Save Money With Cloud Computing and Google Apps
Google Apps offers simple, powerful communication and collaboration tools for enterprises of any size in business, education, or government - all hosted by Google to streamline setup. Watch Now!
http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfnl/114/51425172/
======================================================================
Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* NTSB Recommends Cell Phone Ban For Drivers
* Iran Wants To Clone Downed US Drone
* Canada First Nation To Pull Out of Kyoto Accord
* New Study Concludes Math Gender Gap Is Cultural, Not Biological
* UK Police Test 'Temporarily Blinding' LASER
* Judge Dismisses 'Other OS' Class-Action Suit Against Sony
* Publicly Available Russian Election Results Hint At Fraud
* Ask Slashdot: Working As an IT Contractor In a War Zone?
* Internet Explorer Users Have Low Risk Intelligence
* In Favor of Homegrown IT Solutions
* Adblock Plus Developers To Allow 'Acceptable' Ads
* Facebook Releases JIT PHP Compiler
* MIT's New Camera Can Take 1 Trillion Frames Per Second
* House Panel Moving Forward With SOPA
* LHC Homes In On Possible Higgs Boson Around 126GeV
* Russia Set To Extend Life of Nuclear Reactors Past Engineered Life Span
* Facebook Launches Suicide-Prevention Effort
* Million Dollar Crowdturfing Industry Dupes Social Networks
* Paul Allen Launches Commercial Spaceship Project
* Chinese Government Ramps Up Weather Control Efforts
* Out of Sight, Out of Mind
* Isaac Newton's Notes Digitized
* Quantum Dots Will Make Flexible Displays
* EU Regulators Delay Google's Motorola Buy, Seeking More Info
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| NTSB Recommends Cell Phone Ban For Drivers
| from the text-your-disapproval-from-behind-the-wheel dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday December 13, @14:29 (Cellphones)
| with 747 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1845259/ntsb-recommends-cell-phone-ban-for-drivers?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ducomputergeek writes "According to this AP report, the National
Transportation Safety Board says '[0]States should ban all driver use of
cell phones and other portable electronic devices, except in
emergencies.' 'The recommendation, unanimously agreed to by the
five-member board, applies to both hands-free and hand-held phones and
[1]significantly exceeds any existing state laws restricting texting and
cellphone use behind the wheel.' So what about all the cars today that
come with built-in computers, navigation, internet capabilities, and cell
phones?"
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1845259/ntsb-recommends-cell-phone-ban-for-drivers?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DRIVERS_TEXTING?SITE=MOSTP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-13-12-45-50
1. http://www.ntsb.gov/news/events/2011/gray_summit_mo/index.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Iran Wants To Clone Downed US Drone
| from the come-fly-the-friendly-skies dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday December 13, @13:44 (The Military)
| with 535 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1837229/iran-wants-to-clone-downed-us-drone?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PolygamousRanchKid sends this quote from the LA Times: "The Obama
administration has sent a formal diplomatic request [0]asking Iran to
return the radar-evading drone aircraft that crashed on a CIA spying
mission this month, but U.S. officials say they don't expect Iran will
comply. 'We have asked for it back,' Obama said Monday at a news
conference in Washington with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki. 'We'll
see how the Iranians respond.' His comments marked the first public
confirmation that the RQ-170 Sentinel drone now in Iranian hands is a
U.S. aircraft, though U.S. officials privately acknowledged that in
recent days. Iran has claimed it downed the stealthy surveillance drone,
but U.S. officials say it malfunctioned. Capture of the
futuristic-looking unmanned spy plane has provided Tehran with a
propaganda windfall. The government announced that [1]it planned to clone
and mass produce the bat-winged craft for use against its enemies." Iran
has also [2]demanded an apology from the U.S. for the drone flight in its
airspace.
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1837229/iran-wants-to-clone-downed-us-drone?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-obama-drone-20111213,0,6677845.story
1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-claims-to-extract-data-from-us-drone/2011/12/12/gIQAMVZvpO_story.html
2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/iran-wants-us-apology-over-drone/2011/12/13/gIQAsWCzrO_story.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Canada First Nation To Pull Out of Kyoto Accord
| from the then-let-them-ride-bikes dept.
| posted by Unknown Lamer on Tuesday December 13, @05:33 (Canada)
| with 526 comments
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/0232245/canada-first-nation-to-pull-out-of-kyoto-accord?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]Hugh Pickens writes "Canada will become the [1]first country to
formally withdraw from the Kyoto protocol on climate change, dealing a
symbolic blow to the troubled global treaty. 'Kyoto, for Canada, is in
the past,' says Environment Minister Peter Kent. 'We are invoking our
legal right to formally withdraw from Kyoto.' Kent, a Conservative, says
the Liberals should not have signed up to a treaty they had no intention
of respecting and says Ottawa backs a new global deal to cut emissions of
greenhouse gases, but insists it has to cover all nations, including
China and India, which are not bound by Kyoto's current targets. Kent
adds that meeting [2]Canada's obligations under Kyoto would cost $13.6
billion: 'That's $1,600 from every Canadian family ��� that's the Kyoto
cost to Canadians, that was the legacy of an incompetent liberal
government.' Kent's announcement came just hours after negotiators in
Durban managed to thrash out an agreement at the very last minute ��� an
agreement to begin a new round of talks on a new agreement in the years
ahead. 'Staying under 2C will require drastic, immediate action ��� with
global emissions peaking in the next five years or so,' writes Brad
Plummer. 'The Durban Platform, by contrast, [3]merely prods countries to
come up with a new agreement that will go into effect no later than
2020.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/0232245/canada-first-nation-to-pull-out-of-kyoto-accord?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/slashdot/
1. http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/12/canada-formally-withdrawig-from-kyoto-protocol/
2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16151310
3. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/five-things-to-know-about-the-durban-climate-agreement/2011/12/12/gIQAfEJ3pO_blog.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| New Study Concludes Math Gender Gap Is Cultural, Not Biological
| from the nice-to-see-non-paywalled-articles dept.
| posted by timothy on Tuesday December 13, @12:22 (Math)
| with 407 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1658241/new-study-concludes-math-gender-gap-is-cultural-not-biological?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New submitter germansausage writes "A new study was published today in
Notices of the American Mathematical Society, looking at data from 86
countries, to test the 'greater male variability hypothesis' as the
primary reason for the scarcity of outstanding women mathematicians. It
concludes that [0]cultural and not biological factors are the chief
causes (PDF) of the gap in math skills between men and women."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1658241/new-study-concludes-math-gender-gap-is-cultural-not-biological?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.ams.org/notices/201201/rtx120100010p.pdf
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| UK Police Test 'Temporarily Blinding' LASER
| from the for-sufficiently-permanent-values-of-temporary dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday December 13, @15:51 (Shark)
| with 306 comments
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/2026215/uk-police-test-temporarily-blinding-laser?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
esocid writes "Called the SMU 100 it costs ��25,000 and sends out [0]a
three-meter 'wall of light' that leaves anyone caught in it briefly
unable to see. Designed by a former Royal Marine Commando, it was
originally developed for use against pirates in Somalia. While tasers and
CS gas work well over short distances the laser is said to be effective
at up to 500 meters (1,640ft). Being targeted by the beam has been
compared to staring into the sun before being forced to turn away. Paul
Kerr, managing director of Clyde-based Photonic Security Systems, which
came up with the design, said 'If you can't look at something you can't
attack it.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/2026215/uk-police-test-temporarily-blinding-laser?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/16137543
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Judge Dismisses 'Other OS' Class-Action Suit Against Sony
| from the product-may-not-behave-as-advertised dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday December 13, @16:34 (Sony)
| with 295 comments
| https://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/2028201/judge-dismisses-other-os-class-action-suit-against-sony?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An anonymous reader writes "You may recall that in early 2010, Sony
decided to roll out an update that would [0]remove the ability for
PlayStation 3 owners to install a different operating system on the
console, citing security concerns as the reason. Geeks and Linux
enthusiasts were outraged at the move, particular since the "Other OS"
functionality had been advertised as a feature of the PS3. A
[1]class-action lawsuit was soon brought against Sony. Many of the
initial claims were thrown out, and now, a federal judge in California
has [2]granted Sony's motion to dismissed the lawsuit, saying, 'As a
matter of providing customer satisfaction and building loyalty, it may
have been questionable. As a legal matter, however, [3]plaintiffs have
failed to allege facts or articulate a theory on which Sony may be held
liable.' Here's the [4]full text of the order (PDF)."
Discuss this story at:
https://linux.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/2028201/judge-dismisses-other-os-class-action-suit-against-sony?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/03/29/0227251/install-other-os-feature-removed-from-the-ps3
1. http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/04/29/1222247/sony-sued-over-ps3-other-os-removal
2. http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/12/judge-dismisses-other-os-class-action-suit-against-sony.ars
3. http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/12/09/42126.htm
4. http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/12/09/PS3.pdf
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Publicly Available Russian Election Results Hint At Fraud
| from the or-could-just-be-a-coincidence dept.
| posted by timothy on Tuesday December 13, @10:20 (Government)
| with 277 comments
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/156223/publicly-available-russian-election-results-hint-at-fraud?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]gotfork writes "As some Russians [1]protest the results of the recent
election, [2]several commentators (Russian), have started [3]looking at
the results which are [4]posted to the election commission web site and
there's very strong evidence of fraud. Voter turnout correlates strongly
with percent voting for the ruling party, United Russia, and there are a
lot of polling stations with nearly 100% turnout and 100% voting for
United Russia in some [5]unusual places. The raw data is posted so you
can do your own analysis."
Discuss this story at:
https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/156223/publicly-available-russian-election-results-hint-at-fraud?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://samarcandanalytics.com/
1. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/world/europe/thousands-protest-in-moscow-russia-in-defiance-of-putin.html
2. http://eugenyboger.livejournal.com/4514.html
3. http://samarcandanalytics.com/?page_id=39
4. http://cikrf.ru/
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chechnya
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Ask Slashdot: Working As an IT Contractor In a War Zone?
| from the not-just-a-hobby-any-more dept.
| posted by timothy on Tuesday December 13, @11:42 (The Military)
| with 274 comments
| https://ask.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1631221/ask-slashdot-working-as-an-it-contractor-in-a-war-zone?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capt. Picklepants writes "I have been feeling malaise about the IT and
technical job market in the United States. I'm interested in doing some
IT work for our government in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa. I've heard
it pays very well. Got any advice, or pointers, aside from the usual
combing corporate websites and social networking?"
Discuss this story at:
https://ask.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1631221/ask-slashdot-working-as-an-it-contractor-in-a-war-zone?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Internet Explorer Users Have Low Risk Intelligence
| from the lemmings-browsing-the-web dept.
| posted by Unknown Lamer on Tuesday December 13, @00:12 (The Internet)
| with 247 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/048233/internet-explorer-users-have-low-risk-intelligence?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First time accepted submitter benne2011 writes "A [0]hoax report earlier
this year claimed that people who used Internet Explorer had a lower IQ
than those using other browsers. Inspired by this bit of fun, Projection
Point decided to carry out a real study [1]comparing the risk
intelligence (RQ) of people using different browsers. We found that
Internet Explorer users performed worse than everyone else; they had
lower RQ scores and were grossly overconfident."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/048233/internet-explorer-users-have-low-risk-intelligence?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://news.slashdot.org/story/11/08/03/1350224/aptiquant-browseriq-study-was-likely-a-hoax
1. http://blog.projectionpoint.com/?p=244
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| In Favor of Homegrown IT Solutions
| from the insufficient-buzzword-compliance dept.
| posted by Unknown Lamer on Monday December 12, @20:33 (IT)
| with 245 comments
| https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/0120238/in-favor-of-homegrown-it-solutions?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]snydeq writes "Today's IT organizations turn too readily to vendors,
[1]eschewing homegrown solutions to their detriment, writes Deep End's
Paul Venezia. 'Back when IT was "simple," several good programmers and
support staff could run the whole show. Nowadays, [companies] buy hefty
support contracts and shift the burden of maintaining and troubleshooting
large parts of their IT infrastructure on to the vendors who may know
their own product well, but have a hard time dealing with issues that may
crop up during integration with other vendors' gear. ... Relying solely
on support contracts and generic solutions is a good way to self-limit
the agility and performance of any business. In short, more gurus equals
less hand-wringing and stress all around.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://it.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/0120238/in-favor-of-homegrown-it-solutions?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.infoworld.com/
1. http://www.infoworld.com/d/data-center/homegrown-solutions-the-good-and-the-bad-181268
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Adblock Plus Developers To Allow 'Acceptable' Ads
| from the good-ads-vs-bad-ads dept.
| posted by timothy on Tuesday December 13, @09:36 (Mozilla)
| with 230 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1430236/adblock-plus-developers-to-allow-acceptable-ads?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First time accepted submitter Roman Grazhdan writes "Developers of
Adblock Plus, an award-winning add-on for Mozilla Firefox and Google
Chrome boasting over 12,000,000 users, announced that starting from
version 2.0 the extension would come with a [0]white list of unobtrusive,
privacy-respected ads. These will be allowed by default; users will still
be able to block them by unchecking 'Allow non-intrusive advertising.'
The developers say: 'Only 25% of the Adblock Plus users seem to be
strictly against any advertising.' What is this ��� betrayal of ideals of
annoyance-free web or birth of independent authority for standards for
advertisement?" Ads are sometimes annoying, but they also make certain
websites (like this one!) possible. Getting the balance right is tricky ���
I know I often avoid sites because of interstitial advertising, pop-ups,
etc. Whitelisting sounds like a good way to reward sites that try to keep
it subtle; offloading and generalizing the task of categorizing ads into
annoying or acceptable gives sites and advertisers a good threshold to
duck beneath. Next step I'd like to see: a sliding scale, so browsers can
be set to zero, or eleven, for tolerable annoyance. Update: 12/13 14:54
GMT by [1]T : My fault: I liked the story so much that I missed it [2]the
first time.
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1430236/adblock-plus-developers-to-allow-acceptable-ads?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. https://adblockplus.org/en/acceptable-ads
1. http://www.monkey.org/~timothy/
2. https://news.slashdot.org/story/11/12/12/2213233/adblock-plus-to-offer-acceptable-ads-option
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Facebook Releases JIT PHP Compiler
| from the history-repeats-itself dept.
| posted by Unknown Lamer on Monday December 12, @19:44 (Facebook)
| with 216 comments
| https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/003202/facebook-releases-jit-php-compiler?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]angry tapir writes, quoting a Techworld article: "In its continuing
endeavor to serve its 800 million users as quickly as possible, Facebook
is once again revamping the way it handles its PHP-based Web pages.
Facebook has posted ... its [1]HipHop Virtual Machine (HHVM), which the
company's engineers call a just-in-time PHP compiler. According to
Facebook, this [2]PHP execution engine is 60 percent faster than its
current PHP interpreter and uses 90 percent less memory." Facebook has a
weblog post with [3]a more technical description.
Discuss this story at:
https://developers.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/003202/facebook-releases-jit-php-compiler?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.techworld.com.au/
1. https://github.com/facebook/hiphop-php/tree/vm
2. http://www.techworld.com.au/article/409887/facebook_releases_php_just--time_compiler
3. http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150415177928920
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| MIT's New Camera Can Take 1 Trillion Frames Per Second
| from the need-a-really-big-sd-card dept.
| posted by timothy on Tuesday December 13, @08:50 (Input Devices)
| with 190 comments
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1340216/mits-new-camera-can-take-1-trillion-frames-per-second?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First time accepted submitter probain writes "MIT has made a camera that
can take [0]trillion frames per second! With this high speed capability,
they can actually see the movement of photons of light across a scene or
object. This is just mind-boggling." ExtremeTech has a [1]nice video of
the system, too. What would you like to see slowed down to such a degree?
Discuss this story at:
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1340216/mits-new-camera-can-take-1-trillion-frames-per-second?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/science/speed-of-light-lingers-in-face-of-mit-media-lab-camera.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all1
1. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/108773-mit-slows-down-light-with-trillion-frames-per-second-video-camera
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| House Panel Moving Forward With SOPA
| from the freedom-is-overrated-anyway dept.
| posted by Unknown Lamer on Tuesday December 13, @08:08 (Government)
| with 185 comments
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/0426220/house-panel-moving-forward-with-sopa?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]itwbennett writes "The House Judiciary Committee has scheduled a
[1]debate and vote on the Stop Online Piracy Act for later this week.
Representative Lamar Smith, the committee chairman and main sponsor of
the bill, will offer an amendment that is meant to [2]address some
concerns with the bill. Smith's [3]proposed amendment would clarify that
the bill applies only to foreign websites, not U.S. sites, accused of
aiding copyright infringement."
Discuss this story at:
https://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/0426220/house-panel-moving-forward-with-sopa?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.itworld.com/
1. http://www.itworld.com/networking/232591/house-panel-move-forward-stop-online-piracy-act
2. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111212/14010917054/lamar-smith-proposes-new-version-sopa-with-just-few-changes.shtml
3. http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/pdf/HR%203261%20Managers%20Amendment.pdf
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| LHC Homes In On Possible Higgs Boson Around 126GeV
| from the abundance-of-caution dept.
| posted by timothy on Tuesday December 13, @11:01 (Science)
| with 184 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1513255/lhc-homes-in-on-possible-higgs-boson-around-126gev?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New submitter Ginger Unicorn writes "In a [0]seminar held at CERN today,
the ATLAS and CMS experiments [1]presented the status of their searches
for the Standard Model Higgs boson. Their results are based on the
analysis of considerably more data than those presented at the summer
conferences, sufficient to make significant progress in the search for
the Higgs boson, but not enough to make any conclusive statement on the
existence or non-existence of the elusive Higgs. The main conclusion is
that the Standard Model Higgs boson, if it exists, is most likely to have
a mass constrained to the range 116-130 GeV by the ATLAS experiment, and
115-127 GeV by CMS. Tantalising hints have been seen by both experiments
in this mass region, but these are not yet strong enough to claim a
discovery."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1513255/lhc-homes-in-on-possible-higgs-boson-around-126gev?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://public.web.cern.ch/public/
1. http://www.quantumdiaries.org/2011/12/13/higgs-liveblog/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Russia Set To Extend Life of Nuclear Reactors Past Engineered Life Span
| from the tempting-fate dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday December 13, @15:09 (Power)
| with 164 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1852238/russia-set-to-extend-life-of-nuclear-reactors-past-engineered-life-span?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harperdog writes "Yikes! Russia is extending the lifetime of nuclear
power reactors [0]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.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1852238/russia-set-to-extend-life-of-nuclear-reactors-past-engineered-life-span?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Facebook Launches Suicide-Prevention Effort
| from the d'ya-call-in-sick? dept.
| posted by timothy on Tuesday December 13, @13:02 (Facebook)
| with 150 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1755232/facebook-launches-suicide-prevention-effort?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
adeelarshad82 writes "Facebook launched an initiative that gives users
who have expressed suicidal thoughts the option to [0]connect directly
with a crisis counselor via Facebook chat. Facebook doesn't troll the
site in search of those who might be suicidal; with 800 million users who
generate billions of posts, Facebook's algorithm could easily
misinterpret comments. Instead, the new initiative is dependent on people
speaking up when they feel a friend might be in danger."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1755232/facebook-launches-suicide-prevention-effort?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2397551,00.asp
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Million Dollar Crowdturfing Industry Dupes Social Networks
| from the and-you-thought-gold-farming-was-bad dept.
| posted by Unknown Lamer on Tuesday December 13, @03:04 (China)
| with 131 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/0217222/million-dollar-crowdturfing-industry-dupes-social-networks?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New submitter [0]bowlinearl writes "Three weeks ago Slashdot featured
[1]a story on the Chinese Water Army. A new study from researchers at
UCSB delves even deeper into the problem of crowdturfing (full
disclosure: I am one of the authors of the study). The [2]study reveals
that [3]evil crowdsourcing services in China are a multi-million dollar
industry, and that the number of jobs and the amount of money are growing
exponentially. Hundreds of thousands of workers are involved, including a
small contingent of career crowdturfers who each manage hundreds of
accounts on social networks. The researchers observed the behavior of
workers and the unwitting users who click on the generated spam by
infiltrating the two largest crowdsourcing sites in China. However,
crowdturfing isn't confined to China: the researchers discovered
crowdsourcing sites in the U.S. that are 95% astroturf, as opposed to
Amazon's Mechanical Turk, which actively polices itself, and is only 12%
astroturf."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/0217222/million-dollar-crowdturfing-industry-dupes-social-networks?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://cs.ucsb.edu/~bowlin/
1. http://it.slashdot.org/story/11/11/23/0050243/internet-water-army-on-the-march
2. http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.5654
3. http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/39304/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Paul Allen Launches Commercial Spaceship Project
| from the fly-me-to-the-moon dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday December 13, @17:57 (Space)
| with 111 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/2238201/paul-allen-launches-commercial-spaceship-project?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
smitty777 writes "The phrase 'Where do you want to go today?' takes on a
whole new meaning as Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder and the world's
57th richest man in the world, [0]looks to create a new spaceship company.
Stratolaunch Systems plans to bring 'airport like operations' to the
world of private space travel. Partnering with Burt Rutan, the plan is to
field a test within five years and commercially available flights within
ten. Spacecraft will be air-launched from a [1]giant, six-engined
aircraft. There is more information available on the [2]Stratolaunch
homepage."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/2238201/paul-allen-launches-commercial-spaceship-project?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/13/us-allen-space-idUSTRE7BC1R320111213
1. http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/12/13/microsoft-founder-announces-spaceflight-company-promises-airport-like/
2. http://www.stratolaunch.com/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Chinese Government Ramps Up Weather Control Efforts
| from the can't-stand-the-weather dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday December 13, @18:39 (China)
| with 108 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/2242207/chinese-government-ramps-up-weather-control-efforts?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
formaggio writes "China's government is intervening with nature by
rolling out [0]four regional programs to artificially increase
precipitation across the country by 10 percent before 2015. The program
is anticipated to bring in [1]an additional 230 billion cubic meters of
precipitation per year by 2015. This is on top of the 50 billion cubic
meters of precipitation China already artificially creates annually in
the northeastern province of Jilin."
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/2242207/chinese-government-ramps-up-weather-control-efforts?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-12/09/content_14236576.htm
1. http://inhabitat.com/chinese-government-tries-to-control-rain-generating-10-percent-more-precipitation-by-2015/
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Out of Sight, Out of Mind
| from the what-is-this-blank-text-field-for dept.
| posted by Soulskill on Tuesday December 13, @17:15 (Science)
| with 105 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/2148217/out-of-sight-out-of-mind?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]PerlJedi writes "Researchers at the University of Notre Dame have
conducted a very simple study, with some [1]surprising (or at least
amusing) results about how our short term memory works. Quoting:
'Sometimes, to get to the next object the participant simply walked
across the room. Other times, they had to walk the same distance, but
through a door into a new room. From time to time, the researchers gave
them a pop quiz, asking which object was currently in their backpack. The
quiz was timed so that when they walked through a doorway, they were
tested right afterwards. As the title said, [2]walking through doorways
caused forgetting: Their responses were both slower and less accurate
when they'd walked through a doorway into a new room than when they'd
walked the same distance within the same room.'"
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/2148217/out-of-sight-out-of-mind?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://perljedi.com/
1. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-walking-through-doorway-makes-you-forget
2. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17470218.2011.571267
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Isaac Newton's Notes Digitized
| from the viacom-issues-dmca-takedown-notice dept.
| posted by Unknown Lamer on Monday December 12, @19:01 (Math)
| with 90 comments
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/12/2314246/isaac-newtons-notes-digitized?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First time accepted submitter nhstar writes with an excerpt from an
article in the Register: "If you're [0]looking for a bit of light reading
this holiday season, Cambridge University is here to help: they've
[1]digitized and made available online over 4,000 pages of the pioneering
scientist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton's most important works.
'Anyone, wherever they are, can [2]see at the click of a mouse how Newton
worked and how he went about developing his theories and experiments,'
Cambridge University Library's digitization manager Grant Young told the
BBC."
Discuss this story at:
https://science.slashdot.org/story/11/12/12/2314246/isaac-newtons-notes-digitized?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/12/12/newton_notes_online/
1. http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/newton
2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-16141723
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Quantum Dots Will Make Flexible Displays
| from the quantum-ice-cream-of-the-future dept.
| posted by Unknown Lamer on Monday December 12, @22:30 (Displays)
| with 78 comments
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/038240/quantum-dots-will-make-flexible-displays?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]judgecorp writes "[1]Quantum dots are small semiconductors, whose
properties are defined by their size and shape. British nanotechnology
firm Nanoco has found they are [2]ideal for displays, allowing the
possibility of screens that can be rolled up ��� and which also [3]use far
less of the hazardous chemicals found in normal screens." In addition to
being Cadmium free (a problem in the EU where the [4]exemption for
Cadmium in displays expires in 2014), they directly emit light using less
power than traditional filtered color LCDs.
Discuss this story at:
https://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/038240/quantum-dots-will-make-flexible-displays?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_dot
2. http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/quantum-dots-pave-way-for-flexible-displays-49352
3. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8948484/Forget-3D-here-comes-the-QD-TV.html
4. http://www.electronicsweekly.com/blogs/electronics-legislation/2010/03/breaking-news-new-rohs-cadmium.html
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| EU Regulators Delay Google's Motorola Buy, Seeking More Info
| from the power-to-destroy dept.
| posted by timothy on Tuesday December 13, @09:11 (Government)
| with 40 comments
| https://search.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1330222/eu-regulators-delay-googles-motorola-buy-seeking-more-info?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0]judgecorp writes "The European Commission is [1]delaying Google's
proposed purchase of Motorola Mobility, saying it wants 'more
infromation.' Europe may be nervous of the power the purchase will give
Google in the mobile space."
Discuss this story at:
https://search.slashdot.org/story/11/12/13/1330222/eu-regulators-delay-googles-motorola-buy-seeking-more-info?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email#commentlisting
Links:
0. http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/
1. http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/ec-delays-decision-on-googles-motorola-buy-49499
Copyright 1997-2011, Geeknet, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
======================================================================
You have received this message because you subscribed to it
on Slashdot. To stop receiving this and other
messages from Slashdot, or to add more messages
or change your preferences, please go to your user page.
http://slashdot.org/prefs/messages
You can log in and change your preferences from there.
Slashdot 11216 Waples Mill Rd., Suite 100, Fairfax, VA 22030
No comments:
Post a Comment