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Comment Re:Seen? (Score 4, Interesting) 70

Seen by whom? It is just a phone, one of many Android phones. Add up all the Android phones and it dwarfs the number of iPhones. What are they trying to say, that selling a million Pixel phones is somehow a failure? Yeesh, you can make statistics say anything...

I think comparing phone to phone is a good metric. We are not trying to compare ecosystems (iOS vs Android, Mac vs PC, etc). If you don't like the Pixel to iPhone comparison, how about Pixel to Galaxy 8? Or Pixel to G6? Selling 1 million units is a lot like Lumia numbers. Not good by any stretch. I wouldn't expect Google to keep this going much longer, kind of like how they cancel most of their hardware endeavors (think Motorola purchase, Nexus Q, etc)...

Comment Re:I hope this doesn't compromise overall performa (Score 1) 83

by kupan787 (#50922579) Attached to: PostgreSQL Getting Parallel Query

A more typical usage is where there are many smaller queries.

Typical usage of what? If I have an OLTP system, for a transactional web based system, sure i'd agree. But if I am operating a data warehouse with fact tables housing hundreds of millions of rows, or trying to run largish reports on top of my OLTP system (say for state/fed reporting, or financial reporting), my "typical usage" is not many smaller queries.

The last two projects I have been on, turning on auto-parrallism in Oracle has made huge performance gains. Not just for reads, but also when enabled for DML, we saw a lot of our bulk inserts and merges ran significantly faster. And this was on SQL that didn't change at all, just our DBAs making a few parameter changes on the DB.

Comment Re:Antares: an outsourced rocket (Score 2) 85

Instead, we are likely to see Aerojet and possibly Rocketdyne merging with one of the smaller builders and then building a tug/depot, or perhaps their own form of a land-able launch system.

Not sure if you were implying that Aerojet or Rocketdyne merging independetly with a small builder, or if you meant the combined Aerojet/Rocketdyne merging with a small builder. Aerojet (parent company Gencrop) is actually in the process of closing on the purchase of Rocketdyne.

http://www.aerojet.com/media/InvestorPresentation_GenCorpAcquisition.pdf
The Military

United States Begins Flying Stealth Bombers Over South Korea 567

Posted by samzenpus from the nice-day-for-a-flight dept.
skade88 writes "The New York Times is reporting that the United States has started flying B-2 stealth bomber runs over South Korea as a show of force to North Korea. The bombers flew 6,500 miles to bomb a South Korean island with mock explosives. Earlier this month the U.S. Military ran mock B-52 bombing runs over the same South Korean island. The U.S. military says it shows that it can execute precision bombing runs at will with little notice needed. The U.S. also reaffirmed their commitment to protecting its allies in the region. The North Koreans have been making threats to turn South Korea into a sea of fire. North Korea has also made threats claiming they will nuke the United States' mainland."
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Canadian Grad Student releases open source Star Trek Tricorder (tricorderproject.org)

Submitted by
upontheturtlesback
upontheturtlesback writes: "Another example of Star Trek technology becoming a reality. In light of the recent Tricorder X-Prize announcement, Dr. Peter Jansen has openly released the designs for a series of Science Tricorders that he developed while a graduate student at McMaster University. The Science Tricorders are capable of sensing a variety of atmospheric, electromagnetic, and spatial phenomena. Where the Science Tricorder Mark 1 is a relatively easy-to-build proof of concept, the Science Tricorder Mark 2 runs linux and resembles a cross between a Nintendo DS and scientific instrument with dual OLED touch displays. An exciting video shows them in action, and describes the project goal of creating general scientific tools for learning about and visualizing the world, as well as their importance for science education by helping kids ground abstract concepts like magnetism or polarization visually. The hardware schematics, board layouts, and firmware source are freely available on the Tricorder project website under various open licenses."

Submission + - Swedish teleco firms looking into block VoIP claiming losses in earnings (google.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Telia, a Swedish telecommunications company is now looking into possible solutions to block free VoIP services like Skype and Vibr, claiming the losses are beginning to take its toll on the total earnings. Critics are saying the companies have wrongly implemented outdated pricing models, the act could threaten net transparency and independance. In a new report from the EU body of European phone market, [url=http://www.erg.eu.int/whatsnew/index_en.htm]Berec[/url] , shows that more and more telecommunications companies will block their subscribers from using free services. The European Commission is investigating whether it is possible to prohibit the blocking of legal services online. (© AP)
PC Games (Games)

SOE Also Making a New Star Wars MMOG? 49

Posted by Soulskill from the empire-strikes-back dept.
Hand Solo writes 'Ten Ton Hammer has an inside scoop on SOE making a new browser-based MMOG based on Star Wars. Rumor is that it will be run on the Free Realms platform. This is generating a lot of buzz around the net. Quoting: 'Former and current Star Wars Galaxies players can still remember the sting of the 'New Game Experience' that changed the face of that game for everyone. SOE has repeatedly said that they have learned from their mistakes, and plan to not repeat them. If SOE isn't expressly targeting the hardcore segment this time around, they (unlike BioWare) won't have quite the same initial level of expectations to deal with. Don't let us give you the impression that SOE plans to take on BioWare, and their highly anticipated MMOG debut, The Old Republic, particularly given the engine the game is rumored to be based on. More plausible is that it will be based off the Clone Wars CGI animated film, offering a more stylized approach to the universe. "

Comment 6/10/4... (Score 1) 1055

by kupan787 (#26442545) Attached to: How Does a 9/80 Work Schedule Work Out?
At my work we have a choice between straight 8s, or 6/10/4 schedule. Personally, I like the 6/10/4, as I come in at noon on Mondays (working 12:00-6:00pm), and leave at 11:00am on Fridays (working 7:00-11:00am). Tuesday-Thurs I work 10 hours (7:00-6:00pm), for a total of 40 hours a week. Plus, if I ever want to have a three day weekend, I only have to use 4 vacation hours, instead of the traditional 8.
Earth

Alternatives to Daylight Saving Time? 755

Posted by timothy from the even-ben-franklin-made-some-whoppers dept.
Wellington Grey writes "Daylight saving time almost upon us. The arguments about its possible benefits and drawbacks come up twice every year. Does it save energy or lives? Possibly, but it does definitely cause a great deal of inconvenience. My question is this: what do you think would be the best possible system to replace DST with? What is the best way for humans to deal with the inconsistent amount of light over the year and still foster coordination over disparate time zones?"
Privacy

Maryland Police Put Activists' Names On Terror List 426

Posted by timothy from the bad-incentive-to-remain-peaceful dept.
aaandre writes with word of a Washington Post story which begins: "The Maryland State Police classified 53 nonviolent activists as terrorists and entered their names and personal information into state and federal databases that track terrorism suspects, the state police chief acknowledged yesterday. The police also entered the activists' names into the federal Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area database, which tracks suspected terrorists. One well-known antiwar activist from Baltimore, Max Obuszewski, was singled out in the intelligence logs released by the ACLU, which described a 'primary crime' of 'terrorism-anti-government' and a 'secondary crime' of 'terrorism-anti-war protesters.'" According to the article, "Both [former state police superintendent Thomas] Hutchins and [Maryland Police Superintendent Terrence] Sheridan said the activists' names were entered into the state police database as terrorists partly because the software offered limited options for classifying entries." Reader kcurtis adds "The State Police say they are purging the data, but this is one more example (on top of yesterday's news that datamining for terrorists is not feasible due to false positives) of just how badly the use of these lists can be abused."

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