Comment what? (Score 1) 1
i dont get it? what way of telling time is this?
Submission + - Clever Clues Clobber Crossword Computer
Hugh Pickens writes writes: "Steve Lohr reports that an impressive crossword-solving computer program called Dr Fill matched its digital wits against 600 of the nation's best human crossword-solvers finishing only 141st at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in New York. "I wish it had done better,” says Dr. Matthew Ginsberg, the creator of Dr. Fill and an expert in artificial intelligence. Dr. Fill typically thrives on conventional crosswords, even ones with arcane clues and answers and solved one of the most difficult puzzles at the tournament perfectly. But the computer does poorly with clever clues based on puns or humor because humans and machines solve the crosswords very differently. Humans recognize patterns based on accumulated knowledge and experience, while computers make endless calculations to determine the most statistically probable answer so the computer program is literal minded, and tends to struggle on puzzles with humor, and puzzles with unusual themes or letter arrangements. Take this clue from a 2010 puzzle in The Times: Apollo 11 and 12 (180 degrees). The answer is SNOISSIWNOOW, seemingly gibberish. A clever human could eventually figure out that those letters when rotated 180 degrees spell MOON MISSIONS. Humans get the joke, while a literal-minded computer does not. “Occasionally, Dr. Fill just doesn’t get it,” says Ginsberg. “That’s my nightmare.”"
Submission + - Sen. Wyden demands ACTA goes before Congress (arstechnica.com)
Fluffeh writes: "As recently covered here, EU countries are starting to drop ACTA support, now long-time opponent of the secretly negotiated Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced an amendment to a Senate "jobs bill" that would force ACTA to come before Congress for approval. His second amendment tries to force a change in how the whole process around such treaties is handled. Right now, the US attempts to keep its negotiating positions a secret. What vital national security interests could be at stake if the public knew USTR was promoting "graduated response" laws or proposing changes in ISP liability? Wyden doesn't believe there are any."
Submission + - Amazon Patents Annotating Books, Digital Works 1
theodp writes: On Tuesday, the USPTO granted Amazon a patent on its Method and System for Providing Annotations of a Digital Work, which covers 'receiving an annotation of the digital work, storing the annotation, and providing the annotation to a user.' This includes annotations received in a graphical or handwriting format, as well as highlighting of text.
Submission + - $1B of TSA Nude Body Scanners Made Worthless (wordpress.com)
TheNextCorner writes: "This video is here to demonstrate that the TSA’s insistence that the nude body scanner program is effective and necessary is nothing but a fraud, just like their claims that the program is safe (radiation what?) and non-invasive (nude pictures who?). The scanners are now effectively worthless, as anyone can beat them with virtually no effort."
Comment cricket (Score 2) 294
cricket has a $35 a month plan that has unlimited minutes and texting.
Submission + - Climate Change-Induced Drought Caused the Mayan Collapse (vice.com)
pigrabbitbear writes: "The collapse of the Mayan empire has already caused plenty of consternation for scientists and average Joes alike, and we haven’t even made it a quarter of the way through 2012 yet. But here’s something to add a little more fuel to the fire: A new study suggests that climate change killed off the Mayans."
Submission + - Nigerian Scam Artists Taken for $33,000 (couriermail.com.au)
smitty777 writes: An Australian woman who was being used by a group of Nigerian scam artists stole over $33,000 from the group who employed her. Her bank account was being used to funnel the cash from a dodgy internet car sales website. Irony aside, it makes one wonder how these folks ever got the nerve to go to the police with this matter. Those of you wondering, this article offers some answers to the question of why so many of these scams originate from this area.
Submission + - Transparency Launches as Linux of Drug Development (xconomy.com)
awjourn writes: "During his years working in pharma R&D, Tomasz Sablinski was frustrated by the industry's need for secrecy and it's utter inability to design patient-friendly drug trials. So he founded Transparency Life Sciences, a company that's developing three drugs based on input from patients and physicians, who log onto the company's site and voice their opinions about how drugs should be designed and tested."
Submission + - Brain Scans Detect Autism In Six Month Olds (singularityhub.com)
kkleiner writes: "A new study shows that brain scans can detect autism in children as young as 6 months old. Researchers at University of North Carolina’s Institute for Developmental Disabilities imaged the brains of 92 children who were at high risk for autism. Scans were performed when the children were 6 months, 1-year, and 2-years old. At 2 years, the age when children are typically diagnosed, 30 percent of the children were found to have autism. The researchers then compared the brain images of the autistic children with the others. They saw differences in the brain’s white matter, the axon-laden pathways that transmit electrical signals to distant parts of the brain. Of the 15 pathways analyzed, 12 were significantly different between autistic and non-autistic children."
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If I set here and stare at nothing long enough, people might think I'm an engineer working on something. -- S.R. McElroy
