[Slashdot] Stories for 2008-01-20

======================================================================
Going Mobile?
Only the laptop experts offer a complete line of high performance
laptop notebooks and Tablet PCs. Take a look at [SLASHDOT��S] mobility
center for Toshiba��s newest business innovations.

http://mobile.slashdot.org//
======================================================================

Slashdot Daily Newsletter

In this issue:
* Teleportation — Fact and Fiction
* Trolltech Adopts GPL 3 for Qt
* The Doctor Will See Your Credit Score Now
* CIA Claims Cyber Attackers Blacked Out Cities
* Lawyer Trademarks "Cyberlaw"
* Robots Learn To Lie
* Microsoft Threatens Startups Over Account Info
* World of Warcraft Gold Limit Reached, Its 2^31
* MacBook Air's Battery is Actually Easy to Replace
* Open Source Speech Recognition
* Cloverfield Discussion
* Aftermath of Distant Planetary Collision?
* FCC Will Test Internet Over TV Airwaves, Again
* AI Taught How To Play Ms. Pac-Man
* A Proposal for Unionizing Bloggers
* Google To Offer Free Database Storage for Scientists
* Use Your Cellphone as a 3D Mouse

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Teleportation — Fact and Fiction |
| from the there-and-back-again dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday January 18, @20:22 (Sci-Fi) |
|

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/18/2259219

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

[0]jcatcw writes "Earlier this week actor Hayden Christensen, of Star
Wars fame, and director Doug Liman [1]discussed teleportation with MIT
professors to compare the reality to the special effects version in the
upcoming movie, Jumper. Edward Farhi, director of the Center for
Theoretical Physics at MIT, said, 'It's a little less exotic than what
you see in the movie. Teleportation has been done, moving a single proton
over two miles. [But] teleporting a person? That is pretty far down the
line. The quantum state of a living creature is pretty formidable. That
is just not in the foreseeable future.'"

Discuss this story at:

http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/18/2259219

Links:
0. http://blogs.computerworld.com/carpenter

1. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=development&articleId=9057664

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Trolltech Adopts GPL 3 for Qt |
| from the for-making-cute-software dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday January 18, @22:37 (Graphics) |
|

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/0130250

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

Funkmaster F writes "At the KDE Developer Conference today, Trolltech CEO
Havaard Nord announced that its Qt application development toolkit will
be [0]released under GPL 3. 'Here at the KDE release event, Nord's
announcement was met with applause. Like Trolltech's initial decision to
move from its own QPL license to the GPL, this announcement and the
company's more recent decision to adopt the GPL for all platforms rather
than just Linux, demonstrate the company's ongoing commitment to
openness.'"

Discuss this story at:

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/0130250

Links:
0. http://arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/2008/01/18/trolltech-to-adopt-gpl-3-for-qt

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The Doctor Will See Your Credit Score Now |
| from the what's-up-doc dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Saturday January 19, @00:30 (Privacy) |
|

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/18/2342241

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

[0]mytrip writes to mention that the same people who invented credit
scores are working to create a [1]similar system for hospitals and other
health care providers. "The project, dubbed "MedFICO" in some early press
reports, will aid hospitals in assessing a patient's ability to pay their
medical bills. But privacy advocates are worried that the notorious
errors that have caused frequent criticism of the credit system will also
cause trouble with any attempt to create a health-related risk score.
They also fear that a low score might impact the quality of the health
care that patients receive."

Discuss this story at:

http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/18/2342241

Links:
0. http://www.mytrip.com/

1. http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/01/the-doctor-wi-1.html

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| CIA Claims Cyber Attackers Blacked Out Cities |
| from the say-g'night-dick dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Saturday January 19, @02:19 (Security)|
|

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/0138209

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

[0]Dotnaught writes to tell us InformationWeek is reporting that the CIA
admitted today that recent power outages in multiple cities outside the
United States are the [1]result of cyberattacks. "We have information,
from multiple regions outside the United States, of cyber intrusions into
utilities, followed by extortion demands. We suspect, but cannot confirm,
that some of these attackers had the benefit of inside knowledge. We have
information that cyberattacks have been used to disrupt power equipment
in several regions outside the United States. In at least one case, the
disruption caused a power outage affecting multiple cities. We do not
know who executed these attacks or why, but all involved intrusions
through the Internet."

Discuss this story at:

http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/0138209

Links:
0. http://www.lot49.com/

1. http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205901631

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lawyer Trademarks "Cyberlaw" |
| from the race-to-the-trademark-office dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Saturday January 19, @04:31 (The Court|
|

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/0232233

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

[0]BigTimOBrien writes to mention the EFF is reporting that
self-proclaimed cyberlawyer, Eric Menhart, has decided to [1]trademark
use of the term "cyberlaw" and is threatening other lawyers with legal
action over the term. "I wish I could say I was surprised by this one,
but such overreaching invocations of IP rights are all too common -- even
where, as in this case, there are no actual "rights" to speak of. But an
IP lawyer should know that courts (and trademark examiners, and many tech
companies that might be potential clients) don't look kindly on efforts
to abuse trademark law to control everyday language. Here's hoping
Menhart figures that out fast."

Discuss this story at:

http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/0232233

Links:
0. mailto:tobrien@discursive.com
1. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/01/cyberlaw-and-cyberlawgs

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Robots Learn To Lie |
| from the who-are-you-and-why-should-i-care dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Saturday January 19, @06:28 (Robotics)|
|

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/0258214

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

[0]garlicnation writes "Gizmodo reports that robots that have the ability
to learn and can communicate information to their peers have [1]learned
to lie. 'Three colonies of bots in the 50th generation learned to signal
to other robots in the group when then found food or poison. But the
fourth colony included lying cheats that signaled food when they found
poison and then calmly rolled over to the real food while other robots
went to their battery-death.'"

Discuss this story at:

http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/0258214

Links:
0. mailto:ajo@gsf.org
1. http://gizmodo.com/346029/scientists-invent-robots-that-lie-real-bender-closer-than-ever

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Microsoft Threatens Startups Over Account Info |
| from the strong-arm-of-the-law dept. |
| posted by ScuttleMonkey on Saturday January 19, @08:33 (Microsoft|
|

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/039232

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

HangingChad writes "According to Fortune, there are reports that
[0]Microsoft is trying to strong arm startups to give preferential
treatment to MSN Messenger and are using account information as leverage.
'If the company wants to offer other IM services (from Yahoo, Google or
AOL, say), Messenger must get top billing. And if the startup wants to
offer any other IM service, it must pay Microsoft 25 cents a user per
year for a site license.' Of course, if the company is willing to use
Messenger exclusively 'fee will be discounted 100 percent.' Getting
detailed information is difficult as many of the companies being
approached are afraid of reprisals."

Discuss this story at:

http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/039232

Links:
0. http://techland.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/01/18/the-hard-side-of-mister-softie/

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| World of Warcraft Gold Limit Reached, Its 2^31 |
| from the and-i-thought-my-life-was-void dept. |
| posted by CmdrTaco on Saturday January 19, @09:27 (Role Playing (|
|

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/1321241

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

[0]Mitch writes "Blizzard apparently used signed integers for their World
of Warcraft gold values as some people have [1]recently hit the limit of
2^31. "Apparently that amount is 214,748 gold, 36 silver, 48 copper.
After you reach that lofty sum, you'll no longer be able to receive money
from any source in the game. While some responses to the original posts
claim that this exact limit had previously been theorized to exist, there
have been no reports of anyone in the game actually achieving this amount
via legal means.". I guess Blizzard didn't expect anyone to ever get
close to that much gold in game."

Discuss this story at:

http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/1321241

Links:
0. http://moneyne.ws/

1. http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/01/16/apparently-you-can-have-too-much-gold/

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| MacBook Air's Battery is Actually Easy to Replace |
| from the well-that's-not-so-bad-then dept. |
| posted by CmdrTaco on Saturday January 19, @10:19 (Hardware Hacki|
|

http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/1412223

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

pizzach noted that the MacBook Air battery is [0]actually fairly easy to
replace. "All it requires is a philips screwdriver. Unlike some of
[1]Apple's other products, the battery is not so soldered in which should
make a lot of people at least a little bit happier." I think I'll have to
wait for something with a bigger screen and a faster clock speed.

Discuss this story at:

http://apple.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/1412223

Links:
0. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/01/18/sources_macbook_air_battery_replacements_take_only_minutes.html

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipod

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Open Source Speech Recognition |
| from the hello-computer dept. |
| posted by CmdrTaco on Saturday January 19, @11:14 (Software) |
|

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/1446213

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

[0]bedahr writes "The first version of the open source speech recognition
suite [1]simon was released. It uses the [2]Julius large vocabulary
continuous speech recognition to do the actual recognition and the [3]HTK
toolkit to maintain the language model. These components are united under
an easy-to-use graphical user interface. Simon can import dictionaries
directly from wiktionary (a subproject of wikipedia) or from files
formated in the HADIFIX- or HTK format and grammar structures directly
from personal texts. It also provides means to train the language model
with new samples and add new words."

Discuss this story at:

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/1446213

Links:
0. mailto:grasch@simon-listens.org
1. http://sourceforge.net/projects/speech2text/

2. http://julius.sourceforge.jp/en_index.php

3. http://htk.eng.cam.ac.uk/

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Cloverfield Discussion |
| from the because-we-can dept. |
| posted by CmdrTaco on Saturday January 19, @12:06 (Movies) |
|

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/1611248

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

I don't get to see many movies with a 4 month old in the house, but I
managed to escape to see Cloverfield. Stop reading immediately if you
don't want spoilers. It's Blair Witch's first person camera work, applied
to a small (for the genre) budget monster movie. The monster is cool. The
little monsters are cool. The acting is sometimes good, sometimes
awkward. The action is often great and very intense. And it will
undoubtedly be the most hyped movie of 2008 until the spring blockbusters
arrive. I really enjoyed the movie, but I'm posting this so you guys can
have a place to talk amongst yourselves about this movie. Groundbreaking
movie-making or just hype-making? I'm not sure. I'm also not sure my
skull can handle watching it again- that jerky camera action gave me a
headache. (Also, there was a Star Trek teaser trailer attached, and I'm
almost ashamed to admit that I want it so badly it made me hurt. Please
Abrams, don't screw it up)

Discuss this story at:

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/1611248

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Aftermath of Distant Planetary Collision? |
| from the two-plus-two-equals-weird dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Saturday January 19, @13:33 (Space) |
|

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/185227

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

[0]gazurtoid writes "Astrobiology Magazine is reporting that astronomers
have announced a mystery object orbiting the 8-million-year-old brown
dwarf 2M1207 170 light-years from Earth [1]might have formed from the
collision and merger of two protoplanets. The object, known as [2]2M1207B,
has puzzled astronomers since its discovery because it seems to fall
outside the spectrum of physical possibility. Its combination of
temperature, luminosity, and age do not match up with any theory. 'Hot,
post-collision planets might be a whole new class of objects we will see
with the Giant Magellan Telescope', said Eric Mamajek of the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics."

Discuss this story at:

http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/185227

Links:
0. mailto:gazurtoid@hotmail.com
1. http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2589&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2M1207B

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| FCC Will Test Internet Over TV Airwaves, Again |
| from the automagic-for-the-people dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Saturday January 19, @14:26 (Television) |
|

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/1827209

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

Weather Storm writes "According to MSNBC.com, the FCC will try again to
test prototypes on Jan. 24 for [0]transmitting high-speed Internet
service over unused television airwaves. The devices were developed by
Microsoft and Motorola, among other corporate partners, and will be
tested in laboratory and real-world conditions for three months. 'Last
year, a high-technology coalition ��� which included Microsoft, Google
Inc., Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co., Intel Corp. among others ���
[1]submitted prototypes they said could transmit broadband Internet
service over unlicensed and unused TV spectrum, known as "white spaces."
Television broadcasters and the wireless microphone industry say such
devices could interfere with programming. The Initial prototype testing
failed last July because the devices did not reliably detect and avoid TV
programming signals and could have caused interference. If the tests are
successful this time and the devices are approved, the coalition plans to
introduce commercial devices for sale after the digital television
transition in February 2009.'"

Discuss this story at:

http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/1827209

Links:
0. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22728557/

1. http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/03/13/0235257&tid=193

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| AI Taught How To Play Ms. Pac-Man |
| from the way-better-than-i-can dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Saturday January 19, @15:21 (Robotics) |
|

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/190221

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

trogador writes with the news that researchers are working to [0]teach
AIs how to play games as an exercise in reinforced learning. Software
constructs been taught to play games like chess and checkers since the
50s, but the Department of Information Systems at Eotvos University in
Hungary is working to adapt that thinking to more modern titles. Besides
Ms. Pac-Man, game like Tetris and Baldur's Gate assist these programs in
mapping different behaviors onto their artificial test subjects. "Szita
and Lorincz chose Ms. Pac-Man for their study because the game enabled
them to test a variety of teaching methods. In the original Pac-Man,
released in 1979, players must eat dots, avoid being eaten by four
ghosts, and score big points by eating flashing ghosts. Therefore, a
player's movements depend heavily on the movements of ghosts. However,
the ghosts' routes are deterministic, enabling players to find patterns
and predict future movements. In Ms. Pac-Man, on the other hand, the
ghosts' routes are randomized, so that players can't figure out an
optimal action sequence in advance."

Discuss this story at:

http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/190221

Links:
0. http://www.robotworldnews.com/100389.php

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| A Proposal for Unionizing Bloggers |
| from the lots-of-signs-saying-frist-psot dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Saturday January 19, @16:38 (The Internet) |
|

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/2053245

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

[0]mikesd81 writes "Coloumbia Journal Review writes about [1]the
possibility of unionizing bloggers. Chris Mooney writes 'Yes, dear
reader: the Bloggers Guild of America may be on its way. The dispute
between screen and television writers and media conglomerates has its
roots, after all, in the Web.' He says, then, they get zero compensation
for their products being distributed over the Internet. 'Bloggers often
earn that same salary. There are exceptions, of course, those fortunate
few who have become quasi-celebrities in their own right and found
themselves, and their sites, snatched up by major media companies,' he
goes on to say. He also adds that a bloggers guild could protect a
bloggers intellectual property and help ensure they're compensated for
it."

Discuss this story at:

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/2053245

Links:
0. mailto:mikesd@ptd.IIInetminusthreevowels
1. http://www.cjr.org/on_the_job/blogonomics.php?page=all

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Google To Offer Free Database Storage for Scientists |
| from the are-they-supporting-science-or-science! dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Saturday January 19, @17:30 (Google) |
|

http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/2159241

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

An anonymous reader writes "Google has revealed [0]a new project aimed at
the scientific community. Called Palimpsest, the site
[1]research.google.com will play host to 'terabytes of open-source
scientific datasets'. It was originally previewed for scientists last
August . 'Building on the company's acquisition of the data visualization
technology, Trendalyzer, from the oft-lauded, TED presenting Gapminder
team, Google will also be offering algorithms for the examination and
probing of the information. The new site will have YouTube-style
annotating and commenting features.'"

Discuss this story at:

http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/2159241

Links:
0. http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/01/google-to-provi.html

1. http://research.google.com/

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Use Your Cellphone as a 3D Mouse |
| from the remember-when-they-weighed-like-twenty-pounds dept. |
| posted by Zonk on Saturday January 19, @18:36 (Input Devices) |
|

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/01/19/2219224

|
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

[0]Roland Piquepaille writes "In recent years, we've started to use our
cellphones not only for placing calls or exchanging messages. Now, we
take pictures, read our e-mails, listen to music or watch TV. But,
according to New Scientist, UK researchers are going further with [1]a
prototype software that turns your cellphone into a 3-D mouse. The phone
is connected to your computer via Bluetooth. And you control the image on
the screen by rotating or moving your phone. As says one of the
researchers, 'it feels like a much more natural way to interact and
exchange data.' The technology might first be used in shopping malls to
buy movie tickets or to interact with advertising displays."

Discuss this story at:

http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=08/01/19/2219224

Links:
0. http://www.primidi.com/2008/01/19.html

1. http://technology.newscientist.com/channel/tech/dn13187-cameraphone-used-to-control-computers-in-3d.html

Copyright 1997-2006 OSTG. All rights reserved.

======================================================================

You have received this message because you subscribed to it
on Slashdot. To stop receiving this and other
messages from Slashdot, or to add more messages
or change your preferences, please go to your user page.

http://slashdot.org/my/messages

You can log in and change your preferences from there.