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Bug

Ubuntu LTS Experiences X.org Memory Leak 320

Posted by timothy from the like-it-when-windows-crashed-more dept.
MonsterTrimble writes "Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Beta 2 is experiencing a major memory leak due to patches for X.org. 'An X.Org Server update that was pushed into the Lucid repository last week has resulted in the system being slower and slower as it is left on, until it reaches a point where the system is no longer usable. ... In order to make the Ubuntu 10.04 LTS deadline, the developers are looking at just reverting three of the patches, which brings the GLX version back to 1.2. Ubuntu developers are now desperate for people willing to test out this updated X.Org Server package so they can determine by this Friday whether to ship it with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS or doing an early SRU (Stable Release Update). Right now this X.Org Server that's being tested is living in the ubuntu-x-swat PPA.'"
Wikipedia

Print-On-Demand Publisher VDM Infects Amazon 190

Posted by kdawson from the scam-on-demand dept.
erich666 writes "In recent months a flood of so-called books have been appearing in Amazon's catalog. VDM Publishing's imprints Alphascript and Betascript Publishing have listed over 57,000 titles, adding at least 10,000 in the previous month alone. These books are simply collections of linked Wikipedia articles put into paperback form, at a cost of 40 cents a page or more. These books seem to be computer-generated, which explains the peculiar titles noted such as 'Vreni Schneider: Annemarie Moser-Pröll, FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, Winter Olympic Games, Slalom Skiing, Giant Slalom Skiing, Half Man Half Biscuit.' Such titles do have the marketing effect of turning up in many different searches. There is debate on Wikipedia about whether their 'VDM Publishing' page should contain the words 'fraud' or 'scam.' VDM Publishing's practice of reselling Wikipedia articles appears to be legal, but is ethically questionable. Amazon customers have begun to post 1-star reviews and complain. Amazon's response to date has been, 'As a retailer, our goal is to provide customers with the broadest selection possible so they can find, discover, and buy any item they might be seeking.' The words 'and pay us' were left out. Amazon carries, as a Googled guess, 2 million different book titles, so VDM Publishing is currently 1/35th of their catalog, and rapidly growing."

Comment Who cares? (Score 1) 412

by assert(0) (#31634806) Attached to: Nvidia Drops Support For Its Open Source Driver
DirectX being proprietary and Wine unable to Not Emulate it, might you not as well go with nvidias blob and OpenGL? At least the screensavers look good. Well, some of them. 3D is so 2000. What we need is fast 2D. Wayland and nouveau may be the future. xf86-video-nv never was.
Microsoft

The Mono Mystery That Wasn't 268

Posted by Soulskill from the context-is-everything dept.
jammag writes "It was shocking news, or so it seemed: Miguel de Icaza, the Mono creator, was switching his opinion about his life's work — he now seemed to agree with the free software partisans who oppose his Mono work and his Microsoft connections. The story flamed across the Internet and even got picked up on Slashdot. But Bruce Byfield reports that 'De Icaza has not changed his opinions.' De Icaza calls the rumors 'a storm in a teacup.' Tracing the misinformation trail, Byfield concludes that 'the FOSS community excels at communication. However, in this instance, that ability was used irresponsibly.'"
Hardware

MIT Developing Self-Assembling Computer Chips 65

Posted by samzenpus from the so-easy-it-builds-itself dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on have released research detailing how molecules in chips can self-assemble, potentially reducing manufacturing costs. The researchers have developed a technique in which polymers automatically fall into place to create an integrated circuit."
Earth

Complex Life Found Under 600 Feet of Antarctic Ice 237

Posted by timothy from the planted-by-von-braun-in-1967 dept.
Chroniton writes "NASA ice scientists have found a shrimp-like creature and a possible jellyfish 'frolicking' beneath 600 feet of solid Antarctic ice, where only microbes were expected to live. The odds of finding two complex lifeforms after drilling only an 8-inch-wide hole suggests there may be much more. And if such life is possible beneath Earth's oceans, why not elsewhere, like Europa?"
Books

Japanese Researchers Develop World's Fastest Book Scanner 138

Posted by timothy from the don't-they-have-any-boffins? dept.
An anonymous reader writes "IEEE Spectrum reports that Tokyo University researchers have developed a superfast book scanner that uses lasers and a high-speed camera to achieve a capture rate of 200 pages per minute. You just quickly flip the book pages in front of the system and it digitizes the pages, building a 3D model of each and reconstructing it as a normal flat page. The prototype is large and bulky, but if this thing could be made smaller, one day we could scan a book or magazine in seconds using a smartphone." The article mentions Google's similar dewarping system; the difference here is speed.
Biotech

Scientists Demonstrate Mammalian Tissue Regeneration 260

Posted by Soulskill from the wolverine-explained dept.
telomerewhythere writes "A quest that began over a decade ago with a chance observation has reached a milestone: the identification of a gene that may regulate regeneration in mammals. The absence of this single gene, called p21, confers a healing potential in mice long thought to have been lost through evolution and reserved for creatures like flatworms, sponges, and some species of salamander. 'Unlike typical mammals, which heal wounds by forming a scar, these mice begin by forming a blastema, a structure associated with rapid cell growth and de-differentiation as seen in amphibians. According to the Wistar researchers, the loss of p21 causes the cells of these mice to behave more like embryonic stem cells than adult mammalian cells, and their findings provide solid evidence to link tissue regeneration to the control of cell division. "Much like a newt that has lost a limb, these mice will replace missing or damaged tissue with healthy tissue that lacks any sign of scarring," said the project's lead scientist.' Here is the academic paper for those with PNAS access."

Comment Mine is simpler (Score 2, Interesting) 582

by assert(0) (#31505380) Attached to: Simpler "Hello World" Demonstrated In C
/* -*- coding: utf-8-unix -*- */

#include <stdio.h>

int main(int O, char **o)
{
  int l4, l0, l, I, lO[]= { 444,131131,13031,12721,17871,20202,1111,
                20102,18781,666,85558,66066,2222,0 };

  for(l4=0;l4<14;++l4){
    for((l=l0=lO[l4])&&(l0=-7);
    l>4&&(I=2-((l|l>>O)&O));l=l&O?l+(l<<O)+O:l>>I,l0+=I);{
      putchar(10+l0);
    }
  }

  return 0;
}

Comment Re:cancer worries (Score 1) 394

by assert(0) (#31419036) Attached to: Doctors Skirt FDA To Heal Patients With Stem Cells

1. What makes you think fasting is any more enjoyable than light to moderate exercise? Repeat after me: "Starvation is painful." With exercise you get pain modulation in the form of endorphines. Fasting ... well, no such luck... Your genes are SCREAMING at you to FEED. Constantly.
2. How are you planning to avoid gaining when going back to your body's set-point caloric intake after fasting for 6 months?
3. The less you eat, the smaller the margins and the higher the risk of not getting the nutrients you need. And no, supplements will not magically fix a deficient diet.
Biotech

Doctors Skirt FDA To Heal Patients With Stem Cells 394

Posted by kdawson from the self-supplied dept.
kkleiner writes "For many years countless individuals in the US have had to watch with envy as dogs and horses with joint and bone injuries have been cured with stem cell procedures that the FDA has refused to approve for humans. Now, in an exciting development, Regenerative Sciences Inc. in Colorado has found a way to skirt the FDA and provide these same stem cell treatments to humans. The results have been stunning, allowing many patients to walk or run who have not been able to do so for years. There's no surgery required, just a needle to extract and then re-inject the cells where they are needed. There has always been a lot of hype around stem cells, but this is the real deal. Real humans are getting real treatment that works, and we should all hope that more companies will begin offering this procedure in other states soon."

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