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Sun, March 02, 2008 11:23:16 PMFrom:
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[Slashdot] Stories for 2008-03-03
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Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* End Software Patents Project Comes Out Swinging
* Tellme Founder Tells Yahoo Not to Worry Over Microsoft Takeover
* OCZ Prepares Neural Impulse Actuator for Shipping
* Sneak Peek at Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope
* Intel Researchers Consider Ray-Tracing for Mobile Devices
* Government Mistakenly Declares Deaths of Citizens
* Robots Entering Daily Life in Japan
* Large Sheets of Carbon Nanotubes Produced
* MSI Develops a Heat-Driven Cooler
* Mozilla Hitting 'Brick Walls' Getting Firefox on Phones
* Why Is Less Than 99.9% Uptime Acceptable?
* The X300 Could Usher in a New Generation of ThinkPads
* Can Architects Save Libraries from the Internet?
* Akamai Wins Lawsuit to Protect Obvious Patent
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| End Software Patents Project Comes Out Swinging |
| from the amicus-populorum dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Saturday March 01, @21:30 (Patents) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/01/2141203 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Linux.com is reporting that the End Software Patents project is
[0]launching several new initiatives to help drive support for their
cause. Among the new methods are a web site, a report on the state of
patents in the US, and a scholarship contest promising to award $10,000
"for the best paper on the effects of the patentability of software and
business methods under US law." "The project is being launched with
initial funding of a quarter million dollars, supplied primarily by the
Free Software Foundation (FSF). Under the directorship of Ben Klemens, a
long-time advocate of software patent abolition best-known for the book
Math You Can't Use: Patents, Copyright, and Software, the project is
being supported by the FSF, the Public Patent Foundation, and the
Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC). One of ESP's goals is to enlist
support from academics, software developers, legal experts, and business
executives. Its initial supporters show that the project is already well
on its way to building such a coalition."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/01/2141203
Links:
0. http://www.linux.com/feature/128110
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Tellme Founder Tells Yahoo Not to Worry Over Microsoft Takeover |
| from the don't-worry-be-happy dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Sunday March 02, @00:41 (Microsoft) |
| http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/01/2158233 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Tellme founder and previous Yahoo co-founder, Mike McCue hasn't spoken to
past-partner Jerry Yang since the Microsoft takeover bid for Yahoo, but
he wanted to let his friend know that being acquired by Microsoft
[0]isn't such a terrible proposition. "After being assured that Tellme
would be able to retain its Silicon Valley office, identity and quirky
culture, McCue negotiated an $800 million sale to Microsoft and agreed to
stay on as general manager. It's a decision that he says he doesn't
regret 10 months into the marriage. 'We are pretty much doing everything
we were doing before - just a lot more of it,' said McCue, 40. Because of
the vast differences in size, the Tellme deal obviously isn't an
apples-to-apples comparison to Microsoft's proposed $40 billion
acquisition of Yahoo, which contends it's worth even more money despite a
two-year earnings slump."
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/01/2158233
Links:
0. http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/T/TELLME_MICROSOFT?SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-03-01-04-47-38
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| OCZ Prepares Neural Impulse Actuator for Shipping |
| from the by-the-time-you-get-the-hang-of-it-they-might-be-in-mass|
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Sunday March 02, @03:29 (Input Devices|
| http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/0131225 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "Technology review site Overclock3D has
received word that OCZ Technology is putting their [0]neural impulse
actuator (NIA) into mass production for shipping next week. The device,
aimed at gamers, works by reading biopotentials. 'These include
activities of the brain, the autonomous nervous system and muscles ?€? all
of which are captured using embrace sensors located on the NIA's
headband, amplified and sent to the PC via USB 2.0.' Users of the NIA
will be able to control their in-game movements using only the power of
mind. The device is priced at around $600USD"
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/0131225
Links:
0. http://www.overclock3d.net/news.php?/input_devices/ocz_prepares_neural_impulse_actuator_for_shipping_next_week/1
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Sneak Peek at Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope |
| from the eye-on-the-sky dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Sunday March 02, @06:31 (Space) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/0126228 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Ted.com has a great sneak peek at Microsoft's new WorldWide Telescope
project. In this video, presented by Roy Gould and Curtis Wong, you are
able to see a [0]combined view of satellites and telescopes from all over
the p***t and nearby space. The compiled image is rendered using
Microsoft's new high-performance "Visual Experience Engine" that allows
users to pan and zoom across the night sky seamlessly.
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/0126228
Links:
0. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/224
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Intel Researchers Consider Ray-Tracing for Mobile Devices |
| from the smaller-pretty-pictures dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday March 02, @08:27 (Graphics) |
| http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/1259216 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader points out an Intel blog discussing the
[0]feasibility of Ray-Tracing on mobile hardware. The required processing
power is reduced enough by the lower resolution on these devices that
they could realistically run Ray-Traced games. We've discussed the
[1]basics of Ray-Tracing in the past. Quoting: "Moore's Law works in
favor of Ray-Tracing, because it assures us that computers will get
faster - much faster - while monitor resolutions will grow at a much
slower pace. As computational capabilities outgrow computational
requirements, the quality of rendering Ray-Tracing in real time will
improve, and developers will have an opportunity to do more than ever
before. We believe that with Ray-Tracing, developers will have an
opportunity to deliver more content in less time, because when you render
things in a physically correct environment, you can achieve high levels
of quality very quickly, and with an engine that is scalable from the
Ultra-Mobile to the Ultra-Powerful, Ray-Tracing may become a very popular
technology in the upcoming years."
Discuss this story at:
http://mobile.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/1259216
Links:
0. http://blogs.intel.com/research/2008/02/real_time_raytracing_in_your_p.php
1. http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/18/0927230&tid=152
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Government Mistakenly Declares Deaths of Citizens |
| from the totally-nonsensationalist-headline dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday March 02, @09:42 (Government) |
| http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/1344217 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]superbrose writes "According to MSNBC, [1]thousands of U.S. citizens
have wrongfully been declared dead, due to an average of 35 data input
errors per day by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Many other
agencies rely on the data provided by the SSA, such as the IRS. People
who have been wrongfully declared dead face many problems, such as
rejection of tax returns, cancellation of health insurance, and closure
of bank accounts. The article states, 'Input of an erroneous death entry
can lead to benefit termination and result in financial hardship for a
beneficiary.' Apparently it is far easier to declare a person's death
than it is to correct the mistake. It continues, 'Social Security says an
erroneous death record can be removed only when it is presented with
proof that the original record was entered in error. The original error
must be documented, and the deletion must be approved by a supervisor
after "pertinent facts supporting reinstatement" are available in the
system.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/1344217
Links:
0. http://www.superbrose.co.uk/
1. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23378093/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Robots Entering Daily Life in Japan |
| from the come-with-me-if-you-want-some-sushi dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday March 02, @10:55 (Robotics) |
| http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/156229 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
USA Today is running a story about the emergence of [0]robots in common
aspects of life in Japan. Many simple yet social jobs are being filled by
robots of increasing sophistication. The article suggests that Japanese
culture is more open to such interaction than the majority of other
cultures. Quoting: "For Japan, the robotics revolution is an imperative.
With more than a fifth of the population 65 or older, the country is
banking on robots to replenish the workforce and care for the elderly.
The government estimates the industry could surge from about $5.2 billion
in 2006 to $26 billion in 2010 and nearly $70 billion by 2025. Besides
financial and technological power, the robot wave is favored by the
Japanese mind-set as well. Robots have long been portrayed as friendly
helpers in Japanese popular culture, a far cry from the often rebellious
and violent machines that often inhabit Western science fiction."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/156229
Links:
0. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/robotics/2008-03-01-robots_N.htm
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Large Sheets of Carbon Nanotubes Produced |
| from the series-of-nanotubes dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday March 02, @12:05 (Science) |
| http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/1611202 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
StCredZero brings news that scientists have developed [0]sheets of
nanotubes that measure up to three feet by six feet, and they promise
"slabs 100 square feet in area as soon as this summer." The developers
see uses for the sheets in electromagnetic shields and airp***
construction, and according to the Next Big Future blog, the sheets could
also impact the [1]development of solar sails. "The sheets, which the
company can produce on its single machine at a rate of one per day, are
composed of a series of nanotubes each about a millimeter long,
overlapping each other randomly to form a thin mat. The tensile strength
of the mat ranges from 200 to 500 megapascals--a measure of how tough it
is to break. A sheet of aluminum of equivalent thickness, for comparison,
has a strength of 500 megapascals. If Nanocomp takes further steps to
align the nanotubes, the strength jumps to 1,200 megapascals."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/1611202
Links:
0. http://www.xconomy.com/2008/02/22/new-hampshire-startup-makes-worlds-largest-sheets-of-carbon-nanotubes/
1. http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/02/large-sheets-of-carbon-nanotube.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| MSI Develops a Heat-Driven Cooler |
| from the it's-not-easy-being-green dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Sunday March 02, @13:18 (Power) |
| http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/1638226 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
V!NCENT tips us to a write-up about an addition to MSI's Ecolution
motherboard which [0]harvests heat from the chipset to power a fan. The
device is based on a [1]Stirling engine. The heat from the chipset
expands a trapped gas, which pushes against a piston to generate power.
The article contains a YouTube video of how the device works. According
to MSI, [2]the device has 70% efficiency.
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/1638226
Links:
0. http://www.tweaktown.com/news/9051/msi_employees_stirling_engine_theory/index.html
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine
2. http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=newsdesc&news_no=591
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Mozilla Hitting 'Brick Walls' Getting Firefox on Phones |
| from the watch-dino-hit-brick-wall dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday March 02, @14:19 (Software) |
| http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/1731248 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]meteorit writes "Mozilla has been [1]working on a mobile version of
Firefox since last year, and is now looking to repeat the success of
Firefox on the PC. Although development seems not to have been completed,
it is known that informal negotiations have already started with mobile
network operators. Firefox Mobile is scheduled to be launched by the end
of the year and the inaugural version will be compatible with the Linux
and Windows Mobile operating systems. Work is already underway to
determine [2]what the browser's UI will look like. In the meantime those
negotiations seem to be hitting 'brick walls', as cellphone operators
[3]resist the intrusion of the open web onto their platforms."
Discuss this story at:
http://mobile.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/1731248
Links:
0. http://www.machinesthatgobing.com/
1. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/10/10/1845249&tid=154
2. http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/01/0630200&tid=154
3. http://blogs.computerworld.com/firefox_open_access_and_the_brick_wall_of_mobile_operators
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Why Is Less Than 99.9% Uptime Acceptable? |
| from the gets-boring-to-stand-there dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday March 02, @15:21 (Communications) |
| http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/1847213 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Ian Lamont writes "Telcos, ISPs, mobile phone companies and other
communication service providers are known for their complex pricing plans
and [1]creative attempts to give less for more. But Larry Borsato asks
why we as customers are willing to put up with [2]anything less than
99.999% uptime? That's the gold standard, and one that we are used to
thanks to regulated telephone service. When it comes to mobile phone
service, cable TV, Internet access, service interruptions are the norm ?€?
and everyone seems willing to grin and bear it: 'We're so used cable and
satellite television reception problems that we don't even notice them
anymore. We know that many of our emails never reach their destination.
Mobile phone companies compare who has the fewest dropped calls (after
decades of mobile phones, why do we even still have dropped calls?) And
the ubiquitous BlackBerry, which is a mission-critical device for
millions, has experienced mass outages several times this month. All of
these services are unregulated, which means there are no demands on
reliability, other than what the marketplace demands.' So here's the
question for you: Why does the marketplace demand so little when it comes
to these services?"
Discuss this story at:
http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/1847213
Links:
0. http://www.thestandard.com/people/i-lamont550036
1. http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/05/1322213&tid=95
2. http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/02/28/communications-why-do-we-accept-less-99-999
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The X300 Could Usher in a New Generation of ThinkPads |
| from the now-i-want-one dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday March 02, @16:25 (Portables) |
| http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/194216 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "The ThinkPad has long been a favorite of IT
departments everywhere and is the preferred notebook for legions of
no-nonsense users. As times have progressed the ThinkPad has improved but
the X300 marks the most significant change in its design since the
butterfly keyboard. While we've already [0]discussed a few leaked specs,
official news of big changes like LED-backlighting (the first on a
ThinkPad) and a widescreen display accompany a number of important but
smaller design tweaks. Current thinking is that these changes indicate
that the X300 is [1]the first step in a series of larger changes to the
ThinkPad. The notebook has already received [2]a number of favorable
reviews, but the other changes - the ones that will ultimately trickle
down to the rest of the ThinkPad line - are perhaps more interesting than
this specific $2500+ notebook."
Discuss this story at:
http://mobile.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/194216
Links:
0. http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/20/1738253&tid=184
1. http://www.geek.com/thinkpad-x300-tweaks-updates-and-improvements/
2. http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/lenovo-thinkpad-x300/4505-3121_7-32864938.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Can Architects Save Libraries from the Internet? |
| from the it-would-be-kind-of-awesome-to-live-in-a-library dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday March 02, @17:13 (Books) |
| http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/2129226 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]theodp writes "Slate has an interesting photo essay exploring the
question of [1]how to build a public library in the age of Google,
Wikipedia, and Kindle. The grand old reading rooms and stacks of past
civic monuments are giving way to a new library-as-urban-hangout concept,
as evidenced by [2]Seattle's Starbucks-meets-mega-bookstore central
library and [3]Salt Lake City's shop-lined education mall. Without some
dramatic changes, [4]The Extinction Timeline predicts libraries will
R.I.P. in 2019."
Discuss this story at:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/2129226
Links:
0. mailto:theodp@aol.com
1. http://www.slate.com/id/2184927/slideshow/2184934/
2. http://www.spl.org/images/slideshow/NewCentralSlideshow.asp
3. http://www.slcpl.lib.ut.us/locations.jsp?parent_id=8&page_id=20
4. http://www.rossdawsonblog.com/weblog/archives/2007/10/extinction_time.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Akamai Wins Lawsuit to Protect Obvious Patent |
| from the keeping-things-locked-down dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Sunday March 02, @18:25 (Patents) |
| http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/02/1831240 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
brandaman writes "Akamai, the largest content delivery network (CDN) with
about 70% market share, recently [0]won its lawsuit against the against
second largest CDN - Limelight Networks. The suit asserted that Limelight
was infringing on Akamai's [1] patent which, upon examination, seems to
be somewhat on the obvious side. 'In accordance with the invention,
however, a base HTML document portion of a Web page is served from the
Content Provider's site while one or more embedded objects for the page
are served from the hosting servers, preferably, those hosting servers
near the client machine. By serving the base HTML document from the
Content Provider's site, the Content Provider maintains control over the
content.' Limelight is obviously not pleased, and this is not [2]the
first lawsuit [3]Akamai has won regarding its patents."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/03/02/1831240
Links:
0. http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQF09329022008-1.htm
1. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6,108,703.PN.&OS=PN/6,108,703&RS=PN/6,108,703
2. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2002/0214akaspeed.html
3. http://www.akamai.com/html/about/press/releases/2003/press_110703.html
Copyright 1997-2006 OSTG. All rights reserved.
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