Slashdot Mirror

YouAreFatMan writes "The Chicago Tribune has an article about two researchers -- a metallurgist and a blacksmith -- who have apparently been able to reproduce the legendary Damascus steel. 'Islamic artisans used it for centuries to make swords that spurred envy and myths among Europeans--including the legend that a Damascus blade could slice a falling silk scarf in midair.'"

CybrGuyRSB writes: "In today's Chicago Tribune, there is an interesting article about the total unpopularity of e-books. It seems to partly tie their failure into their copyright protection and briefly discusses the Skylarov case."

CybrGuyRSB writes: "In today's Chicago Tribune, there is an interesting article about the total unpopularity of e-books. It seems to partly tie their failure into their copyright protection and briefly discusses the Skylarov case."

castanaveras writes: "The Chicago Tribune has an article saying that a fully self-contained artificial heart (no protruding wires or tubes folks) will be implanted in a human subject no later than June 30. Read more details here"

StarPie writes "The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Sprint Broadband will be broadcasting DSL from the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago. The range is said to be 33 miles -- a lot better than wire DSL. All you need is line of sight from the Sears Tower." I've spent the last couple minutes straining my eyes but try as I might, I can't see it. I'm stuck with 128kbits.

StarPie writes "The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Sprint Broadband will be broadcasting DSL from the top of the Sears Tower in Chicago. The range is said to be 33 miles -- a lot better than wire DSL. All you need is line of sight from the Sears Tower." I've spent the last couple minutes straining my eyes but try as I might, I can't see it. I'm stuck with 128kbits.

Lumpish Scholar writes "The Chicago Tribune (no registration required:-) has this long awaited article on Web-based cartoons and cartoonists. (A couple of Web-based cartoonists put together the recent Berkely Breathed interview, as reported here.) The Trib article mentions some of my favorite online cartoons: Kevin and Kell, College Roomies From Hell, and Helen, Sweetheart of the Internet (now in dead tree syndication and online here). Other sources: Keenspot, hosting service for forty online strips; Planet Cartoonist's list of the top 100 online comic strips; a similar list from Big Panda; Yahoo!'s same-day-as-the-papers strips; King Features; Comics.com, home of Dilbert (a.k.a. Dilbert.com), Peanuts (Snoopy.com), and other United Media comic strips, and cartoons from the New Yorker; Plan 9 Publishing, bringing online comics to dead trees near you; oh, yeah, and let's not forget that other online strip." I just wish Gary Larson would come back.

Lumpish Scholar writes "The Chicago Tribune (no registration required:-) has this long awaited article on Web-based cartoons and cartoonists. (A couple of Web-based cartoonists put together the recent Berkely Breathed interview, as reported here.) The Trib article mentions some of my favorite online cartoons: Kevin and Kell, College Roomies From Hell, and Helen, Sweetheart of the Internet (now in dead tree syndication and online here). Other sources: Keenspot, hosting service for forty online strips; Planet Cartoonist's list of the top 100 online comic strips; a similar list from Big Panda; Yahoo!'s same-day-as-the-papers strips; King Features; Comics.com, home of Dilbert (a.k.a. Dilbert.com), Peanuts (Snoopy.com), and other United Media comic strips, and cartoons from the New Yorker; Plan 9 Publishing, bringing online comics to dead trees near you; oh, yeah, and let's not forget that other online strip." I just wish Gary Larson would come back.

buzzlightyear writes: "The Sept. 12 Chicago Tribune has an article headlined "Sparkling discovery for science" , about the development of ultrananocrystalline diamond film. The scientist who developed this, Dieter Gruen, started by experimenting with fragmented buckyballs, and had proven its properties in 1994, but he is only now receiving recognition and an award from the Materials Research Society. Preliminary tests show that ultrananodiamonds are 1,000 more wear-resistant than silicon, and 1 million times denser than conventional crystals. This makes them a practical base material for micromachines and other devices that had only been theoretically possible before. Maybe this will mark the real beginning of Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age."

Today's Chicago Tribune story on Richard M. Smith details his singlehanded crusade to uncover corporate privacy leaks. This one guy has done more than many major organizations to bolster confidence about whether our personal information is getting leaked. He also finds security holes. He's frequently informed Microsoft how they can make their software better (the fix always seems to be "turn off ActiveX"). All I need is a few dozen clones of this guy and I'll feel much better about using the net.

christian void writes, "The FTC recently ruled that it is illegal for credit reporting agencies to sell personal information to third parties. Here's an interesting article on a decision that will hopefully have ramifications in other industries. Score one for privacy."

i0n writes "The Chicago Tribune has an interesting article about overclocking that talks of how gamers overclock their machines not only to save money, but out of spite towards the processor industry. "

Anonymous Bastard writes "There's an article in today's Chicago Tribune suggesting that the effort being put into the Linux operating system would be better spent improving Microsoft's software. The author says that Linux is trying to reinvent the wheel. Linux isn't a waste of time, is it? " Oh my.

i0n wrote in to send us a Chicago Tribune article about Linus and Bill at Comdex. Has anyone rummaged up transcripts of either speech? I've seen several articles on each, but no transcripts. Update: 04/20 02:07 by CT : Knish sent us a PC Week Story on the keynotes. Update: 04/20 03:17 by CT : Ign0rance sent us Bill's Speech. Update: 04/20 03:34 by CT : BitMan sent us an MSNBC article.