jakk6 - Slashdot User

Google Releases Street View Images From Fukushima Ghost Town 63

Posted by samzenpus on Friday March 29, 2013 @03:02AM from the new-fallout-map dept.

mdsolar writes in with news that Goolge has released Street View pictures from inside the zone that was evacuated after the Fukushima disaster. "Google Inc. (GOOG) today released images taken by its Street View service from the town of Namie, Japan, inside the zone that was evacuated after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011. Google, operator of the world's biggest Web search engine, entered Namie this month at the invitation of the town's mayor, Tamotsu Baba, and produced the 360-degree imagery for the Google Maps and Google Earth services, it said in an e-mailed statement. All of Namie's 21,000 residents were forced to flee after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, about 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the town, causing the world's worst nuclear accident after Chernobyl. Baba asked Mountain View, California-based Google to map the town to create a permanent record of its state two years after the evacuation, he said in a Google blog post."

Emscripten and New Javascript Engine Bring Unreal Engine To Firefox 124

Posted by Unknown Lamer on Thursday March 28, 2013 @05:52PM from the cycle-is-nearly-complete dept.

MojoKid writes "There's no doubt that gaming on the Web has improved dramatically in recent years, but Mozilla believes it has developed new technology that will deliver a big leap in what browser-based gaming can become. The company developed a highly-optimized version of Javascript that's designed to 'supercharge' a game's code to deliver near-native performance. And now that innovation has enabled Mozilla to bring Epic's Unreal Engine 3 to the browser. As a sort of proof of concept, Mozilla debuted this BananaBread game demo that was built using WebGL, Emscripten, and the new JavaScript version called 'asm.js.' Mozilla says that it's working with the likes of EA, Disney, and ZeptoLab to optimize games for the mobile Web, as well." Emscripten was previously used to port Doom to the browser.

Comment Focus (Score 1) 1019

by jakk6 on Saturday December 12, 2009 @07:40AM (#30412798) Attached to: Music While Programming?

I literally cannot code without music, at all. If I don't have something to deflect my focus from the outside world, I will lose concentration and end up writing really disjoint code that I nearly always end up having to rewrite later. This becomes a problem when working on highly object-oriented projects, as I almost entirely lose track of the scope of different elements without something blaring in my ears. I'm not actually listening to the music at all, but just using the noise to shield myself from distractions. I'm sure I can't be the only one, does anyone else absolutely need music to code?

You Are Not a Lawyer 693

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday February 10, 2009 @02:42PM from the help-in-thinking-like-one dept.

Paul Ohm is starting a new "very occasional" feature on the Freedom To Tinker blog called You Are Not a Lawyer — "In this series, I will try to disabuse computer scientists and other technically minded people of some commonly held misconceptions about the law (and the legal system)." In the first installment, Ohm walks through the reasons why many techies' faith in the presence of "reasonable doubt" is so misplaced. "When techies think about criminal law, and in particular crimes committed online, they tend to fixate on [the 'beyond a reasonable doubt'] legal standard, dreaming up ways people can use technology to inject doubt into the evidence to avoid being convicted. I can't count how many conversations I have had with techies about things like the 'open wireless access point defense,' the 'trojaned computer defense,' the 'NAT-ted firewall defense,' and the 'dynamic IP address defense.' ... People who place stock in these theories and tools are neglecting an important drawback. There are another set of legal standards — the legal standards governing search and seizure — you should worry about long before you ever get to 'beyond a reasonable doubt.'"

Average User Only Runs 2 Apps, So Microsoft Will Charge For More 842

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday February 09, 2009 @10:36AM from the so-it-can-charge-for-more dept.

Barence writes "Microsoft's decision to limit Windows 7 Starter Edition to running only three concurrent applications could force up the price of netbooks as many manufacturers opt for the more expensive Home Premium. The three-app rule includes applications running in the background but excludes antivirus, and the company claims most users wouldn't be affected by the limit. 'We ran a study which suggested that the average consumer has open just over two applications [at any time]. We would expect the limit of three applications wouldn't affect very many people.' However, Microsoft told journalists at last year's Professional Developers Conference that 70% of Windows users have between eight and 15 windows open at any one time."

Mathematics Reading List For High School Students? 630

Posted by timothy on Sunday February 08, 2009 @06:32PM from the flatland-to-hawking dept.

Troy writes "I'm a high school math teacher who is trying to assemble an extra-credit reading list. I want to give my students (ages 16-18) the opportunity/motivation to learn about stimulating mathematical ideas that fall outside of the curriculum I'm bound to teach. I already do this somewhat with special lessons given throughout the year, but I would like my students to explore a particular concept in depth. I am looking for books that are well-written, engaging, and accessible to someone who doesn't have a lot of college-level mathematical training. I already have a handful of books on my list, but I want my students to be able to choose from a variety of topics. Many thanks for all suggestions!"

Submission + - HP releases new netbook GUI for Ubuntu (downloadsquad.com)

Submitted by

dan of the north

on Wednesday February 04, 2009 @11:03PM

dan of the north writes: "Hewlett Packard has released a custom version of Ubuntu Linux designed for netbooks. For the HP Mini 1000 Mi Edition, to be exact. Under the hood, the operating system is based on Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron. That means it can run pretty much any application that runs on Ubuntu including OpenOffice.org, Firefox, Thunderbird, Sunbird and Pidgin. In fact, it comes preloaded with all of those applications plus a few more. It's also fairly easy to install other Linux staples like image editor GIMP. But what makes the Mi Edition software stand out is the graphical user interface which looks nothing like Ubuntu or even Ubuntu Netbook Remix."

Comment Re:Microsoft Sucks Checklist (Score 2) 659

by jakk6 on Monday January 26, 2009 @04:39AM (#26605201) Attached to: Bill Gates' Plan To Destroy Music, Note By Note

It's a Microsoft product, and Slashbots love to bash Microsoft just for the sake of bashing Microsoft, even when they do something half-decent(Zune) or even good(Xbox 360).

I'm a huge Xbox360 fan, and really think Microsoft has turned a leaf recently. However, I am also a musician, and can't help but absolutely hate SongSmith, as hilarious as it is.

Obama Sides With Bush In Spy Case 906

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday January 23, 2009 @03:59PM from the disappointment-for-civil-liberties dept.

palegray.net is one of many who writes "President Obama has publicly sided with the Bush administration on the question of whether the President should be allowed to establish warrantless wiretapping programs designed to monitor US citizens. The President has asked a federal judge to stay a ruling that would allow key evidence into the domestic spying case against the government. 'Thursday's filing by the Obama administration marked the first time it officially lodged a court document in the lawsuit asking the courts to rule on the constitutionality of the Bush administration's warrantless-eavesdropping program.'" jamie points out that Obama's views and opinions were made clear through his Senate vote and numerous public statements, but many others see this as a disappointing start to an administration promising transparency and openness.

Windows 7 Taskbar Not So Similar To OS X Dock After All 545

Posted by timothy on Thursday January 22, 2009 @09:19PM from the this-comparison-is-not-like-the-others dept.

cremou brulee writes "Redmond's photocopiers have been unusually busy for the last couple of years, with the result that Windows 7 copies a lots of Mac OS X features. First and foremost among these is the Dock, which has been unceremoniously ripped off in Windows 7's new Taskbar. Or has it? Ars Technica has taken an in-depth look at the history and evolution of the Taskbar, and shows just how MS arrived at the Windows 7 'Superbar.' The differences between the Superbar and the Dock are analyzed in detail. The surprising conclusion? 'Ultimately, the new Taskbar is not Mac-like in any important way, and only the most facile of analyses would claim that it is.'"

AOL Users Will Need to Pay $2 a Month For Phone Support 202

Posted by timothy on Thursday July 03, 2008 @04:22PM from the dear-mom-and-pop-send-money dept.

destinyland writes "8.7 million AOL subscribers face a new 20% fee increase next month — unless they agree to never call AOL's technical support lines. They'll have to use AOL chat for support or the online help "portal" unless their issue is a failed connection — and they're being enrolled in the program by default unless they opt out. Ominously, AOL used the exact same wording as when they quietly changed their terms of service to allow them to sell subscribers' home phone numbers to telemarketers. 'Your continued subscription to the AOL service constitutes your acceptance of this change.'"

Final Skynet Satellite Launched 39

Posted by kdawson on Friday June 13, 2008 @09:53AM from the head-for-the-hills dept.

kamochan writes "If you are a fan of the Terminator series, this headline in BBC News sent shivers down your spine today. The idiots actually did it, the countdown has started! What the BBC claims the story is about: 'An advanced satellite that will improve greatly the ability of UK military forces to communicate around the globe has been launched into space.' Quite frankly, that sounds scary enough as it is, but why the heck did they have to name it Skynet?"

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