aeth0r - Slashdot User

Feed Australian ISP's Spam Solution: Block Gmail Messages (techdirt.com)

From feed by techdirtfeed on Friday April 13, 2007 @02:12AM

You might remember that some time ago, Verizon tried a novel way to cut down on the amount of spam its customers received -- by blocking most foreign email. Though it eventually dropped the policy (after a lawsuit), the company's anti-spam practices still leave a lot to be desired. Meanwhile, over in Australia, incumbent telco Telstra was blocking messages sent from Gmail, claiming Google doesn't do enough to stop spam being sent from the service. Rather than being a fair indictment of Gmail, this simply sounds like an admission that Telstra's simply not up to the task of adequately dealing with spam -- after all, it's hard to see how simply blacklisting messages from such a large email provider could really be seen as an adequate solution. If anything, it will just drive users away from Telstra's service and to Gmail.

Submission + - Quantum secrets of photosynthesis revealed

Submitted by

forgethistory

on Friday April 13, 2007 @12:40AM

forgethistory writes: "Through photosynthesis, green plants and cyanobacteria are able to transfer sunlight energy to molecular reaction centers for conversion into chemical energy with nearly 100-percent efficiency. Speed is the key — the transfer of the solar energy takes place almost instantaneously so little energy is wasted as heat. How photosynthesis achieves this near instantaneous energy transfer is a long-standing mystery that may have finally been solved. http://www.physorg.com/news95605211.html"

Adventuresome or "Hands On" Careers in Tech? 72

Posted by Cliff on Monday February 26, 2007 @07:59PM from the escape-from-the-cube-farm dept.

omission9 asks: "For about 10 years I have worked mostly behind a desk in a cubicle and am starting to feel that this environment is making me miserable. The cheap fluorescent lights, the stuffy air, and the restless feeling I get from just sitting so long are starting to really annoy me. My background is mainly as a programmer but I started my career as a network engineer/network administrator. I am also a member of the US Naval Reserve and am cleared as high as Top Secret. Are there any jobs out there that match this sort of skill set (more or less programmer but generally excellent tech skills) that don't require being stuck behind a desk? Paying relatively well would be a major plus as would something that provides a solid career (20+ years of work). Is there anyone out there, from anywhere other than a cube farm, that may have some advice?"

Submission + - UW scientists unlock major number theory puzzle

Submitted by

Jake's Mom

on Monday February 26, 2007 @07:34PM

Jake's Mom writes: "From the University of Wisconsin — UW scientists unlock major number theory puzzle.

"Mathematicians have finally laid to rest the legendary mystery surrounding an elusive group of numerical expressions known as the "mock theta functions."

Number theorists have struggled to understand the functions ever since the great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan first alluded to them in a letter written on his deathbed, in 1920.

Now, using mathematical techniques that emerged well after Ramanujan's death, two number theorists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have pieced together an explanatory framework that for the first time illustrates what mock theta functions are, and exactly how to derive them."

For more, read the full article."

Comment Random human factor...? (Score 1) 134

by aeth0r on Monday February 12, 2007 @09:15PM (#17991210) Attached to: Why Online Multiplayer Isn't That Important

I personally get bored of AI. No matter how advanced or innovative it is it simply is never as entertaining as real humans. Because humans are both random and adaptable. Even stupid ones :) And it's especially satisfying when you can text/voice chat with the human (stranger or not) as you both laugh/cry/vent over what just transpired in-game.

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