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Comment Re:radio in the computer case: the music of... (Score 1) 731

I did this with my first "programming" love, a Texas Instrument Ti-57.

Since I was doing "undercover" programming (i.e. programming at night when I was supposed to sleep ;-), I discovered pretty quickly that the beast was making noise, a lot of different ones. I quickly learned the sound of a running program, the noise of an error, and the sound of a few number being displayed as well.

I then kept this habit since, learning the sound of a properly running computer, and being able to tell when the beast is trashing, and so on.

Of course, with all those new-fangled virtual hosts, I'm missing a lot of cue about the system I'm working with. This is sad, my friend, really sad.

Programming

Submission + - Shredded secret police files being reassembled

An anonymous reader writes: German researchers at the Frauenhofer Institute said Wednesday that they were launching an attempt to reassemble millions of shredded East German secret police files using complicated computerized algorithms. The files were shredded as the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and it became clear that the East German regime was finished. Panicking officials of the Stasi secret police attempted to destroy the vast volumes of material they had kept on everyone from their own citizens to foreign leaders.
Robotics

Submission + - Soliders Bond With Bots, Take Them Fishing

HarryCaul writes: Soldiers are finding themselves becoming more and more attached to their robotic helpers. During one test of a mine clearing robot, "every time it found a mine, blew it up and lost a limb, it picked itself up and readjusted to move forward on its remaining legs, continuing to clear a path through the minefield." The man in charge halted the test, though- "He just could not stand the pathos of watching the burned, scarred and crippled machine drag itself forward on its last leg. This test, he charged, was inhumane." Sometimes the soldiers even take their metallic companions fishing. Is there more sympathy for Robot Rights than previously suspected?
Music

Submission + - RIAA Backs Down Again in Chicago

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The RIAA seems to have a problem making things stick in the Windy City. It has once again backed down in BMG v. Thao, after suing a misidentified defendant. Same thing occurred last October in Elektra v. Wilke. In the Thao case, the RIAA based its case on information that the cable modem used to partake in file sharing was registered to Mr. Thao. However, it turned out that Mr. Thao was not even a subscriber (pdf) of the ISP (pdf) at the time of the alleged file-sharing, and therefore did not have possession of the suspect cable modem at that time."
Power

Submission + - Nanotubes Improve Solar Energy Harvesting

eldavojohn writes: "Scientists are hoping that the 'coaxial cable' style nanotube they developed will resolve energy issues that come with converting sunlight to energy. The plants currently have us beat in this department but research is discovering new ways to eliminate inefficiencies in transferring photons to energy. Traditional methods involve exciting electrons to the point of jumping to a higher state which leaves 'holes.' Unfortunately, these electrons and holes remain in the same regions and therefore tend to recombine. The new nanotubes hope to route these excited electrons off in the same way a coaxial cable allows a return route for electrons. End result is fewer electrons settling back into their holes once they are elevated out of them yielding a higher return in energy."

Feed Everyday Life In Pompeii Revealed (sciencedaily.com)

Until recently archaeologists working on Pompeian artefacts have tended to concentrate on examples of art, some of it erotic, from the town that was suddenly destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in August 79 AD. Now archaeologists are gaining new understandings of everyday life in Pompeii.

Feed Stanford Scientists Make Major Breakthrough In Regenerative Medicine (sciencedaily.com)

Findings described in a new study by Stanford scientists may be the first step toward a major revolution in human regenerative medicine -- a future where advanced organ damage can be repaired by the body itself. Scientists show that a human evolutionary ancestor, the sea squirt, can correct abnormalities over a series of generations, suggesting that a similar regenerative process might be possible in people.
Software

Submission + - Ubuntu Studio revealed

lukeknipe writes: "Ubuntu announces the April release of the Ubuntu Studio. An exceptionally ambitious project, it is described by Ubuntu as a "multimedia editing flavor of Ubuntu for the Linux audio, video, and graphic enthusiast or professional who is already familiar with the Ubuntu-Gnome environment.""
AMD/OSTG

Vendor AMD Unveils ATI Game Development Tools

AMD has details on their latest development tools, GPU PerfStudio and GPU ShaderAnalyzer , both of which are designed to make graphics development easier and more productive. "According to AMD officials, these developer tools allow for rapid bottleneck detection, advanced rendering techniques and interactive tuning of shaders, resulting in real-time performance improvements and greater shader accuracy. Specifically,
Programming

Submission + - Is it possible to age yourself out of a job?

An anonymous reader writes: I'm a programmer with more than twelve years of experience. In all that time, I've never been a "senior" developer. I'm competent and I work hard, but I don't think I am quite a senior developer in terms of technical or people skills. More and more I feel that I'm aging myself out a job. By this time, employers expect someone with my experience to have advanced some, and they may not be willing to even talk to me now, thinking that my pay requirements have grown while I have not. Even if I did get hired someplace new, my peers would likely be much younger than me. What do you do when you have an applicant like that? Are my fears legitimate?

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