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Submission + - Linux 4.0 Kernel Released (phoronix.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The Linux 4.0 kernel has been released. Linux 4.0 brings many features including live patching, Radeon DisplayPort Audio, RadeonSI fan control improvements, new OverlayFS functionality, Intel Quark SoC support, and a heck of a lot more.
Earth

Officials Sue Couple Who Removed Their Lawn 819

Hugh Pickens writes "The LA Times reports that Orange County officials are locked in a legal battle with a couple accused of violating city ordinances for replacing the grass on their lawn with wood chips and drought-tolerant plants, reducing their water usage from 299,221 gallons in 2007 to 58,348 gallons in 2009. The dispute began two years ago, when Quan and Angelina Ha tore out the grass in their front yard. In drought-plagued Southern California, the couple said, the lush grass had been soaking up tens of thousands of gallons of water — and hundreds of dollars — each year. 'We've got a newborn, so we want to start worrying about her future,' said Quan Ha, an information technology manager for Kelley Blue Book. But city officials told the Has they were violating several city laws that require that 40% of residential yards to be landscaped predominantly with live plants. Last summer, the couple tried to appease the city by building a fence around the yard and planting drought-tolerant greenery — lavender, rosemary, horsetail, and pittosporum, among others. But according to the city, their landscaping still did not comply with city standards. At the end of January, the Has received a letter saying they had been charged with a misdemeanor violation and must appear in court. The couple could face a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for their grass-free, eco-friendly landscaping scheme. 'It's just funny that we pay our taxes to the city and the city is now prosecuting us with our own money,' says Quan Ha."

Comment BBC to Charge BT for Content delivered. (Score 1) 229

In other new the BBC has announce it will start charging BT for the content that BT customers download.

OK I just made that up. But what the BBC is doing with the iPlayer is driving up demand for consumer broadband ... this is good for ISPs not bad. Every time the bbc mentions now available on the iPlayer (lots) any punter with out broadband has another incentive to give ISPs more money.

BT is already getting paid to deliver zeros and ones to its customers by its customers, why should they get paid twice?
BBC is already getting charged to push their zeros and ones to the internet, why should they pay twice.

If BT finds this situation unpleasant they could just block the iPlayer, I think this would be a very good way to see how many customers the BBC has given them, as BT watches them leave.

Comment Quake worked (Score 5, Interesting) 310

I was in an office where we had a culture of approx 3 10 minute Quake games a day, multi-player all in.

With the occasional after work longer session. We found a quick 10 min game increased productivity reduced stress and was good for the team.

part of what worked was that we all played at the same time so we could yell and woop and curse.

Enlightenment

Submission + - Toyota going 100% hybrid by 2020

autofan1 writes: "http://www.motorauthority.com/cars/toyota/toyota-c utting-hybrid-costs/ Toyota's vice president in charge of powertrain development, Masatami Takimoto, has said cost cutting on the electric motor, battery and inverter were all showing positive results in reducing the costs of hybrid technology and by the time Toyota's sales goal of one million hybrids annually is reached, it "expect margins to be equal to gasoline cars". Takimoto also made the bold claim that by 2020, hybrids will be the standard drivetrain and account for "100 percent" of Toyota's cars as they would be no more expensive to produce than a conventional vehicle."
Google

Submission + - Lookout! Google watches your gaming activity

Tookis writes: In a recent patent filing sure to shock some, Google has proposed a real time profiling of players of online games such as World of Warcraft. Soon players of such games may see in game ads directly designed to appeal to their persona. Last month Google filed a patent in both Europe and the US which outlined plans to psychologically profile people simply by their style of play in popular online games. http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/12152/1092/
The Media

Protests Move From the Streets To YouTube 156

weighn writes "One factor driving the move of political statements to YouTube, and away from old-style street protest, is that on the Internet the chances of being personally associated with a protest are lower. Mounting your political message online is also safer in countries where taking part in a protest can result in your death or injury at the hands of your country's army. We've seen how street protests and online polls alike are being shunted aside and ignored. What is the future for the common person who yearns to be heard?"
Communications

Samsung's UpStage Looks To Trump iPhone 197

bj sends word of Samsung's recently unveiled cell phone, called UpStage. It will ship April 1 (no fooling) for $300, or $150 with a 2-year contract from Sprint Nextel. "...the UpStage is a candy-bar style handset that's less than half an inch thick and not much taller or wider than an iPod Nano. Other multimedia-friendly cell phones struggle to balance the sometimes-conflicting requirements of a conventional handset and a music or video player; the UpStage solves this quandary by simply putting phone functions on one side of the device and the multimedia functions on the other side."

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