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Submission + - Exoplanet Count Blasts Through the 1,000 Barrier (discovery.com)

Submitted by astroengine
astroengine writes: The first 1,000 exoplanets to be confirmed have been added to the Europe-based Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia. For the last few weeks, astronomers (and the science media) have been waiting with bated breath as the confirmed exoplanet count tallied closer and closer to the 1,000 mark. Then, with the help of the Super Wide Angle Search for Planets (SuperWASP) collaboration, the number jumped from 999 to 1,010 overnight. All of the 11 worlds are classified as "hot-Jupiters" with orbital periods from less than 2 days to 8 days.

Comment Re:Yeah really (Score 1) 399

by rhaas (#26902475) Attached to: TrapCall Service To Bypass Caller ID Blocking
Using a cell phone does sound like it would solve the problem (unless the publicly available databases that TelTech searches can find the billing address for the number) but not everyone communicates only by cell phone. Not everyone reads Slashdot, so there's a real possibility that someone might think that caller ID blocking was sufficient to protect themselves.

Comment Re:Dictionary - Encyclopedia - Textbook (Score 1) 469

by rhaas (#21808038) Attached to: Should Wikipedia Allow Mathematical Proofs?

A rating system like you describe is very interesting and might be a good addition. I assume that you mean every visitor should have the option to rate a page. Have you discussed these suggestions at Wikipedia? I haven't gotten involved much there yet, but I imagine others have noticed and discussed these problems already.

Yes, that's what I mean. Unfortunately, I have not gotten involved enough even to know where such a thing could be suggested... it seems like there is a very hard-core core group and I just haven't been willing to spend the time and energy to get into it at that level. I have to conclude that the people who do it like it the way that it is, or it would have been changed by now, but what do I know?

Perhaps part of the issue is that discussion systems and rating systems inevitably give the developer or designer a lot of power and are therefore seen as undemocratic. I don't know what the objections are, but as you imply, I can't be the first person to have thought of these things.

I don't think there is any distinction between building an on-line encyclopedia that anyone can edit it and managing it. Wikipedians have necessarily been doing both tasks simultaneously from the beginning, though as it gets bigger and more popular, the management becomes more difficult. It's still being built just as much as it is being managed. If it's more difficult to manage and build now than it was a soon after it started, I think that's partly because tools have not scaled to match the complexity of the project.
I agree. I was just referring to the "everything is a wikipage" philosophy.

Feed Toshiba begins shipping HD-A20 HD DVD player (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

As promised, Toshiba is shipping the HD-A20 to retailers with a MSRP of $499, but can probably be found online for even less. The HD-A20 fits right in the middle of Toshiba's trio of HD DVD players, which make up all of the stand alone HD DVD players available. The extra benjamin over the HD-A2 gets you HDMI 1.3 and 1080p output, but it lacks a few video enhancements like deep color support and additional connections like RS-232 when compared with its bigger brother, the HD-XA2. If this is any indication of what we can expect from second generation HD DVD players, Toshiba is on its way to producing some of the best next-gen physical media movie players anywhere -- at least until Blu-ray finally gets BD-J live done in October.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD A new documentary series. Be part of the transformation as it happens in real-time

Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!
Microsoft

Submission + - The end is nigh for XP

Submitted by
SlinkySausage
SlinkySausage writes: "Computer makers have been told they'll no longer be able to get Windows XP OEM by the end of this year, despite strong ongoing demand for the OS. Analysts and computer makers are wondering if the move is premature given Vista's ongoing performance and compatibility issues. Dell recently said it would reintroduce XP on a range of machines due to customer demand but Microsoft will only allow this until the end of the year."
The Internet

Submission + - `.eu' Domain Names Top 2.5M in Year One

Submitted by VictoryDone
VictoryDone writes: More than 2.5 million ".eu" Internet addresses have been registered since the European domain name launched just over a year ago, the European Commission said Wednesday. Many worldwide brands — from companies like Air France and Versace to environmental campaigners Greenpeace — now have a ".eu" address, officials said, singling out non-European brands Sony Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus for also choosing an ".eu" address in ad campaigns.

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