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Comment Re:I don't get it... (Score 1) 151

by mikemsd (#30037308) Attached to: MIT Grad To Make Digital "SixthSense" Open Source

Yeah, really, I mean, it's like those people that wanted to put computers the size of a room in their house! I mean, it's not like they would have ever been able to make them small enough to fit in your pocket. Think of all the time and effort that would have been wasted. I'm glad I didn't invest that failed IBM startup.

Submission + - Penny-Sized Nuclear Batteries Developed 1

Submitted by pickens
pickens writes: Pickens writes:

Nuclear batteries that produce energy from the decay of radioisotopes are an attractive proposition for many applications because the isotopes that power them can provide a useful amount of current for hundreds of years at power densities a million times as high as standard batteries. Although nuclear batteries have been used for military and aerospace applications for years their large size has limited their general usage but now a research team at the University of Missouri team has developed a nuclear battery the size of a penny that could be used to power micro- and nano-electromechanical systems. The researchers' innovation is not only in the battery's size, but also that the batteries use a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor. "The critical part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure of the solid semiconductor," says Jae Wan Kwon. "By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem." The batteries are safe under normal operating conditions. "People hear the word 'nuclear' and think of something very dangerous," says Kwon. "However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pacemakers, space satellites and underwater systems."

Submission + - French Prez Caught Violating His Own Copyright Law (ruwenzori.net)

Submitted by
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes: "French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been caught violating someone's copyright again. This time, presidential services made 400 unauthorized copies of a DVD when only 50 had been made by the publisher. Mr. Sarkozy, of course, is the one pushing the HADOPI law, which would disconnect the internet service of an alleged pirate after three allegations of infringement. This isn't the first time he's been connected to copyright violations, either. His party had to pay some 30,000 Euro for using a song without authorization. If he were he subject to his own law, Mr. Sarkozy would be subject to having his internet disconnected the next time he pirates something."

Submission + - Dow to sell Solar Shingles (reuters.com)

Submitted by CyberDong
CyberDong writes: Dow Chemical Co said on Monday it would begin selling a new rooftop shingle next year that converts sunlight into electricity. The new solar shingles can be integrated into rooftops with standard asphalt shingles, Dow said, and will be introduced in 2010 before a wider roll-out in 2011.
Spam

Submission + - Gold Spam becoming a sore topic for AION players (aiononline.com)

Submitted by Usagi_yo
Usagi_yo writes: Endless whispers for Kinah (in game currency), scrolling chat tabs of multi-line SPAM messages from in-game currency traders, phishing scams, key-logger scam, power leveling ... It's all there and it's very ugly for NCsoft's latest release of AION http://na.aiononline.com/ online mmorpg as players are starting to revolt after only a two weeks of game release. Would you pay $49.95 + tax and then $15 per month for such headaches?
Windows

Submission + - "Windows 7 compatible" PCs must be 64-bit (pcpro.co.uk)

Submitted by
Barence
Barence writes: "Microsoft has started certifying PCs as "compatible with Windows 7" — and looks to have avoided the mistakes that dogged the Vista Capable scheme. Whereas Microsoft certified PCs that could only run Vista Home Basic last time round, this time PCs will have to work with all versions of Windows 7 to qualify for the sticker, including 64-bit versions of the OS. Microsoft also claims that "products that receive the logo are checked for common issues to minimise the number of crashes, hangs, and reboots experienced by the user.""
Software

Submission + - Company uses DMCA to take down second-hand softwar (computerworlduk.com)

Submitted by
dreemteem
dreemteem writes: "A judge Tuesday heard arguments in a dispute over software sales that could potentially have repercussions on the secondhand sale of virtually any copyright material.
The suit was filed by Timothy Vernor, a seller on eBay, after Autodesk, citing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, asked eBay to remove some of its software products that Vernor had listed for sale there, and later to ban him from the site.
Vernor had not illegally copied the software but was selling legitimate CDs of the products secondhand. For that reason, he argued, he was not infringing Autodesk's copyright.
Autodesk countered that because it licences the software, rather than selling it outright, a licensee does not have the right to resell its products."

Submission + - Heart patient with no pulse (straitstimes.com) 2

Submitted by
laggist
laggist writes: "Heart patient in Singapore implanted with artificial heart that pumps blood continuously, allowing her to be very alive without a pulse.

From the article: '.. the petite Madam Salina, who suffers from end-stage heart failure, would not have been able to use the older and bulkier models because they can only be implanted in patients 1.7m or taller. The 30-year-old administrative assistant is the first recipient here to get a new artificial heart that pumps blood continuously, the reason why there are no beats on her wrist.'"

Submission + - Patent case ruling against Microsoft overturned (theage.com.au)

Submitted by
some_guy_88
some_guy_88 writes: "The $338 million verdict against Microsoft disucssed here previously for violating a patent held by Uniloc has been overturned. Ric Richardson, who divides his time between NSW, Australia and California, is the founder of Uniloc, which sued Microsoft in 2003 for violating its patent relating to technology designed to deter software piracy."
The Internet

Submission + - 100Petabit Internet, Coming Soon to a Country Near (gigaom.com)

Submitted by
lostinbrave
lostinbrave writes: "Alcatel-Lucent today said that scientists at Bell Labs have set an optical transmission record that could deliver data about 10 times faster than current undersea cables, resulting in speeds of more than 100 Petabits per second.kilometer. A petawhat? This translates to the equivalent of about 100 million Gigabits per second.kilometer or sending about 400 DVDs per second over 7,000 kilometers, roughly the distance between Paris and Chicago."
Security

Submission + - SPAM: Apple Update Makes Securing Your Windows PC Harder 1

Submitted by
itwbennett
itwbennett writes: "In a recent post, blogger Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols wags his finger at Apple for indiscriminately pushing the iPhone Configuration Utility 2.1 update out to Windows users, since it is a tool for business system administrators to set up and administer corporate iPhones — the blogger himself (and practically every other iPhone user) not being of the corporate iPhone user persuasion. But more than just unnecessary, the update actually puts him and millions of other iPhone owners/Windows PC users at risk by installing 'not just a configuration program, but the Apache Web server as well,' says Vaughan-Nichols."
Link to Original Source
Privacy

Submission + - Would you trust an insurance company's "drive- (teensafedriver.com)

Submitted by ramen99
ramen99 writes: Our new car insurance company offered us discounts for our teenage driver if we agree to install a "drive-cam" that records driving habits and wirelessly transmits video footage to a "neutral driving coach" for evaluation and comment. While this might be great to monitor a new teen driver, it will also monitor other adult drivers. The insurance company claims that they would NEVER use any information obtained to consider changes in insurance rates, but that really sounds unbelievable. Would you give up your privacy to save some dough? Installation is free, and the camera mounts just under the rear-view mirror, but something seems fishy about this...

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