jancohen - Slashdot User

Comment Game Creator not PhD! (Score 1) 85

by jancohen on Thursday January 27, 2011 @04:58AM (#35017636) Attached to: How Gaming Can Save the World

There's a good reason why Jane creates games and doesn't practice in any human behavior specialties! You go back to playing and making games Jane and let the pros talk about human behavior! (You don't swim in my pool, I won't swim in yours!)

Comment Check it out OBAMA! (Score 1) 224

by jancohen on Wednesday January 26, 2011 @01:14AM (#35004430) Attached to: UK To Offer PCs For £98, Subsidized Internet Connections

Talk about reaching out in the trenches and educating...this is first class.

Comment He's right! (Score 1) 218

by jancohen on Wednesday January 26, 2011 @01:08AM (#35004362) Attached to: Pope Promotes Christian Netiquette

Amazingly, preaching, teaching or reaching, everyone should unmask themselves.

Comment Way more than 20 (Score 1) 559

by jancohen on Wednesday January 26, 2011 @12:57AM (#35004222) Attached to: How many microprocessors are in your home, total?

Likely have more than 20 (and way more if the car in the attached garage counts). It's impossible to find a room as I walk through the house that doesn't have multiple items with one or more in each item. However, there are no better answers since "too many" would imply I wanted less (WRONG!) and the others are simply not a choice!

Mozilla Flips Kill-Switch On Skype Toolbar 284

Posted by Soulskill on Friday January 21, 2011 @05:05PM from the take-a-time-out-until-you-can-play-nice-with-the-other-kids dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Whenever Skype is installed or updated, it automatically installs the Skype Toolbar add-on for Firefox. Unfortunately, the add-on causes serious performance problems, slowing down some operations by a factor of 300 and is one of the top causes for Firefox crashes. As a result, Mozilla has decided to 'soft-block' the add-on, effectively killing it on all Firefox installs unless the user intentionally re-enables it. Given the extreme popularity of Skype, this has ramifications for millions of users."

Woman's Voice Restored After Larynx Transplant 246

Posted by Soulskill on Friday January 21, 2011 @03:01PM from the wonder-if-she-sounds-like-herself dept.

mvar writes "A woman in the US is able to speak for the first time in 11 years after a pioneering voicebox transplant. Brenda Jensen said the operation, which took place in California, was a miracle which had restored her life. Thirteen days after the surgery she said her first words: 'Good morning, I want to go home.' It is the first time a larynx and windpipe have been transplanted at the same time (image) and only the second time a larynx has ever been transplanted. In October, surgeons at the University of California Davis Medical Center removed the larynx, thyroid gland and 6cm of the trachea from a donor body. In an 18-hour operation, this was transplanted into Ms. Jensen's throat and the team connected it to her blood supply and nerves. Thirteen days later, she was able to speak her first croaky words and is now able to talk easily for long periods of time."

New Sunlight Reactor Produces Fuel 269

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday January 19, 2011 @01:51PM from the summon-danny-boyle dept.

eldavojohn writes "A new reactor developed by CalTech shows promise for producing renewable fuel from sunlight. The reactor hinges on a metal oxide named Ceria that has very interesting properties at very high temperatures. It exhales oxygen at very high temperatures and inhales oxygen at very low temperatures. From the article, 'Specifically, the inhaled oxygen is stripped off of carbon dioxide (CO2) and/or water (H2O) gas molecules that are pumped into the reactor, producing carbon monoxide (CO) and/or hydrogen gas (H2). H2 can be used to fuel hydrogen fuel cells; CO, combined with H2, can be used to create synthetic gas, or "syngas," which is the precursor to liquid hydrocarbon fuels. Adding other catalysts to the gas mixture, meanwhile, produces methane. And once the ceria is oxygenated to full capacity, it can be heated back up again, and the cycle can begin anew.' The only other piece of the puzzle is a large sunlight concentrator to raise the temperature to the necessary 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The team is working on modifying and refining the reactor to require a lower temperature to achieve the two-step thermochemical cycle. Another issue is the heat loss which the team claims could be reduced to improve efficiency to 15% or higher. Since CO2 is an input, the possibility exists for coal and power plants to collect CO2 emissions to be used in this process which would effectively allow us to "use the carbon twice." Another idea listed is that a "zero CO2 emissions" is developed along these lines: 'H2O and CO2 would be converted to methane, would fuel electricity-producing power plants that generate more CO2 and H2O, to keep the process going.' The team's work was published last month in Science."

UK To Offer PCs For £98, Subsidized Internet Connections 224

Posted by timothy on Wednesday January 19, 2011 @06:06AM from the where's-your-non-television-license? dept.

Sam writes "The UK government wants to offer low-cost computers as part of a 12-month trial during Race Online 2012. The scheme, which aims to reach out to the 9.2 million adults that are not yet online, 4 million of whom are considered socially and economically disadvantaged, aims to 'make the UK the first nation in the world where everyone can use the web.' Prices will start at £98 ($156.01) for a refurbished PC, with subsidized Internet connections available for as little as £9 ($14.33) a month or £18 ($28.65) for three months. The cheap computers will run open-source software (think Linux) and will include a flat-screen monitor, keyboard, mouse, dedicated telephone helpline, delivery, and even a warranty. The cheap Internet packages will use a mobile dongle to help people access the web."

Encrypt Your Smartphone — Or Else 304

Posted by timothy on Tuesday January 18, 2011 @09:20PM from the red-phone-repeat-red-phone dept.

pin0chet writes "Modern smartphones contain ever-increasing volumes of our private personal data — from text messages to images to emails — yet many smartphone security features can easily be circumvented by thieves or police officers equipped with off-the-shelf forensics equipment. Worse, thanks to a recent California Supreme Court ruling, police officers may be able to search your smartphone for hours without a warrant if you're arrested for any reason. Ars Technica has an article exploring the legal issues surrounding cell phone searches and explaining how you can safeguard your smartphone from the prying eyes of law enforcement officers."

Submission + - Facebook suspends personal data-sharing feature &# (theregister.co.uk)

Submitted by Suki I on Tuesday January 18, 2011 @09:35AM

Suki I writes: Facebook has "temporarily disabled" a controversial feature that allowed developers to access the home address and mobile numbers of users.

The social network suspended the feature, introduced on Friday, after only three days. The decision follows feedback from users that the sharing of data process wasn't clearly explained and criticism from security firms that the feature was ripe for abuse.

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