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Science

Submission + - The Electron is a Sphere (sciencedaily.com)

lee1 writes: "In a 10 year long experiment, scientists at Imperial College have made the most precise measurement so far of the shape of the electron. It's round. So round, in fact, that if the electron were enlarged to the size of the solar system, its shape would diverge from a perfect sphere less than the width of a human hair. The experiment continues in the search for even greater precision. There are implications for understanding processes in the early universe, namely the mysterious fate of the antimatter."
Google

Submission + - Google, Microsoft in epic hiring war (crn.com.au)

natecochrane writes: Looking for a new job? Then Google and Microsoft have 6200 roles globally this quarter up for grabs, the first salvos in a costly war for talent. Google alone will hire 6200 engineers, executives and sales staff this year — its biggest intake ever. This story details where the biggest bucks and most fun jobs are to be had and how you can apply for them. There's even a job for an Xbox PR person — fancy being paid to play with toys all day?
Australia

Submission + - Australia ranked fourth in Internet freedom (computerworld.com.au) 1

mjwx writes: A report published by Freedom House has placed Australia in fourth in Internet Freedom, below Estonia, the United States and Germany. Freedom House highlights the lack of acutal censorship in Australia pointing out that the highly unpopular proposed ISP level censorship has been shelved since the 2010 Australian election.

The freedom house report is available here.

Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft celebrates Feynman 50-year anniversary (networkworld.com)

Julie188 writes: A couple of years ago Microsoft acquired the rights to the famed filmed lecture series by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman and posted them online for all to see via its Project Tuva site. As part of the 50-year anniversary of the lectures, the Project Tuva site now includes commentary from MIT physics professor Robert Jaffe. Project Tuva still requires Silverlight (alas, not HTML5), but does offer some nifty features for the aspiring physics student, such as search and the ability to take notes.

Submission + - Why does the US cling to imperial measurements?

PhunkySchtuff writes: "As one of only three countries on Earth that hasn't converted to a metric system of units and measurements, there is a huge amount of resistance within the US to change the status quo. Whilst the cost of switching would be huge, there is also a massive hidden cost in not switching when dealing with the rest of the world (except for Liberia & Burma, the only other two countries that don't use the metric system)

With one of the largest organisations in the US, the military, using metric units extensively, why does the general public in the US still cling to their customary system of units?"

Submission + - NetBeans 7.0 is Now Available (netbeans.org)

An anonymous reader writes: Oracle releases NetBeans IDE 7.0 which introduces language support for development to the proposed Java SE 7 specification with the JDK 7 developer preview. The release also provides enhanced integration with the Oracle WebLogic server, as well as support for Oracle Database and GlassFish 3.1. Additional highlights include Maven 3 and HTML5 editing support; a new GridBagLayout designer for improved Swing GUI development; enhancements to the Java editor, and more.
Science

Submission + - Synthetic Skin Could Replace Animals Subjects (ecouterre.com)

fangmcgee writes: Synthetic skins are now good enough to mimic animal skins in lab tests, according to research that will appear in the June 5 issue of the Journal of Applied Polymer Science. Bharat Bhushan, a professor at Ohio State University and Wei Tang, an engineer at China University of Mining and Technology used atomic force microscopes to observe the responses of pseudo and rat skins to a generic skin cream. The result? Even at a scale of 100 nanometers—or one-thousandth the width of a human hair—all the samples reacted in a similar fashion.

Submission + - Lasers to replace sparkplugs in engines? (scienceblog.com) 2

An anonymous reader writes: For more than 150 years, spark plugs have powered internal combustion engines. Automakers are now getting close to being able to replace this long-standing technology with laser igniters, which should enable cleaner, more efficient, and more economical vehicles. Price and size have been issues holding up such an advance, but a Japanese team is set to announce they've overcome those hurdles.
Science

Submission + - Graphene Super Paper is 10x Stronger Than Steel (inhabitat.com) 1

Elliot Chang writes: The University of Technology in Sydney recently unveiled a new type of graphene nano paper that is ten times stronger than a sheet of steel. Composed of processed and pressed graphite, the material is as thin as a sheet of paper yet incredible durable — this strength and thinness gives it remarkable applications in many industries, and it is completely recyclable to boot.
Microsoft

Submission + - DOJ Limits Microsoft's Purchase of Novell Patents (itworld.com)

itwbennett writes: "Novell, distributor of the SUSE Linux OS, has agreed to change its proposed deal to sell patents to CPTN Holdings, a Microsoft-organized consortium of companies, in order to satisfy DOJ concerns about the impact on open-source software, the DOJ said. The agreement will require Microsoft to sell the Novell patents back to Attachmate and Microsoft will receive a license to use those patents and patents acquired by the other three owners of CPTN."

Comment OK, so a pun (Score 1) 223

This story caught my eys, I am Keratoconic in both eyes, a degeneration ot the cornea(s). Rigid contact lens can correct vision however there is no cure and further loss of vision can lead to a surgical treatment, cornea transplants. Then what is interesting even the replaced corneas can go keratoconic. I was in a years long study and they may find out more, it seems to be a mechanical degeneration, no virus or anything that can be mapped, equal effecting men/women, all ages. One small cluster of happening to 5% with downs syndrom. I am fortunate I wear hard contacts with bi-focal glasses and have rather good vision 20/25, I can tell I need a check up though, the contact lenses start to slip more. This sounds like a possible for Keratoconus, it is not too rare 1 in 19,000 people have it. However I tend to think they would of used a Keratoconic patient if they felt confident, perhaps there will be an attempt with further study.

Comment Brain drain (Score 1) 684

When I get to forgetting I do not give up, at least not easily, pause then try to remember again, let it idle, then again. I have good results expecially with names, even if the person has walked a block away I remember their name and at least do not feel old and helpless. As far as remembering the launch code with ten seconds to spare, I have not arrived to this point, to forget this and try to remember, yet.

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