Slashdot Mirror

Of course, cookies are now a sometimes food.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7421924/

"We have the money to do good things," said Administrator Michael Griffin, who has visited at least seven of NASA's centers since he was appointed in April. During a two-day visit at the home of human spaceflight, he spoke with astronauts, flight directors and other top administrators.

Griffin said on Tuesday that the agency has received a steady flow of funding, which when adjusted for inflation is comparable to the funding the agency had when it first sent astronauts to the moon during the Apollo program of the 1960s and early 1970s.

I'm not so sure, especially with CNBC spelling it Griffeth...

He still does. An ordinary cop still needs a conventional warrant. Anybody investigating ordinary domestic criminal activity still needs a conventional warrant. Nothing has changed there. Even at the highest levels of the terror task forces a warrant is still required. The difference is that they don't have to tell the subject of the warrant that he is being investigated and the warrant is issued by a secret court so that no one outside the investigation can find out about it.

See: http://slate.msn.com/id/2088106/

Great post. It's amazing how many people can't see past the cheap populism and wooly-headed economic thinking behind all the tax-the-rich cries.

It's worth noting that countries with a high top-end tax rate have without exception stagnant economies (even the Nordic countries, darlings of many socialists, fare poorly against most US states).

You do a bit of very basic math, call a phone number, punch in a few numbers on your touch-tone phone, and you're done.
Speaking of changes, TeleFile will be turned off at the end of this year.

Bush as evil as Hitler?

Where are Bush's camps?

Where are Bush's six million dead jews?

Hell, the best you've got is an unsubstantiated claim Bush killed 100,000 Iraqis.

And that's still 400,000 short of the 500,000 dead Iraqi children Clinton, Albright, and the UN were blamed for killing.

I'd say Bush has a long ways to go before he measures up to the level of evil you attribute to him.

DJIA
Wow... look at that crumbling economy.

Especially with all the interest-only mortgages being dished out.

I you allow, I would draw your short attention to a blog entry of myself about the odyssee we had and have, just because we have the same name as this "ZetaOS":

The ZetaOS diary of an (involuntary) Insider

(And of course my apologize for the fact that I am linking to a Microsoft-based blog...)

That bold text wasn't random - it's emphasis, reflecting disbelief. After the last Shuttle debacle, which grounded the fleet for years (try saying that in your head at a higher volume), NASA should be relaunching with utmost attention to safety details, not "taking their chances", as reported in this story.

As for your completely uninformed take on utility of the arm/camera, here's a free clue:

"the robot arm was not aboard the shuttle this time around. A camera mounted on the robot arm might have been beneficial for doing an inspection"

While you're unwrapping your various contortions to prove your preconceived notions about my post, you might offer an apology.

You're absolutely correct; we can't argue with the numbers. We should make policy decisions based on data gathered in the real world. So, since kids who pledge abstinence are still getting STDs, maybe we should be trying something different.

I think the Russian Kliper can do a better work than the shuttle.

I find this behaviour annoying because I tend to search for more obscure stuff. But if you search for company names, this does have the nice effect of almost always getting the companies home page.

What I find ironic, to say the least, is that the same company that accusse Linux and the GPL of being communist bans the word democracy and freedom across the ocean to avoid offending the most visible Communist Party on the planet.

"Their information came from a knowledgeable U.S. government source, and before deciding whether to publish it we approached two separate Defense Department officials for comment. One declined to give us a response; the other challenged another aspect of the story but did not dispute the Qur'an charge."

Okay, the most annoying part of this article is that they never bother to LINK to the new website. What is the point of talking about a new website in a news article and not linking to it?

My quess is this is what they are talking about.

Of course, I don't know how to spell "freedom" in Chinese, but if you compare these two searches:

US
China

You can get a pretty good idea of what they block. And to think, we have U.S. companies helping them to achieve this....

Perhaps this cleaning of the administration is being done in order to facilitate a more military-centric NASA. There has been much speculation (see References) that the US military will begin to weaponize space. A NASA that is less interested in scientific discovery will of course be beneficial to the Pentagon, as they have the capabilities and know-how to design, implement, launch, maintain and control this upcoming space-based weaponry.

References: http://www.reuters.com/audi/newsArticle.jhtml?type =technologyNews&storyID=8522373
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/a4a4e198-c8cf-11d9-87c9-0 0000e2511c8.html
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7896613/

The thing I don't get with Tor is why someone would need that much encryption, unless they were transferring something illegal like copyrighted material.

The new toolbar also duplicates Google Desktop's local search function, which it integrates with MSN search, and Google Deskbar. Fortunately, there is an option that allows the MSN bar to use google for its searching.

Reproduced from http://slate.msn.com/id/2107388 ------------ Remember the Cold War tale of Soviet and American scientists racing to solve the problem of writing in zero gravity? NASA spent a decade and millions of dollars developing the high-tech Astronaut Pen. The Soviets solved the problem another way: They used a pencil. The story turns out to be (mostly) urban legend, but the lesson holds true. Sometimes less is more. That seems to be the case as the world's largest democracy, India, and the world's most powerful, the United States, scramble to solve another technological puzzle: How to count votes accurately and transparently. While we in the United States agonize over touch screens and paper trails, India managed to quietly hold an all-electronic vote. In May, 380 million Indians cast their votes on more than 1 million machines. It was the world's largest experiment in electronic voting to date and, while far from perfect, is widely considered a success. How can an impoverished nation like India, where cows roam the streets of the capital and most people's idea of high-tech is a flush toilet, succeed where we have not? Continue Article For decades, Indians cast their votes by marking a paper ballot with a rubber stamp.* It took days to count the votes and months to sort out the allegations of fraud. Fifteen years ago the Indian government commissioned two companies to design a simple electronic voting machine--one that was inexpensive, easy to use (even for the illiterate), and tamper-resistant. The result is a machine that looks like a cross between a computer keyboard and a Casio music synthesizer. (See a picture of one here.) In fact, it's not much of a computer at all, more like a souped-up adding machine. A column of buttons runs down one side. Next to each button is the name and symbol of a candidate or party. These are written on slips of paper that can be rearranged. That means unscrupulous politicians couldn't rig the machines at the factory, since they wouldn't know which button would be assigned to which candidate. Also, the software is embedded--or hard-wired--onto a microprocessor that cannot be reprogrammed. If someone tries to pry open the machine, it automatically shuts down. After much testing, India adopted the machines for nationwide use this year. Voters show a paper ID card and then cast their ballot by pushing one of the buttons. A light glows red and a beep is emitted, indicating that a vote has been registered. Should trouble arise (and in India it often does), an election official can push an override button that shuts down the system. Indian elections are prone to "booth capturing." That's when thugs take over an entire polling station, tying up election officials while they stuff the ballot boxes with vote after vote for their favorite candidate. The electronic machines don't solve this problem entirely, but they help slow down the bandits. The machines are programmed to record only one vote every five seconds. Unlike the machines used in the United States, the Indian machines are not networked. Each one has to be physically carried to a central counting center. This takes more time, of course, but reduces the opportunities for mischief. Someone who wanted to throw the election would have to fiddle with thousands of machines, one at a time. Tampering with each machine is what some computer scientists call "retail fraud." "Wholesale fraud" is when someone rigs the software from the outset or meddles with hundreds of machines at a central tabulation center. Both types of fraud are troublesome, of course, but to different degrees. The Indian machines are vulnerable to retail fraud but, because of the basic design, are much less subject to wholesale fraud. American machines, by contrast, may be vulnerable to wholesale fraud. Our machines are far more complicated and expensive--$3,000 versus $200 for an Indian machine. The U.S. voting machines are loaded with Windows operating systems, encryption, touch screens, backup servers, voice-gui

Sounds funny, but it is not far from the truth.

You know, the physicist who as a kid in the neighborhood could "fix radios by thinking."

IE was better than Netscape, too.

Google isn't the best any more (although this is debateable, the gap between it and other search engines has definitely shrunk). It's wise to use a combination of search engines. I tend to use AllTheWeb and MSN Search (yes, it actually gives useful results now, even if at one point it ranked my personal music collection extremely highly) in addition to Google in order to give a wider selection of results.

Don't fret, $CITIZEN, with their plan you'll get the best of both worlds... Freedom++ as well as rampant terrorism. Have you noticed that the ever since the War on Terrorism (tm), that world terrorism has been on the rise? Sounds just like the catastrophic success of the War on (some) Drugs (tm) and crime levels.

In fact, one might say that the WoSD was just a precursor for the WoT... I wonder what version 3.0 is going to be like.. War on Anger (tm)? War on Sex (tm)?

I can't wait to find out!!!

I just put everything in the C:\ drive and know that I can find it using Windows XP's sweet search capabilities!


Actually, I know it's not p.c. here, but with this one it is really sweet.

Apparently, MSNBC has a similar story. Mail your letters here.

...report on a controversial study ... which proposes a link between certain genetic conditions and above-average intelligence

There is even a study that says genes control orgasm in women. I can hear it now. The guy in bed with a women (a rarity for most /.'ers) after his two minutes now saying: "It's not me, babe. It must be your genes (jeans)."

It's all about the Big 'O'.

well yes, but money is all about:
MOICHANDIZING!

Star Wars the Science Compendium,
Star Wars the Religious Accompanianment
Star Wars the Case Mod

Yeah, I'd prefer it if my fellow geeks didn't keep legitimizing this kind of shit. This counts as humor? Pfah.

--grendel drago

The picture is tainted. IT services make up less than 10% of India's GDP. Even though India might not represent a big market opportunity right now, but it is among the fastest growing market in every field - cars, cellphone, computers.

Dec 2004 or earlier

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6667257/

MSNBC (ugh.. I know) April 27

---

So how come we haven't heard more about this? Does it not produce a lot of energy?

It was reported on in the press (MSNBC) and Slashdot had a lively discussion here and slashdotted a UCLA server. There is more at a (hopefully non-slashdotted) UCLA website.

It says "Be sure to drink more Ovaltine."

Maybe they kidnap them from Japan.

See for example their history of doing the same to acquire knowledge about the outside world:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2087627/

Maybe they kidnap them from Japan.

See for example their history of doing the same to acquire knowledge about the outside world:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2087627/

Maybe they kidnap them from Japan.

See for example their history of doing the same to acquire knowledge about the outside world:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2087627/

Maybe they kidnap them from Japan.

See for example their history of doing the same to acquire knowledge about the outside world:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2087627/

Maybe they kidnap them from Japan.

See for example their history of doing the same to acquire knowledge about the outside world:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2087627/

I never heard any follow-up though./p

No, it is not fossilized at all, and they are looking into the DNA issue.

"Of course, the big question is whether it will be possible to see dinosaur DNA. 'We don't know yet. We are doing a lot in the lab now that looks promising,'"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7285683/

I never heard any follow-up though./p

Maybe they kidnap them from Japan.

See for example their history of doing the same to acquire knowledge about the outside world:

http://slate.msn.com/id/2087627/

No, it wasn't fossilized. Quite an amazing find.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7285683/

I never heard any follow-up though.

Exactly what technology do car manufacturers license today? OEMs are notorious for refusing to license anything. Unless this technology is offered license free, it wont be available.

Sorry, what? My friend just bought a car with GPS, A/V, Bluetooth audio integration, and a bunch of other snazzy shit. All came from the factory, and NONE of it is branded by the car maker--it's all 3rd-party stuff. Added about $4K to the sticker price, too, so it's not a small deal. Right now it's mostly high-end makes with this kind of gear, but it's growing.

Even better--GOOGLE IT--"hybrid engine licensing" gives, in just the first page of results, several examples of major manufacturers licensing critical powertrain components. Here's a couple, dealing the the Ford-Toyota and GM-DaimlerChrysler deals:

http://motormouth.com.au/myresources/alternatefuel sarticle.aspx?article=200403_fordhybrid
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6705895/

Looks like you don't know WTF you're talking about, smart guy. And think, the right answer was just a Google search away!

OPEC only wants to up production so they don't piss everyone off and then people look elsewhere for oil. OPEC is not the only producer.

Did you even read my OP? OPEC CAN'T INCREASE PRODUCTION! Not much more, anyway, with serious consequences. They're trying like hell right now, and it's proving very difficult to increase the flow of oil. There's a lot of reasons for this: production capacity isn't flexible enough (not enough refineries/tankers/etc. to deal with more oil), as well as possible damage to oil-producing formations if they try to pump more than they already are. I seem to remember the Russians severely limiting the useful lives of oil deposits in the 70s by force-pumping them with water--it upped immediate production substantially, but took years off the lives of the oil fields. Kind of like killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

OEMs are building hybrids barely and half-heartidly. Mostly through coops and shared technology. They are not competiting in the electric market as of today.

First, "shared technology" kind of kicks the shit out of your first point, doesn't it? Yeah, that's right, you just contradicted yourself.

And I don't know about "half-heartedly". At the NY Auto Show this year, virtually every major mid-level manufacturer, American, Asian, and Euro, had at least some kind of hybrid vehicle in production and were loudly marketing those strains. There were even a couple of pure electrics, with the same buzz. Sounds pretty hearted, to me.

But how about some numbers? If you look at production quantities of hybrids AND electrics over the past three years, every single quarter has been showing substantial increases. Most observers agree on continuing strong future increases in market share, though different predictions exist about how strong and how fast. Here's a great survey of some of the models (sources linked, too!):

http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/002783.html

You want more data, just fucking Google it: "hybrid vehicle production growth". Getting the hang of this "data" thing, yet? Works wonders in arguments!

(God, I needed that! What a fucking day!)

A little more digging finds a number of news articles (most rather sceptical) about the bomb test claims, some of which mention analysis of supposedly radioactive material from a site or sites in Thuringia:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4348497.stm
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1518173,0 0.html
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7090178/
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1511154, 00.html

There's a particularly sceptical article in Spiegel that makes the whole thing sound a bit 'Da Vinci Code':
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spie gel/0,1518,346293,00.html
Also according to Spiegel, the Jonas Valley in Thuringia is turning into a sort of German Area 51, attracting an army of crackpots looking for everything from stolen art treasures to evidence of nuclear weapon testing:
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spie gel/0,1518,260784,00.html
("[Conspiracy theorist] Stade also believes that the Führer's telephone system inside the tunnel network is still connected to the public telephone system. In fact, he claims that it's buried deep in the archives of the German Reichspost, and that he found Hitler's number there. It's 03624-1200500... Although the Führer's number is a working number, it's always busy.")

The industry already has sunk costs in existing distribution channels. Keeping those channels costs them little, moving to new channels costs them quite a bit. Also, there are many jobs involved in the old channel, existing bribe/kickback schemes, etc. It's easier to hire a bunch of lawyers/publicists, and keep raking in the money coming in through existing channels, than it is to actively build new ways of selling/distributing product. The last person in the industry to push for a new distribution channel (DVD's) got his ass canned, not a great way to encourage people to take risks.

If you consider that less than 50 years ago, many of the markets they sell to today didn't exist, resisting change is an incredibly stupid thing to do. But given the current copyright laws, there's no reason why they CAN'T resist change, and get away with it, at least for a while. What we need is more competition - you should expect stagnation when you have government enforced monopolies (which are what copyrights are.)

At the risk of touting MSFT...
search.msn.com let's you do this too.

In the "search builder" tab (subtab results ranking) there are slidebars that let you rank based on page freshness. Or just include it in your search: http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=linux+%7Bfrsh %3D100%7D&FORM=QBRE vs. http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=linux+%7Bfrsh %3D0%7D&FORM=QBRE