The Battle of Hoth: Vader the Invader

The Battle of Hoth: Vader the Invader: JustOK writes "Darth Vader did a lot of bad things and did a lot of things badly; the Battle of Hoth was of both types. The Empire's attempt to capture Echo Base, while successful, was still a horrible failure. Sure, the Empire overran the ground defenses and captured the base, but most of the Rebels escaped. Luke, Leia and Han all got away. The Rebels had a poorly-laid-out ground defense, and a planetary shield that can't keep an invader out while complicating their own escape. This article at Wired takes us through all the missteps in the battle."

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Retail Copies of Office 2013 Are Tied To a Single Computer Forever

Retail Copies of Office 2013 Are Tied To a Single Computer Forever: An anonymous reader writes "With the launch of Office 2013 Microsoft has seen fit to upgrade the terms of the license agreement, and it's not in favor of the end user. It seems installing a copy of the latest version of Microsoft's Office suite of apps ties it to a single machine. For life. On previous versions of Office it was a different story. The suite was associated with a 'Licensed Device' and could only be used on a single device. But there was nothing to stop you uninstalling Office and installing it on another machine perfectly legally. With that option removed, Office 2013 effectively becomes a much more expensive proposition for many."

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Computers Shown To Be Better Than Docs At Diagnosing, Prescribing Treatment

Computers Shown To Be Better Than Docs At Diagnosing, Prescribing Treatment: Lucas123 writes "Applying the same technology used for voice recognition and credit card fraud detection to medical treatments could cut healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes by almost 50%, according to new research. Scientists at Indiana University found that using patient data with machine-learning algorithms can drastically improve both the cost and quality of healthcare through simulation modeling.The artificial intelligence models used for diagnosing and treating patients obtained a 30% to 35% increase in positive patient outcomes, the research found. This is not the first time AI has been used to diagnose and suggest treatments. Last year, IBM announced that its Watson supercomputer would be used in evaluating evidence-based cancer treatment options for physicians, driving the decision-making process down to a matter of seconds."

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Kinect teleport for remote medicine

Kinect teleport for remote medicine: The Microsoft Kinect game controller could cut the U.S. healthcare bill by up to $30 billion by allowing physicians and other medics to interact with patients remotely so reducing the number of hospital visits and the associated risk of infection, new research suggests.

You'd Be Arrested if You Tried to Take These Airplane Photos Today

You'd Be Arrested if You Tried to Take These Airplane Photos Today: Like wearing shoes through security before Richard Reid's failed airplane bombing, setting up a telephoto lens at the end of an airport runway wasn't a big deal before 9/11. Photographer John Schabel did just that between 1994 and 1996 for his intriguing portrait series Passengers, which is only now being released as a book.

Desk Job

Desk Job: Desktops aren't dead. They're evolving -- primarily into all-in-ones with huge touchscreens and even bigger price tags.

Lovers' hearts beat in sync

Lovers' hearts beat in sync: When modern-day crooner Trey Songz sings, "Cause girl, my heart beats for you," in his romantic ballad, "Flatline," his lyrics could be telling a tale that's as much physiological as it is emotional, according to a new study that found lovers' hearts indeed beat for each other, or at least at the same rate.

How unconscious processing improves decision-making

How unconscious processing improves decision-making: When faced with a difficult decision, it is often suggested to "sleep on it" or take a break from thinking about the decision to gain clarity. But new brain imaging research finds that the brain regions responsible for making decisions continue to be active even when the conscious brain is distracted with a different task. The research shows the brain unconsciously processes decision information in ways that lead to improved decision-making.

We're emotionally distant and that's just fine by me: Closer relationships aren't necessarily better relationships

We're emotionally distant and that's just fine by me: Closer relationships aren't necessarily better relationships: When it comes to having a lasting and fulfilling relationship, common wisdom says that feeling close to your romantic partner is paramount. But a new study finds that it's not how close you feel that matters most, it's whether you are as close as you want to be, even if that's really not close at all.

Deep space missions? Magnetic shielding of ion beam thruster walls may provide power

Deep space missions? Magnetic shielding of ion beam thruster walls may provide power: Magnetic shielding may enable ion drives to power new deep space missions.

NASA: Huge Freshwater Loss In the Middle East

NASA: Huge Freshwater Loss In the Middle East: dstates writes with news from NASA about the state of available water in the Middle East. From the NASA article: "'GRACE data show an alarming rate of decrease in total water storage in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins, which currently have the second fastest rate of groundwater storage loss on Earth, after India,' said Jay Famiglietti, principal investigator of the study and a hydrologist and professor at UC Irvine. 'The rate was especially striking after the 2007 drought. Meanwhile, demand for freshwater continues to rise, and the region does not coordinate its water management because of different interpretations of international laws.'" dstates adds: "Water is a huge global security issue. To understand the middle east, you need to understand that the Golan Heights provides a significant amount of the water used in Israel. Focusing on conflicts and politics means that huge volumes of valuable water are being wasted in the Middle East, and this will only exacerbate future conflicts. Water is a serious issue between India and China. And then there is Africa. U.S. food exports are in effect exporting irrigation water drawn from the Ogallala aquifer. Fracking trades water for energy, and lack of water limits fracking in many parts of th world. Think about it."

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LHC's First Act: Higgs Found, Other Weird Physics Still at Large

LHC's First Act: Higgs Found, Other Weird Physics Still at Large: After a spectacular first act, the Large Hadron Collider is taking an intermission break, shutting down on Feb. 11 for two years of construction and upgrades. The biggest discovery thus far has been the Higgs boson but the LHC could have turned up exotic phenomena and new physics. In this gallery, we will take a look at some of these hoped for events and what they might have meant for science had they been found.

Beautiful Supernova Remnant May Contain Galaxy's Youngest Black Hole

Beautiful Supernova Remnant May Contain Galaxy's Youngest Black Hole: The dying pangs of a massive star may have given rise to the galaxy's most recent black hole and produced the first supernova remnant of its kind ever spotted in the Milky Way.