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Biotech

Could Colorblindness Cure Be Morally Wrong? 981

Posted by timothy from the don't-forget-deaf-culture dept.
destinyland writes "One in 12 men suffers from colorblindness, though '[t]he good news here is that these folks are simply missing a patch of DNA ... which is just the kind of challenge this Millennium is made for. Enter science.' But NPR's Moira Gunn (from Biotech Nation) now asks a provocative question. Is it wrong to cure colorblindness? She reports on an experiment that used a virus to introduce corrective DNA into colorblind monkeys. ('It took 20 weeks, but eventually the monkeys started distinguishing between red and green.') Then she asks, could it be viewed differently? 'Are we trying to 'normalize' humans to a threshold of experience?'"

Comment Use an obnoxious name and password. (Score 1) 695

by chris_sawtell (#28179707) Attached to: Keeping a PC Personal At School?

Call your lappie some exotic female name so the login screen says Welcome to Linux on Samantha, or whoever

Tell the nuisances who want to use your computer that the guest login name is ROOTER

and the passphrase is "is going to catch AIDS"

That fact will get around the dorm. before you can say Jack, and you won't have any more problems.

Let us know if that doesn't work please.

Comment I am going from NZ to Europe in about 6 months. (Score 1) 1002

by chris_sawtell (#26311087) Attached to: Overzealous AirTran Boots 9 Passengers Off

I will attempt to avoid the whole of the airline industry if I possibly can, but if not, please be assured that there is absolutely no way whatsoever that I will be on a US aircraft or passing through US airspace. It's just too inconvenient, and frankly, dangerous.

Sorry folks, but the behaviour your government and its servants on the international scene is just the pits and I'd much prefer to put my travel dollars into a country which is actually a responsible member of the family of nations.

Comment Re:XP Linux MacOS (Score 1) 823

by chris_sawtell (#26232365) Attached to: Configuring a Windows PC For a Senior Citizen?

Daybot:: You must be Yet Another Opinionated and Ignorant Yankee who does not know that there are many English patois, of which yours is but one . There are more English speakers in the rest of the world than there are in the US. I assure your there is nothing whatsoever wrong with Domini's ability to spell. Didn't you notice the .za domain?

Comment Re:pop caps lock off (Score 1) 823

by chris_sawtell (#26232155) Attached to: Configuring a Windows PC For a Senior Citizen?

No! Re-map it to CTRL which is what it should be. At 66 I'm junior senior, and that mis-placement of the control key on the PC keyboard almost drove me insane.

And yes, my main current complaint about computers is that the text size is always too small, and fixing it always breaks the aesthetics of the window and desktop. Is it not possible for the box to be sized around the text? KUbuntu is as bad as all the rest in this regard.

Yes /. you are just as bad as all the others. Please oh please fix that.

Sci-Fi

Submission + - seti

Submitted by
Anonymous Coward
Anonymous Coward writes: "Arecibo loses funding, may close by 2011. The New York Times (11/20, Chang) reported that the Arecibo radio telescope's annual budget has been "slashed to $8 million from $10.5 million," which will decrease the amount of time that the telescope is operational. "A quarter of its staff was laid off last year," and Arecibo, which is located in Puerto Rico, could possibly be completely closed in four years, according to the "National Science Foundation (NSF), which pays for the operation of the telescope." This comes after "a review panel for the foundation's astronomy division two years ago" suggested cutting Arecibo's financing by 25 percent as a way to pay for new facilities. There has been "[a]n outcry" in response to the "decision, particularly from planetary scientists" who argued that the panel "overlooked Arecibo's role in cataloging potential dangers from asteroids." The Times notes that in Arecibo's favor is the fact that it "may be much cheaper to keep...open" than dismantle, which "could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.""
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft loses antitrust appeal in Brussels (guardian.co.uk)

Submitted by
chris_sawtell
chris_sawtell writes: "The Guardian is reporting that: "The European commission today hailed a key ruling by the court of first instance, Europe's second-highest court, that upheld its March 2004 decision to fine Microsoft a record 497m (£345m) $US690m for abusing its dominance of the software market and force it to share critical information with rival companies.

"After securing a comprehensive victory in its nine-year battle with Microsoft, Brussels is now free to pursue other high-profile cases against hi-tech companies such as Intel and has emerged as the world's leading antitrust authority. The company founded by Bill Gates will have to alter its business model as it faces stiff competition on new markets from the likes of Google and Apple."
Television

Submission + - Digital TV switchover in Finland (www.hs.fi) 1

Submitted by vuo
vuo writes: At 04:00, 1 September 2007, all analog television networks were shut down, and the switchover to digital television has been completed. Watching television requires a digital decoder, such as a set-top box, a television with an integrated decoder, or a computer with a digital TV card. Currently, the national broadcasting corporation Yleisradio (YLE), which operates five digital channels, is funded by a television licence fee (208.15 per year per household). However, a consequence of digitalization is that nearly every device with a screen is potentially a television set. Minister of Communications Suvi Lindén has questioned the current policy, and promotes funding of YLE from the national budget and reducing the production of domestic programmes. YLE's director, also a former Microsoft PR director Mikael Jungner (sd.) opposes the plans.
Graphics

How To Request Better ATI Linux Support 192

Posted by kdawson from the worth-a-try dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Michael Larabel, the editor of Phoronix, has outlined some strategies for contacting ATI's customers (OEM/ODM/AIBs) to seek ATI Linux fglrx driver improvements. He opines that contacting ATI or AMD directly is the 'wrong approach.' He also states, 'I know for certain that at least one major OEM would like to see improved Linux support but is afraid that the Windows support would then be at risk.' Michael cites examples from the past where Lenovo had sought improved Linux display drivers, which resulted in several new features last year. He provides links to the feedback pages for a number of the vendors to whom ATI actually does listen."
Businesses

Submission + - CompUSA Gives Customer 4+ Month Run-around

Submitted by
Andy
Andy writes: "I've had an ongoing...adventure...with CompUSA's repair and customer service departments for the last four months, the short version of which is that — two years in a row — they damaged my laptop while repairing it (this second time more than once!) and are dragging their feet in responding to me and replacing the computer their service center damaged. I've tried to handle it privately for four months, but at this point, I'm running out of options and hope that Slashdot can help bring some attention to my troubles and turn the heat up on CompUSA a bit so they'll do the right thing!

In October 2005 I brought my Sony laptop to them for service, and it came back with all the case screws in the wrong places, causing physical damage to the case and a big loose gap in the front edge. Then, a year later, they again returned my laptop to me with incorrect screws, and with a wad of tape wedged between the keyboard and the cooling fan!

That started a saga, still ongoing, with more missing screws, a heat-related video problem, a damaged hinge cover, missing protective covers for the LCD's screws, and four months of broken promises, abysmal customer disservice, and lack of returned calls on all levels from the local store's tech services manager, operations manager, and GM up to the corporate manager of customer service and chief of escalation.

I've posted my story on my blog at http://www.onefromtheroad.com/index.php?cat=11 (posts are in reverse order, since it's a blog!)

Please help me spread my story, and hold CompUSA responsible for mistreating their customers like this!

— Andy

P.S.-For futher episodes of CompUSA being involved in grossly mishandling repairs, see http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=28004 5"
Science

World's Largest Tropical Glacier Vanishing 462

Posted by Zonk from the no-rest-for-the-chilly dept.
Socguy wrote with a link to a CBC article about the rapidly disappearing Peruvian glacier known as the Quelccaya ice cap. The world's largest tropical glacier was a hot topic this past Thursday at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Glaciologist Lonnie Thompson, and a team of Ohio state scientists, produced the stunning news that Quelccaya and similar formations are melting at a rate of some 60 metres per year. While polar ice caps have commanded attention in the discussion of global warming to date, these tropical caps are crucial to the well-being of ecosystems relying on an influx of mountain stream fresh water.
The Courts

Submission + - GPL click-through licenses?

Submitted by Kuciwalker
Kuciwalker writes: It seems that every other open-source program I download includes the GPL as a click-through license during the install. What's the point of this? If the GPL is a distribution, not use license then I don't do anything by agreeing to it during installation. Are we just so acclimated to clicking "yes" to an EULA, or are there valid legal reasons it's put there?
Biotech

Submission + - Search for New Autism Genes

Submitted by
iuvasago
iuvasago writes: "The largest search for autism genes to date, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has implicated components of the brain's glutamate chemical messenger system and a previously overlooked site on chromosome 11. Based on 1,168 families with at least two affected members, the genome scan adds to evidence that tiny, rare variations in genes may heighten risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). [Read More] from Physorg.com"

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