Comment Re:Are you fucking kidding me? (Score 1) 121
I took this statement to be the pronouncement that the gold standard is dead. Long live Bitcoin. I, for one, welcome our new Crypto overlords.
Comment RE: Pope Francis Prays for Good AI (Score 1) 78
Article was disappointing. Based on the title I was hoping that Pope Francis was praying on behalf of the souls of Good AI. I'll still leave a snarky comment about why would anyone expect the Catholic church to be the arbiters deciding what constitutes good vs bad AI?
Comment Re:HYBRID all ready! (Score 1) 763
Probably because you can have universe with out a deity, we do in this universe. Evolution can give you hope. I do agree that we can't live in ignorance, but thinking about god only encourages ignorance.
Comment Re:blessing in disguise? (Score 1) 178
In order to reverse this modification, it means that Facebook has retained a copy of your original contact list. Most likely FB has numerous timestamped versions of their users contact lists. For most professionals it is standing operating procedure to take backups before doing any modifications. However while that tidbit is probably not surprising to slashdotters, it may come as a surprise to the average Facebooker how much information FB is collecting over time.
Comment Re:Steal someones (Score 1) 508
As the victim of several home burglaries. The sign doesn't matter. The glass break detector that sounds an ear piercing alarm doesn't matter. Thieves smash and grab, they know that security and/or police response time gives them enough time to grab something they can sell at the flea market or a pawn shop.
Outside of sitting at home with a shot gun, your best defense is what the original poster is trying to do. Set up an automated and secure way way of video/photographing a potential intruder and getting those files out in the cloud somewhere.
Comment Re:How come? (Score 1) 235
I thought about trying to replicate the experiment but ran into a couple of snafu's.
1. The comparison was between IE9 and Firefox 4 (other browsers as well, but Firefox is the one I typically use).
2. The current version of Firefox is 6.0 -- 6.0 might not have been available at the original time of the study but 5 was. I'd prefer to test the latest and greatest, so it should be a comparison between IE9 and Firefox 6.
3. Microsoft won't let me install IE9. Apparently I would have to upgrade to Windows 7 in order to run their latest version of their web browser.
Guess I can't conduct the test.
Nvidia Unveils New Mid-Range GeForce Graphics Card 158
crookedvulture writes "Nvidia has uncorked another mid-range graphics card, the GeForce GTX 560 Ti. Every tech site on the web seems to have coverage of this new $250 offering, and The Tech Report's review will tell you all you need to know about the various flavors available, including how their performance compares to cards from 2-3 years ago. Interestingly, the review concludes that pretty much any modern mid-range graphics card offers smooth frame rates while playing the latest games at the common desktop resolution of 1920x1080. You may want to pay closer attention to power consumption and noise levels when selecting a new card."
LotR Online's Free-To-Play Switch Tripled Revenue 91
Last June, Turbine made the decision to switch Lord of the Rings Online from a subscription-based business model to a free-to-play model supported by microtransactions. In a podcast interview with Ten Ton Hammer, Turbine executives revealed that the switch has gone well for the company, with game revenues roughly tripling. The active player base has also grown significantly in that time. Executive Producer Kate Paiz said, "This really echoes a lot of what we've seen throughout the entertainment industry in general. It's really about letting players make their choices about how they play."
Comment Implementation seems to not quite work yet (Score 1) 191
The jury summons I received last week had the option of responding via ejuror.co.clark.nv.us. I attempted to login and was denied access. The error message indicated that neither my social security nor birthdate matched what was in the system. However when I called in and eventually got access to a live person, both of those details were correct in the system. Color me not impressed.
Comment Re:So, at least in Denver, it is... (Score 1) 278
Duck season.
EA Says Game Development Budgets Have Peaked 157
Gamasutra reports on comments from Electronic Arts VP David Demartini indicating that the company thinks AAA game development budgets are not going to continue their skyward trend. "If [a developer] happens to make a lot of money based on that budget, great for them. If they come up short and have to cover some of it — y'know, they'll be smarter the next time they do it. That's kind of the approach that we take to it." Certainly this has something to do with a few major economic flops in the games industry lately, such as the cancellation of This Is Vegas after an estimated $50 million had been dumped into the project. Another example is the anemic response to APB, an MMO with a budget rumored to be as high as $100 million. Poor sales and reviews caused developer Realtime Worlds to enter insolvency and lay off a large portion of the development team.
Video Game Legends To Be Inducted Into Hall of Fame 94
killdashnine writes "Last year we discussed the creation of the International Video Game Hall of Fame and Museum in Ottumwa, Iowa, and a first event in 2009 which brought 3,500 people to witness it. Since then, there's been much progress toward creation of the museum, including the upcoming 'Big Bang 2010' exhibition. Their first event kicks off with formal induction ceremonies, tournaments, record-setting attempts, and an array of concerts from 8-bit music to modern rock. This serves as the first official fundraiser for this new non-profit. Iowa is positioning itself as the Video Game Capital of the World. While some sneer and scoff at this, pointing to LA or Seattle as gaming giants and rightful heirs to the title, the real goal is not to glorify software developers but rather to memorialize the 'heroes of video games,' from the iconic Pac Man to pioneers such as Ralph Baer."
Here's a list of this year's inductees. Who gets your vote for next year?
Cloud Gaming Service OnLive Set For Launch 115
Steve Perlman's long-anticipated cloud gaming service, OnLive, officially launches today, finally ready to be put to the test by skeptical and hopeful gamers around the US. After granting some early sign-ups a free year to try out the service, OnLive also announced the list of 23 games that will available from the start, including Mass Effect 2, UT 3, Assassin's Creed 2, Dragon Age: Origins, Batman: Arkham Asylum, and F.E.A.R. 2. Perlman spoke at length with Gamasutra about the beta, latency, and potential partnerships with other broadband providers. Future OnLive competitor Gaikai recently announced it's targeting 2011 for its own launch.
TSA Worker Jailed In Body Scan Rage Incident 352
A TSA worker in Miami was arrested for aggravated battery after he attacked a co-worker for making fun of the size of his genitals. Rolando Negrin walked through one of the new body scanners during a recent training session and a supervisor started making fun of his manhood. From the article: "According to the police report, Negrin confronted one of his co-workers in an employee parking lot, where he hit him with a police baton on the arm and back."
Surgeon Makes Tutorial DVD For Conscious Open-Heart Surgery 170
Lanxon writes "Swaroup Anand, 23, from Bangalore, was fully conscious as he underwent open-heart surgery. An epidural to the neck, administered at the city’s Wockhardt Hospital, numbed his body during the procedure. Dr Vivek Jawali pioneered the technique ten years ago and has recently released a tutorial on DVD, which gives a step-by-step guide to the procedure for other surgeons to watch and learn from."
