Comment Shibboleth (Score 1) 191
Already being used by many educational institutes - specifically higher ed: https://shibboleth.net/
Comment Life Happens (Score 1) 413
I started playing WoW on day 7. I just canceled my account this February. I still enjoy the game, but in the last several years, I've gotten married (which affected playing time slightly), and in January had a baby - which completely killed all available playing time. I wasn't going to pay to not play a game I didn't have time for any more. Now, my games consist of facebook games, because I can play for 5,10,15 minutes and drop it and take care of the baby - not possible in WoW. Maybe when my daughter doesn't need as much attention, and I don't need to sleep every chance I get, I'll re-join, but until then, I'm one of those non-subscribers.
I suspect that I'm not the only person who's gone through several life stages over the last several years, and well, that's what happens.
Comment Re:Does it work in reverse? (Score 1) 250
As another needlephobe - I've found that you can ask all you want for capillary puncture, the docs just tell you they can't do it that way and to suck it up and act like an adult. Until I got pregnant, I had a double dose of Xanax or valium to get me to submit to a blood draw. They don't like giving those drugs to pregnant women, so my care providers and I have a "plan" for my issue. It really does make me feel better just knowing that my midwives are aware of my issues and are willing to work with me. Find a provider that is willing to work with you and whatever coping mechanisms you need - whether that's an anti-anxiety drug or a trusted friend.
Comment Re:It's her day so... (Score 1) 755
I have a gold engagement ring, and the jeweler refused to set the diamond in gold, so it's in a platinum setting that's bonded to the gold somehow. Up close it looks a little weird, but it's difficult to tell that the setting is not yellow gold.
Zvents Releases Open Source Cluster Database Based on Google 87
An anonymous reader writes "Local search engine company, Zvents, has released an open source distributed data storage system based on Google's released design specs. 'The new software, Hypertable, is designed to scale to 1000 nodes, all commodity PCs [...] The Google database design on which Hypertable is based, Bigtable, attracted a lot of developer buzz and a "Best Paper" award from the USENIX Association for "Bigtable: A Distributed Storage System for Structured Data" a 2006 publication from nine Google researchers including Fay Chang, Jeffrey Dean, and Sanjay Ghemawat. Google's Bigtable uses the company's in-house Google File System for storage.'"
Fedora 9 "Sulphur" Alpha Released 62
JonRob writes "The first development snapshot of Fedora 9 (Sulphur) has been released, providing both a KDE and a GNOME live CD. This is the first of three test releases before the final version of Fedora 9 this April. The alpha features many changes including KDE 4 by default, GNOME 2.21.4, support for creation of encrypted partitions and for resizing EXT2/EXT3/NTFS partitions during install, speed improvements to X, the Linux 2.6.24 kernel, and much more."
Comment Re:An inside view of the Scientology reality tunne (Score 1) 891
I will focus on Christianity since I know most about it.
Do not try to extort money from members by charging exorbitant amounts of money for religious services.
Opinions differ on tithing, but we also have examples of monetary payment for sins.
Do not claim to have supernatural effects on reality.
People often pray for people to be healed and they will be healed. That is clearly belief in supernatural influence on reality.
Do not believe that all members of Other Religion X are doomed to damnation.
Are you kidding? It is even worse than believing they are doomed, but that you must go and punish (kill) them yourself. See Deuteronomy 8-19, 13-6, 13-12, Jeremiah 1-16, and 16-10. And this nearly pales in comparison to Islam.
I am afraid many more religions offer this bunk than you seem to believe.
Internet Group Declares War on Scientology 891
Darkman, Walkin Dude writes "An internet group calling itself Anonymous has declared war on the Church of Scientology, in the form of an ominous posting to the YouTube site. 'In the statement, the group explained their goal as safeguarding the right to freedom of speech. "A spokesperson said that the group's goals include bringing an end to the financial exploitation of Church members and protecting the right to free speech, a right which they claim was consistently violated by the Church of Scientology in pursuit of its opponents." The press release also claimed that the Church of Scientology misused copyright and trademark law in order to remove criticism from websites including Digg and YouTube. The statement goes on to assert that the attacks from the group "will continue until the Church of Scientology reacts, at which point they will change strategy".' It should be noted that Slashdot users have had interactions with Scientology in the past as well."
VBA Going Away, Macs Now, PCs Soon 255
Nom du Keyboard writes "As Microsoft drops support for older Office file formats, it looks like Visual Basic for Applications is also going soon. Mac Office 2008 has dropped VBA in favor of enhanced support for AppleScript, and Office 2009 is scheduled to lose it in favor of Mac incompatible Visual Studio Tools for Applications (VSTA) or Visual Studio Tools for Office (VSTO). This sounds like the Mother of All Backwards and Cross-Platform Incompatibilities — especially since there appears to be no transition period where both the old and new scripting languages will be simultaneously supported. And as past experience with Visual Studio .NET has shown, upgrade tools are far less than perfect."
Introducing Magnet-Responsive Memory Foam 69
Roland Piquepaille writes "The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has recently reported that two research teams have developed a new porous foam of an alloy that changes shape when exposed to a magnetic field. The NSF states that this new material is able to remember its original shape after it's been deformed by a physical or magnetic force. This polycrystalline nickel-manganese-gallium alloy is potentially cheaper and lighter than other materials currently used in devices ranging from sonar to precision valves. It also could be used to design biomedical pumps without moving parts and even for space applications and automobiles."
Communities of Mutants Form as DNA Testing Grows 161
GeneRegulator writes "The NY Times is running a story on communities that are forming around kids with rare genetic mutations. New technology that can scan chromosomes for small errors is being applied first to children with autism and other 'unexplained developmental delays.' It turns out that many of them have small deletions or duplications of DNA. Meanwhile, hundreds of little groups are forming around the banner of their children's shared mutations. As new research shows that many of us have small deletions and duplications of DNA that separate us from our parents, and that many of these "copy number variants" contribute to skills and senses, the families described in the story may presage the formation of all sorts of 'communities of the genetically rare' in the general population, not just amongst the developmentally delayed."
Trekkie Sues Christie's for Fraudulent Props 286
Token_Internet_Girl passed us a link to an MSNBC article on a very disappointed Star Trek fan. Mr. Moustakis of NJ bought a poker visor he thought was worn by Data in Next Generation at a Christie's auction for some $6,000. When he brought it to a convention to have it signed, actor Brent Spiner explained that he'd already sold the well-known visor in a personal sale; like Senator Vreenak, Moustakis had been given a fake. "Christie's spokesman Rik Pike stood behind the authenticity of the auction and said the disgruntled buyer's case had no merit. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Manhattan, demands millions of dollars in punitive damages and a refund for the visor and two other items Moustakis bought at the 2006 auction."
No Right to Privacy When Your Computer Is Repaired 853
Billosaur writes "ZDNet's Police Blotter bring us the interesting story of a Pennsylvania man who brought his computer into Circuit City to have a DVD burner installed on his computer and wound up being arrested for having child pornography on his hard drive. Circuit City employees discovered the child pornography while perusing Kenneth Sodomsky's hard drive for files to test the burner, then proceeded to call the police, who arrested Sodomsky and confiscated the computer. Sodomsky's lawyer argued in court that the Circuit City techs had no right to go rifling through the hard drive, and the trial court agreed, but prosecutors appealed and the appeals court overturned the lower court's decision, based on the fact that Sodomsky had consented to the installation of the DVD drive."
Swedish Athletes Back GPS Implants to Combat Drug Use 299
paulraps writes "Swedish athletes Carolina Klüft and Stefan Holm have proposed a radical technological measure to stop top level competitors from taking performance-enhancing drugs. Klüft and Holm, reigning Olympic champions in the heptathlon and high-jump events, argue that competitors at the highest level should either have computer chips implanted into their skin or GPS transmitters attached to their training bags so that the authorities can keep tabs on them at all times."
Enceladus "Sea" Mystery Deepens 166
Smivs writes "The BBC reports that an ocean may not be the source of the jets emanating from Saturn's moon Enceladus. Controversial research questions the moon's promise as a target in the search for life beyond Earth. A chemical analysis of Enceladus, led by University of Colorado planetary scientist Nick Schneider, failed to detect sodium, an element scientists say should be present in any body of water that has been in contact with rock for billions of years. Spectral analysis with the Keck Telescope found no sodium in the plumes or in the vapor in orbit around the moon. At stake is whether Saturn's moon could support alien life and is thus a worthy target for a NASA exploratory mission to detect it. Such a mission to Enceladus is one of four currently under review for further development."
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I have a theory that it's impossible to prove anything, but I can't prove it.
