Comment Scott Gu (Score 1) 211
That's it.
Comment Marketing Needed: Nuclear Waste is Self-Cleaning (Score 1) 415
I think the problem is that a little marketing is needed, in a good (is that possible?) way. Say for a chemical spill, and you have the best case scenario in that it is self contained, not leaking into the ground water, etc. That spill will be as toxic now, as next week, as next month, as next year, as one hundred years from now. If it's leaking allover the place, well then you're just spreading the toxins around, hopefully (as in the best case) it will dilute enough in the long run that everyone get's a little bit of cancer, etc, rather than having community cancer clusters, animal and baby deformities, sterility, etc. In contrast with with nuclear waste, the problem solves and cleans itself, becoming exponentially _less_ dangerous each half-life.
On a side note, it's perhaps time to answer the age old question: "If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?". Cameco (CCJ) is the biggest uranium producer in the world, and it's stock is just coming off it's 52 week lows so it maybe a good time to get in if this 'nuclear revival' is taking place, or perhaps not, who knows. :)
On a side note, it's perhaps time to answer the age old question: "If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?". Cameco (CCJ) is the biggest uranium producer in the world, and it's stock is just coming off it's 52 week lows so it maybe a good time to get in if this 'nuclear revival' is taking place, or perhaps not, who knows.
Nuclear Power Could See a Revival 415
shmG writes "As the US moves to reduce dependence on oil, the nuclear industry is looking to expand, with new designs making their way through the regulatory process. No less than three new configurations for nuclear power are being considered for licensing by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The first of them could be generating power in Georgia by 2016."
Sid Meier and the 48-Hour Game 58
MMBK writes "Sid Meier is possibly the most influential game designer ever, having developed the Civilization series, among others. This video documentary looks at his past while he travels to the University of Michigan for the 48-hour game design competition, which was hosted by his son."
Comment Economies of scale, likely (Score 1) 727
Likely, there is an 'economy-of-scale' element at play here. If they have to develop custom hardware for such a device, then it can be a huge challenge for them to cover their costs.
A surprising 18% of Americans have some for of hearing disability:
http://disabilityhistoryinamerica.wetpaint.com/page/Disability+Statistics+In+America
You have to look at the addressable market size for these companies; if there are other countries internationally who do not have a large percentage of their population who use hearing devices.
Compare this with netbooks where almost any person is a candidate for a new machine. That's a much more large addressable market for a computer manufacturer.
That being said, I'm with you, I wish these devices could be far more affordable.
Music Industry Conflicted On Guitar Hero, Rock Band 140
Wired is running a story about the friction between the music industry and music-based games, such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Despite the fact that these games are very successful and are drawing a great deal of attention to the music represented in the games, the industry is not pleased with the licensing arrangements that allow the games to use their songs. Quoting: "Putting the brakes on music gaming would hurt everyone in the ailing music industry. Instead of demanding greater profit participation, Warner should be angling for creative participation. Thirty years ago, Hollywood took a similar threat — the VCR — and turned it into a new source of revenue, building customer loyalty in the process. The music industry could use new games the same way — but its track record suggests that it won't."
Internet Use Can Be Good For the Brain 114
ddelmonte writes "This Washington Post article examines a test conducted at UCLA.
The test had two groups, young people who used the Internet, and older people who had never been online. Both groups were asked to do Internet searches and book reading tasks while their brain activity was monitored.
'We found that in reading the book task, the visual cortex — the part of the brain that controls reading and language — was activated,' Small said.
'In doing the Internet search task, there was much greater activity, but only in the Internet-savvy group.'
He said it appears that people who are familiar with the Internet can engage in a much deeper level of brain activity.
'There is something about Internet searching where we can gauge it to a level that we find challenging,' Small said.
In the aging brain, atrophy and reduced cell activity can take a toll on cognitive function. Activities that keep the brain engaged can preserve brain health and thinking ability.
Small thinks learning to do Internet searches may be one of those activities."
IBM Threatens To Leave ISO Over OOXML Brouhaha 200
barnackle writes "In addition to threatening to leave certain standards organizations over the OOXML shenanigans, IBM created new guidelines for its own participation in those organizations in an attempt to pressure the ISO and ECMA to be more fair in their approval procedures."
Comment Re:Great new filesystems (Score 4, Informative) 251
Consider my comment some of that.
I've had no problems with 5T+ datasets, and we even get about a 10-20% performance boost out of it compared to UFS.
snapshotting & all those neat features work totally as expected.
Only minor issue I see is that a zfs send is single threaded, so you cant parralellize it over multiple processes easily.
I've had no problems with 5T+ datasets, and we even get about a 10-20% performance boost out of it compared to UFS.
snapshotting & all those neat features work totally as expected.
Only minor issue I see is that a zfs send is single threaded, so you cant parralellize it over multiple processes easily.
Help Make Firefox On Mac Suck Less 375
bluephone writes "Colin Barrett, one of the new Mac geniuses, and an Adium developer, has posted an entry on his blog offering an open call to all Mac users of Firefox asking them, 'What sucks about Firefox on the Mac?' He says he already knows about and is trying to solve such things as: 'Native Form Widgets (currently scheduled for Firefox 3), Keychain Integration, Firefox should have a Unified toolbar (not completely hopeless, it turns out), Performance...', but he wants to hear what else Mac users want from Firefox. So please, if you're a user of Macs and the interwebs, then RTFA, unclog your tubes, and send him your ideas."
Intel Opens Its Front-Side Bus 185
vivin writes "The Inquirer is reporting that Intel has opened up its FSB. Intel did this during IDF 07. What this means is that you can plug non-Intel things into the Intel CPU socket. The article says 'This shows that Intel is willing to take AMD seriously as a competitive threat, and is prepared to act upon it. In addition to this breaking one of the most sacred taboos at Intel, it also hints that engineering now has the upper hand over bureaucracy.'"
Comment Re:TiVo wins of course... (Score 1) 337
"TIVO: Sorry, I've deleted that show"
It can get even worse than that though.
'Sorry, I've deleted that clip' of $president-leader saying something wrong/foolish/a lie. Now they just have to make sure all hardware complies with their 'accidental' delete requests and they'll be set.
It can get even worse than that though.
'Sorry, I've deleted that clip' of $president-leader saying something wrong/foolish/a lie. Now they just have to make sure all hardware complies with their 'accidental' delete requests and they'll be set.
India Rejects One Laptop per Child Program 374
ex-geek writes "Seems like Negroponte's One Laptop per Child program has been
rejected by the Ministry of Human Resource Development of India. Among the objections are concerns about the effect of extensive laptop use on children's health. Better uses for the monies, which would be required to roll out the OLPC project, are also named. Most insightful however is the observation that not one industrial country has so far implemented a similar program for its children, which casts doubt as to what the pedagogical use for notebooks in class really is."
PlayStation 2 Outselling Xbox 360 in U.S. 98
Aviran Mordo writes to mention an Ars Technica article about the sales struggle between the PS2 and Xbox 360. Since the launch, the PS2 has managed to maintain the lead. April was the first month Microsoft's new console eeked out Sony's old one, possibly as a result of the ramp-up in production. From the article: "I should note that we caution against putting too much weight on these sales estimates, especially in a comparative sense. The PS2 and the Xbox 360 are at opposite ends of their 'console lifecycles,' and the two are priced quite far apart as well (e.g., $129 vs. $299, PS2, Xbox 360 Core respectively). We are impressed, however, by the PS2's continually strong sales, even as many gamers turn their eyes towards the next-generation. These sales will help keep Sony strong and stable, even in the face of a disappointing PlayStation 3 launch, should fate take that turn." These sales may be bolstered as the year moves on by the releases of God of War 2, Final Fantasy XII, and Okami, all of which are for the PS2.
U.S. House Rejects Net Neutrality 598
tygerstripes writes "A recent vote in the U.S. House of Representatives has led to a rejection of the principle of Net Neutrality from the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act (Cope Act), in spite of massive lobbying from prominent businesses. According to the BBC, the bill '...aims to make it easier for telecoms firms to offer video services around America by replacing 30,000 local franchise boards with a national system overseen by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)'. However, according to House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, 'telecommunications and cable companies will be able to create toll lanes on the information superhighway... This strikes at the heart of the free and equal nature of the internet.'"
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Disraeli was pretty close: actually, there are Lies, Damn lies, Statistics, Benchmarks, and Delivery dates.
