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DRM Free Music is Everywhere 369

Posted by CmdrTaco from the do-you-hear-what-i-hear dept.
guisar writes "I continue to endure stories on Slashdot and elsewhere complaining about EMI, itunes and other organizations maybe (or maybe not) releasing material in DRM free format. Well- here's some news there's LOTS of material out there. So instead of complaining, download what you like. There are plenty of artists releasing their material in FLAC and other DRM free format. Just look around. Most artists are doing their part by releasing their music in the hopes they can gain enough exposure to earn a living at what they love. If you're complaining about major labels not releasing material, it's probably too late and you are part of the problem." I think this point is often unfairly ignored: the existence of DRM is a fantastic chance for new distribution to reveal new bands. Unfortunately this music is difficult to find because there is simply so much of it.
XBox (Games)

Submission + - Slate: Casual Play on 360 Live Arcade

Submitted by
twoallbeefpatties
twoallbeefpatties writes: "Columnist Chris Suellentrop writes an article for Slate describing how his desire for casual gaming is fulfilled more by the 360 than the Wii due to the presence of simpler games available over Live Arcade, saying that the availability of oldschool Nintendo games on the Wii network fulfills his nostalgic hardcore gaming side, but when he really wants to just relax, he'd rather be trying to top his Live high score on Root Beer Tapper."
NASA

Golf-Ball Sized Hail Damages Shuttle 118

Posted by CmdrTaco from the don't-make-me-stop-this-thing dept.
MattSparkes writes "The Shuttles March launch has been delayed to late April after golf-ball sized hail caused 7000 pits and divots in the foam that shields the fuel tank. NASA say it's the worst damage of its kind that they have ever seen, but hail is not a new problem for the agency. In 1982, a hailstorm damaged the sensitive heat shield tiles on the Columbia's wings. The damaged tiles then absorbed about 540 kilograms of rain. Once in space, the orbiter faced the Sun to allow the tiles to dry out."
User Journal

Journal SPAM: US is unfriendly to visitors: survey 20

Journal by Jeremiah Cornelius

November 21, 2006 - 10:29AM

The United States is the world's most unfriendly country for international travellers, a survey suggests.

The global survey showed the US was ranked "the worst" because of rude immigration officials and long delays in processing visas.
Businesses

Submission + - How to Get Rid of the Cubicle?

Submitted by
wikinerd
wikinerd writes: "How can we get rid of the widely hated cubicle and its ugly cousin, the stressing open-plan office? Some business owners and managers are too old, and having grown up in a different environment, cannot understand the advantages of teleworking, or even of private offices with Aerons. There are people in high positions who seem to think that stuffing a bunch of engineers into a noisy landscaped office is the best way to organise a company. It is not, and we all know it, but can we prove it? How can we communicate to them the fact that teleworking is good not only for the engineers, but also for the organisations?"

Active Noise-Canceling Headsets In Server Rooms? 141

Posted by Cliff from the earplugs-on-steroids dept.
An anonymous reader asks: "Recently I co-located our computer room to a temporary hosting facility. It's a big shop, with everything you could want, along with quite a high dB of background noise. I've no desire to wear those silly little yellow earplugs for several hours when I'm on site there, and standard headsets are such non-IT apparel. Given that technology is the cure to many of todays evils I was wondering if any people had experimented with active noise canceling headphones and has something to say about them. Does anyone use any active noise canceling headsets in a computer room or data facility, and if so how good are they?"

Choosing Your Next Programming Job — Perl Or .NET? 426

Posted by Cliff from the which-is-the-better-choice-for-a-developer's-career dept.
Trebonius asks: "I have just received two job offers in the same day. The first was for a job coding in Perl on Linux/UNIX platforms, for a small but very cool company around 120 miles from where I live. They play Half-Life together in the off-hours and the people I've talked to there seem very happy with the job and work environment there. I'd be making smallish web systems, and I'd basically have total control over the projects on which I work. They offered me 20% more than I make now. The second offer I received is for a huge nationwide company opening an IT office a couple blocks from where I currently work. They're an all-Microsoft shop — VB, C#, .NET, SQL200*, etc. I'd be a very small cog in a very large machine. They offered me 66% more than I'm making now. Benefits are essentially identical between the companies, so that's not a big factor. I'll also give the Perl company a chance to make me another offer, but what should the threshold be? How do you folks balance the desire for a fun job with the need to pay off debt?"

Tarantula Venom and Chili Peppers Share Receptor 58

Posted by samzenpus from the it-tastes-like-burning dept.
FiReaNGeL writes "Scientists have discovered that venom from a West Indian tarantula has been shown to cause pain by exciting the same nerve cells in mice that sense high temperatures and the hot, spicy ingredient in chili peppers. The findings demonstrate that some plants and animals have evolved the same molecular strategy to deter predators — triggering pain by activating a specific receptor on sensory nerves. The research provides new tools to understand how these pain- and heat-sensing neurons work, and to help develop drugs that ease persistent pain."
The Courts

Submission + - Bar performer arrested due to copyright violation

Submitted by Edis Krad
Edis Krad writes: A Japanese elderly, bar manager and performer has been arrested for playing copyrighted songs in his harmonica. From the article:
Investigators accuse Toyoda of illegally performing 33 songs such as the Beatles' songs "Here, There and Everywhere" and "Yesterday," whose copyrights are managed by the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers. He allegedly performed the songs on the harmonica with a female pianist at the bar he operated between August and September this year.
That is for you guys who complain that the RIAA/MPAA are being irrational with all their legal mumbo jumbo. And for those kids who are learning chords in their guitars, be ready to pay fees for performing "Smoke On The Water" while practicing.

Feed Rumsfeld Hangs It Up (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
After six years at the Pentagon, oft-reviled Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, resigns in the face of the Democrat's midterm victory and controversy over the Iraq war. He will be replaced by former CIA Director Robert Gates.


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