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Comment TEMPEST (Score 1) 358

by SemiSpook (#35817364) Attached to: New Houses Killing Wi-Fi
Google it, if you don't know what it is (and why the hell are you on /. if you don't know).

I agree with someone above: this is a double edged sword. A lot of folks are starting to use lighter, reflective materials in order to handle other forms of radiating heat and insulation (you'll see this more in older construction vice newer). Issue is a lot of these materials rely on metallic foils (much akin to those space blankets we all started seeing back in the mid-80s), and people just don't have a good idea as to how these foils interact with radio waves.

I would say in either case (new or old construction), do your due diligence to do an adequate Wi-Fi survey (I'd recommend using ALL the 802.11 standards (a, b, g, AND n)) as well as determining if the residence is either wired or capable to be wired with Cat5e/Cat6. Personally, I'd go the wired route, as it's more secure and you can combine cabling with coax, phone, HDMI, etc. to multiple points in a room, allowing for maximum flexibility. Sure, costs a little extra, but in the end, it's definitely worth it.
Power

Not Transparent Aluminum, But Conductive Plastic 96

Posted by Soulskill from the see-through-power-generator dept.
michaelmalak writes "Scientists at the US Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory have fabricated transparent, thin films capable of absorbing light and generating electric charge over a relatively large area. The material, described in the journal Chemistry of Materials (subscription required), could be used to develop transparent solar panels or even windows that absorb solar energy to generate electricity. The material consists of a semiconducting polymer doped with carbon-rich fullerenes."
Image

Oil Leak Could Be Stopped With a Nuke 799

Posted by samzenpus from the lesser-of-two-disasters dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico could be stopped with an underground nuclear blast, a Russian newspaper reports. Komsomoloskaya Pravda, the best-selling Russian daily, reports that in Soviet times such leaks were plugged with controlled nuclear blasts underground. The idea is simple, KP writes: 'The underground explosion moves the rock, presses on it, and, in essence, squeezes the well's channel.' It's so simple, in fact, that the Soviet Union used this method five times to deal with petrocalamities, and it only didn't work once."
Wii

Should the Gov't Pay For Injured Man's Wii? 222

Posted by kdawson from the if-the-wii-fits dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Politicians in the Australian state of Victoria are currently locked in a debate about whether an injured man should be able to claim the cost of a Nintendo Wii for rehabilitation purposes under worker's compensation. The man's doctor apparently recommended he use the Wii Fit exercise device, but both insurance companies and the government itself have blocked the payment and have now ridiculed the idea as paying for video games. But with the Wii Fit increasingly being used for rehabilitation purposes internationally, does the man have a fair case?"
Sci-Fi

Star Wars TV Show Tainted By Memories of Jar Jar 474

Posted by CmdrTaco from the that's-a-lot-of-taint dept.
bowman9991 writes "Can George Lucas' new Star Wars TV series, the first Star Wars spin off with real actors, atone for the flawed follow-ups to his original classics? Producer Rick McCallum calls the new series 'much darker,' a 'much more character-based series' and 'more adult,' while George Lucas himself calls it more like the first Star Wars film. The new TV show takes place in the 'dark times' between the last prequel Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, when most of the Jedi and anti-emperor politicians were hunted down and killed. The characters of Boba Fett, C-3PO, and the Emperor Palpatine will return, and casting has now begun. Mark Hamill, the actor who played Luke Skywalker from the original movies, believes George Lucas lost his way, 'making it bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger until you're just exploding with special effects all over the screen like some fireworks display,' but thinks the new show is a 'positive' step forward. Hopefully George Lucas can wipe the memory of Jar Jar Binks, Anakin and Padme's romance, his shameless merchandising, and some lame attempts at humor from everyone's minds once and for all."
Windows

Windows 7 Has Lots of "God Modes" 422

Posted by CmdrTaco from the i-am-god-here dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Those intrigued by the 'GodMode' in Windows 7 may be interested to know that there are many other similar shortcuts hidden within the operating system — some going back to Vista or before. Steven Sinofsky, Windows division president, said several similar undocumented features provide direct access to all kinds of settings, from choosing a location to managing power settings to identifying biometric sensors." Update: 01/07 23:46 GMT by CT : Link updated to source.
Movies

DRM Flub Prevented 3D Showings of Avatar In Germany 386

Posted by timothy from the token-of-our-appreciation dept.
Fraggy_the_undead writes "According to German IT news site heise.de, yesterday several 3D showings of Avatar couldn't take place (German; Google translation to English), because the movies were DRM protected such that there had to be a key per copy of the film, per film projector, and per movie server in the theater. The key supplier, by the name Deluxe, was apparently unable to provide a sufficient number of valid keys in time. Moviegoers were offered to get a refund or view an analogue 2D showing instead."

Comment Re:patches may make Win 7 not genuine (Score 1) 351

by SemiSpook (#30286106) Attached to: Microsoft Investigates Windows 7 "Black Screen of Death"
Well, the Win7 install interface is much better than its predecessors, and besides, it's not like I had anything of real value (data wise) on my box to begin with. I've found that with certain Linux distros that reformat/reinstall also tends to work a lot better than getting your hands into the nuts and bolts (a lot of that occurred with Ubuntu). I think part of my issue there was the network interfaces weren't exactly compatible with Linux to begin with (the damned Broadcom 4318 chipset on my Compaq laptop), so that may have been a contributing factor.

Methinks MS had a good start with the Beta and RC testing, now they just need to get their acts together with the patching QC.

Comment Re:patches may make Win 7 not genuine (Score 1) 351

by SemiSpook (#30285884) Attached to: Microsoft Investigates Windows 7 "Black Screen of Death"
Well, took advantage of both 7HP and 7Pro, and I was having the same issue after I went from HP to Pro. Didn't get the "un-" genuine message, but things would slow up and freeze, but I suspect that the Digital River stuff once again is to blame...

Also helps I spent the extra $26 for both DVDs and doing fresh installs with those after getting pooch screwed by the DR download.
IBM

IBM Takes a (Feline) Step Toward Thinking Machines 428

Posted by CmdrTaco from the give-it-nip-or-it-launches-the-missiles dept.
bth writes "A computer with the power of a human brain is not yet near. But this week researchers from IBM Corp. are reporting that they've simulated a cat's cerebral cortex, the thinking part of the brain, using a massive supercomputer. The computer has 147,456 processors (most modern PCs have just one or two processors) and 144 terabytes of main memory — 100,000 times as much as your computer has."
It's funny. Laugh.

Monty Python 40 Years Old Today! 298

Posted by CmdrTaco from the nobody-expects-the-spanish-inquisition dept.
cheros was one of several readers to note that today, Oct 5, in 1969 was the very first airing of Monty Python. Although not every sketch has aged particularly well, you'd be hard pressed to find a more influential and funny show. Heck, look at the Icon we use here to indicate humorous stories! Who among us can't claim to have viewed the Holy Grail at least somewhere in the double digits.
The Almighty Buck

Jack Thompson Sues Facebook For $40M 421

Posted by samzenpus from the just-when-you-thought-it-was-safe dept.
angry tapir writes "Jack Thompson has sued Facebook for US$40 million, saying that the social networking site harmed him by not removing angry postings made by Facebook gamers. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Thompson is best known for bringing suit against Grand Theft Auto's Take Two Interactive, Sony Computer Entertainment America, and Wal-Mart, arguing that the game caused violent behavior."
Microsoft

Ballmer Admits "We Screwed Up Windows Mobile" 275

Posted by kdawson from the chairs-have-been-thrown dept.
Barence writes "Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer has blasted the company's own mobile operating system at the firm's Venture Capital Summit. One tweet from an attendee claims Ballmer said the company had 'screwed up with Windows Mobile. Wishes they had already launched WM7. They completely revamped the team.' Another claims Ballmer said 'we've pumped in some new talent. This will not happen again.' It's not the first time Ballmer has attacked Windows Mobile, having publicly stated that version 6.5 was 'not the full release we wanted.'"

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