Comment Umm... (Score 0, Redundant) 122
That's going to give a really shitty connection.
Comment Re:well (Score 2, Insightful) 609
Personally, I'd avoid wikipedia math articles. They start out basic, but quickly get much deeper than he wants. Attempting to actually /learn/ the basics from them is doomed. When a person who is relearning math looks for the distance formula, they want the 2d formula, not it generalized to n dimensions.
Submission + - Red Cross sued for using... a red cross (iht.com) 4
Swampash writes: "Johnson & Johnson, the health-products giant that uses a red cross as its trademark, is suing the American Red Cross, demanding the charity halt its use of the red cross symbol on products it sells to the public."
Submission + - Algorithm That Seemlesly Patches Holes in Images (cmu.edu)
Beetle B. writes: "From the site:
'What can you do with a million images? In this paper we present a new image completion algorithm powered by a huge database of photographs gathered from the Web. The algorithm patches up holes in images by finding similar image regions in the database that are not only seamless but also semantically valid. Our chief insight is that while the space of images is effectively infinite, the space of semantically differentiable scenes is actually not that large. For many image completion tasks we are able to find similar scenes which contain image fragments that will convincingly complete the image. Our algorithm is entirely data-driven, requiring no annotations or labelling by the user. Unlike existing image completion methods, our algorithm can generate a diverse set of image completions and we allow users to select among them. We demonstrate the superiority of our algorithm over existing image completion approaches.'
English translation: The algorithm replaces arbitrarily shaped blank areas in an image with portions of images from a huge catalog in a totally seamless manner."
'What can you do with a million images? In this paper we present a new image completion algorithm powered by a huge database of photographs gathered from the Web. The algorithm patches up holes in images by finding similar image regions in the database that are not only seamless but also semantically valid. Our chief insight is that while the space of images is effectively infinite, the space of semantically differentiable scenes is actually not that large. For many image completion tasks we are able to find similar scenes which contain image fragments that will convincingly complete the image. Our algorithm is entirely data-driven, requiring no annotations or labelling by the user. Unlike existing image completion methods, our algorithm can generate a diverse set of image completions and we allow users to select among them. We demonstrate the superiority of our algorithm over existing image completion approaches.'
English translation: The algorithm replaces arbitrarily shaped blank areas in an image with portions of images from a huge catalog in a totally seamless manner."
Marvin Minsky On AI 231
An anonymous reader writes "In a three-part Dr. Dobbs podcast, AI pioneer and MIT professor Marvin Minsky examines the failures of AI research and lays out directions for future developments in the field. In part 1, 'It's 2001. Where's HAL?' he looks at the unfulfilled promises of artificial intelligence. In part 2 and in part 3 he offers hope that real progress is in the offing. With this talk from Minsky, Congressional testimony on the digital future from Tim Berners-Lee, life-extension evangelization from Ray Kurzweil, and Stephen Hawking planning to go into space, it seems like we may be on the verge of another AI or future-science bubble."
Oracle to Buy Hyperion for $3.3 Billion 52
Oolala submitted an article that opens: "Business software maker Oracle Corp. will buy Hyperion Solutions Corp. for $3.3 billion in cash, renewing a shopping spree aimed at toppling rival SAP AG.
The deal announced Thursday will give Oracle an arsenal of Hyperion products that are widely used by SAP's customers. Hyperion's tools, known as "business intelligence" software, help chief financial officers and other top corporate executives track their company's performance."
Randal Schwartz's Charges Expunged 219
After 13 years, Randal Schwartz has had his conviction expunged. In effect, legally it never happened.
If you haven't heard about this one before, my take is that as a contractor at Intel, Randal did some over-zealous white-hat cracking free-of-charge; this embarrassed some people in management (he pointed out that their passwords were terrible) and management then chose to embarrass themselves further by having him convicted of a felony under an 'anti-hacking' law. More info can be had from the Friends of Randal Schwartz.
IBM to Open Source Novel Identity Protection Software 40
coondoggie handed us a link to a Network World article reporting that IBM plans to open source the project 'Identity Mixer'. Developed by a Zurich-based research lab for the company, Identity Mixer is a novel approach to protecting user identities online. The project, which is a piece of XML-based software, uses a type of digital certificate to control who has access to identity information in a web browser. IBM is enthusiastic about widespread adoption of this technology, and so plans to open source the project through the Eclipse Open Source Foundation. The company hopes this tactic will see the software's use in commercial, medical, and governmental settings.
Submission + - ESA. Game Industry in for Big Changes
Anonymous Coward writes: "Few people noticed last month when it was announced that Entertainment Software Association President Doug Lowenstein was leaving the trade organization after twelve years to pursue a new position in the investment industry. Though most gamers won't recognize his name, Lowenstein was fundamental figure in turning what was then known as the Interactive Digital Software Association from an afterthought into the premier game industry advocate it is today, and his departure is bound to make waves. eToychest gives their appraisal of what is needed within the organization to best serve the games industry moving forward, including a possible suggestion for Lowenstein's successor."
Does Sprawl Make Us Fat? 659
Ant writes "A Science News article talks about the relationship between city design and health. New cross-disciplinary research is exploring whether urban sprawl makes us soft, or whether people who don't like to exercise move to the sprawling suburbs, or some combination of both." From the article: "So far, the dozen strong studies that have probed the relationships among the urban environment, people's activity, and obesity have all agreed, says Ewing. 'Sprawling places have heavier people... There is evidence of an association between the built environment and obesity.' ... However, University of Toronto economist Matthew Turner charges that 'a lot of people out there don't like urban sprawl, and those people are trying to hijack the obesity epidemic to further the smart-growth agenda [and] change how cities look.' ... 'We're the only ones that have tried to distinguish between causation and sorting... and we find that it's sorting,' [says Turner]. 'The available facts do not support the conclusion that sprawling neighborhoods cause weight gain.'"
Submission + - 65%Americans Spend More Time With Their PC Than SO
Ant writes: "PR Newswire reports that 65 percent of consumers are spending more time with a computer than with their significant other (SO), according to new independent research commissioned by support.com.
Conducted by independent research firm Kelton Research, the "Cyber Stress" study confirmed consumers' growing relationship with technology in their everyday lives. In fact, more than 8 out of 10 Americans (84%) say they are more dependent on their home computer now than they were just three years ago.
Like any relationship, the test comes not when things are going well but when times are tough. And unfortunately in the case of their computers, things aren't going so well for Americans...
Seen on Blue's News. Well, SO is my computer. [grin]"
Submission + - Canada's Music Lobby Buys Unparalleled Govt Access
An anonymous reader writes: Copyfighting law professor Michael
Geist, who previously uncovered financial links
between recording industry lobbyists and Canada's Minister of Canadian
Heritage Bev Oda (who is responsible for copyright policy), has now
identified what big cash donations will get you. He reports
that Oda met with the President of the Canadian Recording Industry
Association on a monthly basis last year just as the government was
preparing copyright reform legislation and Canadian artists were calling for an end to P2P lawsuits. Is it any wonder that
Canadians seem likely to lose
their fair use rights?
Submission + - The Next Generation in Battery Technology?
jackd writes: Great article in Technology Review, bordering on "too good to be true" about a small company in Texas who has developed the
replacement for the electrochemical battery. No more Litium Ion. From the article: "The company boldly claims that its system [..] will dramatically outperform the best lithium-ion batteries on the market in terms of energy density, price, charge time, and safety. [..] The implications are enormous and, for many, unbelievable. Such a breakthrough has the potential to radically transform a transportation sector already flirting with an electric renaissance."
Submission + - IBM releasees fastest SDK for Java 6
IndioMan writes: IBM is releasing an SDK for Java 6 and is sponsoring an Early Release Program to gather feedback from the Java community. Product binaries and documentation are available for Linux on x86 and 64-bit AMD, and AIX for PPC for 32- and 64-bits. In addition to supporting the Java SE 6 Platform specification, IBM's SDK also focuses on platform stability, performance, and diagnostics. Its tops on every benchmark.
Submission + - Gonzales actually Questions Habeas Corpus!
spiedrazer writes: In yet another attempt to create legitimacy for many of the Bush administration's questionable legal practices, US attorney General Alberto Gonzales actually had the audacity to argue that the US Constitution doesn't explicitly bestow habeas corpus rights on US citizens! In his view it merely says when the so-called Great Writ can be suspended, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the rights are granted. These statements were made while being questioned by Sen. Arlen Specter at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 18
While Gonzales's statement has a measure of quibbling precision to it, his logic is troubling because it would suggest that many other fundamental rights that Americans hold dear (such as free speech, freedom of religion, and the right to assemble peacefully) also don't exist because the Constitution often spells out those rights in the negative. It boggles the mind the lengths this administration will go to to systematically erode the rights and privileges we have all counted on and held up as the granite pillars of our society since our nation was founded.
Also of note is that virtually NONE of the major news outlets seem to be covering this development! A google news search for "Gonzales Habeas Corpus" turns up only 101 hits with no major outlets listed!
You can also See Stephen Colbert's coverage including excerpts from the testimony HERE, just select the third video down on "Exact Words"
While Gonzales's statement has a measure of quibbling precision to it, his logic is troubling because it would suggest that many other fundamental rights that Americans hold dear (such as free speech, freedom of religion, and the right to assemble peacefully) also don't exist because the Constitution often spells out those rights in the negative. It boggles the mind the lengths this administration will go to to systematically erode the rights and privileges we have all counted on and held up as the granite pillars of our society since our nation was founded.
Also of note is that virtually NONE of the major news outlets seem to be covering this development! A google news search for "Gonzales Habeas Corpus" turns up only 101 hits with no major outlets listed!
You can also See Stephen Colbert's coverage including excerpts from the testimony HERE, just select the third video down on "Exact Words"
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In the sciences, we are now uniquely priviledged to sit side by side with the giants on whose shoulders we stand. -- Gerald Holton
