forpeterssake - Slashdot User

Comment Not enough extensions/options (Score 1) 302

by forpeterssake on Tuesday October 23, 2012 @02:30PM (#41743305) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Seamonkey vs. Firefox — Any Takers?

I actually like Seamonkey quite a bit, and use it periodically, but I wish it had better extension and customization support. There were only about a half-dozen themes last time I looked, and only a few extensions. Fortunately, they had the important ones (AdBlock, NoScript, Ghostery, etc.) but it would be nice to have access to more. Still, a fine and stable way to browse the web.

Comment Terms (Score 1) 1

by forpeterssake on Monday October 22, 2012 @03:39PM (#41732393) Attached to: Outlawed by Amazon DRM

The lack of process is one of the many reasons so-called DRM methods are inherently flawed. If Linn really had used a previous Amazon account that had been banned for good reason, it might be appropriate to revoke her account. But with unhelpful customer service and no appeals procedure, she has zero recourse and nothing to show for her long history of purchases.

Comment PeerBlock (Score 1) 309

by forpeterssake on Tuesday September 04, 2012 @01:02PM (#41224509) Attached to: Most Torrent Downloaders Are Monitored, Study Finds

Question: When I've used software PeerBlock in the past, I've seen quite a few blocked connections in the log. But does using PeerBlock or something similar actually work to prevent the monitoring identified in the study?

Comment Re:Transformer (Score 1) 356

by forpeterssake on Friday December 30, 2011 @12:11PM (#38538992) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Best Android Tablet For Travel?

I second the Nook Color. It's not high-end, but it does a great job at a great price. I can find wi-fi pretty much everywhere I go. And considering the risk of damage, loss, theft, etc.during travel, the simplicity and lower price are very attractive.

Scientists Discover Solar Powered Hornets 177

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday December 08, 2010 @09:03PM from the beware-of-the-electric-bees dept.

adeelarshad82 writes "The oriental hornet is more active during the day, and tends to become even more active as the temperature rises. And now scientists have discovered the reason: the hornets are solar powered. It turns out that the distinctive yellow stripe on the hornet's abdomen is actually full of tiny protrusions that gather sunlight and harness it for energy. The insect also features a special pigment, called xanthopterin, that helps with the process."

Submission + - Apple's iOS 4.3 to Launch in December (softview.co.cc)

Submitted by srimadman on Wednesday November 24, 2010 @01:22PM

srimadman writes: The release of iOS 4.2.1 now complete, Apple is reportedly focusing on launching iOS 4.3 by mid-December. It will bring not only bug fixes, but could be the update that brings app subscriptions and Rupert Murdoch’s iPad-only publication to millions of iOS devices.

Why Don't We Finish More Games? 341

Posted by Soulskill on Friday November 19, 2010 @06:07AM from the attention-deficit-dis-hey-what's-that dept.

IGN has an opinion piece discussing why, as video games get shorter, we seem less likely to finish them than in the past. For example, BioWare said only 50% of Mass Effect 2 players finished the campaign. The article goes into several reasons gamers are likely to drop games without beating them, such as lowered expectations, show-stopping bugs, and the ease with which we can find another game if this one doesn't suit us. Quoting: "... now that gamers have come to expect the annualized franchise, does that limit the impetus to jump on the train knowing another one will pull up to the station soon enough? ... In the past, once you bought a game, it was pretty much yours unless you gave it to somebody else or your family held a garage sale. The systemic rise of the used games market now offers you an escape route if a game just isn't your bag. Is the middle of a game testing your patience? Then why not sell it back to your local game shop, get money back in your pocket, or trade it in for a game that's better – or at least better suited for your tastes? After all, the sooner you ditch it either at a shop or on an online auction site, the more value you stand to get in return."

Skin-Tight Bodysuits Could Protect Astronauts From Bone Loss 158

Posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, 2010 @02:22PM from the wink-wink-you-bet-they-will dept.

jamie passes along a report about research from MIT's Man-Vehicle Laboratory into using "superhero-style" skinsuits to combat the effects of extended stays in microgravity on bone density in astronauts. (Abstract.) Quoting: "Astronauts lose 1 to 2 percent of their bone mass for each month they spend in space. As far back as the Gemini missions, conditioning exercise regimes have been used to slow the rate of bone loss, but a 2001-2004 NASA-sponsored study showed that crew members aboard the International Space Station were still losing up to 2.7 percent of their interior bone material and 1.7 percent of outer hipbone material for each month they spent in space. ... With stirrups that loop around the feet, the elastic gravity skinsuit is purposely cut too short for the astronaut so that it stretches when put on — pulling the wearer's shoulders towards the feet. In normal gravity conditions on Earth, a human's legs bear more weight than the torso. Because the suit's legs stretch more than the torso section, the wearer's legs are subjected to a greater force — replicating gravity effects on Earth." See? Seven of Nine's outfit was inspired by science after all.

Ubuntu Dumps X For Unity On Wayland 640

Posted by Soulskill on Friday November 05, 2010 @10:08AM from the no-longer-marks-the-spot dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Canonical and Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth has announced that Ubuntu will move away from the traditional X.org display environment to Wayland — a more modern alternative. The move means there is now little reason for GNOME developers to recommend Ubuntu as an operating system. Shuttleworth said, 'We're confident we’ll be able to retain the ability to run X applications in a compatibility mode, so this is not a transition that needs to reset the world of desktop free software. Nor is it a transition everyone needs to make at the same time: for the same reason we'll keep investing in the 2D experience on Ubuntu despite also believing that Unity, with all its GL dependencies, is the best interface for the desktop. We'll help GNOME and KDE with the transition, there's no reason for them not to be there on day one either.'"

World's Northernmost Town Gets Nightlights 144

Posted by samzenpus on Friday November 05, 2010 @12:20AM from the goodbye-darkness-my-old-friend dept.

Velcroman1 writes "On October 26, 2,000 Norwegians watched the sun set. The next time they'll see it rise? Sometime in February. Extended nighttime is an annual occurrence for the residents of Longyearbyen, Norway — Earth's northernmost town. Located at 78 degrees north latitude in the Arctic circle, Longyearbyen experiences a phenomenon called Polar Night, in which the town remains in perpetual darkness for four months each winter. To lighten up the seemingly endless night, Philips has started an experiment called 'Wake Up the Town.' And anyone who's complained about the brief daylight hours in winter will want to know how it works."

Monkey Island Creator Slams Corporate Control Over Game Publishing 298

Posted by Soulskill on Monday October 04, 2010 @05:37PM from the just-another-business dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Ron Gilbert, co-creator of classic games Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island 1 and 2, and many more, has spoken out against corporate censorship — the way of large companies getting a say on what does or does not get published on the distribution channels they control. Although his insightful rant applies to a number of corporations (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and Comcast are mentioned), most of the direct examples single out Apple. Quoting: 'Apple has maintained an almost North Koreanish dictatorial control over the devices, becoming the arbitrator over what is good and bad, what is allowed and not allowed. They don't have this control over the Mac because it is a real computer and an open device, but they can do this with the iPhone because we (as consumers) were convinced by the cell phone carriers that they needed this control to protect their networks (in the same way they wouldn't let us own our own telephones in the '70s) and Apple was happy to jump on that ship because they could finally control everything that went on the device and we bought it into it. Apple apologists say that Apple needs this control to maintain the "specialness" of the device. I say that's a load of crap.'" He also mentions Adidas dropping out of iAds because they couldn't accept Apple's excessive creative control, and a photography app that was rejected because it used the volume buttons as trigger."

DR Congo Ring May Be Giant Impact Crater 96

Posted by Soulskill on Friday March 12, 2010 @04:48PM from the leaving-a-mark dept.

Phrogman writes "The BBC is reporting that deforestation has 'revealed what could be a giant impact crater in Central Africa, scientists say. The 36-46km-wide feature, identified in DR Congo, may be one of the largest such structures discovered in the last decade.' If you search Google Maps for 'Omeonga Democratic Republic of the Congo,' you will be right in the middle of the suspected crater."

Comment Re:In a nutshell (Score 1) 148

by forpeterssake on Friday February 26, 2010 @02:21PM (#31288320) Attached to: Is Mozilla Ubiquity Dead?

I sure hope it continues. It took a while to wrap my head around it, but after a while it was the most useful Firefox extension I used, second to AdBlock. Maps, emailing, web searches, image searches, calculator tasks, translations—Ubiquity was my go-too source.

Sony Joins the Offensive Against Pre-Owned Games 461

Posted by Soulskill on Friday February 19, 2010 @07:11AM from the saddle-up dept.

BanjoTed writes "In a move to counter sales of pre-owned games, EA recently revealed DLC perks for those who buy new copies of Mass Effect 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Now, PlayStation platform holder Sony has jumped on the bandwagon with similar plans for the PSP's SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3. '[Players] will need to register their game online before they are able to access the multiplayer component of the title. UMD copies will use a redeemable code while the digital version will authenticate automatically in the background. Furthermore ... anyone buying a pre-owned copy of the game will be forced to cough up $20 to obtain a code to play online."

IOC Claims Olympian Lindsey Vonn's Name As Intellectual Property 399

Posted by timothy on Thursday February 18, 2010 @07:12PM from the somebody's-got-to-dirty-the-pool dept.

gehrehmee writes "As usual, the International Olympic Committee is coming down on hard on people mentioning things related to the Olympics without permission. This time it's UVEX sporting supplies, which sponsors Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. Without explaination, their front page was today updated to include a tongue-in-cheek poem about UVEX's interaction with the IOC. Can the IOC really claim an Olypmian's name as their own intellectual property?"

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