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Earth

Submission + - Pacific Vortex to become habitable island? 4

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: The Pacific Ocean trash dump is twice the size of Texas, or the size of Spain combined with France. The Pacific Vortex as it is sometimes called, is made up of four million tons of Plastic. Now there's a proposal to turn this dump into "Recycled Island". The Netherlands Architecture Fund has provided the grant money for the project, and the WHIM architecture firm is conducting the research and design of Recycled Island. One of the three major aims of the project is to clean up the floating trash by recycling it on site. Two, the project would create new land for sustainable habitation complete with its own food sources and energy sources. Lastly, Recycled Island is to be a sea worthy island. While at the moment the project is still more or less a pipe dream, it's great that someone is trying to work out what to do with one of humanity's most bizarre environmental slip ups.
Security

Submission + - Symantec: it's dangerous to rely on free antivirus

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: Clearly the rise of free antivirus is starting to worry Symantec, with a top Symantec executive warning consumers not to rely on free antivirus software (including Microsoft's Microsoft Security Essentials). "If you are only relying on free antivirus to offer you protection in this modern age, you are not getting the protection you need to be able to stay clean and have a reasonable chance of avoiding identity theft," said David Hall, Symantec's Product Manager Asia-Pacific Consumer Products and Solutions.
Displays

Submission + - New HDMI 1.4 spec set to confuse

Submitted by
thefickler
thefickler writes: "HDMI Licensing LLC, the company that determines the specifications of the HDMI standard, is set to release the HDMI 1.4 spec on 30 June. Unfortunately it could very well be the most confusing thing to ever happen to setting up a home theater. When the new cables are released, you're going to need to read the packaging very carefully because effectively there are now going to be five different versions of HDMI to choose from — HDMI Ethernet Channel, Audio Return Channel, 3D Over HDMI, 4K x2K Resolution Support and a new Automotive HDMI. At least we can't complain about consumer choice."
The Internet

Submission + - Journalist's career wiped by The New York Times

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: Reading about Peter Wayner and his problems with book piracy, reminded me of another writer Thomas Crampton, who has the opposite problem — a lot of his work has been wiped from the Internet. Thomas Crampton has worked for the New York Times (NYT) and the International Herald Tribune (IHT) for about a decade, but when the websites of both newspapers were merged two months, a lot of Crampton's work disappeared into the ether — much to the Crampton's horror. Links to the old stories are simply hitting generic pages. Crampton wrote a letter to Arthur Sulzberger, the publisher of the New York Times, pleading for his work to be put back online. But here's the hilarious part, according to one analysis, the NYT is throwing away money — at least $100,000 every month the links are broken.
Portables

Submission + - Lenovo on the future of the netbook

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: Lenovo's Worldwide Competitive Analyst, Matt Kohut, recently spoke about his vision of the future of netbooks, which involves Windows 7, bigger screens, built-in 3G, touch integration, and lower prices. Linux fans will be disappointed to hear that Kohut thinks Windows 7 will dominate future generations of netbooks because it offers a better, more familiar solution, with the benefits of touch. We'll see...

Comment Take the money and don't look back (Score 1) 412

by thefickler (#27886037) Attached to: What To Do When a Megacorp Wants To Buy You?
It really depends on the amount of money being offered. I was once offered $500,000 for a business that was barely turning over that much. My business partner was reluctant, and the deal fell apart. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have jumped at the offer. Offers of money don't come easily. If the money is big enough to pay a big chunk of a home, jump at it, and then start planning your next venture.
Power

Submission + - MIT building batteries using viruses

Submitted by
thefickler
thefickler writes: "Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are now using viruses to build cathodes for Lithium Ion batteries. Three years ago these same researchers found they could build an anode using viruses. Creating both the anode and cathode using viruses will make batteries easy to build. This nanoscale battery technology will allow batteries to be lightweight and to "take the shape of their container" rather than creating containers for the batteries, which could open up new possibilities for car and electronics manufacturers."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft opposes cloud computing interoperability 1

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: Microsoft is opposing an industry plan, the Open Cloud Manifesto, to promote cloud computing interoperability. Officially Microsoft says the plan is unnecessarily secretive and that cloud computing is in too an early stage of development, but there are allegations that Microsoft feels threatened by the plan because it could boost Linux-based systems. The goal of the group behind the manifesto, the Cloud Computing Interoperability Forum (CCIF), is to minimise the barriers between different technologies used in cloud computing. And this is where the problem seems to lie, with the group stating that "whenever possible the CCIF will emphasise the use of open, patent-free and/or vendor-neutral technical solutions." Some speculate that Microsoft is actually worried that this will allow open source systems, such as Linux, to flourish, at the expense of Microsoft technology.
Earth

Submission + - Lower air pollution equals longer life

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: A new study by the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) has found a strong link between air quality and life expectancy. The researchers looked at air pollution, deaths and census data for 51 metropolitan areas between 1978 and 2001, and what they found was a direct correlation between improving air quality and extending life expectancy. People lived about 2.72 years longer over that time span and at least 15 percent of that increased life expectancy was from a decrease in air pollution.
Earth

Submission + - Shell ditches wind, solar and hydro

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: Shell has decided to end its investment in wind, solar and hydro projects because the company does not believe they are financially sound investments. Instead Shell is going to focus on carbon sequestration technologies and biofuels. Not surpisingly, and perhaps unfairly, bloggers have been quick to savage the company: "Between Shell's decisions to stop its clean energy investments and to increase its debt load to pay for dividends, the company is solidifying an image of corporate greed over corporate responsibility." Is Shell short sighted, or is it just a company trying to makes its way in an uncertain world?
Google

Submission + - Google Earth uncovers secret UK nuke base

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: Gone are the days when governments could easily hide top secret bases. These days its a weekend pastime to see who can find top secret facilities using Google Earth. Now it's the UK Government's turn to be outraged after a secret facility was revealed by a British tabloid. The facility is said to be located in Faslane on the River Clyde in Scotland. This nuclear base was previously blurred out by the request of the British Government. However, with the latest update provided via Google Earth, many of the blurred out locations were accidentally revealed.
The Media

Submission + - Hearst plans a "Kindle" for newspapers

Submitted by
thefickler
thefickler writes: "The end of capitalism (AKA the global credit crisis) couldn't have come at a worst time for newspapers, which were already suffering at the hands of the Internet. Now it seems that the Heast Corporation is planning to launch an ebook reader to try to save its dwindling newspaper readerships. Apparently the ebook reader will have a bigger screen than the Kindle, helping it to accomodate ads. It's not clear whether Hearts will go it alone, or try to gather wider industry support for its venture. As one pundit observed, "it seems a slender thread on which to hang the entire American newspaper industry.""
Toys

Submission + - MIT researchers design a digital 'sixth sense'

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: MIT researchers have combined a mobile projector with a webcam and mobile phone to create a device that draws information from the environment. For example, the gadget recognizes products on store shelves and can provide product and price comparison information. The sixth sense device was cobbled together from common parts costing just $300. While the gadget is not being primed for mass release, it represents a forward-thinking way of blending technology with our environment.
Microsoft

Submission + - Corporate espionage incident at Microsoft 1

Submitted by
thefickler
thefickler writes: "Microsoft is taking a former employee, Miki Mullor, to court for taking a job at the company in order to steal information that would help with a patent infringement case against PC makers Dell, HP and Toshiba. And while it appears that Mullor did the wrong thing, some pundits are asking "if you believed that your patent had been infringed, wouldn't you be tempted to do the same thing"."
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft to exit the Zune business? 1

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: According to Microsoft's quarterly filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Zune platform experienced a revenue drop of 54 percent, or $100 million. This compares to relatively healthy sales of the iPod, which were up 3 percent in the same period (though revenue did drop by 16 percent). Obviously, with the recent job cuts at Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices Division, pundits are wondering how soon until the Zune also gets the chop. As one pundit wrote: "Microsoft, by now, should be realizing that it's never going to be as "cool" as Apple, so why waste its time with the Zune where it has no competitive advantage?"

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