Sunday, June 12, 2005
Astronomers criticise plans to allow cellphone use on planes
Maggie McKee reports for NewScientist: “Using cellphones on aeroplanes could drown out faint radio signals from space, astronomers are warning. They told a US agency considering lifting in-flight restrictions on cellphones that special devices should be installed on planes to limit damage to research if the regulations change.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 02:14 PM / Comments (0)
Sunday, May 8, 2005
Computers Grade Students' Writing
Wired News: “Students in Brent’s Introduction to Sociology course at the University of Missouri-Columbia now submit drafts through the SAGrader software he designed. It counts the number of points he wanted his students to include and analyzes how well concepts are explained… And within seconds, students have a score.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 08:05 PM / Comments (0)
Friday, April 15, 2005
Hoax paper fools cybernetic boffins
The Register: “An MIT student has had a paper consisting of computer-generated gibberish accepted by technology conference WMSCI. The pretentious gathering bills itself as an international forum where researchers and practitioners examine Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics key issues.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 08:17 PM / Comments (0)
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Russian hackers 'the best in the world'
Dan Ilett reports for ZDnet UK: “Everyone knows that Russians are good at maths,” said lieutenant general Boris Miroshnikov of Department K. “Our software writers are the best in the world, that’s why our hackers are the best in the world.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 12:27 PM / Comments (0)
Monday, April 4, 2005
Join Microsoft. Save the world.
The Register: “A team of three from Microsoft attending the world’s premier hacker get-together hoping to bring the sort of people Steve Ballmer’s mum probably warned him about (some even had piercings and tattoos!) into the fold. Some might consider this as cruising for “rough trade” but perhaps it makes sense for Redmond to get these guys on the inside pissing out rather than the other way around…”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 04:30 PM / Comments (0)
Friday, April 1, 2005
Google Gulp
Google: “Think a DNA scanner embedded in the lip of your bottle reading all 3 gigabytes of your base pair genetic data in a fraction of a second, fine-tuning your individual hormonal cocktail in real time using our patented Auto-Drink™ technology, and slamming a truckload of electrolytic neurotransmitter smart-drug stimulants past the blood-brain barrier to achieve maximum optimization of your soon-to-be-grateful cerebral cortex.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 08:42 PM / Comments (0)
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Google in new languages
O’Rielly Developer Weblogs: “LifeHacker made me aware of some amusing Google search pages in L33t, Klingon and Sveedish Chef (bork bork bork). I’m not sure if these really count as Easter Eggs as they are all listed on the main Google language tools page. Other cute versions include Elmer Fudd and Pig Latin.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 11:10 PM / Comments (0)
Friday, March 25, 2005
Become the Idlewords.com Macropatron!
Idle Words: “I’m asking one of the regular readers of this site to become the idlewords.com macropatron by contributing a very large sum of money to enable me to quit my job and become a professional blogger.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 09:57 AM / Comments (0)
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Bill Gates: UK Workers are liars
TechNewsWorld: Microsoft attributes the blame to employers rather than staff and accuses UK companies of making British workers feel obliged to lie to cover shortcomings in their work. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, who last week went to Buckingham Palace to receive an honorary knighthood, says two-thirds of British workers are liars.
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 09:28 PM / Comments (0)
Wednesday, March 9, 2005
Student in High School zombie terror threat
Lester Haines reports for The Register: “An 18-year-old US student is today behind bars after police uncovered his plot to raise a zombie army and attack his high school. The wannabe Papa Doc Duvalier’s chilling plan was uncovered after the youth’s grandparents discovered his written proposal for the outrage. Mercifully, William Poole was cuffed before he could execute his macabre scheme.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 10:16 PM / Comments (0)
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Thieves steal built-in swimming pool
KTRE 9: “A Norwegian family’s swimming pool wasn’t just bolted down, it was in the ground — but that didn’t keep it from being stolen. When the family visited their mountain cabin over the weekend, they discovered a big hole in place of the swimming pool that had been installed 20 years ago. The pool — 16 feet in diameter — and all of its equipment had been uprooted and stolen.”
Posted by Oleg Ivrii, 11:53 AM / Comments (0)