Comment Re:Punch cards (Score 1) 397
How about Punch cards made out of titanium?
Comment Redundancy by method (Score 1) 397
The key to data protection is risk mitigation. Depending on how important your data is, you should probably consider employing multiple methods of protection, such as a Disk or SSD based copy with a Tape or Optical based copy.
Personally, I'd keep a near-online copy by means of an External Drive or NAS device which can be powered down if necessary, but if you want to go further you could lock that in a fire-resistant safe/filing cabinet, but you should definitely have another copy offsite somewhere.
You could even use an online storage provider? Let them worry about maintaining the hardware? But you still need a second (offline, offsite) copy, imho.
Personally, I'd keep a near-online copy by means of an External Drive or NAS device which can be powered down if necessary, but if you want to go further you could lock that in a fire-resistant safe/filing cabinet, but you should definitely have another copy offsite somewhere.
You could even use an online storage provider? Let them worry about maintaining the hardware? But you still need a second (offline, offsite) copy, imho.
Comment Do you believe models? (Score 1) 541
Some models suggest that space-time expanded at a rate faster than light speed during a period of rapid inflation shortly after the Big Bang.
I don't know about you, but I always take anything that a model suggests with a grain of salt!
I don't know about you, but I always take anything that a model suggests with a grain of salt!
Nintendo Penalizing Homebrew Users? 95
An anonymous reader writes "Bricked your Wii? Not only will Nintendo charge you for the repair, they will now add an additional fee if they detect any homebrew software. 'Should Nintendo have to pay to repair hacked Wiis under warranty? Maybe not, but they have no (moral) right to gouge customers out of spite for having the HBC installed. This actually poses a technical dilemma for us with BootMii. As currently designed, BootMii looks for an SD card when you boot your Wii, and if it finds the card and the right file, it will execute that file. Otherwise, there's no way to tell it's installed.'"
Comment What about the servers? (Score 1) 503
I'm surprised more people didn't vote for their real primary machine... the one doing all the work... the server that has no screen!
...Ahh crap I voted for the wrong option too. :)
iPhone App Refund Policies Could Cost Devs 230
CBRcrash writes "Apparently, if iPhone users decide that they want a refund for an app (users can get a refund within 90 days, according to Apple policy), Apple requires that developers give back the money they received from the sale. But, here's the kicker: Apple will refund the full amount to the user and says that it has the right to keep its commission. So, the developer not only has to return the money for the sale, but also has to reimburse Apple for its commission."
Couple Funds Honeymoon With Recyclables 38
John and Ann Till, from Petersfield, in Hampshire, spent three months collecting recyclables to pay for their honeymoon flights. The couple earned one reward point, which they converted into BA air miles, for every four items they recycled. In the end, they amassed 36,000 miles. Mr Till, 31, a railways communications manager, said, "We wanted to make our honeymoon special and were trying to think of ways to raise money for it. I saw on the machine that you got a Tesco Clubcard point for every four items you put in. For every 250 points you got 600 British Airways miles. We worked out that it would be possible to turn rubbish into our flights — as long as we had enough."
How Mobile Phones Work Behind the Scenes 220
adamengst writes "We seldom think about how our mobile phones actually work, but in this TidBITS article, Rich Mogull pulls back the covers and peels away the jargon to explain why text messages work when voice calls are dropped, why your battery lasts longer in some places than in others, why you're not allowed to use phones on airplanes, why you can be notified of a voicemail message when your phone never rang, and more."
Submission + - New Jersey's Cablevision Hijacks 404 Error Pages (selikoff.net) 1
Selikoff writes: "I just noticed Cablevision's Optimum Online service has begun hijacking 404 Error pages with, you guessed it, ad-supported results. Aside from hurting the underlying stability of the Internet, there have been instances where hackers have used such tools against customers. I know Road Runner customers have had to deal with this for a couple months now, although at least they have an outlet to turn it off."
Submission + - Yahoo! exposes user passwords (uwaterloo.ca) 3
kingofthehobos writes: In a move hearkening back to the days of telnet, Yahoo!'s newest addition to there mail system exposes the full usernames & passwords over the wire (or wireless) in plaintext. Both CNET news & Wired's Webmonkey are reporting on the story (although in true Wired fashion the individual is called a "hacker"). So, if you know anyone who might have installed Yahoo! Zimbra Desktop getting them to switch back to the web interface and change there password (until the issues are fixed) would be ++good.
Submission + - Joe Biden's pro-RIAA, pro-FBI tech voting record
Aviran writes: "By choosing Joe Biden as their vice presidential candidate, the Democrats have selected a politician with a mixed record on technology who has spent most of his Senate career allied with the FBI and copyright holders, who ranks toward the bottom of CNET's Technology Voters' Guide, and whose anti-privacy legislation was actually responsible for the creation of PGP."
Comment Most of the Chinese Women's team... (Score 1) 113
Looks to me like most of the women on the chinese team look like they're fresh out of the local sex-change clinic... remember the swimming team from a few years back?
Submission + - LED's, energy savers or environmental disaster? 1
LM741N writes: Gallium Arsenide has now been listed as a carcinogen. http://www.oehha.org/prop65/prop65_list/Newlist.html Given the increasing usage of gallium arsenide, the main constituent in LED's, and their recent championing as more efficient light sources in recent news stories and Slashdot, there may be significant environmental concerns as related to their disposal. Morover, workers in industries using the substance may be at risk of cancer as well.
Thus arguments that LEDs are more environmentally friendly than fluorescent lights containing mercury may be totally specious.
Submission + - Linux / Unix boxes sweep Amazon's 'best of" 20 (businesswire.com)
christian.einfeldt writes: "Computers and handheld devices running default GNU Linux or Unix OSes have swept Amazon's 'best of' list for 2007, according BusinessWire.com for 28 December 2007. Best selling computer? The Nokia Internet Tablet PC, running Linux. Best reviewed computer? The Apple MacBook Pro notebook PC. Most wished for computer? Asus Eee 4G-Galaxy 7-inch PC mobile Internet device, which comes with Xandros Linux pre-installed. And last, but not least, the most frequently gifted computer: The Apple MacBook notebook PC. Microsoft makes only one appearance on the list, and it wasn't in games, but in the best selling software package: Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007. Microsoft fans will point out that 'all of these computers are capable of running Windows', but in years past, that line belonged to the Linux / Mac crowd."
Submission + - Snortable Drug Keeps Monkeys Awake
sporkme writes: A DARPA-funded research project at UCLA has wrapped up a set of animal trials testing the effects of inhalation of the brain chemical orexin A, a deficiency of which is a characteristic of narcolepsy. From the article:
Researchers seem cautious to bill the treatment as a replacement for sleep, as it is not clear that adjusting brain chemistry could have the same physical benefits of real sleep in the long run. The drug is aimed at replacing amphetamines used by drowsy long-haul military pilots, but there would no doubt be large demand for such a remedy thanks to its apparent lack of side-effects.The monkeys were deprived of sleep for 30 to 36 hours and then given either orexin A or a saline placebo before taking standard cognitive tests. The monkeys given orexin A in a nasal spray scored about the same as alert monkeys, while the saline-control group was severely impaired. The study, published in the Dec. 26 edition of The Journal of Neuroscience, found orexin A not only restored monkeys' cognitive abilities but made their brains look "awake" in PET scans. Siegel said that orexin A is unique in that it only had an impact on sleepy monkeys, not alert ones, and that it is "specific in reversing the effects of sleepiness" without other impacts on the brain.
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My sister opened a computer store in Hawaii. She sells C shells down by the seashore.
