Comment Re:Surely you mean "Arpapos" editing... (Score 1) 109
I'm guessing he tried "à propos" which, in french, means 'by the way", but of course is not the same thing as "apropos", as you clearly stated.
Google Renames Itself "Topeka" 84
techmuse was one of several readers to note Google's official response to recent news that a town in Kansas would rename itself Google. The search engine company has announced a name change of its own, although I'm not sure saying "Let me Topeka that" has quite the same ring to it.
Slashdot Discussions Now Include Roulette Video Chat 192
It's been a long time coming, but we're pleased to announce the latest updates to our discussion software. We've been paying a lot of attention to what other websites have been doing in the space, and as we are only too happy to steal good ideas, from now on all Slashdot stories will now be accompanied by a Roulette-style webcam video chat. In testing, we've discovered that Slashdot users are amazingly likely to engage in informative, troll-free discussion when presented with the video image of one of their peers. This new addition to Slashdot nicely rounds out and improves the discussion experience for all users.
The Problems With Video Game Voice Acting 251
The Guardian's Games blog explores the tendency of modern video games to suffer from poor voice acting, a flaw made all the more glaring by increasingly precise and impressive graphics. Quoting:
"Due to the interactive nature of games, actors can't be given a standard film script from which they're able to gauge the throughline of their character and a feel for the dramatic development of the narrative. Instead, lines of dialogue need to be isolated into chunks so they can be accessed and triggered within the game in line with the actions of each individual player. Consequently, the performer will usually be presented with a spreadsheet jammed with hundreds of single lines of dialogue, with little sense of context or interaction. ... But according to David Sobolov, one of the most experienced videogame voice actors in the world (just check out his website), the significant time pressures mean that close, in-depth direction is not always possible. 'Often, there's a need to record a great number of lines, so to keep the session moving, once we've established the tone of the character we're performing, the director will silently direct us using the spreadsheet on the screen by simply moving the cursor down the page to indicate if he/she liked what we did. Or they'll make up a code, like typing an 'x' to ask us to give them another take.' It sounds, in effect, like a sort of acting battery farm, a grinding, dehumanizing production line of disembodied phrases, delivered for hours on end. Hardly conducive to Oscar-winning performances."
California Lake's Arsenic Hints At a Shadow Biosphere 155
MichaelSmith writes "Scientists think that there might be arsenic-based life in Mono Lake, California. If it's shown to exist, such life could have evolved independently from our own, or it could have forked from ours at a very early stage."
AIDS-Like Virus New Threat To Koala 120
An anonymous reader writes "A virus that may weaken the immune system of koalas, similar to HIV in humans, is a new 'wild card' among threats facing the species and nearly all koalas in the Australian state of Queensland could already be infected."
Sony Joins the Offensive Against Pre-Owned Games 461
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."
Armed Robot Drones To Join UK Police Force 311
Lanxon writes "British criminals should soon prepare to be shot at from unmanned airborne police robots. Last month it was revealed that modified military aircraft drones will carry out surveillance on everyone from British protesters and antisocial motorists to fly-tippers. But these drones could be armed with tasers, non-lethal projectiles and ultra-powerful disorienting strobe lighting apparatus, reports Wired. The flying robot fleet will range from miniature tactical craft such as the miniature AirRobot being tested by one police force, to BAE System's new 12m-wide armed HERTI drone as flown in Afghanistan."
Comment Re:I could have told you that. (Score 1) 938
Indeed.
I got bullied too at school, and after years of doing nothing i got sick of it, took the bully by his head and slammed it into a pillar. Never had any problem afterward.
You don't just have to try and fight back, otherwise they could see it as a success, because you react, you have to make clear that they will get hurt too.
I got bullied too at school, and after years of doing nothing i got sick of it, took the bully by his head and slammed it into a pillar. Never had any problem afterward.
You don't just have to try and fight back, otherwise they could see it as a success, because you react, you have to make clear that they will get hurt too.
Submission + - Belgium bill proposal to legalize illegal download (google.com)
SalaSSin writes: In Belgium the green party is finalizing a bill to legalize illegal downloads (Google translation).
The senators propose that internet providers pay a copyright fee, but the connection costs will be frozen, so the end user doesn't have to pay more.
there will also be an opt out scenario, where you stipulate that you don't want to download illegally.
The senators propose that internet providers pay a copyright fee, but the connection costs will be frozen, so the end user doesn't have to pay more.
there will also be an opt out scenario, where you stipulate that you don't want to download illegally.
Submission + - UK Government asked to review use of IE (ebrahim.org)
aliebrah writes: "Lord Avebury (blog, bio) has tabled a written question in the United Kingdom House of Lords yesterday, which reads as under:
Lord Avebury to ask Her Majestyââs Government whether, in the light of the recent announcement by Microsoft that Internet Explorer was used to carry out the cyber attacks which prompted Google to say it will withdraw from China, they will review the use of Internet Explorer throughout the public sector. HL1505 Source: House of Lords Business (26 January 2010) and Eric Avebury: Internet vulernability
Lord Avebury mentions that the Parliamentary IT authorities are actively discouraging the use of alternative browsers such as Chrome so it is great to see that he is holding the government accountable for their policies.
According to UK parliamentary procedure, the government is obliged to provide a written response to his question on or before 8 February 2010. I think it will be interesting to see what they have to say.
Lord Avebury is an active campaigner for the rights of ethnic minorities in the UK and also those who are British nationals living abroad. He is also a member of the EU Select Committee which considers EU policy on protecting Europe from large-scale cyber attacks."
Comment Plagiarism? (Score 1) 175
...establishing in-space propellant depots, and harvesting resources/fuel from asteroids and Phobos to supply Moon/Mars-bound vehicles.
Well, after Jules Verne, NASA is checking out other science fiction writers for ideas... The Mars trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson, sound familiar?
Comment Re:Asterix (Score 1) 277
Exactly my idea!
I'm always picking sides for the bull, hoping those bloodthirsty toreadors get to run for their life.
Comment Re:more to the point, is this really necessary? (Score 1) 169
You're on /., make that 3 sons...
America's Army Games Cost $33 Million Over 10 Years 192
Responding to a Freedom Of Information Act request, the US government has revealed the operating costs of the America's Army game series over the past decade. The total bill comes to $32.8 million, with yearly costs varying from $1.3 million to $5.6 million.
"While operating America's Army 3 does involve ongoing expenses, paying the game's original development team isn't one of them. Days after the game launched in June, representatives with the Army confirmed that ties were severed with the Emeryville, California-based team behind the project, and future development efforts were being consolidated at the America's Army program office at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. A decade after its initial foray into the world of gaming, the Army doesn't appear to be withdrawing from the industry anytime soon. In denying other aspects of the FOIA request, the Army stated 'disclosure of this information is likely to cause substantial harm to the Department of the Army's competitive position in the gaming industry.'"
