Triple Helix - Slashdot User

How To Find Bad Programmers 359

Posted by samzenpus on Friday April 09, 2010 @12:16PM from the how-little-work-can-you-do-in-a-day dept.

AmberShah writes "The job post is your potential programmer's first impression of your company, so make it count with these offputting features. There are plenty of articles about recruiting great developers, but what if you are only interested in the crappy ones?" I think much of the industry is already following these guidelines.

Dwarf Planets Accumulate In Outer Solar System 93

Posted by kdawson on Friday April 09, 2010 @10:29AM from the potato-radius dept.

An anonymous reader tips a piece in Australian Geographic indicating that Pluto may be in for another demotion, as researchers work to define dwarf planets more exactly. "[Australian researchers] now argue that the radius which defines a dwarf planet should instead be from 200–300 km, depending on whether the object is made of ice or rock. They base their smaller radius on the limit at which objects naturally form a spherical rather than potato-like shape because of 'self-gravity.' Icy objects less than 200 km (or rocky objects less than 300 km) across are likely to be potato shapes, while objects larger than this are spherical. ... They call this limit the 'potato radius' ... [One researcher is quoted] 'I have no problem with there being hundreds of dwarf planets eventually.'"

Scientists Discover Booze That Won't Give You a Hangover 334

Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday March 02, 2010 @02:58PM from the go-ahead-and-have-another dept.

Kwang-il Kwon and Hye Gwang Jeong of Chungnam National University have discovered that drinking alcohol with oxygen bubbles added leads to fewer hangovers and a shorter sobering up time. People drinking the bubbly booze sobered up 20-30 minutes faster and had less severe and fewer hangovers than people who drank the non-fizzy stuff. Kwon said: "The oxygen-enriched alcohol beverage reduces plasma alcohol concentrations faster than a normal dissolved-oxygen alcohol beverage does. This could provide both clinical and real-life significance. The oxygen-enriched alcohol beverage would allow individuals to become sober faster, and reduce the side effects of acetaldehyde without a significant difference in alcohol's effects. Furthermore, the reduced time to a lower BAC may reduce alcohol-related accidents."

NYT's "Games To Avoid" an Ironic, Perfect Gamer Wish List 189

Posted by Soulskill on Friday December 11, 2009 @07:48AM from the more-or-less dept.

MojoKid writes "From October to December, the advertising departments of a thousand companies exhort children to beg, cajole, and guilt-trip their parents for all manner of inappropriate digital entertainment. As supposedly informed gatekeepers, we sadly earthbound Santas are reduced to scouring the back pages of gaming review sites and magazines, trying to evaluate whether the tot at home is ready for Big Bird's Egg Hunt or Bayonetta. Luckily, The New York Times is here to help. In a recent article provokingly titled 'Ten Games to Cross off Your Child's Gift List,' the NYT names its list of big bads — the video games so foul, so gruesome, so perverse that we'd recommend you buy them immediately — for yourself. Alternatively, if you need gift ideas for the surly, pale teenager in your home whose body contains more plastic then your average d20, this is the newspaper clipping to stuff in your pocket. In other words, if you need a list like this to understand what games to not stuff little Johnny's stocking with this holiday season, you've got larger issues you should concern yourself with. We'd suggest picking up an auto-shotty and taking a few rounds against the horde — it's a wonderful stress relief and you're probably going to need it."

A Case for Non-Net-Neutrality 345

Posted by Zonk on Friday January 05, 2007 @05:48PM from the i-like-my-internets-biased dept.

boyko.at.netqos writes "Network Performance Daily has an in-depth interview with Professor Christopher Yoo from Vanderbilt University Law School on his opposition to Net-Neutrality policies. While some might disagree with his opinions, he lays out the case for non-neutrality in an informed and informative manner. From the interview: 'Akamai is able to provide service with lower latency and higher quality service, because they distribute the content. This provides greater protection against DoS attacks. It's a local storage solution instead of creating additional bandwidth, and it's a really interesting solution. Here's the rub ... Akamai is a commercial service and is only available to people who are willing to pay for it. If CNN.com pays for it, and MSNBC.com does not, CNN.com will get better service.'"

Could YouTube Be the Killer-App for Apple's iTV? 111

Posted by Zonk on Saturday December 30, 2006 @06:33AM from the the-dnd-psas-in-the-living-room dept.

mrspin writes "With Macworld Expo just over a week away, many expect Apple CEO Steve Jobs to announce further details (and the availability) of the company's yet to be released set-top-box, codenamed iTV. Powered by something similar to Apple's Front Row media center software, the iTV is designed to get the media content that's housed on a Mac (music, movies, and photos), streamed to the living room television. However, with its built-in wireless networking (suspected to be the faster 802.11n), why not bypass the Mac and have the iTV connect directly to the Internet? The combination of iTunes and DRM-free MP3s provided the 'killer app' for the iPod. YouTube could well do the same for Apple's soon-to-be released set-top box."

Comment Re:Speed - OK. Latency - BAD (Score 1) 461

by Triple Helix on Wednesday June 01, 2005 @11:30AM (#12694625) Attached to: Cell Phone Service as High Speed Internet Link?

You're absolutely right about the latency. I've got Verizon's 1xRTT / 1xEV-DO service, and live in one of the metro areas supported by the higher-speed 1xEV-DO service. It's great for downloading files and checking email, but terrible for remote ssh sessions due to latency. Works in a pinch though if I'm out and about and need to check on a server.

My only other complaint about Verizon's service is that there are major areas with no service at all. The rule of thumb is, if you're on a Verizon-owned cell tower, you'll get at least the 1xRTT speed (similar to dial-up). But the entire state of Oklahoma, most of Kansas, most of west Texas, and most of New Mexico have no coverage at all. These areas are all covered by roaming agreements with other cell carriers incapable of providing coverage. I can't speak for areas outside the southwest.

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