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Software

Free DARPA Software Lets Gamers Hunt Submarines 213

Posted by Unknown Lamer from the why-pay-researchers dept.
coondoggie writes "If you have ever wanted to go torpedo-to-torpedo with a submariner, now is your chance. The crowdsource-minded folks at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency rolled out an online game that lets players try to catch elusive, quiet enemy submarines. According to DARPA the Sonalysts Combat Simulations Dangerous Waters software was written to simulate actual evasion techniques used by submarines, challenging each player to track them successfully."
Government

NY Bill Proposes Fat Tax On Games, DVDs, Junk Food 793

Posted by timothy from the this-government-is-delicious-really-delicious dept.
eldavojohn writes "GamePolitics is writing about a proposal to tax things that make your kids fat. The logic from its author: 'Almost all experts agree that the primary reasons [for the obesity epidemic] are increased consumption of larger quantities of high calorie foods, snacks and sugar sweetened beverages... and lack of physical activity as vigorous play is replaced by sedentary activities such as watching more television, movies and videos and playing video games. This bill would raise revenues from modest surcharges on the very food products and sedentary activities that are linked to the lifestyle changes involved in the explosion of childhood obesity in the last 20-30 years.' Not as explicit as Japan's fat tax but we're getting there."
Space

Successful Launch of ESA's Herschel and Planck 121

Posted by CmdrTaco from the round-and-round-they-go dept.
rgarbacz writes "Today at 13:12 GMT, the ESA launched successfully new and long-awaiting spacecraft: Herschel, the infrared telescope with a 3.5m mirror, and Planck, the CMB mapper. The spacecraft were carried by the Ariane-5, which lifted off from Kourou in French Guiana. They will stay in L2 to perform the research. This launch is one of the most expensive and important missions of the European Space Agency. Planck will measure the CMB with an accuracy more than 10 times better than the previous mission, WMAP. Because of this high sensitivity, both spacecraft are cooled to temperatures close to absolute zero by on-board liquid helium; staying in L2 is very helpful to maintain this state. Both spacecraft are designed to observe the Universe at its infancy: Herschel by observing the first stars and galaxies (whichever came first), and Planck by scrutinizing the first photons that were set free, making up the cosmic microwave background radiation."

Comment No PR (Score 4, Interesting) 126

by at.splat (#27695085) Attached to: Paid Online News Venture Fails To Get Subscribers

I live in Denver and always preferred the Rocky Mountain News to the Denver Post, the local paper that has so far survived. I'm a news junkie and get all my content almost exclusively online. I never heard of InDenverTimes.com until this morning.

While the summary's conclusion may be correct — migration from print to web may very well be a futile endeavor — it's an entirely different story if people in the target demographic know nothing of the venture. Let's at least acknowledge this for what it is: in large part, a failure of publicity.
Government

British Spy Agency Searches For Real-Life 'Q' 79

Posted by Soulskill from the grow-up-double-oh-seven dept.
suraj.sun writes with this quote from the Associated Press:"Britain's domestic spy agency — MI5 — is hunting for its very own 'Q,' of sorts. MI6's sister organization, which carries out surveillance on terror suspects inside Britain and gives security advice to the government, is searching for someone to lead its scientific work. Projects could include everything from developing counterterrorism technology to tackling a biological or chemical attack. 'Looking for a chief scientific adviser to lead and coordinate the scientific work of the security service so that the service continues to be supported by excellent science and technology advice,' MI5's Web site ad reads. MI5 has long had a roster of scientific staff tasked with developing high-tech gadgets, but an official said the service now wants a high-profile figure to lead pioneering work in technology and science. The adviser's work will focus chiefly on creating sophisticated new tools to help security service officers carry out surveillance and analysis work, said a government security official, who requested anonymity to discuss the work of MI5."
Microsoft

Why Windows Must (and Will) Go Open Source 555

Posted by timothy from the lacks-the-ring-of-inevitability dept.
Attila Dimedici writes "Charles Babcock of Information Week published an interesting article suggesting that Microsoft will have to at least to some degree take Windows open source if they want to stay in business. He suggests that the money to be made from the things MS builds on top of Windows (Office, Server, SQL Server, Exchange, Sharepoint, etc.) is so much greater than what can be made from Windows itself that MS will have to give up the revenue stream from Windows in order to maintain these other, more valuable, revenue streams."

Comment Close, but no cigar. (Score 2, Informative) 1002

by at.splat (#26307077) Attached to: Overzealous AirTran Boots 9 Passengers Off

For posterity: Then named Godspeed You Black Emperor!, they were in Ardmore, Oklahoma in March, 2003, and got hassled at a gas station, not while eating pancakes at IHOP. They had just finished playing a (great) show at Ridglea Theater in Dallas with Bardo Pond, and were en route to St. Louis.

Wikipedia has a concise summary, and notes that the ordeal was also mentioned in Michael Moore's Dude, Where's My Country?

Space

SpaceShipTwo Mothership Makes Maiden Flight 110

Posted by kdawson from the like-a-virgin dept.
RobGoldsmith writes "Earlier this week images were appearing on the Net showing the WhiteKnightTwo craft doing some tests in Mojave. The earliest tests showed perhaps two of the engines being used, while a later test showed all the engines working and some further testing. Today the four Pratt & Whitney Canada PW308A engines finally carried the craft into the air. The maiden flight of the WhiteKnightTwo lasted just shy of one hour and happened today at around 08:15 local time, at Mojave air and spaceport. Rumors suggest that a Beechcraft King Air was used for a chase plane. The craft will be used to position Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo craft to fly into space; this is estimated to happen around 2010."
The Internet

Do the Blind Deserve More Effort on the Web? 663

Posted by Zonk from the some-effort-would-be-a-good-start dept.
dratcw writes "An article was posted this week to ComputerWorld, detailing the frustrations faced by blind people struggling to use the Web. The piece shows how little progress has been made and the inadequacy of solutions such as Microsoft's Narrator screen reader. While the article generated many positive comments, one reader said the disabled should 'get a grip' and maintained they 'have no more right to demand that others provide for their needs than I, as a diabetic, have a right to demand that sugar no longer be used.' Should Web sites and software makers do more, or does the reality of today's economics dictate that the blind/disabled will continue to struggle and learn to live with it?"

Comment Re:Stop Traffic Jams (Score 1) 243

by at.splat (#23030284) Attached to: MS Clearflow To Help Drivers Avoid Traffic Jams

The problem with public transport, is if it doesn't actually improve my day and make my commute better, I'm not taking it.

The problem isn't with public transportation, it's with you. You've made a cost/benefit analysis about your own circumstances and decided accordingly. Great; I understand. But don't pass it off as somehow being the fault of the public transportation system that you don't want to wait.
Privacy

Geist Creates His Own Do-Not-Call List 94

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the now-all-those-companies-buy-ads-on-the-do-not-call-website dept.
average_cdn writes "Canadians looking to put a stop to pesky telemarketing calls before the federal government's do-not-call registry takes effect this summer have a new tool at their disposal. At IOptOut.ca, Canadians can enter their phone number and e-mail address and simply choose the organizations they would prefer not to hear from while the website generates a mass request that the user be added to those companies' do-not-call lists. The site, a beta version of which was launched yesterday, is the brainchild of University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist and features information on how to avoid telemarketing calls from more than 140 different companies and organizations. Mr. Geist said that iOptOut helps Canadians finish the job that the do-not-call registry failed to complete."
Television

A Battlestar Galactica Prequel Series on the Way 221

Posted by Zonk from the they-evolved-they-have-a-plan dept.
kumasame writes "The Sci Fi Channel has announced it will create a prequel to Battlestar Galactica, as the series enters its final season. The two-hour pilot for the production, called Caprica, is expected to be shot in Vancouver this spring with shooting for the series to follow. The first episodes are expected to air this fall. In a Q&A session held yesterday, the creators and stars of the show revealed a number of tidbits of information about the new show and last season of BSG."
The Almighty Buck

Canadian Dollar Reaches Parity with US$ 702

Posted by kdawson from the who's-loony-now-eh dept.
boxlight writes in to mark the occasion when the Canadian dollar hit parity with the US dollar for the first time in 31 years. The article notes that Canada has run a budget surplus in each of the last 10 years. "This is actually bad for the profits of Canadian corporations that sell their products to the US for US dollars (Canada sells far more to the US that the US sells to Canada); but it means us Canucks will get cheaper Macs as the Canadian prices get closer to US prices with every new release."

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