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The Almighty Buck

Harvard Says Computers Don't Save Hospitals Money 398

Posted by kdawson from the always-jam-tomorrow dept.
Lucas123 writes "Researchers at Harvard Medical School pored over survey data from more than 4,000 'wired' hospitals and determined that computerization of those facilities not only didn't save them a dime, but the technology didn't improve administrative efficiency either. The study also showed most of the IT systems were aimed at improving efficiency for hospital management — not doctors, nurses, and medical technicians. 'For 45 years or so, people have been claiming computers are going to save vast amounts of money and that the payoff was just around the corner. So the first thing we need to do is stop claiming things there's no evidence for. It's based on vaporware and [hasn't been] shown to exist or shown to be true,' said Dr. David Himmelstein, the study's lead author."

Comment Re:Shell apps? (Score 1) 621

by shank001 (#29149877) Attached to: Nokia Leaks Phone With Full GNU/Linux Distribution

I've been thinking about one of these new Linux phones for my next upgrade. What kind of access does one have to the shell? Can one using an ssh client? How does one transfer data to a Linux workstation? Can one install more shell apps (e.g. ipcalc, tdl and remind)?

Just buy yourself the Openmoko (http://www.openmoko.com). Install debian on it; and you can do whatever-the-hell-you-want-to!

Comment Re:Interesting idea.... (Score 1) 101

by shank001 (#27527583) Attached to: Openmoko Phone Not Dead After All

I like the idea but everything I have read about the product says it is a lousy phone. And if it can't do that basic function well it doesn't matter what other neat things it can do, whether it is open software, open hardware, whatever. A phone that sucks is no sale.

Well the point is that this phone is a developer version. It was never meant to be used by your six-pack-joe. The phone does have great hardware (GSM (2G only), GPS, Bluetooth, Wifi, et al). The problem is the software stack. And this is where free software developers kick-in. The OM2008.12 distribution is good enough that makes the FreeRunner a basic phone. SHR is another distribution that's looking good. Andriod port for FR looks more and more promising by each passing week. Then there is the paroli begin developed by OM, that's written in python and I hear it's looking good too. Just give it some more time, and the software stack will start looking kick-ass!

Comment Re:Scrolling patent... (Score 1) 449

by shank001 (#26618527) Attached to: Apple Awarded Patent For iPhone Interface

'A computer-implemented method for use in conjunction with a computing device with a touch screen display comprises: detecting one or more finger contacts with the touch screen display, applying one or more heuristics to the one or more finger contacts to determine a command for the device, and processing the command.

So in plain english he is saying is:

I've developed a program which will know where you touch on a touch-screen(which is basically a touch-screen-driver). Didn't we have this in the linux before? This can be considered Prior Art right?

Let me elaborate:

a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a one-dimensional vertical screen scrolling command,

Implies that you can have vertical scroll. (Openmoko has this. You can do a vertical scroll on the home page)

a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a two-dimensional screen translation command

Which is basically like the HTC Diamond Touch doing effects like compiz.

a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a command to transition from displaying a respective item in a set of items to displaying a next item in the set of items.

Which says that you have a gesture to go to the next item. (again Openmoko already has this. The illume keyboard changes the keyboard format on slide)

When most of the code is out there, how can this patent be granted!

Space

Milky Way Heavier Than Thought, and Spinning Faster 285

Posted by kdawson from the bulking-up dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The Milky Way is spinning much faster and has 50 per cent more mass than previously believed. This means the Milky Way is equivalent in size to our neighbor Andromeda — instead of being the little sister in the local galaxy group, as had been believed. One implication of this new finding is that we may collide with Andromeda sooner than we had thought, in 2 or 3 billion years instead of 5."
Robotics

FIRST Robotics Competition Announced 73

Posted by kdawson from the harsh-mistress dept.
Z80xxc! writes "FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) has officially announced the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition. This competition, started by inventor Dean Kamen, encourages high-school students to design and build robots to compete with and against other FRC teams. The competition overview video is available from NASA. This year's competition is called 'Lunacy.' The game consists of a series of 135-second face-offs during which the student-designed robots must pick up 9-inch game balls and deposit them in trailers hitched to the opposing teams' robots. The game field is coated with regolith, a slick polymer material, and special wheels are used to create a low-traction interaction with the crater's surface. Together, these combine to simulate the one-sixth gravity on the surface of the moon. For any readers who are interested in participating, FRC teams can always use more adult mentors."
GNU is Not Unix

Linux In 2009 — Recession vs. GNU 355

Posted by Soulskill from the free-as-in-bailout dept.
RealityThreek sends this excerpt from an article at IT Management:"Pundits and business executives alike are predicting gloomy economic times for 2009. But when the talk turns to free and open source software (FOSS), suddenly the mood brightens. Whether their concern is the business opportunities in open source or the promotion of free software idealism, experts see FOSS as starting from a strong base and actually benefiting from the hard times expected next year. ... [Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation] sees Linux and the FOSS ecosystem surrounding it as having insurmountable advantages in any market over its main competitor Windows — advantages that an economic downturn only intensifies. At a time when a search for the lowest possible price point is happening in such areas as notebooks, FOSS is available at no cost. It is easy to rebrand and customize in a way that Windows Isn't, and is also technically more efficient."

Comment Compiz Fusion?? (Score 1) 1

by shank001 (#26289851) Attached to: Future of Compiz Uncertain
Comment from a Compiz user from http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/compiz/2008-December/003238.html

"Dramatically ugly, unusable, slow, badly animated and unconsistent. Open source development without a serious, expert mantainers can result in chaotic grouth of the project and waste of human resources into pointless code. The Compiz-Fusion project is certainly the most representative example of all this"

This, I think, really sums up the state that this project is in.
Portables (Apple)

Should Apple Open Source the iPhone? 379

Posted by timothy from the would-sure-to-have-to-have-all-that-money dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Given the OpeniBoot project is just a breath away from getting Android onto the iPhone, maybe Apple should consider opening up the platform. This post has five reasons, but I think there are far more. Without open source, Apple will find itself in the same position as today's Microsoft in seven years."
Microsoft

Ballmer Admits Google Apps Are Biting Into MS Office 293

Posted by Soulskill from the legacy-of-clippy dept.
twitter points out coverage of a discussion between Steve Ballmer and two Gartner analysts in which the Microsoft CEO admits that Google Apps is enjoying an advantage over Office by users who want to share their documents. He points to Office Live as their response to Google, and adds, "Google has the lead, but, if we're good at advertising, we'll compete with them in the consumer business." Whether or not they're good at advertising is still in question, if their recent attempts are any indication. Ballmer also made statements indicating some sort of arrangement with Yahoo! could still be in the works, but Microsoft was quick to step on that idea. Regarding Windows Vista, he said Microsoft was prepared for people to skip it altogether, and that Microsoft would be "ready" when it was time to deploy Windows 7.
Government

Quebec Govt Sued For Ignoring Free Software 388

Posted by samzenpus from the what-about-the-cheap-stuff dept.
Mathieu Lutfy writes "The CBC is reporting that 'Quebec's open-source software association is suing the provincial government, saying it is giving preferential treatment to Microsoft Corp. by buying the company's products rather than using free alternatives. ... Government buyers are using an exception in provincial law that allows them to buy directly from a proprietary vendor when there are no options available, but Facil said that loophole is being abused and goes against other legal requirements to buy locally.' The group also has a press release in English."
Data Storage

XiP Filesystem Primps For Linux 2.6.28 33

Posted by timothy from the primpin'-ain't-easy-but-it's-necessary dept.
nerdyH writes "The Linux-Embedded discussion list has been abuzz the last two days over a flash filesystem designed to support binary code execution (sometimes called XIP, or "execute-in-place"). When combined with forthcoming "Phase Change Memory" products from Intel/ST JV Numonyx, the "Advanced XiP Filesystem" (AXFS) could radically change Linux systems of all kinds, replacing Flash, hard drives, and even DRAM with a single chunk of low-cost, non-volatile memory that can both store files and serve as a platform for program execution."

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