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Power

Submission + - Global Warming, Subsidies Fuel a Nuclear Renaissan

Actual Reality writes: It is ironic to me that much of the same sentiment that thwarted the Nulcear Power industry back in the 80's is paritally responsible for reviving it. Nuclear Power is very clean compared to any power source that burns fuel. According to the article: http://www.wired.com/techbiz/startups/news/2007/11/nuclear_economics , the US has missed several advancements in Nuclear Technology. We can only hope the environmentalists will not, again, try to stifle our progress.
Books

Submission + - Book copies Wikipedia; Publisher aggressive on IP. (wikipedia.org) 1

An anonymous reader writes: Two pages of a book, Black Gold: The New Frontier in Oil for Investors, consist of a direct copy from the English Wikipedia article on the Khobar Towers Bombing. The book is published by John Wiley and Sons, the same publisher who, earlier this year, threatened a blogger with legal action over a clear case of fair use commentary.
The Military

Journal SPAM: Chinese sub pops up in middle of U.S. Navy exercise 20

One Nato figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik." American military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk. By the time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine sailed within viable range fo

Space

Submission + - Powerful Blast Confuses Astronomers (physorg.com)

eldavojohn writes: "Astronomers are still speculating as to what could have caused an abnormally strong five millisecond burst to be detected six years ago when it completely saturated the recording equipment. From the article, 'The burst was so bright that at the time it was first recorded it was dismissed as man-made radio interference. It put out a huge amount of power (10exp33 Joules), equivalent to a large (2000MW) power station running for two billion billion years.'"
Security

Submission + - Satellite images used to monitor Burmese junta

BurmesePython writes: Human rights groups are using high-resolution satellites images to reveal the activities of Burma's junta as it gets tough with pro-democracy protesters. Apparently "it should be easy to spot groups of monks because of their distinctive maroon robes". Like previous efforts to use satellites to monitor the humanitarian crisis in Darfur [slashdot.org], the hope is it will prod the UN and other international actors into putting pressure on the Burmese rulers.
Education

Submission + - 'Floating Bridge' Property of Water Found (physorg.com)

eldavojohn writes: "When exposed to high voltage, water does some interesting things. From the article, ' When exposed to a high-voltage electric field, water in two beakers climbs out of the beakers and crosses empty space to meet, forming the water bridge. The liquid bridge, hovering in space, appears to the human eye to defy gravity. Upon investigating the phenomenon, the scientists found that water was being transported from one beaker to another, usually from the anode beaker to the cathode beaker. The cylindrical water bridge, with a diameter of 1-3 mm, could remain intact when the beakers were pulled apart at a distance of up to 25 mm.'"
Programming

Submission + - The Linux Driver Project Starts (Again) (linuxdriverproject.org)

eldavojohn writes: "A Novell employee named Greg K-H is trying to revive the Linux Driver Project. He original tried to start this back in January but due to one reason or another had to push it back. Now he's looking for more developers and companies to help out in this effort. From the Wiki, 'We are a group of Linux kernel developers (over 100 strong) and project managers (over 10) that develop and maintain Linux kernel drivers. We work with the manufacturers of the specific device to specify, develop, submit to the main kernel, and maintain the kernel drivers. We are willing and able to sign NDAs with companies if they wish to keep their specifications closed, as long as we are able to create a proper GPLv2 Linux kernel driver as an end result.' If you ever wanted to help out and be a part of the Linux effort, this might be a good chance to get your feet wet."
Music

Submission + - Legal music streaming site launches in France (lifehacker.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The french website Deezer.com has struck a deal with the SACEM (the french equivalent to the RIAA) and is now legally providing Internet users around the world with more than 100,000 full songs, streamed on demand and without restrictions. The site, formerly named Blogmuzik.net, had had to close down last March under pressure from the recording industry. People are now finding ways to save the songs to file. Who needs the Pandora project now?
Robotics

Submission + - Can Open Source Be Giving Comfort to the Enemy? (longtail.com) 2

zlite writes: "We make open source Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones), mostly for geomapping and other amateur uses. One of our problems is that most people think of UAVs as Scary Things, and despite our efforts to prove otherwise there's always the risk of regulatory crackdowns. We have amateur UAV participants from around the world, but now they've been joined by an Iranian in Tehran, who's made a UAV in the colors of the Iranian flag. My instinct is that we should welcome everyone, everywhere, but I'm sure some in Washington worry that this looks like helping an "Axis of Evil" country make advanced weapons. They could shut us down with the stroke of a pen. My question: is there ever a case for letting national security issues dictate the limits of an open source project?"
Space

Submission + - Lunar Eclipse Next Tuesday Morning (space.com)

Raver32 writes: "Tuesday morning, Aug. 28 brings us the second total lunar eclipse of 2007. Those living in the Western Hemisphere and eastern Asia will be able to partake in at least some of this sky show. The very best viewing region for viewing this eclipse will fall across the Pacific Rim, including the West Coast of the United States and Canada, as well as Alaska, Hawaii, New Zealand and eastern Australia. All these places will be able to see the complete eclipse from start to finish. Europeans will miss out on the entire show, as the Moon will be below the horizon during their mid and late morning hours."
Businesses

Submission + - Open Source license proliferation threat to users?

E5Rebel writes: "Business is embracing open source like never before, but the effective demise of SCO's claims against Linux don't mean an end to licensing problems warns an analyst. The debate on Slashdot seems to focus on GPL and its virtues but there are 1,000 plus open source licenses and businesses face having to manage multiple licenses within a single open source product we are being told. Time to 'impose' some order before we face another backlash? http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/it-busin ess/services-sourcing/news/index.cfm?newsid=4829"
Power

Submission + - Invasion of the jivin' nano-shrooms (arxivblog.com)

KentuckyFC writes: "A pendulum converts the constant force of gravity into an oscillation — a useful trick by anyone's standards. But nanotechnologists have yet to match it — they just haven't been able to build nano-oscillators. Now arxivblog.com reports that a group at the University of the Madison have made mushroom-shaped nanopillars that oscillate in a constant DC field, like metronomes."

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