Follow Slashdot blog updates by subscribing to our blog RSS feed

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror

Submission Summary: 0 pending, 56 declined, 19 accepted (75 total, 25.33% accepted)

×

Submission + - Scientist Finds Rare Jurasic Era Bug in Arkansas, Kills It and Puts It On a Pin (cbsnews.com)

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: To be fair, he said he didn't know what it was so just collected it and took it home, and then figured it out later. My thought that I added to the title was because of this quote in the story (and which tickled my cynicism in humanity):

"It could have been 100 years since it was even in this area — and it's been years since it's been spotted anywhere near it..."

Obligatory descriptive quote:

A 2012 trip to a Fayetteville, Arkansas, Walmart to pick up some milk turned out to be one for the history books. A giant bug that stopped a scientist in his tracks as he walked into the store and he ended up taking home turned out to be a rare Jurassic-era flying insect.


Submission + - Elon Musk Says World Needs More Oil and Gas as Bridge to Renewables

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: In a speech today that is likely making some EV proponents' heads spin and implode, Musk made the argument that we need more oil and gas as we transition to alternative energy solutions. He said this at the ONS Energy Conference being held in Norway this week

The world needs more oil and gas now to deal with an energy shortage while pushing to transition to renewable supplies, Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said. “At this time, we actually need more oil and gas, not less,” Musk said Monday during an energy conference in Norway, adding that he’s not someone to “demonize” the fossil fuels. At the same time, “we must have a clear path to a sustainable energy future.”

Submission + - Trudeau and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to sign hydrogen deal in Newfoundland (ctvnews.ca)

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: The German government on Friday issued a statement confirming the agreement will be signed Aug. 23 in Stephenville, where a Newfoundland-based company plans to build a zero-emission plant that will use wind energy to produce [green] hydrogen and amonia for export. World Energy GH2, has said the first phase of the proposal calls for building up 164 onshore wind turbines to power a hydrogen production facility at the deep-sea port at Stephenville. Long-term plans call for tripling the size of the project.

Submission + - SPAM: Canadian Government Wants to Introduce Internet Censorship

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: The Trudeau government wants to change the laws around internet content so that anything any Canadian posts online is subject to review by the Canadian Radio and Telecommunication Commission (CRTC — a.k.a. the Canadian Roadblock To Communication). The Liberal Party of Canada under Trudeau has become progressively more left wing, so it isn't surprising that the other major leftist party is backing this, the NDP (New Democratic Party). The Liberals currently have a minority government, and require the help of other parties in order to pass laws. Under this new law, Canadians who say things like [content redacted by the CRTC] can be subject to very large fines or jail. They would also expect social media sites to enforce this or be subject to fines up to 10 million dollars per infraction.
Link to Original Source

Submission + - Sony Won't Back Down on $1,400.00 in Charges Made to Grandmothers's Credit Card (ctvnews.ca) 5

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: A grandmother let her 13 year old grandson use her credit card to buy added content for one of his games for which she thought would be a $15 charge. After the account opened up because of the credit card on it, he started downloading other things not realizing they were adding substantial charges to her credit card. She asked Sony to refund the charges, it's not like they can't disable the added content if they wanted, but they told her basically too bad so sad.

Submission + - Bethesda Moves to Block Sale of Used Games (polygon.com) 3

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: Bethesda just pulled a cease and desist on an Amazon Marketplace sale of one of their games. This, despite the fact that resale of used games is legal in the USA. Bethesda is saying that because it isn't being offered with a warranty, it is not exactly the same as first sale so doesn't meet this criterion. Read the article.

Submission + - Godwin Interviewed

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: CBC Radio in Canada has just posted an interview with Mike Godwin, the originator of the famous (infamous?) Godwin's Law. Unbelievably it comes after a week where politicians started flinging the H word at each other. If you haven't been on Slashdot pretty much ever, say lived under a rock for the past 15 or 20 years, you will understand the interest to this site. :) So as a matter of that interest, enjoy.

Submission + - Alleged Satellite Photograph Says Ukraine Shootdown of MH17

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: A group calling itself the Russian Union of Engineers has published a photograph, picked up by many news organizations (just picked one, Google it yourself to find more), claiming to show that MH17 was shot down by a Ukrainian fighter plane. The interesting thing is the very quick ad hoc crowd sourced debunking of the photograph using tools from Google maps, online photos/data, to their own domain knowledge backed up with the previous information. It would be interesting to understand who the "Russian Union of Engineers" are and why they in particular were chosen to release this information.

Submission + - Newly Discovered Asteroid Passing Within Geostationary Orbit Sunday 1

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: A newly found asteroid the size of a house will give earth a close flyby this weekend. It will pass just below satellites in geostationary orbit, and above New Zealand around 14:18 EDT / 18:18 GMT / 06:18 NZST this coming Sunday (Monday morning in NZ).

"Asteroid 2014 RC was initially discovered on the night of August 31 by the Catalina Sky Survey near Tucson, Arizona, and independently detected the next night by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope, located on the summit of Haleakal on Maui, Hawaii," NASA officials said in a statement."

Submission + - Private Data On iOS Devices, Not So Private (reuters.com)

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: Personal data including text messages, contact lists and photos can be extracted from iPhones through previously unpublicized techniques by Apple Inc employees, the company acknowledged this week.

The same techniques to circumvent backup encryption could be used by law enforcement or others with access to the "trusted" computers to which the devices have been connected, according to the security expert who prompted Apple's admission.

Users are not notified that the services are running and cannot disable them, Zdziarski said. There is no way for iPhone users to know what computers have previously been granted trusted status via the backup process or block future connections.

Submission + - Elementary School Bans Students From Touching Each Other (ctvnews.ca)

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: From the 'Think Of The Children' Department: OK, so this isn't a tech article. But it is about something that is so messed up I just had to post it. A school in British Columbia (the province that now even California can call flakey) has just banned elementary school students from touching each other during recess. You know, one of those times for play and more importantly learning how to socialize (which itself includes touching). CTV News reports: "A ban on touching during recess at a B.C. elementary school has shocked parents, who call the new no-touch policy "ridiculous." For most kids, recess is a chance to run around and goof-off with their friends, but a new ban on touching at a school in Aldergrove could put a damper on playtime. School administrators at Coghlan Fundamental Elementary School in B.C. have banned kindergarten students from touching each other during recess."

Submission + - Gore Site Operator Arrested for Posting Video of Murder (montrealgazette.com)

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes:

The owner and operator of a well-known “real gore” website is charged with corrupting morals for posting a video allegedly depicting the murder of student Jun Lin by Luka Magnotta.

Magnotta, 30, is currently in custody charged with first-degree murder in the death of the 33-year-old Chinese international student, who was killed in Montreal in May 2012. The victim’s severed limbs were then mailed to political parties and elementary schools, and his torso found inside a discarded suitcase.

A news interview with the detective in charge of the case, airing on CTV as I type this, says he believes the web site hosts a lot of racist content and unimaginable violence. You should note that Canada has less free speech than in America (we have 'hate crime laws'), but there will likely be some arguments in this vein. The charge against the operator is quite rare and no-one so far remembers it ever being used before.

Submission + - Ask Slashdot - Node.js vs JEE/C/C++/.NET in the Enterprise 1

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: I'm working at a small to medium sized company that creates software for mobile devices, but came from a 'large enterprise' world before. I see node.js being used increasingly in smaller companies (including ours) or in web/mobile related software. Meanwhile we see languages like Java/JEE, C/C++, and .NET continue to be used for medium to large enterprise corporate software. Compared to the status quo in the enterprise (JEE/C/C++/.NET ... and yes, maybe even COBOL) maybe Slashdotters can chime in on how they see Node.js in this role. I'm thinking of things like complexity of business logic (dependencies, workflows, linear processes, etc), transaction support (for processes in general and database support), messaging services, etc. etc. etc. Also what is the state of Node.js in terms of paradigms like application containers, where much of the 'plumbing' is already set up for your (one of the main benefits of JEE application containers). But there is also the question of maintainability, deployment, and ongoing operations. What say you, Slashdot?
Canada

Submission + - Island's Historic Hotsprings Dry Up After Earthquake

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: The National Post newspaper in Canada reports: "Days after the remote B.C. archipelago of Haida Gwaii emerged virtually unscathed from Canada’s second-strongest earthquake, locals discovered that the shifting earth had mysteriously switched off a centuries-old hot spring considered sacred by the Haida. ... A Parks Canada inspection party set out to investigate and stepped ashore to find that the island’s three main hot spring pools, which once bubbled with water as warm as 77 Celsius, were bone dry. “Not even a small puddle,” said Mr. Gladstone. Surrounding rocks, once warm to the touch, were cold." The earthquake measured 7.7 on the Richter scale.

Submission + - No Security At Russian Rocket Plant 3

Submitted by theshowmecanuck
theshowmecanuck writes: Reuters reports that there is little or no security at one of the main factories in Russia responsible for military and Soyuz rocket manufacture. Blogger Lana Sator was able to walk right into the empty (off hours) facility through huge gaps in the fences that no-one bothered to repair, and there was no security to stop them aside from some dogs that didn't bother them either. In fact Lana even has one picture of herself posing next to an apparently non-functional security camera, another of her sitting on what looks like to be possibly a partially assembled rocket motor (someone who knows better can fill us in), and has about 100 photos of the escapade all told on her blog about this (it's in Russian... which I don't speak... any translators out there?). Russian officials are said to be deeply concerned. I wonder if this has any bearing on why Russian rockets haven't been making it into space successfully, or whether it and the launch failures are all part of some general industrial malaise that is taking place.

Slashdot Top Deals

Avoid strange women and temporary variables.

Close