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Comment Which Google is doing this? (Score 1) 295

by tkdog (#37761926) Attached to: How Google's Autonomous Vehicles Work
The "totally locked down search with a solid product" Google? Or the "randomly starts projects, fiddles with them for awhile then leaves them to mold or randomly kills them" Google? Not trying to flame, honest, but this company has some seriously spotty reliability issues when you take their whole portfolio into consideration. We're Google, we do search. And maps. And email. And social networks (not really). And....driverless cars?

Comment Re:Yup, and it's hit or miss (Score 1) 697

by tkdog (#35901934) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Are You Streaming-Only For Home Entertainment?

I'm now cable-free, which has its advantages and disadvantages. Whether it's right for you comes down to one question: What do you want to watch?

For most broadcast networks, streaming is great. I use Boxee on my Mac, which aggregates a lot of shows from a lot of sources, just not Hulu. Combine that with the Hulu desktop app, and voila. Most of the shows I watch.

But not all. HBO, for instance, is (last time I checked) still aggressively married to the subscription-cable model. You can get their content on their website, if you are an HBO subscriber through the traditional means. I would have no problem paying for HBO, but I don't know of any cable provider that offers JUST HBO. So I have to pay for a package of nonsense like the Food Network and whatever's become of the History Channel. I want to give HBO my money, but they don't want to take it. Showtime is the same way.

I don't know what FX's current attitude towards streaming is, but I'll look into it before Rescue Me starts back up again.

But, for specific shows you can buy them from iTunes (or probably other places) in many cases. Probably cheaper than a cable subscription that you're not really using.

Comment OK - I know this headline sounds bad (Score 1) 138

by tkdog (#35079926) Attached to: Pub Patrons Down Under Subject To Biometric Datamining
Let's remember this is *Australia* so some points to consider 1) It is a penal colony. If these people weren't guilty, their ancestors wouldn't have been sent there; 2) Australia happens to be the richest sources of vital biometrics available - we have to mine it somewhere people; 3) Have you ever been to a bar with an Australian?

Comment Re:Corporate sponsorship for elections (Score 1) 97

by tkdog (#34198228) Attached to: Australian State Govt. To Fund iPads For Doctors
Well, any doctor that wants to use enterprise software probably does have an IT team to fall back on. This actually seems pretty straightforward and usable. They (doctors) are going to need to have a system with a traceable security path so having applications with signed certs is needed. Otherwise, it looks like a fairly simple method of distributing software across many "workstations".
Input Devices

Ergonomic Mechanical-Switch Keyboard? 310

Posted by Soulskill from the rolling-face-across-keyboard-reduces-risk-of-carpal-tunnel dept.
dotancohen writes "As wear and tear on my hands builds up, I find that I need an ergonomic (split) keyboard. It seems the vast majority of available ergonomic models are either crippled with dome-switches or have unusual designs, which place many critical keys under the thumbs (I cannot use my right thumb). The one normal-appearing contender, the Northgate Ergonomic Evolution, seems to be noisier than even the Model M — in fact, it echoes! Programmers and hobbyists geeky enough to be here today: what do you type on?"

Submission + - Amazon to allow book lending on the Kindle (goodgearguide.com.au)

Submitted by
angry tapir
angry tapir writes: "One of the oldest customs of book lovers and libraries — lending out favorite titles to friends and patrons — is finally getting recognized in the electronic age, at least in one electronic book reader: Amazon has announced that it plans to allow users of its Kindle book reader to "lend" electronic books to other Kindle users, based on the publisher's discretion. A book can be lent only for up to 14 days. A single book can only be lent once, and the lender cannot read the book while it is loaned out."
Space

Submission + - Potential "Avatar" Gas Giant Exoplanet Discovered (hanno-rein.de)

Submitted by
Luminary Crush
Luminary Crush writes: "A gas giant of approximately 1.5 Mj (Jupiter Mass) was discovered on October 22nd, 2010 around the binary star system HD 176051B. It's not known with certainty which component of the binary system the planet is in orbit around at this point as both stars in HD 176051B are relatively Sol-sized (1.07 and .71 solar masses). Named 176051B b, this new exoplanet orbits within the star system's habitable zone, and if mapped onto our solar system with relative distance from our Sun it would place the large planet between Earth and Mars.
While it's unlikely that such a gas giant could host life as we know it (though it's hypothesized), the location of the big planet opens up the intriguing idea of the realization of some of science fiction's famously habitable moons Pandora and Endor. Look no further than our own solar system to see moons with the potential ingredients for life — just add heat."
IBM

Submission + - IBM says software helps predict natural disasters (networkworld.com)

Submitted by coondoggie
coondoggie writes: IBM says it has patented a natural disaster warning system, which uses analytic techniques that accurately and precisely conducts post-event analysis of seismic events, such as earthquakes, as well as provide early warnings for tsunamis, which can follow earthquakes. The invention also provides the ability to rapidly measure and analyze the damage zone of an earthquake to help prioritize emergency response needed following an earthquake.
Medicine

Submission + - Researchers Find 70-Year-Olds Are Getting Smarter 1

Submitted by
Pickens
Pickens writes: "AlphaGalileo reports that researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden have found in a forty year study of 2,000 seniors that today's 70-year-olds do far better in intelligence tests than their predecessors making it more difficult to detect dementia in its early stages. "Using the test results, we've tried to identify people who are at risk of developing dementia," says Dr. Simona Sacuiu. "While this worked well for the group of 70-year-olds born in 1901-02, the same tests didn't offer any clues about who will develop dementia in the later generation of 70-year-olds born in 1930." The study started in 1971 with an examination of 70-year-olds who were then regularly followed over a period of 30 years. The 70-year-olds born in 1930 and examined in 2000 performed better in the intelligence tests than their predecessors born in 1901-02 and examined in 1971. "The improvement can partly be explained by better pre- and neonatal care, better nutrition, higher quality of education, better treatment of high blood pressure and other vascular diseases, and not least the higher intellectual requirements of today's society, where access to advanced technology, television and the Internet has become part of everyday life," says Sacuiu."

Comment Re:Next step? (Score 1) 391

by tkdog (#33849164) Attached to: Word Processors — One Writer's Further Retreat
Yes. I do technical writing using both Framemaker and, gasp, Word. With either of them, or most any other writing program, you can push the distracting bits out of the way. Granted, they use a lot more resources than vi. But Word in full screen mode, with spell check off if that's your thing, is pretty much a blank sheet of paper. Well, one does have to wrestle the auto-magic self correcting stuff under control, and I don't like the new ribbon. Oh, and of course if I it wasn't for the foul overlords in IT at work I'd use Open Office. :) I do have to a plug Framemaker though. For large documents the ability to smoothly break everything out by chapters and then apply all your formatting is wonderful.

Comment Re:Breaking news! (Score 1) 657

by tkdog (#33461280) Attached to: Flash On Android Is 'Shockingly Bad'

Flash on any platform is shockingly bad.

I tend to agree, but then every once in awhile I run into a site where it works pretty darn well. So, not being a programmer, is it Flash or poor execution of Flash? I'm actually looking for a real answer.....

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