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Comment It really is a daft question (Score 1) 554

by simm1701 (#19911961) Attached to: Too Many Linux Distros Make For Open Source Mess
Most of the smaller distros aim at a specific niche, very technical users, those that want to tweak the system, novice users, embedded systems, wireless hacking the list goes on.

It doesn't change the fact that choice is good, each distro puts improvements it makes back into the whole.

I can't imagine any other case where people would say more choice is bad

Do more LCD TVs on the market make it more likely people will buy a plasma instead?

Do more car models available mean people will look at a motorbike instead?

Choice is a good thing
The Internet

Visualizing the Wikipedia Power Struggle 174

Posted by CmdrTaco from the ban-everything-and-let-wales-sort-em-out dept.
todd450 pointed us to a nifty visualization of Wikipedia and controversial articles in it. The image started with a network of 650,000 articles color coded to indicate activity. The original image is apparently 5' square, but the sample image they have is still pretty neat.
Biotech

Submission + - Scientists create 'plastic' blood

Submitted by simm1701
simm1701 writes: This aricle on the BBC Writes about a new form of artifical blood.

From the article:
Scientists have developed an artificial plastic blood which could act as a substitute in emergencies.

Researchers at Sheffield University said their creation could be a huge advantage in war zones. They say that the artificial blood is light to carry, does not need to be kept cool and can be kept for longer. The new blood is made up of plastic molecules that have an iron atom at their core, like haemoglobin, that can carry oxygen through the body. The scientists said the artificial blood could be cheap to produce and they were looking for extra funding to develop a final prototype that would be suitable for biological testing.

Dr Lance Twyman, of the university's Department of Chemistry, said: "We are very excited about the potential for this product and about the fact that this could save lives. "Many people die from superficial wounds when they are trapped in an accident or are injured on the battlefield and can't get blood before they get to hospital. "This product can be stored a lot more easily than blood, meaning large quantities could be carried easily by ambulances and the armed forces."

A sample of the artificial blood prototype will be on display at the Science Museum in London from 22 May as part of an exhibition about the history of plastics.
The Internet

Submission + - "Social" Computing: Badger's Paws Anyone?

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: When Yahoo!'s Jeremy Zawodny recently asked What the heck is Web 2.0 anyway? he received a set of responses reminiscent of those garnered by The Reg back in 2005, which famously concluded, based on its readers' responses, that Web 2.0 was made up of 12% badger's paws, 6% JavaScript worms, and 26% nothing. Nonetheless, as Social Computing (SoC) widens and deepens its footprint, another Jeremy — Jeremy Geelan — has asked if we are witnessing the death of "Personal" Computing. SoC, Geelan notes, has already become an academic field of study. But isn't Social Computing too maybe just badger's paws?

$90,000 103in HDTV 180

Posted by CmdrTaco from the just-a-little-excessive dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Found this review of Panasonic's 103in plasma. Not only is the screen itself massive, but the price tag comes close to $100,000! I guess if you can afford a room big enough to house it, you can afford the TV. "
User Journal

Journal Journal: Slashdot cookbook: tofu

Journal by eglamkowski

Another tofu soup - Beancurd in Consomme
And despite being a sichuan recipe, it's not spicy and doesn't even use peppers.

1 pound soft tofu
3 egg whites
1 tablespoon softened lard
1.5 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with a little bit of cold water
7 cups clear chicken or vegetable stock
salt to taste
white pepper to taste
1 pound napa (or other leafy green like bok choy or spinach)
United States

Journal Journal: Anti-Missle Defenses for Commercial Jets 594

Journal by Omeger
The AP reports that http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/01/16/airline.anti.missile.ap/index.htmlcommercial jets with anti-missle defense systems. Sen. Barbara Baxter (D-California) is one of the supporters of the system. She, and other members of Congress are hoping to equip all US commercial passenger liners with this system in 20 years, which will cost billions of dollars. Is this good common sense or the costly futur

Feed The Brute in All of Us (wired.com)

From feed by wiredfeed
Back in 1971, a psychology professor created a miniature Abu Ghraib by assigning college students to roles in a mock prison. Now you can watch a chilling documentary about the experiment on YouTube. In Bodyhack.


Technology

Inventor Slims Down Exoskeletal Body Armor 416

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the careful-of-my-clock dept.
The Hamilton Spectator is reporting that inventor Troy Hurtubise, creator of the "bear-protection suit" made famous by taking a hit from a moving vehicle, has slimmed down his design in hopes of landing a lucrative government contract. From the article: "He has spent two years and $15,000 in the lab out back of his house in North Bay, designing and building a practical, lightweight and affordable shell to stave off bullets, explosives, knives and clubs. He calls it the Trojan and describes it as the 'first ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armour.'"
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Building Chips Like Lego

Submitted by
MattSparkes
MattSparkes writes: "It seems that 3D silicon chips, allowing designers to fit more components into a smaller space, could soon be made far easier to create with a little inspiration from a classic children's toy. "Silicon wafers covered with matching patterns of Lego-like teeth and holes could aid the development of 3D electronics, say UK researchers." Crucially, this technique can make use of existing machinery."
Privacy

RFID Personal Firewall 58

Posted by samzenpus from the just-for-you dept.
JanMark writes "Prof. Andrew Tanenbaum and his student Melanie Rieback (who published the RFID virus paper in March) and 3 coauthors have now published a paper on a personal RFID firewall called the RFID Guardian. This device protects its owner from hostile RFID tags and scans in his or her vicinity, while letting friendly ones through. Their work has won the Best Paper award at the USENIX LISA Conference."
Security

Would You Trust RFID-Enabled ATM Cards? 214

Posted by Cliff from the bringing-new-meaning-to-'pick-pocketing' dept.
race_k2 asks: "As a regular Slashdot reader I've followed the development and implementation of RFID devices in many ubiquitous areas such as clothing, passports and even people. Given that our environment is becoming increasingly tagged, often without our knowledge or consent, and can be monitored or hacked by anyone with the proper hardware, skills and motivation, I viewed the recent arrival of two new ATM cards containing RFID chips with skepticism. While this feature may bring the increased convenience of speedy checkouts, it is not something I am completely comfortable using and decided that the safety of my personal data was more important than the ability to buy things quickly. The vulnerable nature of RFID security coupled with recent, though unrelated, reports of a Possible Security Flaw In ATMs make me seriously question whether the marriage of wireless data transfer with personal finance is a wise application of technology." So race's question basically boils down to: How safe and secure are the RFID chips that are being embedded in debit and credit cards? To add another issue on to the fire: Would you trust RFID technology on your cards?

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Everything that can be invented has been invented. -- Charles Duell, Director of U.S. Patent Office, 1899

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