LHC Shut Down By Transformer Malfunction 293

Posted by timothy on Thursday September 18, 2008 @08:53PM from the it's-only-broken-if-you-look dept.

Ortega-Starfire writes "A 30-ton transformer in the Large Hadron Collider malfunctioned, requiring complete replacement on the day the LHC came online. No one at CERN reported any problems, and they only released this data once the Associated Press sent people to investigate rumors of problems. I guess it's hard to just sweep a 30-ton transformer breaking under the rug."

China To Snap 4 Space Ships Into a Station 340

Posted by timothy on Wednesday September 17, 2008 @11:19AM from the legoland-space-edition dept.

hackingbear writes "According to a report by Hong Kong newspaper Mingpao Daily (poor Google translation), quoting the Director of Jiuquan Launch Center, China is set to build a space station by snapping together four spaceships (Shenzhou 7, 8, 9, and 10), to be launched sequentially. Though other reports indicates that taikonauts abroad SZ 7 will return to Earth on September 28, the official said the ship will remain in the orbit to be docked with unmanned Shenzhou 8 and 9. Finally, the manned spaceship Shenzhou 10 will be launched and dock with the other three, completing the space station." A story at Space.com also briefly mentions Shenzhous 8 and 9 (with no mention of number 10), and adds that China has selected its first spacewalker.

Comment Re: No Blue Light special on Blue Ray (Score 1) 392

by wyip on Friday November 02, 2007 @12:51PM (#21213801) Attached to: Kmart Drops Blu-Ray Players

I'm waiting to see which way Criterion goes. If they make a decision, I'd take that as a pretty clear sign that the format war is over.

http://www.criterion.com/asp/faq.asp#FAQ31

San Francisco Free Wi-Fi Plan Fails 117

Posted by kdawson on Thursday August 30, 2007 @01:04PM from the no-money-in-it dept.

Reader r writes with news from San Francisco that Earthlink has backed out of contract negotiations to blanket the city with free Wi-Fi, citing money problems. Seems like only yesterday that Chicago's Wi-Fi deal fell apart for much the same reason. Quoting: "The contract, which was three years in the making, had run into snags with the Board of Supervisors, but ultimately it was undone when Atlanta-based EarthLink announced Tuesday that it no longer believed providing citywide Wi-Fi was economically viable for the company... EarthLink spokesman Jerry Grasso said that EarthLink was willing to work with San Francisco but had decided that it 'was not willing to work in the business model where EarthLink fronts all the money to build, own and operate the network.'"

Captain America Buried in Arlington National Cemetary 314

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday July 03, 2007 @09:06AM from the lotta-weepy-spandex dept.

coondoggie writes "Earlier this year Captain America was slain as the climax to Marvel Comics' Civil War event. The renowned hero will be buried in the next issue of Marvel Comics' 'Fallen Son,' due on July 5. 'Writer Jeph Loeb has been busy working through the stages of grief in his most recent titles, according to an Associated Press story. A book centered on Wolverine dealt with denial; one with the Avengers covered anger; and Spider-Man battled depression. With the story line so relevant to present-day politics, and the timing of the latest issue so precise, it's hard not to think the whole thing is one big slam on the government.'"

Submission + - Microsoft's Silverlight Promises to Disrupt Linux

Submitted by

mattb0611

on Tuesday April 17, 2007 @05:38PM

mattb0611 writes: "Just as it seemed that Linux users (especially 64-bit users) would finally be able to enjoy streaming content with a minimum of hassle, Microsoft's new Silverlight software promises to throw a wrench in the works, as they have yet to suggest any sort of Linux platform support."

Feed Ancient impact may have bowled the Moon over (pheedo.com)

From feed by nsfeed on Tuesday April 17, 2007 @05:32PM

The largest impact crater in the solar system now lies near the Moon's south pole - but new research suggests it started out near the equator

Feed Researchers Develop Technique For Bacteria Crowd Control (sciencedaily.com)

From feed by sdfeed on Tuesday April 17, 2007 @05:13PM

A surprising technique to concentrate, manipulate and separate a wide class of swimming bacteria has been identified by scientists. This device could have enormous applications in biotechnology and biomedical engineering including use in miniaturized medical diagnostic kits and bioanalysis.

Submission + - Google Docs and Spreadsheets Expanding

Submitted by

dhinckley

on Tuesday April 17, 2007 @03:56PM

dhinckley writes: "Google announced today that they will indeed be adding Presentation software to their Docs and Spreadsheets package. With the announcement they revealed that they have purchased Tonic Systems to help them with the new Presentation software and hope to have it ready by sometime this summer. Google's office package is starting to look a bit more comparable to Microsoft Office."

Submission + - Prior art on Verizon patents

Submitted by greenbird on Tuesday April 17, 2007 @03:25PM

greenbird writes: Techdirt has information from Daniel Berninger documenting prior art in the Verizon patents being used to destroy Vonage. So a successful company and possible an entire market may be undermined or destroyed by blatantly invalid patents. From the article:

"In particular, the claims in both patents were anticipated by open standards assembled by the VoIP Forum (H.323) in 1996 and published in January 1997 with the participation of members from Cisco Systems, Microsoft, IBM, Nortel, Intel, Motorola, Lucent, and Vocaltec Communications, among others."

and

"The Eric Voit patent applications reflect, in particular, contributions made by VocalTec Communication to the VoIP Forum during 1996 and formally published at the same time as a separate document."

Feed Did Apple junket inspire "no iPod left behind" initiative? (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed on Wednesday April 11, 2007 @02:52PM

Filed under: Portable Audio

Michigan's much-derided initiative to give iPods to every student in the state just seems to be getting curiouser and curiouser, with word now coming out that some of the lawmakers involved in the proposal went on a junket to California that was paid for at least in part by Apple. As The Detroit Free Press reports, both Representative Matt Gillard and House Speaker Andy Dillon took part in the 2 1/2 day trip earlier this year, where they apparently discussed classroom technology and the educational benefits of iPods, sneaking in some time to discuss wine distribution and business taxes as well. While it's not clear exactly how much of an influence the junket had on their decision, it certainly doesn't seem to have hurt things, with Dillon unveiling the $36-million iPod proposal not long after he returned.

[Via The Inquirer, photo courtesy of Anti iPod]

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Journal Journal: 2006 FBI Cybercrime reports out

Journal by evought on Wednesday April 11, 2007 @02:39PM

The FBI 2006 IC3 Internet Crime Report and The FBI/CSI 2006 Computer Crime and Security Survey (summary, must register for full report) are both out. The FBI/IC3 report deals with computer fraud reported in 2006, while the FBI/CSI survey (Computer Security Institute, not the TV show) is a survey of 616 security professionals in US organizations about attacks sustained

Feed 'Protected' Congo forest is logged regardless (pheedo.com)

From feed by nsfeed on Wednesday April 11, 2007 @02:13PM

The world's second largest forest is being traded away for a few bars of soap and bottles of beer, a Greenpeace report reveals

Feed Massive Coral Death Attributed To Earthquake (sciencedaily.com)

From feed by sdfeed on Wednesday April 11, 2007 @02:12PM

Scientists have reported what is thought to be one of the world's greatest mass death of corals ever recorded as a result of the earthquake in Aceh, Indonesia on March 28, 2005.

Submission + - Google Earth highlights Darfur

Submitted by jc42 on Wednesday April 11, 2007 @01:59PM

jc42 writes: NPR, PCworld, and some 400 other news sources (according to Google News) are reporting on a new Google feature: Google Earth, in cooperation with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum now presents details of the growing disaster in Darfur. They give a virtual tour of the area, with details of events in many villages in the words of local residents. So in addition to their "Do no evil" motto, they apparently now have a policy of exposing evil. Needless to say, the Sudan government didn't exactly cooperate with this project.