http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl News for nerds, stuff that matters en-us Copyright 1997-2009, Geeknet, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2009-12-16T04:23:12+00:00 Geeknet, Inc. help@slashdot.org Technology hourly 1 1970-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicslashdot.gif http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl //slashdot.org/submission/1134802/Book-Bargain-Flights-this-Winter-and-Get-Heavy-Dis?from=rss Book flights to any part of the world and get heavy discounts on this with bookbargainflights.com. m4martinsmith 2009-12-16T04:22:53+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1134800/New-Zealand-Re-introduces-3-Strikes-Law?from=rss The New Zealand government has reintroduced a newly rewritten addition to the Copyright Act which will allow rights' holders to send copyright notices to ISPs, and force them to pass them on to account holders. Section 92A of the Copyright Act will allow rights holders to take people who they have identified as infrigners more than three times to be heard in front of the Copyright Tribunal. This law will allow the Copyright Tribunal to hand down either a $15,000 fine or six months internet disconnection. The law specifies that the account holder himself is responsible for what is downloaded via the account, and doesn't make allowances for identifying the actual copyright infringer if there are multiple computers tied to an account. Anonymous Coward 2009-12-16T04:21:44+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1134798/Infertility-Cure?from=rss Fulfill your Dream...Build a Family graciousevangel 2009-12-16T04:17:19+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830954&from=rss The software giant's search service is now available on Apple's iTunes App Store; so when is the Android version coming? cnetfeed 2009-12-16T03:53:44+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830948&from=rss Fashionably late to the e-book handheld party, Borders and Kobo announced today a partnership that includes plans to develop and release both an e-reader and e-book service. Mum's the official word on hardware, but The New York Times Bits blog is claiming there'll be "more than one version" released, all with wireless connectivity and all sold at Borders retail locations, naturally. Unfortunately, there's no release date or window mentioned on that front. As for the service, the duo are taking a page from Barnes & Noble's playbook and claiming device neutrality, meaning they'd like to see their ePub-focused platform available to any and all devices possible, form mobile to desktop and everything in between. Sounds great, but what we're really keen to hear about is this new e-reader -- let's hope they've been taking notes on the successes and failures of their most immediate competitors. Borders and Kobo join forces for e-reader device they can call their own originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | The New York Times |Email this|Comments engfeed 2009-12-16T03:53:29+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830938&from=rss Earlier this year, we wrote about the sitcom It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which has a bit of a cult-like following among fans of the show. As we wrote, the show was doing a cool thing to connect with fans, by doing a live tour and screening a new episode in theaters around the country. It was a cool idea, and we were surprised other TV shows didn't do things like that. But, of course, the rest of our favorite "CwF + RtB" business model equation is beyond connecting with fans, you also have to give them a reason to buy. And reader Jeff alerts us to something else that the show recently did. In an episode last month that involved the various characters in the show discussing their new product ideas, at least one of them, the Dick Towel (um... NSFW) was turned into a real product (again, NSFW) and offered for sale for $20. According to Jeff, in an email he recently received from the site, so many people have ordered that they're a little late in shipping, and it looked like over 4,000 towels had been sold. Connect with fans and giving them a reason to buy appears to work with television shows as well... Of course, others have tried similar things as well, and there's even an entire company, Omni Consumer Products, that tries to license brands from movies to turn them into real products... Permalink | Comments | Email This Story techdirtfeed 2009-12-16T03:53:05+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830932&from=rss Geobiologists have observed a new behavior of metal-metabolizing bacteria, with implications for design of microbial fuel cells. The bacterial 'dance' has been dubbed the electric slide, officially named electrokinesis. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:52:50+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830924&from=rss Reproductive researchers have succeeded in isolating and transplanting pure populations of the immature cells that enable male reproduction in two species -- humans and mice. The germline stem cells, taken from testis biopsies, demonstrated viability following transplantation to mouse testes, providing hope to prepubescent men risking infertility due to cancer treatment. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:52:39+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830914&from=rss Adding cerium oxide to phosphate glass rather than the commonly used silicate glass may make glasses that block ultraviolet light and have increased radiation damage resistance while remaining colorless, according to researchers. These cerium-containing phosphate glasses have many commercial applications for use in windows, sunglasses and solar cells. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:52:27+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830904&from=rss Do good-looking people really benefit from their looks, and in what ways? Researchers found that yes, attractive people do tend to have more social relationships and therefore an increased sense of psychological well-being. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:52:06+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1134790/Google-Nexus-One-199-with-FREE-data?from=rss More leaks point towards the Google Nexus One phone being released on Jan 5th, costing $199 outright (no contract), or less if signing up through T-Mobile with a FREE data plan. The seemingly too-good-to-be-true deals will be subsidized by revenue from Google's AdMob acquisition and advertising integrated into GPS street-view and other services. Rumor is that Google is in the process of setting up similar deals with carriers around the world trying to offer the phone for a small outright cost and free data. Combined with Google's VOIP service, this could lead to a completely free telecommunications service. Anonymous Coward 2009-12-16T03:43:33+00:00 //slashdot.org/submission/1134788/Counter-Microsofts-COFEE-With-Some-DECAF?from=rss Ars Technica and The Register discuss the release of software called "Detect and Eliminate Computer Assisted Forensics" (DECAF), a tool developed to counter Microsoft's intelligence tool COFEE. DECAF will monitor Windows systems for signs of activity from COFEE, and according to Ars, it "deletes COFEE's temporary files, kills its processes, erases all COFEE logs, disables USB drives, and even contaminates or spoofs a variety of MAC addresses to muddy forensic tracks." At 181 KB, DECAF is lightweight and can be found on BitTorrent networks or on its own website. Andorin 2009-12-16T03:35:39+00:00 //slashdot.org/journal/242528/Republicans-are-cowards?from=rss Why are the Republicans so cowardly? This is unbecoming. Stargoat 2009-12-16T03:35:16+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830606&from=rss NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere satellite has captured five complete polar seasons of noctilucent or "night-shining" clouds with an unprecedented horizontal resolution of 3 miles by 3 miles. Results show that the cloud season turns on and off like a "geophysical light bulb" and they reveal evidence that high altitude mesospheric "weather" may follow similar patterns as our ever-changing weather near the Earth's surface. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:34:00+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830600&from=rss A gene involved in some forms of intellectual disability has been identified. The gene is called TRAPPC9 and may be associated with hundreds of thousands of cases of intellectual disability world-wide. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:33:49+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830598&from=rss Researchers have provided the most extensive account to date of the unique observable characteristics seen in patients with an extremely rare premature aging syndrome. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:33:38+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830594&from=rss Scientists have identified a protein switch that helps prevent liver damage, including inflammation, fibrosis and cancer. The findings suggest that a better understanding of how the protein, TAK1, works could lead to new insights into the development of liver disease and cancer. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:33:27+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830590&from=rss A 270-kilometer optical fiber has been transformed into the world's longest laser, a feat its inventors believe will lead to a radical new outlook on information transmission and secure communications. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:33:16+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830586&from=rss A new study reveals that couples who share the responsibility for paid and unpaid work report higher average measures of happiness and life satisfaction than those in other family models. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:33:05+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830582&from=rss The conversations neurons have as they form and recall memories have been decoded by scientists. The breakthrough in recognizing in real time the formation and recollection of a memory opens the door to objective, thorough memory studies and eventually better therapies, say the researchers. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:32:54+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830576&from=rss Among premature births -- children born before the 37th week of pregnancy -- newborn boys have a poorer prognosis than newborn girls. Physicians have explored why being male constitutes a risk factor for greater morbidity in these infants. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:32:42+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830570&from=rss The analysis of microfossils found in ocean sediment cores is illuminating the environmental conditions that prevailed at high latitudes during a critical period of Earth history. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:32:31+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830562&from=rss Patients with advanced prostate cancer are often treated with hormones, but when the tumors start growing again they have more and different blood vessels, reveals research from Sweden. This discovery paves the way for new treatments for hormone-resistant prostate cancer. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:32:18+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830200&from=rss Your ability to resist that tempting cookie depends on how a big a threat you perceive it to be, according to a new study. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:13:51+00:00 //slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=7830194&from=rss Planetary scientist Francis Nimmo will outline the impact of ice dynamics on the habitability of the moons of Saturn and Jupiter on Tuesday, Dec. 15, at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. sdfeed 2009-12-16T03:13:40+00:00