Submission + - Finally, The Hobbit starts shooting (eonline.com)

Submitted by Tiger4 on Monday March 21, 2011 @01:33PM

Tiger4 writes: Real pictures, not photoshopped (much), of Peter Jackson on the set of The Hobbit acting like a director are now available at EOnline.com. This despite the strikes, bankruptcies, contract disputes, and legal actions that have swarmed Jackson and the project since his Lord of the Rings days. Yes, this is News for Nerds and it is Stuff that Matters. Admit it, secretly you've been dying to see this happen.

Submission + - Font foundries opening up to the Web (latimes.com)

Submitted by Tiger4 on Wednesday May 05, 2010 @01:18PM

Tiger4 writes: A huge number of fonts are migrating from the print only world to the Web. As the browser manufacturers get on board, the WWW will be a much more interesting place (see the article illustration).
"Beginning Tuesday, Monotype Imaging, a Massachusetts company that owns one of the largest collections of typefaces in the world, is making 2,000 of its fonts available to web designers. The move follows the San Francisco-based FontShop, which put several hundred of its fonts online in February. In just a few weeks, Font Bureau, a Boston designer of fonts, will make some of its typefaces available online as well."

With any luck, the transition period to Font-richness will be more brief and less painful than the waving flag — jumping smiley — flashing text era HTML explosion

Submission + - Cancer Breathalyzer

Submitted by Tiger4 on Sunday August 30, 2009 @08:22PM

Tiger4 writes: Cancer researchers in the UK have come up with a way to sniff for lung cancer on the breath.
"From the results, the researchers identified 42 "volatile organic compounds" (VOCs) present in the breath of 83% of cancer patients but fewer than 83% of healthy volunteers.

Four of the most reliable were used to develop a nine-sensor array made from tiny gold particles coated with reactive chemicals sensitive to the compounds.

Other sources have picked up the story as well. Obviously, this would be a big breakthrough for rapid screening, and early detection significantly improves outcomes.

Submission + - Online Forum - Hostile Workplace

Submitted by Tiger4 on Saturday July 18, 2009 @09:34AM

Tiger4 writes: A group of black Philadelphia police officers have filed a lawsuit against the police department and the city, alleging a hostile work environment due to a private website popular with police. It has received wide coverage.

From the CNN.com story,
" The suit alleges white officers post on and moderate the privately operated site, Domelights.com, both on and off the job.

Domelights' users "often joke about the racially offensive commentary on the site ... or will mention them in front of black police officers," thus creating "a racially hostile work environment," according to lawyers for the all-black Guardian Civic League, the lead plaintiff in the suit."

The site appears to be owned and operated by a member of the police force. But it is not city funded or operated. Management clearly knows it exists, it is possible police force members access it on the job, and the suite says members reference it on the job. Individual police force members have a right to their own opinions, but management has a responsibility to enforce the law fairly and equitably across the city and among their own workforce. What is the solution here?

Submission + - Eye in the sky for city crime fighting

Submitted by Tiger4 on Thursday July 09, 2009 @04:10PM

Tiger4 writes: The mayor of the City of Lancaster in the Antelope Valley of southern California is considering a high definition video flying platform to aid in crime fighting. The aircraft would circle the city constantly, able to zoom in on activity spots instantly.
"You never know when you are being watched or followed. It would be stupid to commit a crime. You see it with such detail," said Mayor R. Rex Parris, who took a ride last week in a camera-equipped airplane with pilot Dick Rutan.

"I have every hope that Lancaster will be the first city to deploy it. I've never been so excited about anything."

Dick Rutan is same pilot that flew around the world non-stop in the Voyager, custom built by his brother Burt Rutan at Scaled Composites in Mojave.

Submission + - Test for Prostate Gene soon to be available

Submitted by Tiger4 on Friday January 02, 2009 @08:26PM

Tiger4 writes: CNN.com reports a simple test to determine the presence of genes linked to Prostate Cancer. These five genes, if present, can increase the risk of prostate cancer up to nine times. "More than 25,000 American men will die from prostate cancer this year. But prostate cancer can be treated successfully if the disease is caught early. A blood test that can detect whether a man is at high risk for developing prostate cancer is on the horizon. The study was published in the February 28, 2008, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine." It turns out the company actually wants to test saliva, making the test significantly easier and more convenient.

Compare this to the tests available for BRCA, the so called Breast Cancer genes. Finding you have the gene can be devastating, but knowing well in advance of developing cancer allows many more options to be considered.

Submission + - Obama's Mobile Phone records compromised, Shared?

Submitted by Tiger4 on Friday November 21, 2008 @06:03AM

Tiger4 writes: CNN, Reuters, and the AP all report that Verizon has confirmed some of its employees have accessed and perhaps shared calling records of President Elect Barack Obama. Verizon says the people involved have all been put on leave with pay as the investigation proceeds. Some of the employees may have accessed the information for legitimate purposes, but others may have been curiosity seekers and may have even shared the information around. The account was "only" a phone, not a Blackberry or similar device, and Verizon believes it was just calling records, not voicemail or email that was compromised.

The articles do not dip into the similarity to the warrantless wiretapping or hospital records compromise situations of recent months. But thaty immeditately sprang to mind for me.

Submission + - How to secure IP ? 1

Submitted by Tiger4 on Thursday August 30, 2007 @09:58AM

Tiger4 writes: Let's say I have a photograph, or a television script, or have finally perfected the water-to-gasoline conversion process, or some other piece of non-software but copywritable or patentable IP. I know I want it secured in my name, on this date, in a provable and verifiable way. But being an Open Source, free-to-the world sort of person, I'm willing to share my knowledge to the world, as long as all credit points unambiguously to me. Any attempts at theft could, would, and must be immediately rebuffed by my offer of proof from when I first secured the IP. What, if any, tool or method is available to me in the digital world?

MD5 and the like are available to show that copied files are the same as the original source, but they don't show time of authorship unambiguously. The same with Public Key crypto. I could lock it up with a time stamp, but what prevents me from faking the stamp that locks the file? Where is my way to homestead a little chunk of time with my IP's name on it?

Submission + - Dreamworks Dumps Wallace and Gromit

Submitted by Tiger4 on Friday February 02, 2007 @01:19AM

Tiger4 writes: Aardman Animation and Dreamworks are splitting their relationship. Apparently Dreamworks feels they lost money on "Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit" and "Flushed Away". So off to their separate ways they go. Aardman is going back to stop motion and clay, Dreamworks will be staying with their CGI ways.