wonglkd - Slashdot User

Build a Cheap Media-Reading PC? 255

Posted by kdawson on Monday October 20, 2008 @03:51AM from the chewing-gum-memory-sticks dept.

tsm_sf writes "A recent Slashdot article got me thinking about dead and dying media. I'd like to build a cheap PC with the goal of being able to read as many old formats as possible. Size and power consumption would be design considerations; priority of media formats would be primary. How would you approach such a project?"

NASA Holding Space Vs. Earth Chess Game 36

Posted by Soulskill on Sunday October 05, 2008 @02:11PM from the do-knights-still-jump-in-zero-g? dept.

A few days ago, NASA and the US Chess Federation teamed up to host a space vs. Earth chess game. Astronaut Greg Chamitoff is playing one side, while the other side's moves will be determined by a public vote. Four potential moves will be selected each weekday by a chess club comprised of students from kindergarten through third grade. Once the selections are made, visitors to the USCF's site can vote for the move they like best. The USCF is maintaining a blog to update the moves and board position, and to provide commentary.

Netbook Return Rates Much Higher For Linux Than Windows 663

Posted by Soulskill on Sunday October 05, 2008 @09:17AM from the old-dogs-new-tricks-etc. dept.

ivoras writes "An interview with MSI's director of US Sales, Andy Tung, contains this interesting snippet: "We have done a lot of studies on the return rates and haven't really talked about it much until now. Our internal research has shown that the return of netbooks is higher than regular notebooks, but the main cause of that is Linux. People would love to pay $299 or $399 but they don't know what they get until they open the box. They start playing around with Linux and start realizing that it's not what they are used to. They don't want to spend time to learn it so they bring it back to the store. The return rate is at least four times higher for Linux netbooks than Windows XP netbooks.'"

Microsoft Treating "Windows-Only" As Open Source 383

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 04, 2008 @12:22PM from the a-rose-v0.092-BETA-by-any-other-name dept.

mjasay writes "The Register is reporting that Microsoft is hosting Windows-only projects on its 'open source project hosting site,' CodePlex. Miguel de Icaza caught and criticized Microsoft for doing this with its Microsoft Extensibility Framework (MEF), licensing it under the Microsoft Limited Permissive License (Ms-LPL), which restricts use of the code to Windows. Microsoft has changed the license for MEF to an OSI-approved license, the Microsoft Public License, but it continues to host a range of other projects under the Ms-LPL. If CodePlex wasn't an 'open source project hosting site,' this wouldn't be a problem. But when Microsoft invokes the 'open source' label, it has a duty to live up to associated expectations and ensure that the code it releases on CodePlex is actually open source. If it doesn't want to do this — if it doesn't want to abide by this most basic principle of open source — then call CodePlex something else and we'll all move on."

Cheaper Car Insurance For Gamers 207

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday October 02, 2008 @10:11AM from the hand-eye-coordination dept.

I know your first reaction is that this story is gonna be an ad, but SpuriousLogic's story is actually about insurers considering giving a discount to elderly gamers. The question is: does gaming improve mental agility and make you a safer driver? And if so, I'll have to add gaming to mowing the lawn for my weekly chores.

Antimatter Molecule Should Boost Laser Power 211

Posted by Zonk on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @05:18AM from the i-hope-that-annihilation-ray-laser-is-for-peaceful-purposes dept.

Laser Lover writes "Molecules made by combining an electron with their anti-particle positron have been created by researchers at the University of California Riverside. The team's long term goal is to use the exotic material to create 'an annihilation gamma ray laser', potentially one million times more powerful than existing lasers. 'An electron can hook up with its antiparticle, the positron, to form a hydrogen-like atom called positronium (Ps). It survives for less than 150 nanoseconds before it is annihilated in a puff of gamma radiation. It was known that two positronium atoms should be able to bind together to form a molecule ... '"

Comment Re:There's a saying... (Score 1) 587

by wonglkd on Monday November 13, 2006 @02:53AM (#16820416) Attached to: Jailtime For Leeching Wireless?

Actually, in Singapore where I live, the act of chewing gum in itself is not illegal; the act of selling gum without it being one of those medicinal types is.

This is also why Singaporeans often buy gum when they drive up to Malaysia and bring it back to chew ;)

Court documents did not describe the circumstances in which Tan was arrested, but The Straits Times understands that a neighbour near his Casuarina Walk home had lodged a complaint against him.

In addition, I think that the fact that a neighbour lodged a complaint against Tan probably meant that Tan was knowingly misusing his neighbour's network, and that the neighbour had most likely at least warned or told Tan not to continue this act, since the hassle of filing a police report makes it something that you don't do everyday. This most likely voids any "implied" invitation by the broadcasting AP.

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