Forgot your password?
typodupeerror

Comment Hackathon Focus (Score 1) 79

I've found that hackathons focused on one core technology (a piece of hardware, a specific framework, a common goal, etc) are the best. They tend to segment developers based on interest (like making games? we'll make a game using this!) and it makes it harder for the bus-dev types to throw out their dead end ideas that never end up winning. I'm organizing a hackathon next month that'll largely be project based. No business guru nonsense. We want to see what you can do.
Canada

Submission + - Canadian regulator orders Internet telecoms to tell us what it costs (montrealgazette.com)

bshell writes: "Canada's CRTC (like the FCC) has finally asked the telecoms to provide information about how much their services actually cost. In this Montreal Gazette Story the writer says, In a report I wrote last year, I estimated the markup for Internet services was 6,452 per cent for Bell’s Essential Plus plan, which provides a two-megabits-per-second speed for $28.95 (prices may have changed since last year)."
The markup is likely similar in the US. It's about time that we consumers found out what it really costs to provide Internet, and for that matter telephone and wireless services, so we can get a fair shake."

GNU is Not Unix

Submission + - Rare photos: gnu crashing a Windows 8 launch event (fsf.org)

Atticus Rex writes: "Reporters and security guards at the event weren't sure how to react when they were greeted by a real, live gnu. The gnu — which, on closer inspection, was an activist in a gnu suit — had come for some early trick-or-treating. But instead of candy, she had free software for the eager journalists. The gnu and the Free Software Foundation campaigns team handed out dozens of copies of Trisquel, a fully free GNU/Linux distribution, along with press releases and stickers. Once they got over their confusion, the reporters were happy to see us and hear our message — that Windows 8 is a downgrade, not an upgrade, because it steals users' freedom, security and privacy."
The Internet

Submission + - How to Hug a Chicken Via the Internet (ieee.org)

the_newsbeagle writes: Adrian Cheok, a professor of electrical engineering in Japan, wants to invent a "multisensory Internet" that will transmit not just information, but also experiences. To usher in this new age, he started by building a haptic system that enabled him to send a hug to a chicken via the Internet. Next came the "huggy pajama" project, which allowed distant parents to send their kid a goodnight squeeze. Lately he's begun working on sending a taste over the internet with his "digital lollypop" project.
Technology

Submission + - Virginia Tech's RoMeLa answers DARPA robotics challenge with THOR (vt.edu)

smackay writes: "Virginia Tech’s Robotics and Mechanisms Laboratory is building a humanoid robot designed for dangerous rescue missions as part of the new DARPA Robotics Challenge. Lab founder/director Dennis Hong calls it the “greatest challenge of my career.” The robot's name: THOR"
The Military

Submission + - 72% of Xbox 360 Gamers Approve of "More Military Drone Strikes" (facethepolitics.com)

An anonymous reader writes: During the latest Presidential Debate, Xbox 360 owners were being polled live, as the debate was progressing, on a number of different questions, and asked to answer 'Yes', 'No' or 'Don't Know' using their gamepad. Out of these questions, one particular question produced a surprising result: Xbox 360 owners were asked 'Do you support more use of drone aircraft to attack suspected terrorists?' 20% answered this question with 'No'. 8% answered 'Don't know'. And a whopping 72% answered the question 'Yes'. This raises an interesting question in and of itself: Is the average Xbox 360 player at all aware that drone strikes in countries like Pakistan cause a serious number of Civilian Deaths on a regular basis? Or do Xbox 360 gamers live in a parallel, game-inspired universe, where a real world "Drone Strike" is something seriously cool, just like it is cool to use it in popular games like Call of Duty? In other words, does playing simulated war games like COD on a game console on a daily basis, and enjoying these games, cause gamers to become blinkered to the at times seriously dire real world consequences of using Military tactics like drone strikes for real?

Slashdot Top Deals

After all is said and done, a hell of a lot more is said than done.

Working...