stonegold - Slashdot User

Submission + - US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died (theguardian.com)

Submitted by clovis on Saturday February 13, 2016 @06:31PM

clovis writes: US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has died in his sleep while on a hunting trip near Marfa Texas.
http://www.theguardian.com/law....
Justice Scalia was an Constitutional originalist and textualist.
He did not believe that the Constitution was a living document to be interpreted with the evolving standards of modern times.

I, for one, am very interested to see what happens next.

Submission + - City of Austin Locked in Regulations Battle With Uber, Lyft

Submitted by AcidPenguin9873 on Saturday February 13, 2016 @04:09PM

AcidPenguin9873 writes: This past fall, the Austin City Council drafted regulations for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft requiring drivers to submit to fingerprint-based background checks, similar to other taxi services in Austin. Uber and Lyft threatened to leave the Austin market if the fingerprint-based background checks were passed. After lots of heated public comments and debate from both sides, the fingerprint requirements were passed by the council in December. Shortly thereafter, a PAC called Ridesharing Works for Austin was formed, and, with financial backing from Uber and Lyft, delivered a petition with over 25,000 valid signatures to the City that seeks to remove the fingerprint requirement. According to Austin city code, since the petition had enough valid signatures, the City Council was required to either adopt the language in the petition and remove the fingerprint requirement, or hold a referendum election on the issue. This past Thursday, the council declined to adopt the petition, so Austin voters will go to the polls in May to decide how Uber and Lyft should be regulated.

This case is quite interesting and has a lot of questions. Uber and Lyft have said that their electronic tracking makes them safer than traditional taxi services, and so they shouldn't be subject to the same regulations. However, some citizens and council members don't like corporations strong-arming local government and effectively writing their own regulations. On the other, one of the council members who introduced the fingerprinting requirement had received campaign donations from at least one local taxi company, leading some to question her motives for introducing the stricter regulations for Uber and Lyft, and even going so far as to start a separate petition campaign to recall that council member. What does Slashdot think Austin should do?

Submission + - Researchers improve efficiency of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by almost 12% (dispatchtribunal.com)

Submitted by hypnosec on Friday February 12, 2016 @06:07PM

hypnosec writes: A new study has put forward claims that by working on and improving the energy management system (EMS) that decides when the switch from ‘all-electric’ mode to ‘hybrid’ mode in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, efficiency of these vehicles can be improved by as much as 12 per cent. Researchers have shown in their lab tests that blended discharge strategies wherein power from the battery is used throughout the trip, have proven to be more efficient at minimizing fuel consumption and emissions.

Adobe Download Manager Installing Software Without Consent 98

Posted by timothy on Friday February 19, 2010 @06:31PM from the plus-one-invitation dept.

"Not all is worth cheering about as Adobe turns 20," writes reader adeelarshad82, who excerpts from a story at PC Magazine's Security Watch: "Researcher Aviv Raff has found a problem in ADM (Adobe Download Manager) and the method through which it is delivered from adobe.com. The net effect of the problem is that a user can be tricked into downloading and installing software using ADM without actual consent. Tonight Adobe acknowledged the report and said they were working on the issue with Raff and NOS Microsystems, the company that wrote ADM."

Zombie Pigs First, Hibernating Soldiers Next 193

Posted by samzenpus on Monday December 07, 2009 @07:06PM from the fattening-up-on-brains dept.

ColdWetDog writes "Wired is running a story on DARPA's effort to stave off battlefield casualties by turning injured soldiers into zombies by injecting them with a cocktail of one chemical or another (details to be announced). From the article, 'Dr. Fossum predicts that each soldier will carry a syringe into combat zones or remote areas, and medic teams will be equipped with several. A single injection will minimize metabolic needs, de-animating injured troops by shutting down brain and heart function. Once treatment can be carried out, they'll be "re-animated" and — hopefully — as good as new.' If it doesn't pan out we can at least get zombie bacon and spam."

Best Wi-Fi Portable Browsing Device? 426

Posted by timothy on Sunday March 08, 2009 @08:05PM from the deep-in-the-stacks-desire-mounts dept.

foxxo writes "I'm a library worker, so I get lots of questions about our collection when I'm out in the stacks. I'd love to be able to access our online catalog and give patrons more comprehensive guidance without directing them to the reference desk. What options are available for a portable device with Wi-Fi connectivity, full-featured Web browsing, and (most importantly) no cellphone-style activation and service fees? Size is important, too; I need something I can carry in my pocket, not a micro-notebook with full keyboard. (And I am a library worker, so low cost is key!)" One device that sounds interesting in this category is the GiiNii Movit (not yet released, but shown off at CES). What can you recommend that's out there now?

Comment Re:Low Tech Approach Is Better (Score 1) 613

by stonegold on Tuesday June 05, 2007 @04:51PM (#19403095) Attached to: Pimping Out a New House

Since you're asking about this subject in a high-tech manner you probaly want to pursue the high tech approach, but it makes since to consider the basics first. Don't forget to include in your list of basics putting in some interesting artwork. You could check out inexpensive emerging artists. For example http://philgoldsteinart.com/

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