faitzy - Slashdot User

Aussie Scientists Find Coconut-Carrying Octopus 205

Posted by timothy on Tuesday December 15, 2009 @02:40PM from the concealed-carry-in-australian-waters dept.

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from an AP report: "Australian scientists have discovered an octopus in Indonesia that collects coconut shells for shelter — unusually sophisticated behavior that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal. The scientists filmed the veined octopus, Amphioctopus marginatus, selecting halved coconut shells from the sea floor, emptying them out, carrying them under their bodies up to 65 feet (20 meters), and assembling two shells together to make a spherical hiding spot. ... 'I was gobsmacked,' said Finn, a research biologist at the museum who specializes in cephalopods. 'I mean, I've seen a lot of octopuses hiding in shells, but I've never seen one that grabs it up and jogs across the sea floor. I was trying hard not to laugh.'"

Microsoft Accused of Squandering Billions On R&D 580

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @06:44PM from the billion-here-billion-there dept.

Julie188 writes "Even as Microsoft celebrates its 10,000th patent, angry shareholders are starting to speak out against what they say is the squandering of billions of dollars on pointless R&D projects. The 10,000th patent covers a technology that allows a device to associate data with objects placed on its surface, and is likely eventually to become part of the Surface table PC. But shareholders are fed up with the $8 billion annually spent. Said one, 'I believe Bill Gates is a charlatan because what he has said, implied, promised to shareholders and stakeholders and all of these visionary things that he mumbles and jumbles about and doesn't make reality of. MS is spending billions of dollars on R&D. Where is the return on investment?' In contrast, Apple had almost the same revenue gains as Microsoft while spending one-tenth as much."

Best Buy Is Selling Ubuntu 656

Posted by kdawson on Wednesday July 09, 2008 @08:02AM from the but-wait-you-also-get dept.

SirLurksAlot writes "It appears that Best Buy is now selling Ubuntu, both through its Web site and in its brick-and-mortar locations. Going by the release on the product page, Ubuntu has actually been available for the low, low price of $19.99 since May 6th of this year. It is being packaged as the 'Complete Edition.' While they don't specify on the site what version is being offered, a quick call to a local store revealed it to be Hardy Heron, the latest Long Term Support version. How did this development fly under the radar for over two months without anybody noticing?"

Comment Re:Snow Thrower (Score 0) 485

by faitzy on Friday February 16, 2007 @03:04PM (#18042164) Attached to: What did you buy on Valentine's Day?

I also thought that was a sensible option. I bought my wife a new shovel - due to the ~70 cm's (27 inches) of snow that fell in Hamilton, ON. She still isn't talking to me - but it seemed like something she needed at the time.

Duke Nukem Forever Update 250

Posted by Zonk on Thursday April 13, 2006 @09:59AM from the heh dept.

Gamasutra reports on an update to one of the longest running jokes in the games industry, Duke Nukem Forever. The title, already ten years in development, may (possibly) see release this decade. From the blurb: "3DR's George Broussard also demonstrated world interactivity that includes Duke standing in front of a computer and emailing the player, if he provides his email address for the game. But, according to the piece, Broussard was bashful, overall, about showing off the game, commenting: 'The problem is that when we show it, people are going to be like, Yeah, whatever. Honestly, at this point we just want to finish it.'"

Google Calendar 448

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday April 13, 2006 @07:53AM from the google-everyday dept.

rickyb writes "After months of rumors and speculation, Google Calendar is now live. It features integration with Gmail, full iCal support, and a bunch of other goodies I'm just starting to discover. The wait is over!"

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