Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror

Comment Adding Value with WebRTC (Score 1) 89

by psema4 (#45124797) Attached to: JavaScript-Based OpenRISC Emulator Can Run Linux, GCC, Wayland

Under the name of Atomic OS, I've been playing around with related ideas (on and off) for nearly a decade now.

Although I have a number of others, my primary suggestion would be to add WebRTC-based network devices in jor1k or JS/Linux. This would allow SPAs (Single Page Applications) to provide an interface into new censorship-resistant networks.

Yes it's putting tubes in your tubes but I think it'll happen and likely sooner than you think. There's at least one project out there (name withheld by request of the projects' author, will go into beta soon) that I suspect will usher in a new era of web-based computing.

Submission + - The iPad Can't Hold a TI-83 Plus' Jockstrap 1

Submitted by theodp
theodp writes: Writing in The Atlantic, Phil Nichols makes a convincing case for why educational technologies should be more like graphing calculators and less like iPads. Just messing around with TI-BASIC on a TI-83 Plus, Nichols recalls, 'helped me cultivate many of the overt and discrete habits of mind necessary for autonomous, self-directed learning.' So, with all those fancy iPads at their schools, today's kids must really be programming up a storm, right? Wrong. Nichols, who's currently pursuing a PhD in education, laments, "The iPad is among the recent panaceas being peddled to schools, but like those that came before, its ostensibly subversive shell houses a fairly conventional approach to learning. Where Texas Instruments graphing calculators include a programming framework accessible even to amateurs, writing code for an iPad is restricted to those who purchase an Apple developer account, create programs that align with Apple standards, and submit their finished products for Apple's approval prior to distribution."

Submission + - Will Robots Replace Rent-a-Cops? (vice.com)

Submitted by Daniel_Stuckey
Daniel_Stuckey writes: Now, an EU-funded, £7.2 million ($11 million USD) collaborative project, called Strands, is underway in England to develop 4D, artificial intelligence for security and care applications. It aims to produce intelligent robo-sentinels that can patrol areas, and learn to detect abnormalities in human behavior. Could their project eventually replace security guards with robots? It looks possible.

Strands, as Nick Hawes of the University of Birmingham said, will "develop novel approaches to extract spatio-temporal structure from sensor data gathered during months of autonomous operation," to develop intelligence that can then "exploit [those] structures to yield adaptive behavior in highly demanding, real-world security and care scenarios."

Submission + - Massive Open Online Calculus! (osu.edu) 1

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Professors at the Ohio State University are embracing MOOC's with a Massive Open Online Calculus Course (https://mooculus.osu.edu/) — it is completely opensource — everything is on github: https://github.com/ASCTech/mooculus

There is are free videos, free online assessment system, and a free textbook!

Submission + - Mexican Village Creates Its Own Mobile Phone Service (indiatimes.com)

Submitted by Dave_Minsky
Dave_Minsky writes: The small indigenous village of Villa Talea de Castro (pop. 2,500) in the state of Oaxaca is showing the world that it doesn't have to rely on major cellular telecommunications providers for service.

With the help from indigenous groups, civil organizations and universities, village residents put up an antenna on a rooftop, installed radio and computer equipment, and created its own micro provider called Red Celular de Talea (RCT).

Service costs only 15 pesos ($1.2) per month and a few pennies per minute to make calls to the United States. However, there is one catch: calls are limited to a maximum of five minutes to prevent saturation of lines.

Submission + - Indian Government to ban use of US email services for official communications (paritynews.com)

Submitted by hypnosec
hypnosec writes: The Government of India is planning to ban the use of US based email services like Gmail for official communications and is soon going to send out a formal notification to it half a million officials across the country asking them to use official email addresses and services provided by National Informatics Centre. The move is intended to increase the security of confidential government data and information and protect it from overseas surveillance.
Graphics

Submission + - Microsoft Phases Out XNA and DirectX? (i-programmer.info) 2

Submitted by mikejuk
mikejuk writes: It is reported that Microsoft has sent an email to DirectX/XNA MVPs which informs them that they are no longer needed because XNA and DirectX are no longer evolving. What does this mean? If you don't need MVPs then presumably you anticipate nothing to support in the future.

Comment Re:Quick, who can we blame? (Score 1) 97

by psema4 (#41873291) Attached to: Canadian Island's Historic Hot Springs Dry Up After Earthquake

The thing is, if you blame Harper and the Conservatives for something - they are likely guilty of it :P

After receiving a (seismic v2) encoded message from God, the Conservatives went and drained these springs to convince the public. The need to privatize our hot springs is most pressing! Sell before they loose too much value! http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Parks+Canada+privatize+springs/7196294/story.html
Australia

Submission + - Airport body scanners useless: German police (google.com)

Submitted by OverTheGeicoE
OverTheGeicoE writes: The German government just finished a 10-month test of millimeter-wave body scanners made by L3 Communications. It appears they are not happy with the results. The devices raise false alarms 7 times out of 10, and are confused by layered clothing, boots, zippers, pleats, and even incorrect posture. Australia recently started a trial, and the second person in at the Sydney airport set off the alarm repeatedly due to sweaty armpits.

Back in the US, TSA is trying software upgrades to address privacy concerns. Upgraded scanners will show only outlines to TSA staff, not naked images. Upgrades are being rolled out for millimeter-wave scanners now, and will be tested on X-ray scanners starting "in the fall." (The German and Australian scanners already had this technology, it appears.)

Back in the US, TSA is trying software upgrades to address privacy concerns. Upgraded scanners will show only outlines to TSA staff, not naked images. Upgrades are being rolled out for millimeter-wave scanners now, and will be tested on X-ray scanners starting "in the fall." (The German and Australian scanners already had this technology, it appears.)
The Courts

Submission + - Bethesda tells Minecraft creator: cease and desist (gamepron.com) 1

Submitted by dotarray
dotarray writes: While most people from Bethesda and id Software are at QuakeCon this weekend, it seems that at least one of them has stayed back at the office, buried under a pile of paperwork.

How do we know this? A tweet from Minecraft creator Notch, who has just received a message from the company’s law team, claiming his new game infringes on their upcoming game.
Programming

Submission + - What Todays' Coders Don't Know And Why It Matters (itworld.com) 1

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "Today's programmers have much more advanced languages and more forgiving hardware to play with — but it seems that many have forgotten some of the lessons that their predecessors picked up in a more resource-constrained era. Newer programmers are less adept at identifying hardware constraints and errors, thorough specifications developed before coding, and low-level skills like programming in assembly language. You never know when a seemingly obsolete skill will come in handy: for instance, Web developers who cut their teeth in the days of 14.4 Kbps modems have a leg up in writing apps for laggy wireless networks."

Slashdot Top Deals

The less time planning, the more time programming.

Close