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Comment Counter Perspective (Sorta) (Score 2) 268

Abstract: "ABSTRACT: Cyanobacteria make significant contributions to global carbon and nitrogen cycling, particularly in the oligotrophic subtropical and tropical gyres. The present study examined short-term (days) physiological and acclimation responses of natural cyanobacterial populations to changes in pH/pCO2 spanning the last glacial minimum, ~8.4/~150 ppm, to projected year 2100 values of ~7.8/~800 ppm. Fe- and P-replete colonies of Trichodesmium increased N2-fixation rates (nmol N colony1 h1) at pH 7.8 by 54% (range 6 to 156%) over ambient pH/pCO2 conditions, while N2-fixation at pH/pCO2 8.4 was 21% (range 6 to 65%) lower than at ambient pH/pCO2; a similar pattern was observed when the rates were normalized to colony C. C-fixation rates were on average 13% (range 72 to 112%) greater at low pH than at ambient pH and 37% (53 to 23%) greater than at high pH. Whole community assemblages dominated by Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus (47 to 95% of autotrophic biomass), whether nutrient-replete or P-limited, did not show a clear response of C-fixation rates to changes in pH/pCO2. Comparison of initial and final C-fixation responses across pH/pCO2 treatments suggests rapid acclimation of cellular physiology to new pH/pCO2 conditions. Changes in cell size and pigment content for Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus were minor and did not vary in a consistent manner with changes in pH/pCO2. These results for natural populations of all 3 cyanobacteria concur with previous research and suggest that one important response to changes in ocean pH and pCO2 might be an increase in N2 and C fixation by Trichodesmium under nutrient-replete conditions. The response of single-cell cyanobacteria to changes in pH/pCO2 will likely be indirect and controlled by the response to other variables, such as nutrients."

Source: http://www.int-res.com/article...

Comment Ehh... Cloud Computing? (Score 3) 246

The article is looking from an internal perspective instead of the entire business perspective. Cutting ten jobs at $100,000 each by outsourcing to another company for $800,000 helps the entire business. Cutting the same amount of jobs and hiring a worker at $200,000 to manage the outsourcing to a cloud provider does not create new efficiencies in the organization. It is tough to really draw relevant data from the article without having a complete picture of the benefits to the organization, which is the context most of these articles need to be written. How many companies really judge the capability of their employees based on the salaries they could demand on the open market?

Comment Proof of Security Risk from Portable Electronics (Score 3, Insightful) 227

"Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) are a huge threat to both security and intellectual property." - Citation needed.

Just because it could be used in a particular way does not make it inevitable that it will be used that way. In a citation you need to provide solid evidence that this has occurred and that this is a risk. In cases "I" have heard it was an action of the employee in control of the PEDs that initiated the security/IP theft. In those cases that person had physical access to the assets and would simply have chosen another mechanism for theft if PEDs weren't available.

Comment Technology is more important than implementation.. (Score 2) 76

The screen is projected directly on the lense: http://www.loadthegame.com/wp-...

This is fundamentally different than Google Glass with the eyepiece. Although the implementation is not ideal (it only projects green/yellow), it is the technology behind this design that is important. The ability to project directly on the lenses means that there are no external components that identify the wearer as any different than anyone else. Given time to shrink down and to eliminate the puck you have a device that the public could stomach at the right price.

So please don't sink the technology. Only the implementation. One day we will all be wearing something like this and happier for it.

Comment Re:Laywer fight (Score 4, Interesting) 357

Just to add,

This isn't a future issue. I have prescription frames that I use with my Google Glass. Those glasses are my only glasses with my current prescription. The Google Glass is actually one arm of the frame, so you can't remove it and still use the glasses. To tell me that I can not wear the Google Glass in the theatre means that it would eliminate my mechanism to correct my near-sightedness.

I am happy to turn the Glass off at a movie. I do the same at other performances that do not allow videos/photos. My cellphone is turned off. Why do I have to remove my glasses completely? It is okay though. I will stay at home instead. Someday we all will have something similar to Google Glass. It may not seem like it and it may have to come from someone other than Google, but the experience and benefits will one day compel us all as the cell phone does today.

Comment Make it right... (Score 2) 179

I am not sure how you can fix the impact AT&T has had on their prior customers. I simply had to leave their service after my throttled connection wouldn't allow for me to use GPS while traveling.

How do you put right what they did wrong? A fine won't do it, since innocent shareholders will suffer. Forcing them to adopt unmetered accounts won't fix the fact I am now on Verizon's network unable to use the service as it is sold. Tossing a few dollars to me won't make up for what I have had to deal with regarding Verizon's war on their customers.

This should be the turning point for AT&T, which is that the only way to make this right is to have them deal with the same issues we all dealt with. That is, they should enact regulation and then split the company apart and force them to compete with themselves.

Comment Re:Minimal maintenance? (Score 1) 194

I have one of these for my 1 year old's bedroom for when mommy is working late.

It doesn't save the login so you have to login to it frequently, which is a problem when it is used to auto-answer for a child that can barely talk. The hardware is great and it functions, but the software on it is weak. It also frequently drops from the wifi enough that I have a mesh router bridging it into the mesh to avoid the wifi portions.

Comment Re:Actually read the book! (Score 1) 144

I listened to "Man in the High Castle" a while back. When I got to the end of the book it felt like Audible has messed up and not included the entire contents. Over the next few days I listened to it again to try to understand what special meaning was missing. And nope, it didn't really have any special meaning for me.

Revisionist histories are interesting, but shouldn't get praise because of their nature. In this case it was very interesting to read about the new US. Still, it didn't have any particular meaning that goes much more in depth. Most of the Nazis were as shallow in development as you could find in a Sunday morning History Channel show. The Japanese did seem a little better, but it seemed more like a description of an action scene instead of a complicated reality.

My guess is that it won't get many new fans based on the mini-series unless they substantially adjust the content. Approachable by Dick's standards, but with so many other good books out there it is hard to understand why Amazon would give this book a mini-series. Personally it wouldn't be high on my list of translations to the screen.

Comment Re:Visualing this? (Score 4, Interesting) 155

You are making this too complicated.

They drive a truck with a wireless mast and a flat bed to your neighborhood. It will simply deliver all the packages one at a time based on GPS to your home. The driver of the truck will monitor and manually adjust as needed. A single person will have a 20-30 second job and then wait for the drone to buzz when the next package is at a home. With a good range on the truck you can cover several miles with one person without the need for utilizing a delivery service. A single person may also be able to handle 4-6 drones at once. They hover until the driver is able to deliver the package to the door.

Once delivered they will do the normal confirmation email. Regarding cranes and other items, it is required to register and have a beacon light on masts of a certain height. It will just need to be entered as a no-fly zone or a minimum elevation zone. Regardless, the drones don't just go from A-B. They can sense nearby objects. If one happens to be taken out, the driver just drives to the location to retrieve it. Maybe has a ladder... Nothing really complicated.

Comment Re:Google should talk with Tesla (Score 2) 236

As Google expands beyond Web search and seeks a foothold in the automotive market, the company's eagerness has begun to reek of arrogance to some in Detroit, who see danger as well as promise in Silicon Valley.

Danger to their present business models, you mean.

Personally, I think that Tesla would be an excellent company to talk with. Elon Musk speaks their language.

I think the problem is that Google missed their opportunity to buy GM outright during the crash. My impression is that the only way to drag GM to the future is through eliminating the people that would say "Yahoo does well enough, why do we need a new search engine?". The second question to ask is whether the people that worked for GM for 25 years would be willing to work for Google-GM. My guess is that the answer is yes...

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