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NASA

NASA's Bolden Claims NASA Is 'Doomed' Unless It Stays the Course To Mars (spacenews.com) 162

Posted by samzenpus from the end-of-the-line dept.
MarkWhittington writes: According to a story in Space News, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden made a speech at the Center for American Progress in which he declared that if the next president deviated from the Journey to Mars program, the space agency would be "doomed." The point he was making, that programs of that nature, have to have consistent support over several presidencies and congresses, was a valid one. The point was equally valid in 2010 when President Obama abruptly and without warning canceled the Constellation space exploration program. Bolden, however, had a ready answer for that, which may not be convincing on close examination.

Comment Micro-Weather (Score 1) 265

by Jorkapp (#47421147) Attached to: Dubai's Climate-Controlled Dome City Is a Dystopia Waiting To Happen

Given the size of the dome, I'd be interested to see if any micro weather systems happen inside, or what the plans are to mitigate environmental effects.

Its not unheard of for weather to form in large open structures. Take for instance Hangar One at Moffett Airfield: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangar_One_%28Mountain_View,_California%29) or the Goodyear Airdock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodyear_Airdock) Though not climate controlled, these have fog (and apparently, rain) due to the massive size.

Comment IPTables (Score 1) 187

by Jorkapp (#46672089) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: User-Friendly Firewall For a Brand-New Linux User?

IPTables is by far the best firewall for linux, and its built-in to boot.

If you're iffy on command-line parameters, install Webmin on your system. It gives you a web interface, and the IPTables page makes configuring your firewall relatively newbie-proof.

I, for one, hate IPTables on the command-line, and much prefer the Webmin method. Its what I use on my home server.

Comment Re:Point 3 will be fiercely faught. (Score 2) 230

by Jorkapp (#43899767) Attached to: CRTC Unveils New Wireless Code To Protect Canadian Customers

According to TFA on this point:

2. Cap on data roaming charges
i. A service provider must suspend national and international data roaming charges once they reach $100 within a single monthly billing cycle, unless the customer expressly consents to pay additional charges.
ii. A service provider must provide this cap at no charge.

I would hazard a guess that in this case, most telco's would suspend service once you've reached $100 in charges. Either that, or your consent to pay more will be found as part of the conditions in your next contract.
Games

Portal 2 Gets Release Date 110

Posted by Soulskill from the it's-been-a-long-time dept.
AndrewGOO9 writes "After what has seemed like an eternity since Valve initially announced a sequel to their lauded puzzle title Portal, a release date has finally been attached to the game. Originally slated to be released before the end of the year in time for the holidays, Valve instead opted to delay the game, citing reasons such as, 'making games is hard' as well as continuing their tradition of releasing games when they're finished as opposed to rushing them out the door. Either way, mark your calendars for February 9th, 2011, and in the meantime, brush up on thinking with portals." There's some new gameplay footage available, and Valve announced that Stephen Merchant will be lending his voice to the game.

Comment Before anyone gets in a huff... (Score 5, Informative) 1217

by Jorkapp (#32541450) Attached to: MA High School Forces All Students To Buy MacBooks

FTFA:

"Parents can pay for the computers upfront or lease them from the district, with the option to buy after three years. The payments should work out to about $20 to $25 per month, Hayes said. The cost also includes free tech support.

"We realize for some families that will be a stretch," he said. In those cases, the district will provide financial assistance.

Students who don't participate will be able to borrow a school-provided laptop during the day, but they won't be able to take it home, Hayes said."

---

IMO, $20-25/mo is a fair plan. That should be well within the finances of most families, and as they noted, they will provide financial assistance.

That said, using a unified platform is not a bad idea, but why make students buy heavily marked up hardware? Why not Netbooks with Linux?
Censorship

Porn Ban Being Considered In South Africa 240

Posted by Soulskill from the have-an-easier-time-blocking-gravity dept.
krou writes "Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba has gone to South Africa's Law Reform Commission to see whether the law can be changed to allow a complete ban of digitally distributed pornography. Gigaba has also been in discussion with The Justice Alliance of South Africa, 'a coalition of corporations, individuals, and churches committed to upholding and fighting for justice and the highest moral standards in South African society,' which has written its own draft bill regarding the issue, which covers the banning of pornography on television, mobile phones, and the Web. Using a car analogy, Mr. Gigaba said, 'Cars are already provided with brakes and seatbelts.... There is no reason why the Internet should be provided without the necessary restrictive mechanisms built into it.' Related documents and the JASA's proposed bill can be found online, one of which has the wonderful title 'A reasonable and justifiable limitation on Freedom of Expression and Right to Privacy.'"

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