Slashdot is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
Patents

Red Hat Settles Patent Case 76

darthcamaro writes "Red Hat has settled another patent case with patent holding firm Acacia. This time the patent is US Patent #6,163,776, 'System and method for exchanging data and commands between an object oriented system and relational system.' While it's great that Red Hat has ended this particular patent threat, it's not yet clear how they've settled this case. The last time Red Hat tangled with Acacia they won in an Texas jury trial. 'Red Hat routinely addresses attempts to impede the innovative forces of open source via allegations of patent infringement,' Red Hat said in a statement. 'We can confirm that Red Hat, Inc and Software Tree LLC have settled patent litigation that was pending in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas.'"
Classic Games (Games)

Lost Online Games From the Pre-Web Era 186

harrymcc writes "Long before the Web came along, people were playing online games — on BBSes, on services such as Prodigy and CompuServe, and elsewhere. Gaming historian Benj Edwards has rounded up a dozen RPGs, MUDs, and other fascinating curiosities from the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s — and the cool part is: they're all playable on the Web today." What old games were good enough for you to watch them scroll by on your 300 baud modem?

Submission + - Anti-Piracy firm e-mails reveal firm scam (torrentfreak.com) 4

Khyber writes: "A recent DDoS attack against a UK-based anti-pirating firm, known as ACS:Law, has resulted in a large backup archive of the server contents being made available for download, which has been done and is now being hosted by the Pirate Bay. Within this archive are e-mails from Andrew Crossley basically admitting that he is running a scam job, sending out thousands of frivolous legal threats on the premise that a percentage pay up immediately to avoid legal hassles."

Comment Re:Headline wrong, as is the article (Score 1) 319

Actually, AFAIK the Bazalt is maneuverable only during its cruise phase, once it reaches the terminal guidance track and goes supersonic, it isn't really more than marginally guideable.
I'd guess that the Indian one is supersonic most of its range (thus the puny 300km) and will accept course guidance during supersonic flight. So no, I'd guess that the title is only misleading, not grossly wrong as you imply.

http://warfare.ru/?lang=&linkid=2083&catid=312
The P-500 missile is similar in appearance to the P-6/35 and was powered by a liquid-fuel sustainer and solid-rocket booster. It has a speed of Mach 2 at high altitude and Mach 1.5-1.6 at low altitude. The flight profile of the missile varies from 30 to 7,000 m (low-low or low-high). Guidance is based on a digital INS on a gyro- stabilized platform and an active-radar seeker, which periodically switches to passive mode. For the first time, the missile was equipped with a digital computer (Tsifrova Vichislenna Mashina, "digital computing device"). The guidance system was also equipped with a datalink to communicate between missiles in a salvo, with a salvo consisting of eight missiles launched at short intervals. Usually, one of the missiles flies high (5,000-7,000 m) to pick up the target, while the rest remain at medium to low altitude with their radar seekers switched to passive mode. The leading missile then transmits targeting data to the others and allocates individual targets, with half of the salvo directed at the aircraft carrier and half at other ships in the area, one apiece. The onboard radar seekers are turned on at the last moment, just before reaching the target.If the lead missile is shot down, another one (in a programmed sequence) takes over and climbs to a higher altitude to continue directing the salvo. All the missiles have active radar jamming to disrupt any defensive action from fighters and shipboard air-defense systems. In addition, vital parts of the P-500 missile are armored to increase survivability.

Comment Headline wrong, as is the article (Score 5, Informative) 319

The headline says, "India First To Build a Supersonic Cruise Missile". In order to even accurately reflect the article, it should read, "India First To Build a manoeuvrable Supersonic Cruise Missile". But even so, the article is wrong;

from wikipedia, P-500 Bazalt

The P-500 Bazalt (Russian: -500 ; English: basalt) is a liquid-fueled, rocket powered, supersonic cruise missile used by the Soviet and Russian navies. Developed by OKB-52 MAP (later NPO Mashinostroyeniye), its GRAU designation is 4K80[1]. Its NATO reporting name is SS-N-12 Sandbox. It entered service in 1973 to replace the SS-N-3 Shaddock. The P-500 Bazalt had a 550 km range and a payload of 1,000 kg, which allows it to carry a 350 kT nuclear or a 950 kg semi-armor-piercing high explosive warhead (currently only the conventional version remains in service). The P-500 Bazalt uses active radar homing for terminal guidance, and can receive mid-course corrections by the Tupolev Tu-95D, the Kamov Ka-25B and the Kamov Ka-27B.

So many levels of fail in this submission
Games

Heavy Rain Previews Show Promise 84

As the February release date for Quantic Dream's Heavy Rain nears, several publications have gotten a chance for some hands-on time with the game and seem to be intrigued by what they saw. Quoting the Opposable Thumbs blog: "The game grabs you during the quiet moments where nothing 'happens.' When you look at a picture your child drew. When you're questioning someone about a crime. When you're trying to figure out how to react to a violent situation. The preview we were sent put me in different situations as I played a small handful of characters, and each one provided a few tiny moments that were surprising in terms of storytelling or subtlety." Eurogamer's previewer had a similar reaction: "To my great delight as well — Heavy Rain isn't a mature game because it has unhappy families and moody lighting, it's a mature game because it anticipates an adult response from the player and is prepared to receive it."
Image

Zombie Pigs First, Hibernating Soldiers Next 193

ColdWetDog writes "Wired is running a story on DARPA's effort to stave off battlefield casualties by turning injured soldiers into zombies by injecting them with a cocktail of one chemical or another (details to be announced). From the article, 'Dr. Fossum predicts that each soldier will carry a syringe into combat zones or remote areas, and medic teams will be equipped with several. A single injection will minimize metabolic needs, de-animating injured troops by shutting down brain and heart function. Once treatment can be carried out, they'll be "re-animated" and — hopefully — as good as new.' If it doesn't pan out we can at least get zombie bacon and spam."

Comment What country are these doofuses living in? (Score 2, Interesting) 551

The summary implies that reducing the number of science graduates would provide an incentive for companies to increase the pay of scientists and engineers. I counter that a reduced amount of science graduates would simply increase the number of H1B visas granted which will in turn drive down the pay for native scientists and engineers.

Comment Re:That's bright! (Score 2) 451

the premiums for interns were between $15,000 -$20,000. That's a hell of a lot for someone fresh out of med-school

The congressional report lists the premium for internists, not interns.

internist
-noun
a physician specializing in the diagnosis and nonsurgical treatment of diseases, esp. of adults.

Also the the graph you reference shows the rates from Connecticut, the state with the second highest malpractice premiums according to the Medical Liability Monitor.

Comment Re:That's bright! (Score 1) 451

Just like medical predators and ambulance chasing lawyers, I congratulate them for driving health care costs to the point where litigation avoidance - not patient care or comfort, is the deciding factor in medical decisions

"medical predators and ambulance chasing lawyers" amount to "less than one-half of a percentage point of medical spending" It's hardly the driving force in the cost of health insurance.

No one can afford to get sick without insurance in the US, and frankly not everyone can even afford the insurance.

That's true but tort reform has little to do with the cost of health care.

Thus, the health care system is broken, and thus - it HAS to get fixed NOW.

Yes, health care needs to be fixed; however tort reform is the exact opposite of fixing the system. Tort reform is a dream come true for managed care providers. They can deny care or approve cheaper, inappropriate treatments with less consequence. For example Joe has cancer. Joe's insurance can either pay for two million dollar chemotherapy or deny treatment. With say a $50,000 cap on malpractice suits the choice for the managed care provider becomes a clear. The clear choice being the denial of treatment. Protestations based on the altruism of corporations are laughable, managed care providers are currently denying care under the above premise. Making it easier for them to do so is the exact opposite of reform.

Comment Re:Usefull in heavily saturationed WIFI areas (Score 1) 271

Not saying you.. but a common mistake people make with wireless routers is to treat them like modems and tuck them away out of sight.. In the 2Wire modems case, it needs to be standing upright..Those that set it on it's side are broadcasting signals into the surface it's laying on. It also helps some to elevate the router a bit if you can. Yes signals can go through walls and maybe it doesn't make sense, but give it a try and see if you get better results if you get a clearer path. The channel problem probably isn't as bad as you think, and I suspect it is more to do with your router, or the wireless adapter in your laptop.

Comment Re:Prediction (Score 1) 650

That would be the problem.

There's a reason virtually all trains use electric motors (even most diesels). Electric motors are really good! They're small, cheap, lightweight, high torque, reliable - better than ICE in most respects. Batteries are a problem. They're big, expensive, and charging takes time.

Comment Re:Bad feelings about killing teammates (Score 1) 227

But the enemy AI in today's WW2 games generally don't have second thoughts about national socialism and the morality of man killing man, stare longingly at the photo of Helga back home, and go deserter the day before the mission starts; they stand there and try to kill you.

That sounds like an idea for a really good game...

Slashdot Top Deals

Contemptuous lights flashed flashed across the computer's console. -- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Working...