Comment Re:9 out of 10 (Score 1) 215
of new programs are just remakes or spin offs of the same old crap.
My friend and dear brother, are you just now realizing that all art is derivative ?
Scientist Seeks Investment For "Alcohol Substitute" 328
First time accepted submitter MalachiK writes "A senior academic and former UK government drugs adviser reckons that pretty soon it'll be possible to enjoy the fun of being drunk without having to suffer the negative effects of alcohol. In a proposal reminiscent of Star Trek's synthehol, Professor David Nut has identified a number of molecules that he claims offer experiences that are subjectively indistinguishable from alcohol intoxication. Apparently a major advantage of using these more selectively psychoactive drugs is that the effects can be quickly reversed. It's not all good news though as Professor Nut seems to think that the drinks industry is using its financial and political clout to stop this sort of research being undertaken."
Comment Re:We already have driverless cars (Score 1) 648
Any municipality that allows cellphone use while driving is, essentially, endorsing driverless cars.
You're not seriously suggesting that driverless cars will have the same reaction ability as someone talking on a phone while driving, are you? If so, um, no. If not, what's your point?
You're not seriously suggesting that driverless cars will have the same reaction ability as someone talking on a phone while driving, are you? If so, um, no. If not, what's your point?
Heartland Institute Learning To Troll On Billboards 735
Fluffeh writes "The Heartland Institute is a lovely group of folks who take issue with mainstream climate science. They organize an annual get-together of like minded folk and talk trash about environmental change. 'The people who still believe in man-made global warming are mostly on the radical fringe of society.' (That's from a press release!). Recently, when they were tricked by a researcher into sending him a lot of internal documents, they decided to go on the offensive and also get some more media attention. After all, any story is a good story, right? Launching a billboard with the Unabomber on it with the slogan 'I still believe in Global Warming. Do You?' was just the start, with the institute planning Fidel Castro, Charles Manson and possibly even Osama Bin Laden. That's when even their stout backers threatened to walk away, backing started to dry up — and it seems that common sense started to prevail — but only so far as to stop them from making their message too public."
Why Desktop Linux Hasn't Taken Off 1264
alphadogg writes "It's free, easier to use than ever, IT staffers know it and love it, and it has fewer viruses and Trojans than Windows. So, why hasn't Linux on the desktop taken off? When it comes to desktop Linux, the cost savings turn out to be problematic, there are management issues, and compatibility remains an issue. 'We get a lot more questions about switching to Macs than switching to Linux at this point, even though Macs are more expensive,' one Gartner analyst says."
NVIDIA Unveils Dual-GPU Powered GeForce GTX 690 93
MojoKid writes "Today at the GeForce LAN taking place in Shanghai, NVIDIA's CEO Jen Hsun Huang unveiled the company's upcoming dual-GPU powered, flagship graphics card, the GeForce GTX 690. The GeForce GTX 690 will feature a pair of fully-functional GK104 "Kepler" GPUs. If you recall, the GK104 is the chip powering the GeForce GTX 680, which debuted just last month. On the upcoming GeForce GTX 690, each of the GK104 GPUs will also be paired to its own 2GB of memory (4GB total) via a 256-bit interface, resulting in what is essentially GeForce GTX 680 SLI on a single card. The GPUs on the GTX 690 will be linked to each other via a PCI Express 3.0 switch from PLX, with a full 16 lanes of electrical connectivity between each GPU and the PEG slot. Previous dual-GPU powered cards from NVIDIA relied on the company's own NF200, but that chip lacks support for PCI Express 3.0, so NVIDIA opted for a third party solution this time around."
Comment Re:Inadvertently... (Score 1) 312
At that point, you want just to have MDI = every image as own window and tools in own window.
no, at that point YOU want to have all those as different windows on your screen(s). Not everyone uses virtual desktops or has access to multiple monitors, and even if they did not everyone shares the same mental model. Lots of people see no need whatsoever to have a tool palette be a top-level window (from the window manager's point of view) because they view their WM's window switcher as an APPLICATION switcher, and why the hell would they want to alt-tab to a tool palette but keep hidden the image windows it applies to?
I have nothing against MDI. It obviously works fine for some people. But guess what? SDI works fine for some people too, so why shouldn't the GIMP devs give their users the ability to choose between the two modes? They are, and that's great, and I applaud them for it. What's not great is people like you condescendingly asking if other folks have never heard of multiple monitors or thinking that the stupid unwashed masses would see the light if only they'd use the proper window manager.
no, at that point YOU want to have all those as different windows on your screen(s). Not everyone uses virtual desktops or has access to multiple monitors, and even if they did not everyone shares the same mental model. Lots of people see no need whatsoever to have a tool palette be a top-level window (from the window manager's point of view) because they view their WM's window switcher as an APPLICATION switcher, and why the hell would they want to alt-tab to a tool palette but keep hidden the image windows it applies to?
I have nothing against MDI. It obviously works fine for some people. But guess what? SDI works fine for some people too, so why shouldn't the GIMP devs give their users the ability to choose between the two modes? They are, and that's great, and I applaud them for it. What's not great is people like you condescendingly asking if other folks have never heard of multiple monitors or thinking that the stupid unwashed masses would see the light if only they'd use the proper window manager.
Egypt Banned Porn, But How Much of the Internet Is That? 316
pigrabbitbear writes "The recent web pornography ban in Egypt has raised questions about the evils of censorship (and porn) and the changing tide of popular attitude of Egyptians. It perhaps reflects the emerging influence of more conservative Muslim elements in government, a shift. Apparently the same ban was passed 3 years ago but was not enforced because their filtering system was not effective. But porn bans are nothing new. Other countries with strict censorship laws like China and Saudi Arabia have successfully implemented bans that restrict pornography along with anything else they deem inappropriate for public viewing. In 2010 the UK discussed a ban that would require users to specifically request access to pornographic material from their internet service providers. And porn-banning rhetoric has even stomped through the U.S. news media over the last few months, thanks to GOP also-ran Rick Santorum claiming President Obama is failing to enforce pornography laws. (There have also been some awesomely ridiculous pornography PSAs.)"
Video Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to SlashdotTV! (Video) 203
Startup Wants To Peek Through Your Home's Wired Cameras 186
alphadogg writes "The little cameras in your home are multiplying. There are the ones you bought, perhaps your SLR or digital camera, but also those that just kind of show up in your current phone, your old phone, your laptop, your game console, and soon your TV and set-top box. Varun Arora, founder of startup GotoCamera in Singapore, wants you to turn them all on and let his company's algorithms analyze what they show, then sell the results as marketing data, in a sort of visual version of what Google and other firms do with search results and free email services."
Schmidt: Google Once Considered Issuing Currency 189
itwbennett writes "In his keynote speech at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said the company once 'had various proposals to have [its] own currency [it was] going to call Google Bucks.' The idea was to implement a 'peer-to-peer money' system, but it was squelched by legal issues."
France's Bold Drunk-Driving Legislation - Every Car To Carry a Breathalyzer 706
Zothecula writes "It is a great irony that alcohol should be legislated into becoming man's most commonly used recreational drug, as it's the only drug that causes more harm to others than to the user. This is most evident on our roads, where even in first world countries with low road tolls, alcohol still accounts for between a third and a half of road deaths. Now France is to attempt a novel solution — from July of this year, it will become law in France to have a working breathalyzer in every car on the road, with enforcement beginning November 1."
Russia Set To Extend Life of Nuclear Reactors Past Engineered Life Span 215
Harperdog writes "Yikes! Russia is extending the lifetime of nuclear power reactors beyond their engineered life span of 30 years, including the nation's oldest reactors: first-generation VVERs and RBMKs, the Chernobyl-type reactors. This goes against existing Russian law, because the projects have not undergone environmental assessments. 'Many of the country's experts and non-governmental organizations maintain that this decision is economically unjustifiable and environmentally dangerous — to say nothing of illegal. The Russian nuclear industry, however, argues that lifetime extensions are justified because the original estimate of a 30-year life span was conservative; the plants have been significantly upgraded; and extensions cost significantly less than constructing new reactors.'"
NVIDIA Launches GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448-Core GPU 127
MojoKid writes "NVIDIA has just launched the GeForce GTX 560 Ti with 448 cores. Though perhaps a bit unimaginative in terms of branding, the new GeForce GTX 560 Ti with 448 cores is outfitted with the same GF110 GPU powering high-end GeForce GTX 570 and GTX 580 cards, but with a couple of its streaming multiprocessors fused off. The card has 448 CUDA cores arranged in 14 SMs, with 56 texture units and 40 ROPs. Reference specifications call for a 732MHz core clock with 1464MHz CUDA cores. 1.2GB of GDDR5 memory is linked to the GPU via a 320-bit bus and the memory is clocked at an effective 3800MHz data rate. Performance-wise, the new GPU proved to be about 10 to 15 percent faster than the original GeForce GTX 560 Ti and a few percentage points slower than the GeForce GTX 570."
Toronto School Bans Hard Balls 319
In an attempt to finally "think of the children," Earl Beatty Public school has prohibited students from playing with balls after a "few serious incidents" in which students and staff were hit or almost hit by balls. From the article: "The happy days of kicking a ball around at recess ended Monday after students took home a letter advising that henceforth, no child could bring a soccer ball, football, volleyball or even tennis ball to the junior and senior school in the area of Coxwell and Danforth Aves." I assume all lunches will soon be taken via feeding tube to minimize choking hazards.
