isane - Slashdot User

Submission + - Top 10 features you'll love about Android 1.5 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 10, 2009 @12:07PM

An anonymous reader writes: Last month, Google has officially announced Android 1.5 update, dubbed "cupcake." The new software is apparently ready to roll on Android-powered devices. Make no mistake, Android 1.5 is a major upgrade. The software brings a host of new capabilities, some of which can't be found on rival mobile platforms.

Bacteria Could Help Stop Desertification 218

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday May 07, 2009 @12:39AM from the bactine-bulldozers dept.

Bridgette Steffen writes "In attempt to slow down desertification, a student at London's Architectural Association has proposed a 6000 km sandstone wall that will not only act as a break across the Sahara Desert, but also serve as refugee shelter. Last fall it won first prize in the Holcim Foundation's Awards for Sustainable Construction, and will use bacteria to solidify the sandstone."

Star Trek's Warp Drive Not Impossible 541

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday May 06, 2009 @07:04PM from the engage dept.

Trunks writes "No doubt trying to ride the hype train that's currently going for the new Star Trek film, Space.com has a new article detailing how warp drive may not be impossible to acheive. From the article: '"The idea is that you take a chunk of space-time and move it," said Marc Millis, former head of NASA's Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project. "The vehicle inside that bubble thinks that it's not moving at all. It's the space-time that's moving." One reason this idea seems credible is that scientists think it may already have happened. Some models suggest that space-time expanded at a rate faster than light speed during a period of rapid inflation shortly after the Big Bang. "If it could do it for the Big Bang, why not for our space drives?" Millis said.' Simple, right?"

Robots Take To the Stairs 85

Posted by timothy on Wednesday May 06, 2009 @04:22PM from the terrible-secret-of-space dept.

Singularity Hub writes "Robots can climb stairs, and they are doing it everywhere you look. 'No big deal' you say, but it really is a big deal. Five to ten years ago, almost nobody was doing it. Now grad students are doing it all by themselves for thesis projects. Check out our review of robots navigating stairs, which includes some awesome videos."

Ray Kurzweil's Vision of the Singularity, In Movie Form 366

Posted by timothy on Wednesday May 06, 2009 @03:36PM from the seems-to-invite-some-polite-skepticism dept.

destinyland writes "AI researcher Ben Goertzel peeks at the new Ray Kurzweil movie (Transcendent Man), and gives it 'two nano-enhanced cyberthumbs way, way up!' But in an exchange with Kurzweil after the screening, Goertzel debates the post-human future, asking whether individuality can survive in a machine-augmented brain. The documentary covers radical futurism, but also includes alternate viewpoints. 'Would I build these machines, if I knew there was a strong chance they would destroy humanity?' asks evolvable hardware researcher Hugo de Garis. His answer? 'Yeah.'" Note, the movie is about Kurzweil and futurism, not by Kurzweil. Update: 05/06 20:57 GMT by T : Note, Singularity Hub has a review up, too.

Nintendo Penalizing Homebrew Users? 95

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday April 25, 2009 @03:17AM from the thanks-so-much dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Bricked your Wii? Not only will Nintendo charge you for the repair, they will now add an additional fee if they detect any homebrew software. 'Should Nintendo have to pay to repair hacked Wiis under warranty? Maybe not, but they have no (moral) right to gouge customers out of spite for having the HBC installed. This actually poses a technical dilemma for us with BootMii. As currently designed, BootMii looks for an SD card when you boot your Wii, and if it finds the card and the right file, it will execute that file. Otherwise, there's no way to tell it's installed.'"

Comment Possible Applications? (Score 0, Redundant) 214

by isane on Monday October 22, 2007 @06:54PM (#21078651) Attached to: NC State Creates Most Powerful Positron Beam Ever

Can we get one on a shark's head? Is that too much to ask? Can someone throw a dog a 'friggin bone?

New Data Transmission Speed Record 262

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Sunday March 26, 2006 @02:32AM from the sixty-dvd-minus dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Gizmag is reporting that a team of German and Japanese scientists have collaborated to shatter the world record for data transmission speed. From the article: "By transmitting a data signal at 2.56 terabits per second over a 160-kilometer link (equivalent to 2,560,000,000,000 bits per second or the contents of 60 DVDs) the researchers bettered the old record of 1.28 terabits per second held by a Japanese group. By comparison, the fastest high-speed links currently carry data at a maximum 40 Gbit/s, or around 50 times slower."

Sony Ceases Production of PSOne 159

Posted by Zonk on Saturday March 25, 2006 @11:23PM from the psnomore dept.

Gamespot has the news that Sony is no longer manufacturing the PSOne. From the article: "Despite the news, Sony representatives noted today that the end of production does not necessarily mean the end of availability. PS hardware and software are still selling in countries around the world. Even if original PlayStation systems and games are becoming slim pickings in the US, gamers likely won't be going without for long. As part of its PlayStation Business Briefing 2006, Sony last week announced that it is working on an emulator that would allow gamers to play PS titles on the PSP."

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