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Comment Re:Pull your head out (Score 1) 665

A scientific theory usually have a set of predictions beyond the initial claims that are testable, event if not visible phenomena or directly measured properties. What I described in the example of the Big Bang Theory is precisely testing a scientific theory, as the expected background radiation IS one of the predictions.

If your standard for any scientific theory is based on repeating an experiment or directly visualizing some effect, most of the science of the last 2 hundred centuries is indeed untested, as most of its results are not directly visible, but tested by mesasureable effects. Event relatively simple properties of materials, such as eletronic currents visible, and as such measured through indirect effects, for example, old ammeters using magnetic fields to measure the value of said electronic current, instead of counting the amount of electrons passing per second on a conductor.

Comment Re:Pull your head out (Score 3, Informative) 665

In the case of the big bang theory, you have some properties of the universe that are predicted by the theory, such as the presence of the background radiation and the uniformity of mass distribution, among others, that are predicted to exist in a universe where a "big bang" occurs. It is a lot like observations from particle accelerators such as the LHC. There are no means to directly measure a many subatomic particles, but you can measure the particles resulting from the expected decays with some confidence, therefore testing aspects of the theory.
Government

Satanists Propose Monument At Oklahoma State Capitol Next To Ten Commandments 1251

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "The Tulsa World reports that in their zeal to tout their faith in the public square, conservatives in Oklahoma may have unwittingly opened the door to a wide range of religious groups, including satanists who are now seeking to put their own statue next to a Ten Commandments monument on the Statehouse steps. The Republican-controlled Legislature in Oklahoma authorized the privately funded Ten Commandments monument in 2009, and it was placed on the Capitol grounds last year despite criticism from legal experts who questioned its constitutionality. But the New York-based Satanic Temple saw an opportunity and notified the state's Capitol Preservation Commission that it wants to donate a monument too. 'We believe that all monuments should be in good taste and consistent with community standards,' Lucien Greaves wrote in letter to state officials. 'Our proposed monument, as an homage to the historic/literary Satan, will certainly abide by these guidelines.' Brady Henderson, legal director for ACLU Oklahoma, said if state officials allow one type of religious expression, they must allow alternative forms of expression, although he said a better solution might be to allow none at all on state property. 'We would prefer to see Oklahoma's government officials work to faithfully serve our communities and improve the lives of Oklahomans instead of erecting granite monuments to show us all how righteous they are,' says Henderson. 'But if the Ten Commandments, with its overtly Christian message, is allowed to stay at the Capitol, the Satanic Temple's proposed monument cannot be rejected because of its different religious viewpoint.'"

Comment Re:Ball drones (Score 1) 108

Last time I read about this ball drone the estimated battery life was around 15 minutes, making it useful for a very limited range. Also, this ball "drone" is still remote-controlled, putting it definitely outside of the drone category, although similar devices have been adapted to autonomous fly even by hobbyists.

Unless someone can get a power source with better weight/stored energy ratio than the batteries usualy found at these devices, those drones will still be toys. Maybe a buoyant/quadcopter hybrid could overcome this, using far less energy to stay flying and depending on volume, a useful payload capacity.

Comment Re:Why? (Score 1) 106

Also, slax has a "run from memory" mode where the whole distro is loaded to ram, and as such after booting it runs hellish fast. So a computer with 1Gb of ram can still run the whole OS from ram very fast. I already used this mode to boot slax on a whole computer lab/classroom from a single usb drive.

Comment Re:If you don't need X Window, it could even small (Score 1) 106

I don't know much about the latest version (7.0), but on previous versions Slax could be reduced to use only the "core" module, which used to be around 50Mb containing only command line tools. It is very handy as a base to build a personalized live cd using slackware packages or a remote boot image.

Comment Re:Users won't care (Score 1) 286

but the point is, android can ultimately run mozilla os apps too. on the same hw mozilla os runs.

mozilla os isn't even the first html5 ui for mobile attempt nor the first "hey let's do apps in html5 for mobile!" attempt. nokia wasted hundreds of millions on that shit already. mozilla just went because html5 because they build a browser.

I guess you are confusing Nokia with Palm/HP, as WebOS ran on html+js and Meego/Maemo used gtk and latter Qt with 100% native apps

Comment Re:Google is evil (Score 1) 352

Truth is, as most of the code on android is apache licenced or GPL (as the kernel) there is no need to ask google's permission to make anything with it.

Except for two things, some OEMs get advanced access to the code base before it's released to the general public and some OEMs get special access to the core Android developers if they can't get something to work on their own.

Exactly. Google can't "ban" anyone from using android source code, but they can deny access to their proprietary apps and also from being part of the Nexus product line, which obviously depends on early access to the sources and SDK. Also, it is somewhat clear that access to core android developers during a device development is a valuable asset to any manufacturer, as it is the closest to a community android gets due to the open source/closed development environment strategy used by Google.

Comment Re:Google is evil (Score 5, Interesting) 352

Truth is, as most of the code on android is apache licenced or GPL (as the kernel) there is no need to ask google's permission to make anything with it. The only parts of the operating system that are under a non-permissive licence that can be considered a showstoper would be the "brand" apps, as gmail, youtube and the google play store.
It's funny.  Laugh.

Travelling Salesman, Thriller Set In a World Where P=NP 165

mikejuk writes with this excerpt from I Programmer: "A movie that features science and technology is always welcome, but is it not often we have one that focuses on computer science. Travelling Salesman is just such a rare movie. As you can guess from its name, it is about the Travelling Salesman problem, more precisely about the P=NP question. Written and directed by Timothy Lanzone, and produced by Fretboard Pictures, it should premiere on June 16. As the blurb to the movie trailer says: 'Travelling Salesman is an intellectual thriller about four of the world's smartest mathematicians hired by the U.S. government to solve the most elusive problem in computer science history — P vs. NP. The four have jointly created a "system" which could be the next major advancement for humanity or the downfall of society.'"

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