Bill Gates and Microsoft Fund Telescope

coondoggie writes "Bill Gates and the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences this week donated $30 million to an ambitious telescope that researchers say will be able to survey the entire sky every three nights — something never done before. The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) Project got $20 million from the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences and $10 million from Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates. Expected to see its "first light" in 2014, the 8.4-meter LSST will survey the entire visible sky deeply in multiple colors every week with its 3 billion-pixel digital camera, probing the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy and opening a movie-like window on objects that change or move. With the telescope scientists will be able to quickly find Earth-threatening asteroids and exploding stars called supernovas and will be able to map out 100 billion galaxies, according to researchers."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Jan 2008 | 3:18 pm

Warren Ellis's angry, profane Three Laws of Robotics

Warren Ellis's profane and angry take on the Three Laws of Robotics is good reading -- especially if you envision the future as an organic process where "laws" are emergent phenomena arising from lots of individual, uncoordinated actors (e.g., the Internet) instead of a centrally planned affair contrived by Wise Men in white robes (the Foundation).

2. Robots do not want to have sex with you. Are you listening, Japan? I don’t have a clever comparative simile for this, because frankly you bags of meat will fuck bicycles if they’re laying down and not putting up a fight. Just stop it. There is no robot on Earth that wants to see a bag of meat with a small prong on the end approaching it with a can of WD-40 and a hopeful smile. And don’t get me started on that terrifying hole that squeezes out more bags of meat.

Link

Source: Boing Boing | 5 Jan 2008 | 2:55 pm

Warner Backs Blu-Ray. End Times For HD-DVD?

An anonymous reader writes "The NY Times reports: In addition to Apple, Warner Brothers is now going to throw its weight behind the Blu-ray format for high-definition disks. Warner has been the only major studio to publish its movies in both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. Today, the studio announced that from now on, it would only issue movies in Blu-ray. Richard Greenfield, the media analyst with Pali Research, wrote that this marks the end of the format wars: "We expect HD DVD to 'die' a quick death.""

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Jan 2008 | 2:25 pm

Google, Yahoo, Others Sued Over Solitaire Patent

An anonymous reader writes "Back in 2004, Slashdot posted about computer solitaire being patented. It was a ridiculous patent and made it onto the EFF's list of worst patents. However, not much had been heard about that patent until now. It turns out that the patent holder, Sheldon Goldberg, is now using that patent to sue a bunch of different online publications, including Digg, eBaum's World, the NY Times, Cnet and the Washington Post. He's also suing Google, Yahoo and AOL (why not?)."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Jan 2008 | 1:24 pm

Science Text Attempts to Reconcile Religion and Science

terrymaster69 writes "The New York Times reports that the National Academy of Sciences has just published their third book outlining guidelines for the teaching of evolution. 'But this volume is unusual, people who worked on it say, because it is intended specifically for the lay public and because it devotes much of its space to explaining the differences between science and religion, and asserting that acceptance of evolution does not require abandoning belief in God.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Jan 2008 | 11:30 am

McAfee Worried Over "Ambiguous" Open Source Licenses

willdavid writes to tell us InformationWeek is reporting that McAfee, in their annual report, has warned investors that "ambiguous" open source licenses "may result in unanticipated obligations regarding [McAfee] products." "McAfee said it's particularly troubling that the legality of terms included in the GNU/General Public License -- the most widely used open source license -- have yet to be tested in court. 'Use of GPL software could subject certain portions of our proprietary software to the GPL requirements, which may have adverse effects on our sales of the products incorporating any such software,' McAfee said in the report filed last month with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Among other things, the GPL requires that manufacturers who in their products use software governed by the license distribute the software's source code to end users or customers. Some manufacturers have voiced concerns that the requirement could leave important security or copyright protection features in their products open to tampering."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Jan 2008 | 9:36 am

Memo to EU: DRM is dead

Peter from the DefectiveByDesign campaign sez,

Yesterday, Viviane Reding, European Union commissioner for information society and media, issued a report sanctioning a "transparent" DRM framework for the EU. This irresponsible and senseless report comes just as Sony BMG have announced that they would join Warner Music Group, EMI, and Vivendi's Universal Music Group in selling DRM-free music downloads in the United States. That Reding would take this moment to propose that the European Union seek to impose DRM on European citizens is both senseless and irresponsible.
Join us in demanding that Reding retract her statement and issue a new report stating that the EU will neither endorse nor sponsor the creation of any DRM technology scheme.

Link (Thanks, Peter!)

Source: Boing Boing | 5 Jan 2008 | 8:32 am

Bejewelled Singapore taxi dashboard

Today in my ongoing series of photos from my travels -- this decor-encrusted dashboard of a Singapore taxi. This is apparently an infamous cab among the locals (at least everyone I showed it to immediately recognized it), and it's quite a contrast from the usual super-neat and tidy S'pore cab. I enjoyed the hell out of it, though. Link

Source: Boing Boing | 5 Jan 2008 | 8:31 am

Super Mario level recreated with Doom engine

Link (via Digg)

Source: Boing Boing | 5 Jan 2008 | 8:28 am

Hall closet converted to a Tardis

Elizabeth sez, "Almost all apartments have coat closets. Very few have TARDISes. For the New Year, my roommates and I converted our normal coat closet into our very own time-travelling space ship disguised as a blue police box. And now we can bask in the glow of the time vortex held within whenever we want to. Pictures, and a description of the creation process, are on my blog." Link (Thanks, Elizabeth!)

Source: Boing Boing | 5 Jan 2008 | 8:23 am

Mike Huckabee congratulates Canada on its "national igloo"

Mike Huckabee may have won the Iowa primary, but does he really think that Canada's Parliament resides in a "national igloo?" Rick Mercer's comedic Canadian TV show "Talking to Americans" (asking people on the streets of US cities nonsensical questions about Canada to see if they call shenanigans or whether they become genuinely alarmed at the idea that, say, the Canadian elderly are set adrift on ice floes instead of being sent to retirement homes) caught Huckabee on video during his days as governor of Arkansas and asked him to send a message of support to Canada and its struggling "national igloo," a notional ice-sculpture scale replica of the White House in which the Canadian Parliament meets and debates.

Huckabee gave a stirring endorsement to the igloo, presumably after ascertaining that the igloo was not used by homosexuals. Link

Source: Boing Boing | 5 Jan 2008 | 8:20 am

German Justice Minister: ISPs must store data for terrorist-hunting, but not for music industry lawsuits

Freddie Freelance sez, "German Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries has drawn a line in the sand on the Internet connection data that Germany's requiring be collected since January 1st & hold for 6 months. From Heise Online:"

"Connection information can assist in the prosecution of terrorists and organized criminals but cannot be used to help the music industry pursue its rights under civil law," said the SPD party politician in an interview with Focus, the German news magazine. "Any government that tries to broaden its scope will lose all credibility."

Link (Thanks, Freddie Freelance!)

Source: Boing Boing | 5 Jan 2008 | 8:12 am

Apple Files for OLED Keyboard Patent

pegdhcp writes to mention that Apple has applied for a patent on a 'dynamically controlled keyboard' with OLED keys. This may seem remarkably familiar, since an OLED keyboard has been bandied about by Art Lebedev studios for quite a while now. "while the Optimus Maximus is a bit expensive, Apple could certainly mass-produce something similar for less money, perhaps bringing the price into reality for most users. Lebedev has, however, apparently applied for several patents for the Optimus, so it's unclear just what Apple is up to, or what would happen if the company were ever to release such a product."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Jan 2008 | 7:22 am

Frozen Researchers Set Antarctic Ballooning Record

coondoggie writes to mention NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have announced a new record in the history of scientific ballooning in Antarctica. The new record was established by 'launching and operating three long-duration sub-orbital flights simultaneously within a single southern-hemisphere summer'. "The milestone is significant, as it occurs during the height of the International Polar Year (IPY), a coordinated scientific campaign that is utilizing scientists from more than 60 nations. NSF is the lead federal agency for IPY, which began in March 2007 and will continue until 2009 to allow for two full years of observations and field work in parts of the world that are generally uninhabitable for as long as six months each year, researchers said. "

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Jan 2008 | 5:27 am

Startup to Give San Francisco Second Chance at Free Wi-Fi

Meraki, which has successfully installed mesh networks in six neighborhoods, plans to pick up where Earthlink left off and blanket the whole city with free Wi-Fi coverage by the end of 2008.

Source: Wired: Top Stories | 5 Jan 2008 | 4:30 am

General Motors Embraces Open Source for New Community Site

An anonymous reader writes "GM has introduced a new website called GMnext. The site utilizes Wordpress and launching in spring a Wiki allowing General Motors to get better feedback on topics such as energy, design and technology from the community. The interesting part is the executives at GM are participating in the collaborative website. 'We're starting our second century at a time of fundamental change in the auto industry,' said GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner. 'We'll use GMnext to introduce some of our ideas for addressing critical issues concerning energy, the environment and globalization. In the process, we also hope to spark a broader, global discussion on these important topics.'"

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot | 5 Jan 2008 | 3:34 am

Scientists Use Sunlight to Make Fuel From CO2

Sandia National Laboratories' "Sunshine to Petrol" project uses solar energy to recycle carbon dioxide and recover the building blocks of hydrocarbons, which can then be used to synthesize fuels like methanol and gasoline.

Source: Wired: Top Stories | 5 Jan 2008 | 1:00 am

Death of DRM Could Weaken iTunes, Boost iPod

As major record labels complete their retreat from digital rights management, Apple's online music store will likely face new competition. Will consumers' love of unrestricted files make a dent in the iTunes Store's popularity?

Source: Wired: Top Stories | 5 Jan 2008 | 12:45 am

FAA: Boeing's New 787 May Be Vulnerable to Hacker Attack

The FAA says Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet may have a serious security flaw: The computer network in the passenger compartment is connected to the plane's control systems, making them vulnerable to attack. "It's serious," says a security expert.

Source: Wired: Top Stories | 5 Jan 2008 | 12:30 am

Biotech Conference: New Focus on Politics, Old Focus on Money

The most important biotechnology conference of the year kicks off next week in San Francisco, and the deal making should be fast and furious.

Source: Wired: Top Stories | 5 Jan 2008 | 12:00 am

Supporters Mull Internet Candidate Ron Paul's Fifth Place in Iowa

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's supporters and others mull over Thursday's Iowa caucus results, as well as the role of the internet in political organization and messaging.

Source: Wired: Top Stories | 4 Jan 2008 | 11:30 pm