Comment Re:Some of us PREFER the new player (Score 1) 575
Hey, you're right, this is a blog entry from OCTOBER.
Somebody tell Kdawson to at least give us current dirt, not stuff from months ago.
Comment Re:Impossible in this timespan (Score 5, Funny) 171
Dude, if you can make a functional space craft that looks like an English Police box, I'll support your candidacy for head of Nasa.
Comment Re:If North Carolina proves their case (Score 1) 187
It's not North Carolina filing this, but somebody in North Carolina.
Big difference.
Comment Re:Silly proposal... (Score 0, Flamebait) 114
I just don't see any reason to try to show you something you acknowledge exists, just so you can say something you've already said, and so I can reply with something I've already said. If you'd wanted to reply to that, perhaps we'd have had something to discuss, but you have yet to choose to address it.
Small Asteroid To Buzz Earth 171
ddelmonte writes in to tell us about a small near-earth object, discovered just 2 days ago, that is expected to pass within 64,000 km of our planet on March 2, 13:44 UT. NEO 2009 DD45 will be well inside the Moon's orbit and just under twice the altitude of geosynchronous satellites. According to Sky and Telescope, 2009 DD45's closest approach will be over the Pacific west of Tahiti, so observers in Australia, Japan, and perhaps Hawaii will have the best chance of spotting it with, say, an 8-in. telescope. Here's where you can generate an ephemeris of the object for your location. At closest approach NEO 2009 DD45 will be moving half a degree per minute and peaking around magnitude 10.5. It will be brighter than 13th magnitude for only a few hours.
Solar Panels Reach $1 a Watt 381
ZosX writes "An article over at Popular Mechanics announces that, for the first time, solar cells have been manufactured for the much sought-after figure of $1/Watt. They also talk about a new study of the cost of the particular raw materials used in different manufacturing processes. The conclusion is that the company that just achieved the $1/W milestone, using cadmium telluride technology, may not prove to be the long-term winner capable of meeting demand when it rises into the terawatt range."
Comment Gee... (Score 1) 187
Maybe somebody ought to look at those filings for the laws being cited if he wants names.
Comment Re:Silly proposal... (Score 0, Troll) 114
Why would I bother naming them, if you're just going to claim they're ineffective? Seems to me you're already admitting they do exist.
So why not cut to the heart of the matter...which I already addressed, so I refer you back to my prior post.
It's a high standard to prove, and I think you're illustrating quite clearly why it should be.
Comment Re:Newspaper Hazard (Score 1) 143
Well, I doubt it'd be immersion safe, but it should be possible to at least make it somewhat resistant to spills. At the least, a better form factor than a paper would be a plus.
Creating 3D Environments Without Polygons 74
Igor Hardy writes "I've conducted an interesting interview concerning a new episodic indie adventure game series called Casebook. What's quite uncommon, especially for these kinds of independently developed and published productions, is that they include professionally created FMV — all of the footage is filmed in real locations. Yet what's even more interesting is that the games use an innovative photographic technology which recreates a fully explorable 3D environment through the use of millions of photos instead of building from polygons. The specifics of how it works are explained by Sam Clarkson, the creative director of the series."
Hearst To Launch E-Reader For Newspapers 143
thefickler writes "The credit crisis couldn't have come at a worse time for newspapers, which were already suffering at the hands of the Internet. Now it seems that the Hearst Corporation is planning to launch an e-reader later this year to try to save its dwindling newspaper readerships. Apparently the e-reader will have a bigger screen than the Kindle, helping it to accommodate ads. It's not clear whether Hearst will go it alone, or try to gather wider industry support for its venture. As one pundit observed, 'it seems a slender thread on which to hang the entire American newspaper industry.'"
Comment Re:Silly proposal... (Score 1) 114
There are already laws in place to protect against the filing of frivolous lawsuits. Why do we need more?
If anybody believe the RIAA or anybody else has engaged in such conduct, they can protest it. Of course, it will be a high burden to prove that it's frivolous, but there's a reason for that, namely the principle of American Law that everybody gets a chance in court, and even if they can't prove their case, this doesn't mean they did wrong.
Sony Makes It Hard To Develop For the PS3 On Purpose 616
adeelarshad82 writes "CNet reports on a bizarre comment from Sony's Computer Entertainment CEO in response to complaints from developers on how hard it is to develop games for the Playstation 3. 'We don't provide the "easy to program for" console that (developers) want, because "easy to program for" means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so then the question is, what do you do for the rest of the nine-and-a-half years?' Given that games heavily drive console sales, and the fact that the PS3 is already 8 million units behind the Xbox 360, I think making a developer's job harder is the last thing Sony needs."
Economic Climate Spurring Independent Game Success 40
Eurogamer is running an opinion piece suggesting that innovation and creativity have been on the decline for years within the games industry. Now, with the threat of the economic crisis looming, game publishers are shying further from new projects and ideas, instead choosing to rehash popular IP in order to minimize the risk of failure. The upside is that their reluctance, along with technological improvements that make game distribution easier, is allowing independent developers to gain exposure like never before.
"This revolution will give us a new wave of developers who see games through very different eyes to those of their studio-bound compatriots. Forced to consider the financial bottom line, the technological bleeding edge and the whims of Metacritic at each turn, big studio development is by no means uncreative, but certainly has to follow certain set patterns. ... The studio system couldn't have created a game like Flower, the utterly beautiful PSN title which came out earlier this month; but more than that, it couldn't have created a persona like Jenova Chen, the mind behind Flower, who happily talks in interviews about evoking emotions, moving past primal feelings and 'maturing' the industry in ways that don't involve sex, blood and swearing. He talks about making games that don't empower gamers, but instead make them experience other things, other emotions. It's spine-tingling stuff. It's also commercial suicide — or would be, to a studio working in the traditional development context."
Comment Re:Do the math... (Score 1) 246
Perhaps in something like water or sewer where nothing changes.
The work crews digging up the road by my house would beg to differ.
