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Comment Re:A new world? (Score 2) 684

by turthalion (#50573887) Attached to: Let's Not Go To Mars
My point was more about the narrow-minded thinking of staying where we are--all exploration and leaving of your comfort zone is dangerous with great potential for rewards. I was not attempting to say that the New World is just like Mars. Thanks for your "idiot" comment though, classy opening salvo for a friendly discussion.

Comment A new world? (Score 1) 684

by turthalion (#50573545) Attached to: Let's Not Go To Mars
"No, Columbus, let's just stay here in Europe instead with the plague and the overcrowding, the racial tensions and all the other problems plaguing us. Because that will be good for the world."

Comment "Umbrela" is unveiling some stuff at CES... (Score 1) 189

by turthalion (#48778185) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Options For Cheap Home Automation?
This is all new, I post it only because I just read about it the other day in the local paper. The emphasis with this stuff is on inexpensive, but it's from a guy with a good track record at other local tech companies.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.c...
Here's a snippet:
Smart homes from smart guy
High prices inspired entrepreneur's firm
By: Martin Cash
One of Winnipeg's newest startups can thank sticker shock for its existence.
Salman Qureshi was building a home three years ago in St. Norbert and asked about adding some smart-home features to the project. The answer startled him. And then inspired him.
"I wasn't thinking about anything fancy, just some networking so I wouldn't have to worry about wireless issues," said Qureshi, 44, the former head of product development and manufacturing at Monteris Medical.
"I got a quote for a few thousand dollars. It was unbelievable (how expensive it was)."
It was at that point the seed of the idea was planted in the back of his mind for an all-in-one smart-home device.
Science

Tractor Beams Are Getting Closer (Sort of) 70

Posted by CmdrTaco from the thats-no-moon dept.
xt writes "A recently submitted paper in arXiv claims that by using Bessel beams it is theoretically possible to pull particles towards the light source, opening up new avenues for optical micromanipulation (the direction of the force is size dependent, so it could be used for particle sorting). There is also a simpler article translated in English (original article in Greek)."
Input Devices

Eye-controlled Laptop Presented At CeBit 43

Posted by CmdrTaco from the stop-looking-at-that dept.
siliconbits writes "Microsoft is rumoured to be one of their partners; maybe they'll built it in the next Kinect. 'Computer manufacturer Lenovo has partnered with Swedish startup Tobii Technology to launch the world's first eye-controlled laptop, which will be on display as from today at CeBIT in Hannover.'"
Communications

60 Years of Hamming Codes 66

Posted by timothy from the hamming-it-up dept.
swandives writes "In 1950 Bell Labs researcher Richard W. Hamming made a discovery that would lay an important foundation for the modern computing and communications industries — coming up with a method for performing computing operations on a large scale without errors. Hamming wrote about how self-checking circuits help eliminate errors in telephone central offices. He speculated the 'special codes' he proposed — which became known as Hamming codes — would only need to be applied to systems requiring unattended operation for long periods or 'extremely large and tightly integrated' systems where a single failure would incapacitate the entire installation. Hamming code was the first discovery in an immense field called coding theory. This article looks back on the history of Hamming codes, their applications, and includes interviews with Todd Moon, Professor of electrical and computer engineering at Utah State University and David MacKay, Professor of natural philosophy in the department of Physics at the University of Cambridge and chief scientific adviser to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change. An interesting read, about a little-known but fundamental element of information theory."
Space

Soviet Shuttle Buran Found In a Junk Heap 226

Posted by CmdrTaco from the wipe-away-a-single-tear dept.
gruenz noted the somewhat sad photo slideshow showing what appears to be the Soviet Space Shuttle Buran, lying in a Moscow suburb junk heap. Of course I don't read Russian, so it might also be a carnival ride rusting.
Businesses

Online Shopping May Actually Increase Pollution 410

Posted by Soulskill from the it's-not-easy-being-green dept.
destinyland writes "British researchers have reached a startling conclusion. Unless online shoppers order 25 items at a time, they're polluting more than if they shopped at their local mall. An environmental benefit only occurs 'if online shopping replaces 3.5 traditional shopping trips, or if 25 orders are delivered at the same time, or, if the distance traveled to where the purchase is made is more than 50 kilometers. Shopping online does not offer net environmental benefits unless these criteria are met.' The study was conducted by Newcastle University's Institution of Engineering and Technology, which blames the environmental impact of transportation, warning that 'policy makers must do their homework to ensure that rebound effects do not negate the positive benefits of their policy initiatives.' But one technology site notes the study was conducted in Britain, which could have an impact on its conclusions."

Comment So it will cost nothing, right? (Score 1) 352

by turthalion (#33586836) Attached to: Promised Microsoft Tablet 'No Thicker Than Sheet of Glass'

So if they hold true to what Bill Gates said (http://www.esato.com/archive/t.php/t-54833,1.html) back when they were just a software company, this device should cost us nothing.

The other thing is Microsoft's last announcement of something like this (the tablet PC, wasn't it?), turned out to be something you couldn't buy. It was a reference platform and a set of specifications that others could build to.

So I'm not holding my breath that we'll be able to buy one of these.
Businesses

Why Microsoft Is Being Nicer To Open Source 231

Posted by timothy from the in-some-markets-at-least dept.
itwbennett writes "Is open source's growth in emerging markets what is driving Microsoft to say 'we love open source' with an attempt at a straight face? 'The emerging markets (like the BRIC nations) are a huge potential market for Microsoft,' says Brian Proffitt. 'And I believe Redmond is wisely not taking the FUD route on open source software in those markets. Why? Because open source already has some strong roots in the BRIC nations (heck, in Brazil, open source is the whole darn tree), and any attack on open source would be seen as a foreign company attacking local software projects. If Microsoft attacked open source publicly in this environment, a lot of potential customers and developers in those countries could react in a protectionist manner and start giving Microsoft the stink-eye.'"

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