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Comment Imagining cmdrTaco and Steve together on the bench (Score 1) 1521

Well it's a bit sad to see all the oldtimers go (sorry 'taco :) ). With you guys there is only a bit of nostalgia left. Not many remember the days of using lynx to access /. due to having IRQ issues with mouse and modem: it was damn unreadable, so not much has changed in that regard :-).

I just try to picture you together with Steve on a bench together with Achmed the Dead Terrorist screaming 'I kill you'

Comment 'Virtual' (Score 1) 175

virtual(a): existing in essence or effect though not in actual fact; "a virtual dependence on charity"; "a virtual revolution"; "virtual reality"

So are you actually looking for the best way to create a team that does not exist but does produce an outcome? I think you are already there :-)

Or are you looking for software to support the communication between teammembers in such a way that they really feel to be a part of a team? Then I would look for software that is already integrated with the way of working of your team members (msn, skype, email, subversion) etc

Graphics

DX11 Tested Against DX9 With Dirt 2 Demo 201

MojoKid writes "The PC demo for Codemasters' upcoming DirectX 11 racing title, Dirt 2, has just hit the web and is available for download. Dirt 2 is a highly-anticipated racing sim that also happens to feature leading-edge graphic effects. In addition to a DirectX 9 code path, Dirt 2 also utilizes a number of DirectX 11 features, like hardware-tessellated dynamic water, an animated crowd and dynamic cloth effects, in addition to DirectCompute 11-accelerated high-definition ambient occlusion (HADO), full floating-point high dynamic range (HDR) lighting, and full-screen resolution post processing. Performance-wise, DX11 didn't take its toll as much as you'd expect this early on in its adoption cycle." Bit-tech also took a look at the graphical differences, arriving at this conclusion: "You'd need a seriously keen eye and brown paper envelope full of cash from one of the creators of Dirt 2 to notice any real difference between textures in the two versions of DirectX."
Image

Scientists Say a Dirty Child Is a Healthy Child 331

Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California have shown that the more germs a child is exposed to, the better their immune system in later life. Their study found that keeping a child's skin too clean impaired the skin's ability to heal itself. From the article: "'These germs are actually good for us,' said Professor Richard Gallo, who led the research. Common bacterial species, known as staphylococci, which can cause inflammation when under the skin, are 'good bacteria' when on the surface, where they can reduce inflammation."

Comment Re:Good for apple (Score 1) 1078

However, the very expensive treatment a smoker receives in hospital, the effect it has on second hand smokers (possibly also receiving treatment) and the loss of productivity of smokers negates easily any cost savings by moving over to the other side.

Comment Re:Social networking is the new fashion (Score 1) 122

Although I think will right I also think it won't take off in any company. Putting it in a artificial boundary of an organization actually defeats the whole idea of social networking. My social network is not limited to my colleagues so why would I participate on a "platform" which is limiting my social network to those boundaries while I can find all my colleagues and others outside?

And while I am at it, when will we get that in the end social media is not about the functionality it provides but about the possible depth of the relationships?

Microsoft

Windows 7 RCs Shut Down To Force Updates 414

nk497 writes "The release candidate for Microsoft Windows 7 will expire June 2010, and the software giant will let users know they need to pay to upgrade by shutting down the system every two hours for three months. According to Microsoft: "The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you'll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You'll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use.""

Comment Slow & Inefficient: Use mobilephone data (Score 1) 90

Why dont these companies use mobile phone data to update this information? Eg mobile phone companies can track how many phones are at a certain location. The more mobile phones are at a certain location (even speed could be measured) to more likely there are traffic jams.

To do this on your own (nav comapny) is just plain inefficient.
Science

Arctic Ice May Melt By 2040 474

Dekortage writes in with a new study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research suggesting that the North Pole may be clear of ice in summer as soon as 2040, decades earlier than previously thought. From the article: "'As the ice retreats, the ocean transports more heat to the Arctic and the open water absorbs more sunlight, further accelerating the rate of warming and leading to the loss of more ice,' Holland said in the statement. 'This is a positive feedback loop with dramatic implications for the entire Arctic.'"

An Inconvenient Truth 1033

There's a movie teaser line that you may have seen recently, that goes like this: "What if you had to tell someone the most important thing in the world, but you knew they'd never believe you?" The answer is "I'd try." The teaser's actually for another movie, but that's the story that's told in the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth": it starts with a man who, after talking with scientists and senators, can't get anyone to listen to what he thinks is the most important thing in the world. It comes out on DVD today.

JavaScript Malware Open The Door to the Intranet 169

An anonymous reader writes "C|Net is reporting that JavaScript malware is opening the door for hackers to attack internal networks. During the Black Hat Briefings conference Jeremiah Grossman (CTO, WhiteHat Security) '...will be showing off how to get the internal IP address, how to scan internal networks, how to fingerprint and how to enter DSL routers ... As we're attacking the intranet using the browser, we're taking complete control over the browser.' According the the article, the presence of cross-site scripting vulnerabilities (XSS) dramatically increase the possible damage that can be caused. The issue also not which-browser-is-more-secure, as all major browsers are equally at risk. Grossman says 'The users really are at the mercy of the Web sites they visit. Users could turn off JavaScript, which really isn't a solution because so many Web sites rely on it.'"

Put MediaWiki to Work for You 171

NewsForge (Also owned by VA) is running a short writeup on how to put MediaWiki to work for your organization. The writeup includes several addition tools that could be helpful in rounding out the overall package. From the article: " Imagine how useful it would be to have an online knowledge base that can easily be updated created by key people within your organization. That's the promise of a wiki -- a Web application that 'allows users to easily add, remove, or otherwise edit all content, very quickly and easily,' as Wikipedia, perhaps the best-known wiki, puts it. Why not bring the benefits of a wiki to your organization?"

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