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Math

Algorithm Solves Rubik's Cubes of Any Size 139

Posted by timothy from the gordian-knot-sledgehammer dept.
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from New Scientist: "Only the most hardcore puzzle-solvers ever go beyond the standard 3x3x3 Rubik's cube, attempting much larger ones. Now an algorithm has been developed that can solve a Rubik's cube of any size. It might offer clues to humans trying to deal with these tricky beasts. Erik Demaine, a computer scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found that the maximum number of moves that will ever be required for a cube of side n is proportional to n/log n. 'It gives me a couple of ideas how to solve this thing faster,' says Stewart Clark, a Rubik's cube enthusiast who owns an 11x11x11 cube."
The Internet

Wolfram Promises Computing That Answers Questions 369

Posted by timothy from the he's-feeling-lucky-you-feel-lucky-too dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Computer scientist Stephen Wolfram feels that he has put together at least the initial version of a computer that actually answers factual questions, a la Star Trek's ship computers. His version will be found on their Web-based application, Wolfram Alpha. What does this mean? Well, instead of returning links to pages that may (or may not) contain the answer to your questions, Wolfram will respond with the actual answer. Just imagine typing in 'How many bones are in the human body?' and getting the answer." Right now, though the search entry field is in place, Alpha is not yet generally available -- only "to a few select individuals."

Comment Re:Why? (Score 2, Interesting) 204

by ngileadi (#27029215) Attached to: A New Way To Produce Hydrogen
[citation needed]
Do you have any figures about this? Mobile air conditioners with COP of 2 or so are being developed these days (IPCC/TEAP special report, page 306), and I can't imagine the energy consumption is significant compared to the actual transport, unless the temperature differences are extreme. I'm willing to be proven wrong, though.

Comment Re:In the UK, try Cambridge, York, Warwick... (Score 1) 386

by ngileadi (#26248289) Attached to: Study Abroad For Computer Science Majors?
There's some information about visiting students in Cambridge.
Very few students are accepted, especially in technical subjects, and they normally study the first or second year (so compsci part IA or IB, not II). Cambridge also has an established exchange program with MIT, where applications are somewhat less competitive for those coming to Cambridge.

Sony's Solid State 2.4 Pound Laptop Reviewed 214

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the flexible-solid-state dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Last week Sony finally launched its super slim, super sexy TZ series of laptops in the US. If you've been waiting to get your hands on one of these, check out this first review of the top drawer TZ12VN, complete with solid state hard disk. It's a lot of money, but it sure looks sweet!"
Linux

Is the LUG a thing of the past? 162

Posted by CmdrTaco from the where-else-do-you-get-cds dept.
tinahdee writes "Linux User Groups dying out? LUG leaders report that attendance is down — but mailing list traffic is still good. Do we still need LUGs, given the ease of installation and ubiquitousness of online information about Linux? Lots of people say, yes, we still need LUGs (and some disagree)."
Google

The Downide of Your ISP Turning to Gmail 266

Posted by kdawson from the Google-Apps-Partner-Edition dept.
SlinkySausage writes "Google is offering ISPs the opportunity to turn over their entire email operation to Google, with all customer email hosted as Gmail accounts. This would allow Google to grow its user base rapidly (Google is a distant third with 51M users compared to Yahoo's 250M and Hotmail's 228M). There are some obvious benefits to end users — Google is offering ISPs mailboxes of up to 10GB per user. APCMag.com has posted an interesting piece looking at the dark side of Google's offer. Not least is in its reinforcing of the attachment people have to their ISP's email address, making it harder to change ISPs if a better deal comes along."
Graphics

The State of Open Source 3D Modeling 267

Posted by kdawson from the first-mover-advantage dept.
gmueckl writes "Since Blender was released as open source in 2002, it has basically owned the open source 3D modeling scene. Its development has seen a massive push by both the community and supporting organizations. However, the program has been showing its age all along and efforts to improve on it have either been blocked or have failed in the past (note the dates). Authors of new modules are forced to jump through hoops to get their work glued onto the basic core, which still dates from the early 90s and has gone almost unchanged since. There are many other active projects out there like Art of illusion, K-3D, and Moonlight|3D. Each of them offers a modern, much saner, more coherent, and more powerful basic architecture and could match Blender in a couple of months' time with some extra manpower. So how come these projects don't get the level of support they deserve? How come developers are still willing to put up with such an arcane code base?"

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