Comment Governmental Controls (Score 1, Funny) 619
Are they going to tell us what we can watch too? Good thing I don't live in California.
Submission + - Radar Beats GPS in Court - Or Does It? (pressdemocrat.com)
TechnologyResource writes: More than two years ago, a police officer wrote Shaun Malone a ticket for going 62mph in a 45-mph zone. Malone was ordered to pay a $190 fine, but his parents appealed the decision, saying data from a GPS tracking system they installed in his car to monitor his driving proved he was not speeding. What ensued was the longest court battle over a speeding ticket in county history. The case also represented the first time anyone locally has tried to beat a ticket using GPS.
The teen's GPS pegged the car at 45 mph in virtually the same location. At issue was the distance from the stoplight — site of the first GPS “ping” that showed Malone stopped — to the second ping 30 seconds later, when he was going 45 mph.
Last week, Commissioner Carla Bonilla ruled the GPS data confirmed the prosecution's contention that Malone had to have exceeded the speed limit and would have to pay the $190 fine.
“This case ensures that other law enforcement agencies throughout the state aren't going to have to fight a case like this where GPS is used to cast doubt on radar,” said Sgt. Ken Savano, who oversees the traffic division. However, Commissioner Bonilla noted the accuracy of the GPS system was not challenged by either side in the dispute, but rather they had different interpretations of the data. Bonilla ruled the GPS data confirmed the prosecution's contention that Malone had to have exceeded the speed limit.
Original Slahdot story: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/08/07/18/0318228/GPS-Tracking-Device-Beats-Radar-Gun-in-Court
The teen's GPS pegged the car at 45 mph in virtually the same location. At issue was the distance from the stoplight — site of the first GPS “ping” that showed Malone stopped — to the second ping 30 seconds later, when he was going 45 mph.
Last week, Commissioner Carla Bonilla ruled the GPS data confirmed the prosecution's contention that Malone had to have exceeded the speed limit and would have to pay the $190 fine.
“This case ensures that other law enforcement agencies throughout the state aren't going to have to fight a case like this where GPS is used to cast doubt on radar,” said Sgt. Ken Savano, who oversees the traffic division. However, Commissioner Bonilla noted the accuracy of the GPS system was not challenged by either side in the dispute, but rather they had different interpretations of the data. Bonilla ruled the GPS data confirmed the prosecution's contention that Malone had to have exceeded the speed limit.
Original Slahdot story: http://tech.slashdot.org/story/08/07/18/0318228/GPS-Tracking-Device-Beats-Radar-Gun-in-Court
Comment Re:This could be beneficial... (Score 1) 108
I think we can all agree there is SOME logical content on Twitter. I'm in favor of Google's decision.
Comment What's left for the movies? (Score 1) 112
This is amazing. The first thing that comes to mind is the 1987 movie, Robocop. I have to wonder what drama will be left for movies in a couple decades from now if imagination is becoming a reality.
Comment Lawsuit waiting to happen (Score 1) 762
What happens when someone is trapped inside their vehicle and can't call 911 for help? This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.
Comment Re:Why did he do it? (Score 1) 389
He must have been a blue color criminal. They're not that smart you know.
Submission + - Harvard's robotic bees generate high-tech buzz (networkworld.com)
coondoggie writes: Harvard researchers recently got a $10 million grant to create a colony of flying robotic bees, or RoboBees to among other things, spur innovation in ultra-low-power computing and electronic "smart" sensors; and refine coordination algorithms to manage multiple, independent machines. The 5-year, National Science Foundation-funded RoboBee project could lead to a better understanding of how to artificially mimic the unique collective behavior and intelligence of a bee colony; foster novel methods for designing and building an electronic surrogate nervous system able to deftly sense and adapt to changing environments; and advance work on the construction of small-scale flying mechanical devices, according to the Harvard RoboBee Web site.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/45971
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/45971
Comment It should bar everyone (Score 1) 236
Statistics show that texting while driving causes more accidents than driving under the influence of alcohol. It's my personal belief that this law should apply to everyone. I am a multi tasker and previously had a job in which it was necessary to type on my in-car MDT and/or talk on a cell phone or radio among other things while driving. With that said, I find it very distracting if I try to text while driving.
Submission + - Court order served over Twitter (bbc.co.uk)
SpuriousLogic writes: "The High Court has given permission for an injunction to be served via social-networking site Twitter.
The order is to be served against an unknown Twitter user who anonymously posts to the site using the same name as a right-wing political blogger.
The order demands the anonymous Twitter user reveal their identity and stop posing as Donal Blaney, who blogs at a site called Blaney's Blarney.
The order says the Twitter user is breaching the copyright of Mr Blaney.
He told BBC News that the content being posted to Twitter in his name was "mildly objectionable".
Mr Blaney turned to Twitter to serve the injunction rather than go through the potentially lengthy process of contacting Twitter headquarters in California and asking it to deal with the matter.
UK law states that an injunction does not have to be served in person and can be delivered by several different means including fax or e-mail."
The order is to be served against an unknown Twitter user who anonymously posts to the site using the same name as a right-wing political blogger.
The order demands the anonymous Twitter user reveal their identity and stop posing as Donal Blaney, who blogs at a site called Blaney's Blarney.
The order says the Twitter user is breaching the copyright of Mr Blaney.
He told BBC News that the content being posted to Twitter in his name was "mildly objectionable".
Mr Blaney turned to Twitter to serve the injunction rather than go through the potentially lengthy process of contacting Twitter headquarters in California and asking it to deal with the matter.
UK law states that an injunction does not have to be served in person and can be delivered by several different means including fax or e-mail."
Submission + - Electric Car Nano-Batteries Aim for 500 Mile Range
An anonymous reader writes: Consortium members read like a Whose-Who in technology research for the Battery 500 Project which aims to use nanotechnology to extend the range of all-electric cars 200 miles beyond the 300-mile range of gasoline powered cars. IBM, the University of California at Berkeley and all five of our U.S. National Labs are collaborating to make the 500-mile electric car battery. Within two years, they promise to have a new kind of battery technology in place for the 500-mile electric car. If that happens, then I predict a mass exodus from gasoline to electric powered cars that will make the Toyota Prius look like a fad. Check out the video and podcast links in this story, because they give all the details about the nanotechnology used in an entertaining format.
Submission + - NVidia Cripples PhysX "Open API" 1
An anonymous reader writes: In a foot-meet-bullet type move, NVidia is going to disable PhysX engine if you are using a display adapter other than one that came from their company. This despite the fact that you may have an NVidia card on your system specifically to do this type of processing. "For a variety of reasons some development expense, some quality assurance and some business reasons Nvidia will not support GPU accelerated PhysX with Nvidia GPUs while GPU rendering is happening on non-Nvidia GPUs." Time to say hello to Microsoft dx physics or Intel's Havok engine.
Submission + - Retrievable iPhone numbers mean potential privacy (macworld.com)
TechnologyResource writes: "When a couple voicemails didnâ(TM)t show up recently, I thought nothing of it until a friend asked me if Iâ(TM)d gotten his messageâ"people just donâ(TM)t call me that often. But a phone it is, as some users are reportedly being reminded when they get phone calls from the publishers of a free app theyâ(TM)ve downloaded from the App Store. The application in question, mogoRoad, is a real-time traffic monitoring application. As invasive and despicable as that sounds, it raises another question: how did the company get ahold of the contact information for those users? Mogo claims the details were provided by Apple, but Apple doesnâ(TM)t disclose that information to App Store vendors. French site Mac 4 Ever did some digging and determined it was possibleâ"even easyâ"for an app to retrieve the phone number of a unit on which it was installed."
Submission + - Obama makes a push to add time to the school year (dailycomet.com) 2
N!NJA writes: "Obama says American kids spend too little time in school, putting them at a disadvantage with other students around the globe.
"Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."
"Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a recent interview with The Associated Press."
"Now, I know longer school days and school years are not wildly popular ideas," the president said earlier this year. "Not with Malia and Sasha, not in my family, and probably not in yours. But the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."
"Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy and not too many of our kids are working the fields today," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a recent interview with The Associated Press."
Comment Science of the female body (Score 1) 504
Did he think researching the science of the female body was part of his job? I wonder how much hands-on lab research he did.
Comment Give Nasa your ideas (Score 3, Funny) 128
Come on guys, let's get some ideas. This isn't rocket science......oh, maybe it is.
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