jeno - Slashdot User

Student Googles Himself, Finds He's Accused of Murder 184

Posted by samzenpus on Tuesday November 30, 2010 @03:36PM from the be-careful-what-you-search-for dept.

University of Florida student Zachary Garcia was more than a little surprised to find out he was wanted for murder after Googling his name. It turns out the police were looking for a different man but had mistakenly used Garcia's photo. From the article: "Investigators originally released a driver's license photo of Zachary Garcia — spelled with an 'A' — but it was Zachery Garcia — spelled with an 'E'— who was charged in connection with the crime."

Submission + - Hayabusa returns particles from asteroid (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by mbone on Tuesday July 06, 2010 @09:48AM

mbone writes: Slashdot readers may remember the long odyssey of the Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft — and the recent Slashdot article entitled "No Samples On Japan's Hayabusa Asteroid Probe."

Well, the BBC now has a story, "Hayabusa capsule particles may be from asteroid." Apparently JAXA (the Japanese Space Agency) has opened the sample container returned to Earth by Hayabusa, and has released "images of tiny dust particles inside the container."

You will note that I titled this story carefully — Hayabusa has now returned particles from the asteroid. Whether they are asteroid particles or pieces of dust brought all the way from Earth remains to be seen, but they were certainly returned from the asteroid — a remarkable technical feat. This announcement, I think, gives considerable hope that these particles are from the near-Earth asteroid, Itokawa, as the Japanese have been very careful in trying to avoid contamination. Even a tiny speck of dust would be very revealing about the asteroid's constitution and possibly its history as well. Kudos to JAXA for a job well done.

Submission + - Where is the universal power brick for laptops? (pcauthority.com.au)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 06, 2010 @09:37AM

An anonymous reader writes: One of the most frustrating things about laptops is the myriad power supplies used. On a PC, an ATX power supply for example will screw into certain mounting holes, have a maximum size and shape, and will take a standard 3-pin 'kettle cord' for incoming power. If it complies with these standards the PSU will be able to bolt into any manufacturer's ATX case. Laptop design, on the other hand, involves cramming a PC into a tiny chassis, which usually has its own thermal design and power distribution requirements. This has led to the somewhat bizarre situation where every manufacturer has its own laptop power supply design. It now appears that some of the major players in laptops are getting together to work on a standardized laptop power supply design. Not only are big players involved, but the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) has created a team to work on the Power Supply standard.

Submission + - Tesla breaks land record for electric car (pcauthority.com.au) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27, 2009 @09:35PM

An anonymous reader writes: The CEO of an Australian ISP has driven his Tesla Roadster into the record books, completing 501km on a single electric charge in the 2009 Global Green Challenge — beating the Tesla's official specifications, which rate the all-electric sports car capable of a maximum 390km per charge. The previous record was held by another Roadster in the 387km Rallye Monte Carlo d'Energies Alternatives in April this year. In a race specifically designed for alternative energy vehicles (such as hydrogen and electricty), the Roadster triumphed to win honours as the only vehicle to complete the entire course. Though to be fair, that race course was a mixture of twists, turns and hills.

Submission + - Caves of the Moon (newscientist.com)

Submitted by jeno on Saturday October 24, 2009 @02:45AM

jeno writes: A deep hole on the moon that could open into a vast underground tunnel has been found for the first time. The discovery strengthens evidence for subsurface, lava-carved channels that could shield future human colonists from space radiation and other hazards.

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