The Palm PDK Hot Apps Program offers developers who use the
Plug-In Development Kit to bring their C/C++ apps to Palm for a
share of $1 Million in cash or HP Products. Visit us here for more details:
http://p.sf.net/sfu/palm-sdnews
======================================================================
Slashdot Daily Newsletter
In this issue:
* 4chan Gives 90-Year-Old Vet a Great Birthday
* The New Difficulties In Making a 3D Game
* UK Music Industry Calls For Truce With Technology
* Senate Candidate Sued By Copyright Troll
* The State of Household Robots
* Facebook Glitch Let Spammer Post To Walls
* M2Z's Free, Wireless Broadband Killed In Advance
* Hands-on With the iPad Alternatives On Display at IFA
* ACTA Text Leaks; US Caves On ISPs, Seeks Super-DMCA
* Parrot iPod-Controlled Quadricopter Launches This Week
* Best Way To Archive Emails For Later Searching?
* Self-Powered Parts Are the Future
* Ryanair's CEO Suggests Eliminating Co-Pilots
* Programming Things I Wish I Knew Earlier
* WikiLeaks Calls For Assange To Step Down
* UK's Royal Mail Launches First Intelligent Stamps
* Sony Has Lost the PS3 Hacking War
* Plagiarizing a Takedown Notice
* American Business Embraces 'Gamification'
* Aging Star System Leaves Strange Death Spiral
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 4chan Gives 90-Year-Old Vet a Great Birthday |
| from the the-lighter-side-of-awful dept. |
| posted by samzenpus on Sunday September 05, @20:34 (The Internet) |
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/09/05/2148248/4chan-Gives-90-Year-Old-Vet-a-Great-Birthd|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Hugh Pickens writes "Members of 4chan aren't known for doing things
that are cute and heart-warming and when they decide to go after someone,
it's typically to subject them to ridicule. But not this time. Someone at
4chan decided that the Internet should get together and [1]wish
90-year-old WWII veteran William J. Lashua a happy birthday, and soon
Lashua's local branch of the American Legion was deluged by birthday
calls from people as far away as Sweden. The account someone set up for
Mr. Lashua's birthday on Facebook had 3,956 'likes' and over 500
comments, most of which wished him a happy birthday and thanked him for
his military service. It's not clear how 4chan originally came across a
photo of Lashua, but a member of the site posted a snapshot of a flyer
that was on the bulletin board at a store in Ashburnham, Massachusetts
asking for guests to attend the nonagenarian's birthday on at the
American Legion hall and the post took off. In contrast to their usual
behavior, 4chan members 'were giving him nice phone calls and sending him
nice notes' and discouraging those who wanted to do something stupid or
mean. 'They were all being.. well, shucks, awful nice.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/05/2148248
Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/
1. http://www.nytimes.com/external/gigaom/2010/09/02/02gigaom-4chan-decides-to-do-something-nice-for-a-change-83153.html
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The New Difficulties In Making a 3D Game |
| from the reach-out-and-shoot-someone dept. |
| posted by samzenpus on Sunday September 05, @22:34 (Displays) |
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/0027236/The-New-Difficulties-In-Making-a-3D-Game |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
eldavojohn writes "MSNBC spoke [0]with the senior producer of a new
stereoscopic 3D game called Killzone 3 and highlighted problems they are
trying to solve with being one of the first FPS 3D games for the PS3. The
team ran into serious design problems, like where to put the crosshairs
for the players (do they constantly hover in front of your vision?) and
what to do with any of the heads-up display components. Aside from the
obvious marketing thrown in at the end of the article (in a [1]very
familiar way), there is an interesting point raised concerning normalized
conventions in all video games and how one ports that to the new
stereoscopic 3D model ��� the same way directors continue to grapple with
getting 3D right. Will 3D games be just as gimmicky as most 3D movies? If
they are, at least Guerrilla Games is making it possible for the player
to easily and quickly switch in and out of stereoscopic 3D while
playing."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/0027236
Links:
0. http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/09/05/5048282-killzone-3-makers-run-into-unexpected-challenges-going-3-d-
1. http://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/10/09/04/2326245/The-Joke-Known-As-3D-TV
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| UK Music Industry Calls For Truce With Technology |
| from the can't-we-all-just-get-along dept. |
| posted by samzenpus on Monday September 06, @00:38 (Music) |
| https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/0030238/UK-Music-Industry-Calls-For-Truce|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Stoobalou writes "The British music industry has [0]called for a truce
with the technology firms with whom it has till now fought a bitter
battle over rights, royalties and file sharing. Feargal Sharkey, CEO of
lobby group UK Music, told a conference in London this week that it was
time for the music and technology industries to set aside their
differences and strive instead toward a common goal: nothing less than
the total global domination of British music."
Discuss this story at:
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/0030238
Links:
0. http://www.thinq.co.uk/2010/9/4/uk-music-calls-truce-technology/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Senate Candidate Sued By Copyright Troll |
| from the a-lesson-in-the-law dept. |
| posted by samzenpus on Monday September 06, @02:48 (The Media) |
| https://politics.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/0241203/Senate-Candidate-Sued-By-Copyright-Tro|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
The Iso writes "Las Vegas based company Righthaven found two articles
from the Las Vegas Review-Journal about Republican Senate candidate
Sharron Angle reprinted on her web site without permission, so it did
what it always does: bought the rights to the articles from the
Review-Journal and [0]sued the alleged infringer, seeking unspecified
damages."
Discuss this story at:
http://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/0241203
Links:
0. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_nevada_senate_copyright_lawsuit
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| The State of Household Robots |
| from the series-12-nannybot dept. |
| posted by samzenpus on Monday September 06, @04:44 (Robotics) |
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/0259225/The-State-of-Household-Robots |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
paulelaguna writes "The dream of [0]owning a household robot is starting
to become reality, particularly for people in Japan. There are robots to
help you do the dishes, move furniture, and even robotic wheelchairs to
help you get around. Really, the only question that remains for us is
when do we move?"
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/0259225
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Facebook Glitch Let Spammer Post To Walls |
| from the bigger-longer-lasting-status-updates dept. |
| posted by samzenpus on Monday September 06, @07:57 (Bug) |
| https://tech.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/033258/Facebook-Glitch-Let-Spammer-Post-To-Walls |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]angry tapir writes "A clever spammer [1]found a glitch in Facebook's
photo upload system and used it to post thousands of unwanted Wall
messages last week. Facebook confirmed the bug Friday, after notifying
affected users of the issue. Most of the messages promised 'Free
iPhones,' a common spam message on Facebook these days. Facebook says
that the spammer hit thousands of profiles before the company removed the
spammy photos and notified affected users. No accounts were compromised
as a result of the bug."
Discuss this story at:
http://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/033258
Links:
0. http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/
1. http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/article/359539/facebook_glitch_let_spammer_post_walls/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| M2Z's Free, Wireless Broadband Killed In Advance |
| from the sorry-wrong-bribe-please-try-again dept. |
| posted by timothy on Monday September 06, @08:48 (Wireless Networking) |
| https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/1227249/M2Zs-Free-Wireless-Broadband-Killed-In-A|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
mspohr writes with a sad excerpt from Fast Company: "Despite a seemingly
stout business plan, and all the financial, social, and educational
benefits it would bring, the FCC's just [0]turned down M2Z's application
for a coast-to-coast free wireless broadband system. ... The FCC is known
to have heard complaints about M2Z's plan from existing wireless
carriers. Though M2Z's network would've operated at under 1 Mbps peak
speeds ��� meaning it was very slow by today's standards, and probably
snail-like by tomorrow's ��� its free pricing may well have tempted many
folks away from spending cash with an established ISP. Those carriers are
now reported to be pleased with the FCC's decision, though they argue
it's in line with the greater National Broadband Plan. Whenever that
actually gets off the ground."
Discuss this story at:
http://mobile.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/1227249
Links:
0. http://www.fastcompany.com/1686542/free-wireless-nationwide-broadband-plan-killed-thank-the-fcc
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Hands-on With the iPad Alternatives On Display at IFA |
| from the touchy-feely-wanty-wanty dept. |
| posted by timothy on Monday September 06, @09:33 (Handhelds) |
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/1239232/Hands-on-With-the-iPad-Alternatives-On|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Barence writes "This week's IFA show has seen a flurry of Android-based
alternatives to the iPad emerge from leading manufacturers. The
[0]Samsung Galaxy Tab made a strong first impression on PC Pro's
reviewer. The 7-inch tablet's TFT screen 'beams forth with rich,
saturated colours and wide, wide viewing angles,' the device is capable
of Full HD playback and the TouchWiz UI is 'clearly intended to draw
customers away from the iFamily.' Elsewhere, [1]ViewSonic has launched a
pair of 7-inch and 10-inch tablets, the larger of which dual boots into
either Android or Windows 7. 'Our first moments with Windows 7 were
surprisingly painless, too: we expected the Atom processor and 1GB of
memory to be horrendously sluggish, but it wasn't the case,' PC Pro
reports. Finally, [2]Toshiba's 10.1in Folio 100 marries Android 2.2 with
Nvidia's Tegra 2 platform to deliver 'mighty graphics crunching power.'
The build quality left a little to desire, though. 'The 14mm thick
chassis feels lightweight, and even relatively gentle twisting motions
left the Folio's plastic body creaking under the stress.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/1239232
Links:
0. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2010/09/03/samsung-galaxy-tab-review-first-look/
1. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2010/09/02/viewsonic-viewpad-tablets-review-first-look/
2. http://www.pcpro.co.uk/blogs/2010/09/02/toshiba-folio-100-tablet-review-first-look/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ACTA Text Leaks; US Caves On ISPs, Seeks Super-DMCA |
| from the you-say-leak-I-say-trial-balloon dept. |
| posted by timothy on Monday September 06, @10:16 (The Internet) |
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/148212/ACTA-Text-Leaks-US-Caves-On-ISPs-Seeks-Super|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "Given the history of ACTA leaks, to no one's
surprise, the [0]latest version of the draft agreement (PDF) was leaked
last night on KEI's website. The new version ��� which reflects changes
made during an intense week of negotiations last month in Washington ���
shows a draft agreement that is much closer to becoming reality. Perhaps
the most important story of the latest draft is how the countries are
[1]close to agreement on the Internet enforcement chapter. In the face of
opposition, the US has dropped its demands on secondary liability for
ISPs but is still holding out hope of establishing a super-DMCA with
digital lock rules that go beyond the WIPO Internet treaties and were
even rejected by US courts."
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/148212
Links:
0. http://keionline.org/sites/default/files/acta_aug25_dc.pdf
1. http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5285/125/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Parrot iPod-Controlled Quadricopter Launches This Week |
| from the amazing-fun dept. |
| posted by timothy on Monday September 06, @11:00 (Toys) |
| https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/1441240/Parrot-iPod-Controlled-Quadricopt|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]MojoKid writes "Remote-controlled helicopters are not new, but
[1]Parrot's AR.Drone Quadricopter is set to make a splash when it goes on
sale on Sept. 9th. It will use an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad as a
controller, and give a live video feed from two different cameras to the
pilot. Each model comes with two hulls, one of them for indoor use, with
protective loops around the rotors. The device creates its own Wi-Fi
network, which the iOS device connects to in order to control the
Quadricopter."
Discuss this story at:
http://entertainment.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/1441240
Links:
0. http://hothardware.com/
1. http://hothardware.com/News/Parrots-Quadricopter-Readies-for-iDevicecontrolled-Launch/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Best Way To Archive Emails For Later Searching? |
| from the shrink-wrap-them-and-use-sandwich-bags dept. |
| posted by timothy on Monday September 06, @11:43 (Communications) |
| https://ask.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/1533203/Best-Way-To-Archive-Emails-For-Later-Search|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "I have kept every email I have ever sent or
received since 1990, with the exception of junk mail (though I kept a lot
of that as well). I have migrated my emails faithfully from Unix mail, to
Eudora, to Outlook, to Thunderbird and Entourage, though I have left much
of the older stuff in Outlook PST files. To make my life easier I would
now like to merge all the emails back into a single searchable archive ���
just because I can. But there are a few problems: a) Moving them between
email systems is SLOW; while the data is only a few GB, it is hundred of
thousands of emails and all of the email systems I have tried take
forever to process the data. b) Some email systems (i.e. Outlook) become
very sluggish when their database goes over a certain size. c) I don't
want to leave them in a proprietary database, as within a few years the
format becomes unsupported by the current generation of the software. d)
I would like to be able to search the full text, keep the attachments,
view HTML emails correctly and follow email chains. e) Because I use
multiple operating systems, I would prefer platform independence. f)
Since I hope to maintain and add emails for the foreseeable future, I
would like to use some form of open standard. So, what would you
recommend?"
Discuss this story at:
http://ask.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/1533203
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Self-Powered Parts Are the Future |
| from the just-make-the-factory-self-powering dept. |
| posted by timothy on Monday September 06, @12:36 (Power) |
| https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/1620255/Self-Powered-Parts-Are-the-Future |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
bossanovalithium writes that an umbrella group including Japanese
heavyweights like Panasonic and Toyota is working on bringing the price
of self powered parts down to levels where they can be mass produced:
"The idea is that the [0]parts will make external power sources redundant
��� because they can convert energy from body heat, light and vibrations
straight into electricity. Self powered electronics have already
sporadically been used in technology like wall-mount remote control units
for air conditioners, says Nikkei, but existing parts are bulky and cost
a couple thousand yen a piece. 3,000 yen is about $35 ��� which means
they're not the best bet, financially, yet."
Discuss this story at:
http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/1620255
Links:
0. http://www.techeye.net/science/self-powered-parts-will-be-electronic-mainstay-by-2020#ixzz0ykAvipnz
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Ryanair's CEO Suggests Eliminating Co-Pilots |
| from the outsource-to-ground-control dept. |
| posted by timothy on Monday September 06, @13:21 (The Almighty Buck) |
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/1716245/Ryanairs-CEO-Suggests-Eliminating-Co-Pilot|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
postbigbang writes "Ryanair's miser-in-chief Michael O'Leary now suggests
[0]eliminating co-pilots as a way to save money. Will airliners be
powered by drones, or is it actually viable to have just a single pilot
on passenger planes?"
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/1716245
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Programming Things I Wish I Knew Earlier |
| from the no-substitute-for-experience dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Monday September 06, @14:14 (Programming) |
| https://linux.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/1745236/Programming-Things-I-Wish-I-Knew-Earlier |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
theodp writes "Raw intellect ain't always all it's cracked up to be,
advises Ted Dziuba in his introduction to [0]Programming Things I Wish I
Knew Earlier, so don't be too stubborn to learn the things that can save
you from the headaches of over-engineering. Here's some sample
how-to-avoid-over-complicating-things advice: 'If Linux can do it, you
shouldn't. Don't use [1]Hadoop MapReduce until you have a solid reason
why [2]xargs won't solve your problem. Don't implement your own
lockservice when Linux's [3]advisory file locking works just fine. Don't
do image processing work with [4]PIL unless you have proven that
command-line [5]ImageMagick won't do the job. Modern Linux distributions
are capable of a lot, and most hard problems are already solved for you.
You just need to know where to look.' Any cautionary tips you'd like to
share from your own experience?"
Discuss this story at:
http://linux.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/1745236
Links:
0. http://teddziuba.com/2010/09/programming-things-i-wish-i-knew.html
1. http://hadoop.apache.org/mapreduce/
2. http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/Darwin/Reference/ManPages/man1/xargs.1.html
3. http://linux.about.com/library/cmd/blcmdl2_flock.htm
4. http://www.pythonware.com/products/pil/
5. http://www.imagemagick.org/script/index.php
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| WikiLeaks Calls For Assange To Step Down |
| from the clean-out-your-desk dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Monday September 06, @15:10 (Government) |
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/1827240/WikiLeaks-Calls-For-Assange-To-Step-Down |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Stoobalou writes "A member of Iceland's parliament and prominent
organizer for whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks [0]has turned on the
site's spokesman, Julian Assange, urging him to step down over rape
allegations made against him in Sweden. Birgitta Jonsdottir told news
site The Daily Beast that [1]she did not believe Assange's repeated
assertion that the [2]allegations of rape and molestation made against
him were part of a US-backed smear campaign to distract attention from
documents posted on the site laying bare US involvement in the war in
Afghanistan and further promised revelations."
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/1827240
Links:
0. http://www.thinq.co.uk/2010/9/6/wikileaks-calls-assange-step-down/
1. http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-09-03/wikileaks-organizers-demand-julian-assange-step-aside/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsL7
2. http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/08/21/1138240/Julian-Assange-Faces-Rape-Investigation-In-Sweden-mdash-Updated
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| UK's Royal Mail Launches First Intelligent Stamps |
| from the stamplons-were-created-by-man dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Monday September 06, @16:01 (Government) |
| https://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/1832207/UKs-Royal-Mail-Launches-First-Intelligent-S|
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
An anonymous reader writes "The Royal Mail on Friday issued what it
called [0]the world's first 'intelligent stamps,' designed to interact
with smartphones using image-recognition technology. The Royal Mail's
latest special-issue stamps, devoted to historic British railways, are
designed to launch specially developed online content when a user snaps
them using an image-recognition application available on iPhone or
Android handsets. 'This is the first time a national postal service has
used this kind of technology on their stamps and we're very excited to be
bringing intelligent stamps to the nation's post,' a Royal Mail spokesman
said in a statement. 'Intelligent stamps mark the next step in the
evolution of our stamps, bringing them firmly into the 21st century.'"
Discuss this story at:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/1832207
Links:
0. http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/royal-mail-launches-first-intelligent-stamps-9466
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Sony Has Lost the PS3 Hacking War |
| from the not-that-they'll-admit-it dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Monday September 06, @16:53 (PlayStation (Games)) |
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/202201/Sony-Has-Lost-the-PS3-Hacking-War |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
YokimaSun writes "Sony may have [0]dealt a major blow to the PSjailbreak
sellers, but the release last week of [1]PSGroove, an open source version
of the hack, has now opened the floodgates of ports to mobile phones such
as the [2]Nokia N900 and Palm Pre. The final kick in the teeth is that a
port of the exploit has been released by Waninkoko of [3]Wii custom
firmware fame for the [4]Dingoo Handheld, which is [5]a homebrew console
that is very popular amongst emulation fans. It makes you smile that you
can use one homebrew console to hack another to get homebrew on that
console. Awesome." pudge notes that you can apparently [6]do the same
with a TI-84 Plus graphing calculator (YouTube video).
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/202201
Links:
0. http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/08/27/150227/Sony-Halts-Sales-of-PS3-Jailbreak-Dongle
1. http://games.slashdot.org/story/10/09/02/1530210/Open-Source-PS3-Jailbreak-Released
2. http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/05/ps3-jailbreak-adapted-to-nokia-n900-palm-pre-in-wake-of-austral/
3. http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/08/07/17/1919236/Worlds-First-Custom-Firmware-For-Wii-Released
4. http://www.dcemu.co.uk/psfreedom-for-dingoo-released-hack-the-ps3-with-a-dingoo-a320-324400.html
5. http://dingoo-a320.dcemu.co.uk/dingux-quick-start-pack-v2-the-cure-for-those-who-dont-like-trying-to-install-linux-230465.html
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOSpCoCmOns
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Plagiarizing a Takedown Notice |
| from the cheaper-than-paying-lawyers dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Monday September 06, @17:40 (It's funny. Laugh.) |
| https://news.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/206211/Plagiarizing-a-Takedown-Notice |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
ChipMonk writes "Over at hobbyist site OS News, editor-in-chief Thom
Holwerda published [0]a highly skeptical opinion of the announcement of
[1]Commodore USA's own Amiga line. Within hours, [2]Commodore USA sent a
takedown notice to OS News, demanding a retraction of the piece and
accusing the site of libel and defamation. What's funny is that [3]the
takedown notice was mostly copied, with minor edits, from Chilling
Effects, a site dedicated to publicizing attempts at squelching free
speech. The formatting, line breaks, obtuse references to 'OCGA,' and
even the highlighted search terms were left largely intact."
Discuss this story at:
http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/206211
Links:
0. http://www.osnews.com/story/23753/Commodore_Gets_Rights_to_Amiga_Hyperion_Takes_Legal_Action
1. http://www.commodoreusa.net/press.html
2. http://www.osnews.com/story/23756/Commodore_USA_Threatens_OSNews_with_Legal_Action
3. http://www.chillingeffects.org/protest/notice.cgi?NoticeID=780
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| American Business Embraces 'Gamification' |
| from the level-up-your-reward-points dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Monday September 06, @18:36 (Businesses) |
| https://games.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/222214/American-Business-Embraces-Gamification |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
[0]Hugh Pickens writes "JP Mangalindan writes that for years
psychologists have studied what makes video games so engrossing ��� why do
players spend hours accruing virtual points working towards intangible
rewards and what characteristics make some games more addictive than
others? Now, companies are realizing that 'gamification' ��� [1]using the
same mechanics that hook gamers ��� is an effective way to generate
business. For example, when Nike released Nike + in 2008, it 'gamified'
exercise. 'Place the pedometer in a pair of (Nike) sneaks and it monitors
distance, pace and calories burned, transmitting that data to the user's
iPod. The Nike software loaded on the iPod will then "reward" users if
they reach a milestone,' writes Mangalindan. 'If a runner beats his
5-mile distance record, an audio clip from Tour de France cycling champ
Lance Armstrong congratulates him.' In addition, users can upload their
information, discuss achievements online with other users, and challenge
them to distance or speed competitions. The result: to date, Nike has
moved well over 1.3 million Nike + units."
Discuss this story at:
http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/222214
Links:
0. http://hughpickens.com/slashdot/
1. http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/09/03/the-game-based-economy/
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Aging Star System Leaves Strange Death Spiral |
| from the tox-utaht-spotted dept. |
| posted by Soulskill on Monday September 06, @19:25 (Space) |
| https://science.slashdot.org/story/10/09/06/2254223/Aging-Star-System-Leaves-Strange-Death-|
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[0]jamie tips a post at Phil Plait's Bad Astronomy blog about [1]an
extremely unusual astronomical phenomenon originating from a binary
system about 3000 light years away. Quoting: "The name of this thing is
AFGL 3068. It's been known as a bright infrared source for some time, but
images just showed it as a dot. This Hubble image using [2]the Advanced
Camera for Surveys reveals an intricate, delicate and exceedingly faint
spiral pattern. ... Red giants tend to blow a lot of their outer layers
into space in an expanding spherical wind; think of it as a super-solar
wind. The star surrounds itself with a cloud of this material,
essentially enclosing it in a cocoon. In general the material isn't all
that thick, but in some of these stars there is an overabundance of
carbon in the outer layers which gets carried along in these winds. ...
AFGL 3068 is a carbon star and most likely evolved just like this, but
with a difference: it's a binary. As the two stars swing around each
other, the wind from the carbon star doesn't expand in a sphere. Instead,
we see a spiral pattern as the material expands."
Discuss this story at:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=10/09/06/2254223
Links:
0. mailto:jamie@slashdot.org
1. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/09/06/awesome-death-spiral-of-a-bizarre-star/
2. http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1020a/
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