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Submission + - New console always online requirements and YOU

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It's almost here and the details appear to strongly say "always on" is the way forward. We all know that this is an artificial requirement and certainly there are plenty of people on all sides of the table. To paraphrase the user "tuffy" who commented on this issue at Arstechnica recently; if you're trying to sell "always online" as a feature of the future, there needs to be some benefit for me the customer...

There is not one. Or rather there is no sign yet of any actual clearly compelling reason why any end user would support this limitation to their purchase. So what's the best way to express this? Spend your money on an Ouya? Contact the XBOX team? These are all valid options but they all lack the same thing. Visibility. Is something new called for that could help actually quantify what the levels of discontent in the gamer community really are. Maybe E3 attendees, could turn their backs in protest like some did during Thatchers funeral procession. or gamers could sign something at We the People. What do YOU /.'ers think? Just buy a Steam machine?

As a gamer I'm of two minds about the whole thing. I really don't like it but I may roll over eventually and join the herd because I could get used to it. Then again part of me is rankled by this slow erosion of access to me and my data.

Submission + - Who is the best bleeding edge FOSS hosting provider?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: For many of us our hosting providers are a way to hone our skills as well as run a business. Which provider out there gives the best bang for the buck for a FOSS developer? Virtually everybody provides Perl, PHP, Ruby, MySQL / MariaDB etc. but where can one get easy and cheap access to a stuff like NodeJS and Big Data?

Companies such as Pair Networks are great but not quite on the mark with any of their service offerings for somebody looking to test out real world scenarios with these technologies from a hosted stance. Obviously hosting from home is always an option but that has the penalty of administration, backup, DR planning, bigger security footprint etc. and for those of us whose time is balanced between making money and friends / family time that's not very appealing.
Privacy

Submission + - Patient just wants to see his data from his implanted medical device (umass.edu)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Hugo Campos got an implanted cardiac defibrillator shortly after collapsing on a BART train platform. He wants access to the data wirelessly collected by the computer implanted in his body, but the manufacturer says no. It seems weird that a patient can't get access to data about his own heart. Hugo and several medical device engineers are responding to live Q/A on Sunday night on such topics via ACM MedCOMM webcast at ACM SIGCOMM.

http://icdusergroup.blogspot.com/
Science

Submission + - The Sun's Odd Behavior (scientificamerican.com)

Submitted by gyrogeerloose
gyrogeerloose writes: Most of us know about the sun's eleven-year activity cycle. However, relatively few other than scientists (and amateur radio operators) are aware that the current solar minimum has lasted much longer than expected. The last solar cycle, Cycle 24, bottomed out in 2008 and Cycle 25 should be well on it's way towards maximum by now but the sun has remained unusually quiescent with very few sunspots. While solar physicists agree that this is odd, the explanation remains elusive.
Apple

Submission + - Apple patents 'enforceable' ad viewing on devices (nytimes.com)

Submitted by Rexdude
Rexdude writes: Apple has filed a patent that forces users to interact with an ad. FTFA: "Its distinctive feature is a design that doesn’t simply invite a user to pay attention to an ad — it also compels attention. The technology can freeze the device until the user clicks a button or answers a test question to demonstrate that he or she has dutifully noticed the commercial message. Because this technology would be embedded in the innermost core of the device, the ads could appear on the screen at any time, no matter what one is doing."
Google

Submission + - Mark Cuban's Plan to Kill Google (daniweb.com)

Submitted by rsmiller510
rsmiller510 writes: Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks owner has a plan to kill Google by paying the top 1K sites a cool million each to leave the Google index and move to Microsoft, but could such a plan ever work and would it be worth the risk to abandon Google?

Submission + - How vulnerable is our power grid in reality

Submitted by coreboarder
coreboarder writes: Recently it was divulged that the Brazilian power infrastructure was compromised by hackers. Then it was announced that it was apparently faulty equipment . A downplay to the global public or an honest clarification? Either way it begs the question, how vulnerable are we really? With winter and all its icy glory hurtling towards those of us in the northern hemisphere, how open are we to everything from terrorist threats to simple "pay me or else" schemes?

Submission + - Common Diabetic Drug Delivers Killing Blow to Can (aacrjournals.org) 1

Submitted by
SubtleGuest
SubtleGuest writes: "In the latest issue of Cancer Research, a breakthrough study shows that Metformin, a cheap and common diabetic medicine, kills cancer stem cells- the cells postulated to be responsible for tumor resistance and recurrence after chemotherapy. It has been known that diabetics taking Metformin experience lower cancer rates, and now it is apparent why that may be and how it may apply to non-diabetics as well. When combined with Doxorubicin to kill non-stem cancer cells, the results are nothing short of astonishing: total remission in a mouse xenograft model. The results are achieved at levels below the dosage needed for diabetic control, opening many new avenues in cancer treatment and prevention."

Submission + - Honda Makes Nanotube Breakthrough (pcmag.com)

Submitted by
SkinnyGuy
SkinnyGuy writes: "Carbon nanofibers and nanotubes are the future of computers, cars, energy and more, but it wonâ(TM)t happen until someone figures out how to make carbon nanotubes more efficiently and in formations that can deliver enough energy and functionality to offer practical solutions for real world problems. Honda's latest breakthrough could be the first step. Of course, Intel is working on similar carbon nanotube fabrication technology. Whoever finally delivers a practical solution, it sounds like a win-win for us."

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