, etc. So it's either I need 2 cars, or I have to rent a car for the long trip because I spent all of my money on an EV i.e. they aren't cheap.

In any event, there's no need to think these hurdles won't be overcome, it's just a problem right now. Early adopters are what makes things affordable for the rest of us down the line.
Earth

Fifty Meter Asteroid Might Hit Earth In 2098 295

eldavojohn writes "The Bad Astronomer brings word of an asteroid discovered with a tiny chance of hitting Earth. While it's only 50 meters wide, it could have the impact of a 20 megaton bomb. It's still twenty million miles away so if it hits us, it won't happen until 2098. The real story here is how a remarkable telescope, dubbed Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System, that went operational in May found its first potential target in our growing impact alert system for Earth."

Timmy O'Riley By L. Hadron and the Colliders 62

Making music has never been quite this awesome! Using only ThinkGeek products (Bliptronic 5000, Guitar Shirt, Drumkit Shirt, Stylophone, and Otamatone Electronic Instrument) the ultra-geeks over at ThinkGeek have created this ultra-cool cover of The Who's Baba O'Reilly. This also qualifies as a full blown shameless plug since ThinkGeek shares a corporate overlord with Slashdot.
Science

Aussie Scientists Find Coconut-Carrying Octopus 205

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from an AP report: "Australian scientists have discovered an octopus in Indonesia that collects coconut shells for shelter — unusually sophisticated behavior that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal. The scientists filmed the veined octopus, Amphioctopus marginatus, selecting halved coconut shells from the sea floor, emptying them out, carrying them under their bodies up to 65 feet (20 meters), and assembling two shells together to make a spherical hiding spot. ... 'I was gobsmacked,' said Finn, a research biologist at the museum who specializes in cephalopods. 'I mean, I've seen a lot of octopuses hiding in shells, but I've never seen one that grabs it up and jogs across the sea floor. I was trying hard not to laugh.'"
Music

Student Orchestra Performs Music With iPhones 65

A course at the University of Michigan ends with a live concert featuring students using iPhones as instruments. “Building a Mobile Phone Ensemble“ teaches students to code musical instruments for the iPhone, using the Apple-provided software-development kit. Georg Essl, assistant professor of computer science and music, says, "What’s interesting is we blend the whole process. We start from nothing. We teach the programming of iPhones for multimedia stuff, and then we teach students to build their own instruments.”
Biotech

Engineered Bacteria Glows To Reveal Land Mines 248

MikeChino writes "Sifting through minefields to remove hidden threats is a dangerous, tedious, and expensive process. Scientists at the University of Edinburgh recently announced that they have engineered a strain of bacteria that glows green in the presence of explosives, making mine detection a snap. The new strain of bacteria can be sprayed onto local affected areas or air-dropped over entire fields of mines. Within a few hours the bacteria strain begins to glow wherever traces of explosive chemicals are present."

Slashdot Top Deals

Real Programmers think better when playing Adventure or Rogue.

Working...