How stars are born: related news

Let's Set Reasonable Expectations for Linux Netbooks

Techworld has an intereresting post up today about how Linux-based netbooks are becoming a big driver for business adoption of Linux. We've been covering how netbooks are helping fuel a relatively healthy market for new computer buying, but there are some naysayers. Reports are coming in that many people are returning the netbooks that they purchase. How solid is the netbook trend?

Role of Intellectual Property in Enhancing the Competitiveness of the Tourism Industry

We are no longer operating in an economy characterized by scarcity but one of plenty, where a multitude of providers jostle for limited space. Success in today’s globalized and very crowded economic environment is, therefore, about adding value and offering a differentiated product. This is true whether we are talking about goods or services. Whether we are buying a bicycle or an insurance policy. Walking into a store to buy a bicycle, one is not content to simply walk away with an item that has two wheels, handle bar and pedals. Our choice is based on many other factors: How does it look, does it have any other new and interesting features, who produces it and of course how much does it cost. All of these considerations are over and above the physical product and are critical to the decision making process.

How to Perform Advanced Fiber Troubleshooting Using an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer

New technology has enabled a wide range of automatic capability in today's OTDRs. However, understanding OTDR traces and how to use manual settings is still beneficial for all testing. Often, technicians are limited by their inability to correctly interpret OTDR traces without the aid of the instrument's software. Understanding how an OTDR works, how the specifications affect its performance, and how to properly set it up can help users experience maximum performance.

How to Perform Advanced Fiber Troubleshooting Using an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer

New technology has enabled a wide range of automatic capability in today's OTDRs. However, understanding OTDR traces and how to use manual settings is still beneficial for all testing. Often, technicians are limited by their inability to correctly interpret OTDR traces without the aid of the instrument's software. Understanding how an OTDR works, how the specifications affect its performance, and how to properly set it up can help users experience maximum performance.

How to Perform Advanced Fiber Troubleshooting Using an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer

New technology has enabled a wide range of automatic capability in today's OTDRs. However, understanding OTDR traces and how to use manual settings is still beneficial for all testing. Often, technicians are limited by their inability to correctly interpret OTDR traces without the aid of the instrument's software. Understanding how an OTDR works, how the specifications affect its performance, and how to properly set it up can help users experience maximum performance.

How Should I Teach a Basic Programming Course?

riverman writes "I have been 'provisioned' at the school where I work to teach a new Computer Science/Programming course. I'm supposed to be teaching everything from the very-very basics (i.e. where that myspace thing is in your computer monitor, and how it knows who your friends are) to the easy-advanced (i.e. PHP classes and Python/Google App Engine). I'm an experienced programmer, but I'm not sure where to start — I could easily assume that my students know something basic they don't. Are there any resources on the internet that could help me find a solid curriculum? What are your suggestions?" I'm sure many of us have gone through intro-level programming courses of some sort; what are some things your teacher or professor did that worked well, and what didn't work at all?

How-To: Enable and control missing features in iTunes 8

The iTunes 8 update came with a host of new features, including the Genius playlist generator as well as the "Grid" view for displaying album covers. However, despite the new features, users have complained about the removal or lack of inclusion of other features. Most of the removed features are coded into the program, but they are not enabled. This could be because of a change in direction by Apple, an attempt to make iTunes simpler, or because some features are still not polished enough for general release. Regardless of the circumstances, popular features that are missing from iTunes can be enabled for those who wish to do so. Here are some enhancements or alterations to iTunes that have been requested. All users have to do is enter the following commands in the terminal and then relaunch iTunes.

Sources And Methods: How-To: Automatically Translate Foreign Language Blogs And Websites Using RSS

Using Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds is one of the easiest ways to get the web to push relevant information to you. It never ceases to amaze me, however, how few people know how to use these feeds.The purpose of this tutorial is to show you how to start getting access to RSS feeds using Google Reader and then (tomorrow) how to use Mloovi.com to automatically translate feeds from foreign sources and get those feeds into the reader as well.Beginning at the beginning: What is an RSS feed?RSS allows blogs and other websites to actually broadcast their content to the wider internet. Anyone who tunes in to a particular feed can have any new content appearing on that feed instantaneously pushed to an RSS feed reader (The advantages to this are substantial for analysts.

Poll: Which browsers are most important to test in?

No matter what anyone says, it's not feasible to test in every browser ever made, even if, by some stroke of luck, you had access to all of them. There are just too many. So even the best Web designers will test in as many browsers as they can, while focusing on the most important browsers (often called graded browser support). But how do you decide which are the A+ browsers and which are the F? I've had a number of other browser polls on this site, but this time I'm asking you which are the 3 most important browsers to test your Web pages in. You can vote for more than 3, but I'd ask that you don't. Thanks!

60% of Google Employee Stock Options Are Drowning

The entire stock market is taking another drubbing today, and Google is no exception. Its shares tried to rally in the morning, but are now trading below the $329 they closed at yesterday. That’s a key price level Google employees are watching because a huge chunk of their options (1.7 million across the company) were granted with a weighted average exercise price of $329.78. The options are worthless under that price. In addition to that, there are another 5.7 million options that were granted at weighted average exercise prices of $450 and above. (see table below). All told, 61 percent of Google’s stock options granted to employees are currently under water.

How stars are born

Quantum fluctuations in space, science, exploration and other cosmic fields... served up regularly by MSNBC.com science editor Alan Boyle since 2002.

Employees are clogging up small business servers with personal data warns Connect Small business servers are plagued with employee personal data and non-business related files

Small business servers are plagued with employee personal data and non-business related files, warns Connect today. Connect, the IT services and support company for small to medium-sized businesses, has conducted a detailed audit of a range of enterprises to assess how much space non-work related software and data was taking up on the clients' servers. The server audit unveiled a significant increase in the amount of personal data stored on company servers. In some cases, up to 30% of the server was being taken up by personal data. With over a million iPhone users in the UK alone, employees are increasingly using company servers as their free personal hard drives.

Sales 2.0: How Businesses Are Using Online Collaboration to Spark Sales

Now businesses are trying to harness some of the same empowering forces of Web 2.0 and to apply them to their sales and marketing efforts. They know from their Web 2.0 experience that working collaboratively online will allow them to better understand and connect with their customers and to market and sell their products and services more easily. This paper examines how Sales and Marketing professionals are beginning to see they can use social media applications such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and Jigsaw to do a better job of selling and marketing to their customers.

Consumers are suspicious of how their online data is used, new survey says

Consumers may love shopping online, but they’re still suspicious of the safety of their personal information. A poll just out from Consumers Union’s Consumer Reports National Research Center says that 82% of consumers are concerned about their credit card numbers being stolen online while 72% are concerned that their online behaviors are being tracked and profiled by companies.

Nanotubes on the Brain

Metal electrodes are increasingly being used in brain implants that help treat depression and the tremors of Parkinson's disease, and in ever more sophisticated prosthetic devices. In spite of these successes, conventional metal electrodes have major limitations: performance deteriorates over time, and it's difficult to design electrodes that are efficient at both sending and receiving electrical signals. Now researchers at the University of Texas [profile] are developing electrodes that are more efficient at both sending and receiving electrical stimuli. These electrodes, which are coated with carbon nanotubes, could lead to neural implants that monitor how they affect the neurons that they stimulate, conserving battery life and reducing side effects.

Mels Picks November 2008

For an excellent, thorough discussion of what capacitive sensing is, how it works, and how to make it work as well as possible in your application, I would suggest a visit to Lion Precision's online capacitive sensor tutorial. You'll find information on what capacitance is and how it's measured; how targets affect your measurements (and how to make that work in your favor); and how to maximize accuracy as well as definitions of sensitivity, various types of errors, bandwidth, and resolution.

GPL announces reprieve for consumers in Berbice, East Demerara

The growing number of small food vending establishments along the roads of Guyana has created great concerns for the health of Guyanese, and foreigners as well, who oftentimes are unaware of the conditions under which the foods they consume are prepared. These foods are sometimes prepared amidst the movement of heavy traffic and pedestrians where there is a great amount of dust and exhaust fumes in the air. Foods are also prepared in filthy conditions and in dilapidated snackettes that are surrounded by uncollected garbage. These conditions are ideal for food contamination.

Personal Student Loans - Students Loans - School Loan Consolidation 240

Now-a-days education is an Investment and the cost of education is increased immensely in these days. Student loans can be granted through various lenders with a governmental guarantee, or can be granted from private lenders with no guarantee. There are many factors to consider before applying for a student loan. Generally you are given six months before the repayment will begin as the loans are looking to see that you have a sound job and that you are truly done with school. There are several Federal Loans eligible for Student Loan Consolidation. So in most cases the federal student loan is more helpful to the students in interest rates and repayment only. Federal Subsidized Stafford Loans are dependent/Independent of student and this loan is based on financial need and it has fixed interest rates.

What Makes a Smartphone a Smartphone?

We have a large variety of devices out there now. With Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Palm, Nokia, the Iphone, and Google's G1, many would call these smartphones. But as I look around the web I've read that some say devices like the G1 or iphone are not smartphones. Some say they are multimedia phones. When I compare my Dash and my Iphone, there are definitely some differences but there are also many similarities. They both play music, videos, handle all my appointments, contacts, ebooks, bible, internet, email, camera, and so on. So what do you all think? Are all the devices mentioned smartphones? Are some smartphones and some not? Does it matter if the device has a touch screen or not? And of course the real question: What makes a smartphone a smartphone?Â

How To Find Talented Tech Employees

How To Find Talented Tech Employees - Prudent Press Agency (Prudent Press Agency)---Finding and recruiting top tech talent is a top priority for all companies and organizations from Fortune 100 to the smallest start-ups. We are all aware of the shift to outsourcing overseas, but many companies can't afford to do so or they need their talent here in an corporate office to add to strategy and implement tactics. With the development of the Internet, newspapers are now basically an obsolete form of advertising quality job positions. However, even the great online behemoths like Monster and Careerbuilder have quickly become rather ineffective and very expensive. The normal online job boards are not targeted or proactively helping organizations find the much needed talent to take their business to next level.

How the iPhone is Cloud Computing's Killer App iPhone applications are changing how customers interact with their data, documents and files

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How Do I Get Open Source Programs Written For Me?

An anonymous reader writes "I am a biomedical researcher interested in having general-purpose, scientific programs developed and released as open source. Interface design and reusability of the code are of primary importance to me. For my purpose, Cocoa applications relying on Core Data seem to be the best way to get the job done quickly. While I have some programming experience, I have few connections to the industrial world. So my question to Slashdot readers is: how do I find someone (individual or business) to write high-quality programs? Are there reputable contractors experienced in Cocoa? What sort of rates should I expect, to use as a starting point in negotiations? Would a requirement that programs are released as open source make it more or less difficult to find someone to do the job?"

Just how bad is it for technologists in investment banks?

The short answer would be very. IT budgets are facing double-digit reductions, more redundancies are on the cards, and projects are being put on ice. But… there are opportunities out there.

European Stars Bonus Available For Disaster: Day of Crisis

"Register your interest for the title in your Club Nintendo account, and if you register the included Stars code within two weeks of the game's release you'll receive another 50 Stars on top of the 250 Stars you get with the game. However, be warned - if you keep registering your interest for several titles but fail to register the code on time, Nintendo will come round to your house and destroy your computer with their proton packs, disabling your access to Stars Bonuses."

Apple's Greg Joswiak Claims DS and PSP are "In the Past"

Apple iPhone The DS and PSP are outdated and the iPhone is the "future of gameplay," according to Apple's vice president of iPod marketing Greg Joswiak. In an interview with T3, Joswiak said that, "to us it really seems this is the future of gameplay. Whereas a lot of these devices [Nintendo DS and Sony PSP] are more in the past." You may ask how he sees the iPhone as a product so far ahead of its handheld competitors, and his answer is how games make their way to the customers. "A big part of that is not just the device itself... but it's the electronic distribution of the apps as well."

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