Mr Hoffman - Slashdot User

Comment DECwindows SVN, various X applications (Score 1) 183

by Mr Hoffman on Saturday July 26, 2008 @01:24PM (#24349205) Attached to: Microsoft's Decade-old Patent On Tree-view Mode!

Looks reminiscent of the Structured Visual Navigation Widget from 1994, and SVN itself is older than that. And there are certainly various apparently-similar displays around various DECwindows and X Window applications.

Submission + - DOJ Accidentally Gives Lawyer Wiretap Transcript

Submitted by good soldier svejk on Friday July 06, 2007 @08:08PM

good soldier svejk writes: It could be a scene from Kafka or Brazil. Imagine a government agency, in a bureaucratic foul-up, accidentally gives you a copy of a document marked "top secret." And it contains a log of some of your private phone calls. You read it and ponder it and wonder what it all means. Then, two months later, the FBI shows up at your door, demands the document back and orders you to forget you ever saw it.
That is what happened to Washington D.C. attorney Wendell Belew. His lawsuit takes on special significance given today's Sixth Circuit Court ruling that surveillance victims can only sue the DOJ if they can prove they were affected. Also in light of that decision we can safely add Catch-22 to the list of literary references above.

Submission + - Nanoglue being used to make Spidermans web-shooter (computerworld.com.au)

Submitted by Stony Stevenson on Friday June 01, 2007 @08:09PM

Stony Stevenson writes: A team of US researchers is using the super-adhesive properties of nanoglue to create a super-sticky web-shooting device much like the comic-book hero Spiderman's, an announcement sure to prick the ears of Peter Parker aficionados the globe over. The nanoglue is also being trialed in the production of computer chip circuitry and is expected to miniaturize the process, meaning faster and more powerful chips.

From the article: "If we can find a way to create threads and/or intertwined bundles using the molecules in a scalable fashion, while retaining the adhesive properties, then creating web-shooters similar to Spiderman's is a real possibility," Ramanath said. "There are ways in which molecular threads/bundles can be created in large quantities. The challenge will be, however, to simultaneously engineer adhesion on certain surfaces (and not others, since we want the suit only to form on the desired surface) and also with each other during the thread formation."

Submission + - Scientists Identify How Body Senses Cold

Submitted by Vicissidude on Wednesday May 30, 2007 @07:42PM

Vicissidude writes: As an ice cream melts in your mouth this summer, take a moment to contemplate the protein that may be bringing you that sense of cool relief — and numbing your tongue. Researchers have pinned down the particular protein in mice used by the body to sense cold temperatures, and think that a similar one in humans does the same job. Mice rely on a single protein, called TRPM8, to sense both cold temperatures and menthol, the compound that gives mints their cool sensation. The sensor also controls the pain-relieving effect of cool temperatures, but does not seem to play an important role in the response to painfully cold temperatures below 10 C. TRPM8 is in the same family as the protein that detects heat and capsaicin, the compound that makes peppers hot. These proteins lie in the cell membranes of select neurons, and form channels that open and close in response to external signals.

Submission + - Google Gears is launched

Submitted by

Mister Inbetween

on Wednesday May 30, 2007 @07:27PM

Mister Inbetween writes: "Google is rolling out a technology designed to overcome the major drawback faced by all web-based applications: the fact that they don't work without an internet connection. Google Gears is an open source technology for creating offline web applications that is being launching today at Google's annual Developer Day gatherings around the world."

Submission + - NASA Gears Up for the Regolith Rumble

Submitted by

eldavojohn

on Friday May 11, 2007 @08:34AM

eldavojohn writes: "NASA is holding another challenge to see which autonomous robot can move the most regolith (that's moon dirt) in 30 minutes. The finer details: "To win the cash prizes for NASA's Regolith Challenge, teams must demonstrate fully autonomous robots capable of collecting at least 330 pounds (150 kilograms) of mock Moon dirt within 30 minutes. Whichever robot moves the most regolith over the benchmark limit, while still meeting contest specifications, wins, NASA said. But in order to compete, lunar regolith excavators must weigh less than 88 pounds (40 kilograms) and run on less than 30 kilowatts of power, according to contest rules.""

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