maxhead42 - Slashdot User

Submission + - Erasing CDs by using 150000 Volts of electricity (youtube.com) 2

Submitted by ryzvonusef on Tuesday April 19, 2011 @03:03PM

ryzvonusef writes: One enterprising individual has created the most secure way to wipe out Compact Discs, by using a step-up transformer and creating a 150,000 Volt pd, whilst a CD rotates in the middle.

The sparks arc through the metal in the CD and evaporates it, ripping it all off as the CD rotates. The CD is rendered transparent and unreadable. This may be the most secure method to remove data on conventional recordable CDs used in offices.

Submission + - Apple changes App Ranks, Rejects Pay Per Install (toucharcade.com)

Submitted by

tlhIngan

on Tuesday April 19, 2011 @02:17PM

tlhIngan writes: "Recently, Apple changes their App Store ranking algorithm to stop ranking apps by download counts and instead using something else, akin to the recent Google changing of their Markplace ranking algorithm to give more weight to apps actual usage. As a side effect, Apple has also started rejecting pay-per-install apps ("freemium" apps that request the user to install companion apps to earn in-game currency). These apps were often used to game the charts by artifically inflating the download count and raising the ranking of the app in the App Store. No word on how companies like TapJoy (one of the largest "culprits") will react."

Submission + - Justices question Microsoft's vision of patent law (computerworld.com.au)

Submitted by

angry tapir

on Monday April 18, 2011 @06:55PM

angry tapir writes: "U.S. Supreme Court justices questioned Monday whether they should side with Microsoft and weaken the legal standard needed to invalidate a patent, with some justices suggesting there are alternatives to changing established law. The issue arose as part of the case involving Redmond and i4i."

Submission + - Apple sues Samsung over Galaxy Phone and Tablet (allthingsd.com)

Submitted by mystikkman on Monday April 18, 2011 @04:48PM

mystikkman writes: In the latest patent suit to hit the smartphone industry, Apple is suing Samsung, alleging the Galaxy line of phones and tablets infringe on a number of the company’s patents. “Samsung’s Galaxy Tab computer tablet also slavishly copies a combination of several elements of the Apple Product Configuration Trade Dress,” Apple says in its suit, noting that Samsung’s tablet, like Apple’s uses a similar rectangular design with rounded corners, similar black border and array of icons. Apple previously sued HTC over Android. If Samsung is found infringing on the software, all the Android OEMs could be vulnerable.

Submission + - FPS Gaming and the 'Just World Hypothesis' 1

Submitted by

Hugh Pickens writes

on Monday April 18, 2011 @01:57PM

Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Jamie Madigan writes that when people witness someone subjected to some misfortune, they’re susceptible to suggestions that the person deserved it and thus see the misfortune as evidence of karma or justice –hence the “Just” in “Just World Hypothesis”. Now consider the controversial new first-person shooter Homefront, which has you play as an freedom fighter in an America occupied by a North Korean superpower where the introduction to the game goes to great lengths to relieve you of any moral misgivings you might have about plugging away at the enemies it’s getting ready to throw at you. "You see enemy soldiers not only brutalizing American civilians, but outright murdering a mother in front of her children and callously tossing corpses around," writes Madigan, a gamer with a Ph.D. in psychology, who writes on the psychology of successful games. "The message is clear: Hey, these guys are evil. When we give you a gun, SHOOT THEM and FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT." Madigan says that the interesting thing about Homefront is that it’s not leaving any blanks to be filled in which robs the game of some narrative depth. "Some of my favorite gaming moments over the years have been born of difficult decisions about who to let live and who to gun down. Let me decide, act, and ruminate on those actions once the smoke clears; that will keep the game with me for longer.""

Comment Re:But smaller then the Saturn V from the 1960s (Score 1) 251

by maxhead42 on Tuesday April 05, 2011 @03:48PM (#35723838) Attached to: World's Most Powerful Rocket Ready In 2012, SpaceX Says

Estimated to be around $1,000/ton to orbit. Nothing comes close at this point to that figure, and it's all down-hill from there once it's reached. The Saturn V was/is a beautiful machine - but it was rather inefficient.

An excellent rate indeed! In comparison, the cost by sea freight from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Québec to Resolute Bay, Nunavet is just $421/ton. Somewhat slower, certainly not as elegant but similar in that departures are not on demand but planned well in advance. Departure dates can vary because of weather. Saturn V never had to deal with wind driven pack ice or icebergs, though. For a little over twice as much, we could orbit our winter's supply of beans and beer instead of dropping it on the tundra.

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