Forgot your password?

Comment: I'm not surprised, actually. (Score 1) 280

by Lord Crowface (#39806723) Attached to: Sci-Fi Publisher Tor Ditches DRM For E-Books

The success of companies like Baen in selling DRM-free e-books to the SF-reading public has shown that, at least for SF and Fantasy readers, not having DRM tends to drive sales rather than piracy. The fact that when the Harry Potter books were released as e-books it was in a DRM-free form probably didn't hurt either. The interesting thing to see will be whether the current DRM-free trend spreads to works outside the SF and Fantasy genres.

Comment: Re:Meanwhile... (Score 1) 628

by Lord Crowface (#39769541) Attached to: University of Florida Eliminates Computer Science Department

Seriously? While some of those degrees look more like they belong at a technical school or a community college, some look legit to me. Also, academic Religious Studies (as I assume the Religion department is) tend to look at religion in a more anthropological and sociological perspective than a "belief and preaching" perspective. Thus, the typical Religious Studies department would be a very bad fit for a seminary.

Comment: Doesn't UW have an early college program? (Score 1) 659

by Lord Crowface (#37670744) Attached to: How Do You Educate a Prodigy?

IIRC, UW Seattle actually has one of the best "early college" programs around. In essence they take something like twenty or so 12 and 13 year olds, put them through a year long academic "boot camp" and then allow those who get through (usually 18 or 19 out of the 20) to enroll as freshmen. Unlike places like MIT, which enroll the occasional prodigy but have no real special services for them, the UW program provides services and specialized advising to the kids throughout their entire time in school, while also encouraging them to take part in extracurricular activities and maintain a social life both with their age-peers and academic peers. The program seems to work, so could that be an option for a kid like that?

Comment: Re:Link to previous story (Score 3, Insightful) 37

by Lord Crowface (#37364402) Attached to: Security Researchers Crack APCO P25 Encryption

P25 wasn't originally designed with security in mind. It was designed as a standardized digital replacement for the mess of incompatible digital and analog trunking systems that had grown up in the 80s and 90s. In its basic, as-designed, unencrypted mode, it works well. It's only when local PDs and FDs decide to try and lock out scanner users (nominally to keep criminals from listening, but more often to keep away TV news crews) by means of ill-conceived encryption addons that things fall apart.

Comment: Re:Amazing technology for its time (Score 1) 106

by Lord Crowface (#37341410) Attached to: 1970s Polaroid SX-70 Cameras Make a Comeback

The SX-70 may have been easier to use than the older stuff, but the older stuff actually had a much better image quality. The black and white Polaroid peel-apart materials were really good stuff, for example: Ansel Adams swore by the stuff (it could give him an instant preview of the shot AND with a little bit of care, a good negative to bring back to the darkroom, fix and make traditional prints from) Their color materials were less "high end" than the black and white materials but they still did a much better job at accurate color reproduction than could ever be hoped for from the SX-70.

+ - SPAM: Crohn's Disease - Viagra May be Helpful

Submitted by caseykoch717juh7
caseykoch717juh7 writes "Ulcerative Colitis impacts just the significant intestine ( colon ). Crohn's disease is a bit far more typical in females versus males. It's typically a persistent disorder, typically named -inflammatory bowel illness. The problem will cause ulcers within the intestinal location and may be anywhere among the mouth area and rectum.

A group of researchers within the University College London, UK discovered out a brand new cause behind the inflammation in Crohn's. They tested inflammatory response to bacteria by injecting harmless Escherichia Coli beneath the skin to measure neighborhood inflammatory and blood flow alterations. Their investigation showed that the Crohn's individuals had very reduced blood flow generating lower quantities of neutrophils and inflammatory mediators. The problem with reduced blood flow, they suggest, may be treated with Sildenafil Citrate. As outlined by Anthony Segal, the key researcher, in Crohn's condition, a constitutionally weak immune response predisposes to accumulation of intestinal contents that breach the mucosal barrier of the bowel wall, causing granuloma formation and chronic inflammation.

The aspects that trigger Crohn's disease aren't totally understood. Nonetheless, the top functions of the illness would recommend an autoimmune dysfunction. Though further research are required, the leading present-day way of thinking is the fact that the microorganisms inside of the intestinal tract get inadequate access into the intestinal wall, which activates an immune response against bordering tissue. What may possibly lead to Crohn's condition is usually a fiercely argued and controversial topic. Several notions are plentiful about the sources of Crohn's illness. Some say it's a condition brought on by the body's quite very own defense mechanisms, even though some really feel it is a genetic matter. Others nonetheless, think that dietary practices and inadequate nourishment, actually, bring concerning the disease. Although, numerous far more point to bacteria and fungi as the trigger.

Crohn's condition brings about inflammation deep inside the lining from the intestinal tract. Some research have shown that present and past tobacco users have increased threat of building Crohn's condition than non-smokers do. Amongst the people with the disease, tobacco is linked to a increased rate of relapse, repeat surgical procedures, and immuno-suppressive therapy. Why cigarette smoking raises the possible threat of Crohn's condition is not recognized. Nevertheless, a lot of theorists are convinced that cigarettes may possibly decrease the intestine's defenses, decrease the circulation of blood to the intestines, or bring about the body's defense mechanism alterations that bring about inflammation.

You would like to know precisely what this crohn's disease organic remedy is appropriate? Well my buddy, should you do not know by now, it is the food that you just consume. Yes, that is appropriate! The food that you consume will probably be the variation in between going to the bathroom numerous occasions each day and being typical. The food that you eat will be the difference amongst that discomfort in your stomach and no pain in any way! In the event you are amongst this group it really is essential that you simply follow your doctor's guidance and stay away from those foods that could lead to those dreaded "flares".bowel cancer symptoms

bowel cancer symptoms"

Link to Original Source

+ - Pathscale Goes Open Source->

Submitted by Lord Crowface
Lord Crowface writes "Performance-hungry computer users have a new choice when compiling their weather simulations and raytracers at home: PathScale has just announced the open source release of their flagship Pathscale EKOPath 4 compiler suite. Any bets on how long it takes before some Gentoo fan tries to compile a kernel with this?"
Link to Original Source

+ - Chinese Spying Devices Installed on Hong Kong Cars-> 2

Submitted by
jjp9999 writes "Spying devices disguised as electronic border cards have been secretly installed on thousands of Hong Kong vehicles by Chinese authorities, according to a Hong Kong newspaper. A translation of the story states Chinese authorities have been installing spying devices on all dual-plate Chinese-Hong Kong vehicles for years, enabling a vast network of eavesdropping across the archipelago."
Link to Original Source
United States

+ - Hi-Tech Petition Drive Angers ACLU->

Submitted by PeeAitchPee
PeeAitchPee writes "Here in Maryland, we currently have a petition drive underway to force a referendum on a new law granting in-state college tuition rates to illegal immigrants. In a few short months, the use of automated, web-based signature form preparation has helped to obtain almost 80% of the required signatures. The ACLU last month sent a letter to the State Board of Elections warning that the petition drive's website, which links to official state voter records and allows petitions to be pre-populated with exact names and addresses, could open the door to fraud. Does this technology indeed encourage fraudulent signatures, or does it merely enable more people to directly participate in their government's processes?"
Link to Original Source

Comment: Low to None (Score 1) 674

by Lord Crowface (#28013279) Attached to: MS Word 2010 Takes On TeX

Even with better typography support, Word is still unsuitable for anything more complex than a letter to Grandma. That's because it still makes it harder to create structured documents than LaTeX does. If I'm writing a novel or a paper or something, the ability to simply say "\chapter{In Which I Make A Fool of Myself on Slashdot}" is MUCH easier than mucking with the mess that is Word's half-baked paragraph styles. The only thing Word does better than LaTeX is pictures.

Comment: Actually, I can see why they're doing this (Score 5, Informative) 226

by Lord Crowface (#26172983) Attached to: Toshiba To OEM Laptops With OpenSolaris

I'm typing this from OpenSolaris 2008.11 and I'm actually surprised how "desktop-friendly" Solaris has actually become. The default GNOME-based desktop is gorgeous and works well. Hardware support may not be all that broad, but when hardware is supported it's REALLY supported: even booting off the live CD, my Atheros wireless card, NVidia 3D card and crappy on-mobo sound were "auto-magically" detected and set up. Performance is also quite snappy, even on my aging Athlon XP 3000+ with a measly 1 GB of RAM. In short, OpenSolaris is more than up to the task of working on Toshiba's new laptops.
