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Comment Out of those 9%... (Score 1) 378

by sosaited (#35491148) Attached to: IE9 Released, Media Has Opinions

if you are one of the 9% of Slashdot readers who actually uses IE

I have a feeling at least 5% of these must be behind some proxy servers which mask the User-agent string with IE one.

Ok I admit that the feeling is not speculation, but more like hope.

Comment Human Brain doesn't excel at all either. (Score 1) 143

by sosaited (#35451234) Attached to: New Hardware Needed For Future Computational Brain

requires four megawatts, and still has trouble with vision, motion, and 'common sense

I have known many people who have ~100billion or so neurons that consume 20 watts of power, but they also have plenty of trouble with "Common sense". Actually they might be less sensible in some areas than a 100Kb C code running on a puny little Pentium 4.

Comment What about other OSS projects? (Score 1) 329

by sosaited (#35191344) Attached to: Nokia Gives Some Hints On the Future of Qt
I wonder what will happen to other open source projects that are mainly funded my Nokia. One example that comes to mind is (meta) tracker. AFAIK, most of its development is sponsored by Nokia as part of their Meego platform. and considering Microsoft's relation with OSS, I won't be surprised if Meego was the first to be axed.
Television

President Obama On Mythbusters Tonight 416

Posted by samzenpus from the buster-for-president dept.
elrous0 writes "As was previously reported, President Obama mentioned back in October that he would be appearing on an upcoming episode of the popular Discovery Channel series Mythbusters. Well, the episode is finally airing tonight. In the episode, the President helps Jamie and Adam test the 'Archimedes Death Ray' myth for a 3rd time (the myth having been 'busted' the first time, and that bust surviving a challenge from MIT students the second time out). Though the President only appears in a couple of brief scripted segments, the actual test (using 500 schoolkids doubling as mirror-bearing soldiers) is purportedly pretty interesting."
Movies

Actor Leslie Nielsen Dies at 84 167

Posted by CmdrTaco from the definitely-will-be-missed dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Famous actor Leslie Nielsen died of pneumonia at a Florida hospital Sunday evening. Leslie was renowned for his comedic roles in dozens of films and TV shows, such as The Naked Gun and Police Squad. His characteristic style and humor was always enjoyable, and he will be sorely missed." Of course you might also remember him from The Forbidden Planet, which is classic sci-fi by any measure.
Medicine

Aging Reversed In Mice 554

Posted by samzenpus from the pressing-the-reset-button dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "The Guardian reports that scientists claim to be a step closer to reversing the aging process after experimental treatment developed by researchers at Harvard Medical School turned weak and feeble old mice into healthy animals by regenerating their aged bodies. 'What we saw in these animals was not a slowing down or stabilization of the aging process. We saw a dramatic reversal – and that was unexpected,' says Ronald DePinho, who led the study. The Harvard group focused on a process called telomere shortening where each time a cell divides, the telomeres are snipped shorter, until eventually they stop working and the cell dies or goes into a suspended state called 'senescence.' Researchers bred genetically manipulated mice that lacked an enzyme called telomerase that stops telomeres getting shorter causing the mice to age prematurely and suffer ailments, including a poor sense of smell, smaller brain size, infertility and damaged intestines and spleens. When the mice were given injections to reactivate the enzyme, it repaired the damaged tissues and reversed the signs of aging raising hope among scientists that it may be possible to achieve a similar feat in humans – or at least to slow down the aging process."
Transportation

The Sensible Body Scan Alternative 354

Posted by Soulskill from the take-the-bus dept.
An anonymous reader sends in a CNN article that looks at airport security from more reasonable point of view, suggesting that looking for every last micro-gram of potentially explosive material is a waste of time, since very small quantities of explosives are unlikely to significantly damage a plane. The author also recommends incorporating parts of the Israeli method of securing airplanes — look for the bomber, not the tools. Quoting: "Clearly everything should be done to prevent explosives getting on board an aircraft in quantities sufficient to cause structural failure and bring the plane down. But is it worth chasing lesser quantities that would result in zero or minimal damage? The enhanced pat-down that some find so offensive is designed to search for these small amounts. It often ends with a swab being taken to test for explosive residues. Technology does have a role to play, but imaging is not the solution. Operator fatigue sets in after short periods of time staring at computer images. That's why there are reports that contraband items have been smuggled through X-ray units used to scan carry-on bags. The aim should be to detect high explosive in quantities that are sufficient to cause significant damage. We don't need a machine that takes pictures of the human body. It makes more sense to develop a detector that clearly discriminates between high explosives and human tissue or water."

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