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Domain: mcmaster.ca
Stories and comments across the archive that link to mcmaster.ca.
Stories · 9
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Using a Smartphone As a Virtual Reality Controller
New submitter mutherhacker writes: A group from Osaka University in Japan and McMaster University in Canada have presented a method to control a virtual 3D object using a smartphone [video]. The method was primarily designed for presentations but also applies to virtual reality using a head mounted display, gaming or even quadrocopter control. There is an open paper online as well as a git repository for both the client and the server. The client smartphone communicates with the main computer over the network with TUIO for touch and Google protocol buffers for orientation sensor data. -
Publisher Sues University Librarian Over His Personal Blog Posts
McGruber writes "The Chronicle of Higher Education has the news that Herbert Richardson, founder of Edwin Mellen Press is suing McMaster University and University Librarian Dale Askey for $3 Million over Mr. Askey's posts on a personal blog. In 2010 Mr. Askey wrote a blog post about Edwin Mellen Press on his personal Web site, Bibliobrary. Mr. Askey referred to the publisher as 'dubious' and said its books were often works of 'second-class scholarship.' For a few months afterward, several people chimed in in the blog's comments section, some agreeing with Mr. Askey, others arguing in support of the publisher. In a February 11 statement, the McMaster University Faculty Association (MUFA) stated that The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) 'and the MUFA Executive agree that this case represents a serious threat to the freedom of academic librarians (pdf) to voice their professional judgement and to academic freedom more generally.'" -
King Kong Lived?
Agent Provocateur writes "McMaster University recently announced the discovery of the remains of a gigantic ape, measuring over 3 meters tall and weighing up to 600kg, that supposedly co-existed alongside humans." From the article: "Jack Rink, associate professor of geography and earth sciences at McMaster, has determined that Gigantopithecus blackii, the largest primate that ever lived, roamed southeast Asia for nearly a million years before the species died out 100,000 years ago. This was known as the Pleistocene period, by which time humans had already existed for a million years." -
Ancient DNA Helps Solve the Legend of Giant Eagles
nomrniceguy writes "Gigantic eagles swooping from the skies to rescue Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings may not be just the stuff of legends and fairytales, according to research published in the journal PloS Biology. McMaster University anthropologist Michael Bunce has shed new light on the evolution of the extinct Haast's eagle, the giant bird that once ruled the skies over New Zealand. Weighing between 20 and 30 pounds, the enormous Haast's Eagle dominated its environment. It was 30 to 40 per cent heavier than the largest living bird of prey around today, the Harpy Eagle of Central and South America." -
TiVo Web Security and Two-Factor Authentication?
mr. mulder asks: "I just attached my TiVo to my home network, giving me the ability to change my recording settings from any browser on my internal network. I would like to take this a step further and enable TiVo config changes from work, but I'm worried about security. SSL would encrypt my traffic, but wouldn't prohibit access. Ideally, I would like an easy, client-less, two-factor authentication solution. Has anyone tried this? Moreover, are there any inexpensive, secure or two-factor authentication products to protect personal/home web URLs? I've considered publishing the page on the web without security, but that leaves me wide-open. I've also considered a VPN solution with my LinkSys Firewall/Router, but it involves a client installation. As an alternative, I've turned to two-factor authentication schemes, including products such as Rainbow's iKey, Authenex's A-Key and RSA's SecureID, but they are too expensive." -
Need a Way to Use 225m of Blue Duct Tape?
pc-0x90 writes "In Canada, when engineers finish their undergraduate degree, they attend a ceremony referred to as Kipling. Alongside the formal ceremony are the kipling pranks. This year, the Software Engineers at McMaster University designed a life sized Pac-Man board, thus answering the question of whether or not software engineering is in fact engineering." -
Need a Way to Use 225m of Blue Duct Tape?
pc-0x90 writes "In Canada, when engineers finish their undergraduate degree, they attend a ceremony referred to as Kipling. Alongside the formal ceremony are the kipling pranks. This year, the Software Engineers at McMaster University designed a life sized Pac-Man board, thus answering the question of whether or not software engineering is in fact engineering." -
Need a Way to Use 225m of Blue Duct Tape?
pc-0x90 writes "In Canada, when engineers finish their undergraduate degree, they attend a ceremony referred to as Kipling. Alongside the formal ceremony are the kipling pranks. This year, the Software Engineers at McMaster University designed a life sized Pac-Man board, thus answering the question of whether or not software engineering is in fact engineering." -
Astrophysical Simulation Images From Cluster Cluster
rakerman writes: "This is a gallery of images of the astrophysical simulations running at McMaster University using the computing resources of the SHARC-net collaboration. SHARC net is a Canadian University computing grid. SHARCNet, structured as a ?cluster of clusters?, is designed to need the computational needs of the researchers in these areas and to facilitate the development of the next generation computational tools for use of high performance computing grids. Built on the latest Alpha processors, SHARCNet clusters consist of four-processor, 833Mhz, Alpha SMP (symmetric multi-processors) systems connected via Quadrics interconnection technology. Clusters of 24 SMPs (96 processors) are deployed at MacMaster University and 27 SMPs (108 processors) are deployed at the University of Guelph. At The University of Western Ontario two clusters, one of 12 SMPs (48 processors) and one of 36 SMPs (144 processors) are deployed and will be connected using Nortel?s optical DWDM (Dense Wave Division Multiplexing). Smaller development clusters (8 processors) are deployed at the University of Windsor and at Wilfrid Laurier Universities to enable researchers to develop software and test it before using one of the larger clusters."