jojo_mcbean - Slashdot User

Comment Re:America (Score 1) 111

by jojo_mcbean on Friday March 06, 2009 @02:19AM (#27088003) Attached to: NY Bill Proposes Tax Credit for Open Source Developers

Tax levels and credits in an ideal democracy represent how much the society values various things. Carbon taxes with open source credits mean they don't like C02 in the atmosphere but like Linux. So yes, taxes on the whole should be increased to curb foreign lending, but that doesn't take away from legitimate shifts in a value for something like open source programming.

Interesting Computer Science Jobs? 352

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday January 02, 2009 @05:47PM from the do-something-you-love dept.

mattskent writes "I'm currently a junior in college working towards my Bachelor's degree in Computer Science. As such, I'm starting to look pretty seriously at jobs in the IT/Computer Science field. I've spent plenty of time working entry-level IT jobs doing various kinds of help desk type work, and so most of the exposure I've had to the field is related to support of other people's computers. I enjoy helping other people out, but I'd rather not be plugging things in and restarting computers the rest of my life. Although the possibility is growing on me, I don't think I would particularly love to write code all day for a living either. What are some interesting jobs that you've had or heard of that I could look into fresh out of college with a Computer Science degree?"

Mechanical AI Made In LittleBigPlanet 65

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday December 20, 2008 @01:45AM from the somebody-make-a-quake-3-LBP-port dept.

Laurens writes "Despite slow sales of LittleBigPlanet in the USA, you might have heard of the calculator made within the game, but now that has been topped. I found a fully-functioning AI machine which plays Tic-Tac-Toe against the player. Considering that you can't actually program in LBP, this feat is impressive; it is a machine which has mechanical AND and OR ports made of pistons and proximity detectors, a physically moving Program Counter, and hundreds of wires. The level is called 'Tic Tac Toe' and is by author Cristel." Another player created a similarly amazing level that is a recreation of John Conway's Game of Life.

Study Says Cosmic Rays Do Not Explain Global Warming 656

Posted by timothy on Thursday December 18, 2008 @03:26PM from the but-millions-of-illuminaria-do dept.

flock2000 writes "A new study conducted by Norweigan researchers finds (again) that changes in cosmic rays most likely do not contribute to climate change. Previously, other researchers have claimed to have found a link between cosmic rays and surface temperatures."

The End of Individual Genius? 364

Posted by Soulskill on Sunday December 14, 2008 @09:27AM from the at-least-until-zefram-cochrane dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A recent study suggests the downfall of individual researchers, who are being rapidly replaced by enormous research groups. Quoting: '... in recent decades — especially since the Soviet success in launching the Sputnik satellite in 1957 — the trend has been to create massive institutions that foster more collaboration and garner big chunks of funding. And it is harder now to achieve scientific greatness. A study of Nobel Prize winners in 2005 found that the accumulation of knowledge over time has forced great minds to toil longer before they can make breakthroughs. The age at which thinkers produce significant innovations increased about six years during the 20th century.'"

Should Taxpayers Back Cars Only the Rich Can Afford? 752

Posted by Soulskill on Sunday November 30, 2008 @01:32PM from the five-million-dollars-per-car dept.

theodp writes "The NY Times questions the $400M in low-interest federal loans requested by Tesla Motors as part of the $25B loan package for the auto industry passed by Congress last year. 'The program is intended to encourage automakers to improve fuel efficiency, but should it be used for a purpose like this, as the 2008 Bailout of Very, Very High-Net-Worth Individuals Who Invested in Tesla Motors Act?' Tesla says it is assembling about 15 cars a week and has delivered about 80 of its $109,000 base-price Roadsters to date, many of which have gone to the Valley's billionaires and centimillionaires who are Tesla investors as well as early customers. We discussed the company's financial difficulties last month."

Comment IPA for the win (Score 1) 512

by jojo_mcbean on Tuesday October 21, 2008 @12:13PM (#25454967) Attached to: Recovering Moldy Electronics?

I work in a cleanroom, and we use isopropyl alcohol to clean stuff. DO NOT use acetone, it will simply dissolve a bunch of stuff. Bleach will corrode stuff. Distilled or de-ionized water will take forever to do anything useful. For these reasons, IPA is the way to go. Ethyl alcohol is much better for drinking than cleaning.

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