Comment Re:Content moving to apps more of an impediment (Score 2) 270
I haven't had HBO since I was a kid, so maybe things have changed, but isn't it commercial-free? Isn't that the whole point of paying the premium for it?
Comment Bedazzler? (Score 1) 154
Perhaps some puff paint? Maybe some stickers?
Comment Re:What about Save As PDF (Score 1) 288
That's what PDFCreator is for. Just beware the bundled toolbar.
Comment Re:More Info Please... (Score 5, Informative) 123
science doesn't deal with facts
Uh, what? Facts are the foundation of science. If science has any issue with facts it's that Joe Sixpack thinks the hierarchy is...
Hypothesis -> Theory -> Facts
In actuality, it's...
Facts -> Hypothesis -> Theory
Hypotheses and theories are built on facts. Maybe you meant science doesn't deal with proof?
Comment In the grim darkness of the far future (Score 1) 211
...there is only trademark infringement.
Comment Re:Well, it was nice while it lasted (Score 1) 284
Only 3, I think, but they keep re-releasing them with new titles.
New Humble Bundle Is Windows Only, DRM Games 553
jbernardo writes "After all the indie, multi-platform (including 4 for android) and DRM free releases, the latest Humble Bundle release is a polarizing one. It features non-indie games, it is Windows only, and the games are saddled with DRM. There is already a very vocal discussion on the Humble Bundle Google+ thread, but it seems it is selling well."
Comment Re:Just a shakedown (Score 1) 267
You could always brush up on your Yiddish. There are 5 ways to spell bupkis and that's not one of them.
Comment Re:I'll give you more than one (Score 1) 700
The Bible. Except for atheists and agnostics, most people should insert their favorite holy book here.
In the USA, at least, everyone should list The Bible, even if they've never read it or don't believe a word of it. After all, it's largely because of The Bible that...
- Gay people can't marry.
- Women are second-class citizens who can't be trusted or expected to manage their own lives.
- Gays, non-whites, and non-Christians are second-class citizens and are treated with mistrust or contempt, sometimes to the point of assault or murder, and do not deserve to have their views reflected in government or society.
- Slavery was all good and well into the 1860's and race discrimination was still going strong 100 years later.
- Infant boys have parts of their genitals cut off.
- We are in perpetual war with much of the Middle East (the Qur'an shares much of the blame here).
Whether you believe The Bible or not, whether you've read The Bible or not, whether you even care about The Bible or not, it has restricted your liberty if you live amongst those who live by it.
Comment Re:What's the value here? (Score 1) 698
Probably not, but in the last election lots of people picked the president by the VP the other guy chose. "I was leaning toward this guy but his health is questionable and he picked a crazy hick to be his VP."
Comment Re:Accurate measurements? (Score 1) 120
To some degree a known reference would not be necessary. The camera knows how far away the object is by way of autofocus. If the object is far enough away that the focus goes to infinity, then you're SOL.
The Day Leo Traynor Confronted His Troll 594
McGruber writes "Dublin-based writer Leo Traynor has written a piece about confronting the troll who drove him off Twitter, hacked his Facebook, and abused and terrified his family. Quoting: 'I blocked the account and reported it as spam. The following week it happened again in an identical manner. A new follower, I followed back, received a string of abusive DMs, blocked and reported for spam. Two or three times a week. Sometimes two or three times a day. An almost daily cycle of blocking and reporting and intense verbal abuse. ... Then one day something happened that truly frightened me. I don't scare easily but this was vile. I received a parcel at my home address. Nothing unusual there – I get lots of post. I ripped it open and there was a Tupperware lunchbox inside full of ashes. There was a note included, saying, "Say hello to your relatives from Auschwitz." I was physically sick. ... In July I was approached by a friend who's basically an IT genius, and he offered some help. He said that he could trace the hackers and trolls for me using perfectly legal technology, which would lead to their IP addresses. I said yes. Then I baited them – I was deliberately more provocative toward them than ever I'd been before.'"
Amazon Debuts Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire HD In 2 Sizes 307
Nerval's Lobster writes "Amazon used a Sept. 6 event in California to debut a range of products, including a front-lit [not back-lit, as originally reported] Kindle e-reader with a higher-resolution screen, an updated Kindle Fire, and the new Kindle Fire HD in two screen sizes. First, Bezos showed off a new version of the Kindle e-reader, the Kindle Paperwhite, complete with a front-lit, higher-resolution screen (221 pixels-per-inch and 25 percent more contrast, according to Amazon). The device weighs 7.5 ounces and is 9.1mm thin; battery life is rated at eight weeks, and the screen brightness is adjustable. He then showed off the updated Kindle Fire, before moving to the Kindle Fire HD, which features a choice of 7-inch or 8.9-inch screens, dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus, two antennas for better Wi-Fi pickup, and a Texas Instruments OMAP 4470 processor (which Bezos claimed could out-perform the Tegra 3). The Kindle Fire HD's 7-inch version will retail for $199 and ship Sept. 14, while the 8.9-inch version will cost $299 and ship Nov. 20. An 8.9-inch, 4G LTE-enabled version with 32GB storage will be available starting Nov. 20 for $499, paired with a $49.99-a-year data plan."
Comment Re:Air resistance. (Score 3, Informative) 1184
That's 54 miles per imperial gallon, presumably, which comes to 45 miles per US gallon.
Don't get me wrong, that's still impressive, just... apples to apples and all that.
The Sweet Mystery of Science 259
Hugh Pickens writes "Biologist David P. Barash writes in the LA Times that as a scientist he has been participating in a deception for more than four decades — a benevolent and well intentioned deception — but a deception nonetheless. 'When scientists speak to the public or to students, we talk about what we know, what science has discovered,' writes Barash. 'After all, we work hard deciphering nature's secrets and we're proud whenever we succeed. But it gives the false impression that we know pretty much everything, whereas the reality is that there's a whole lot more that we don't know.' Teaching and writing only about what is known risks turning science into a mere catalog of established facts, suggesting that 'knowing' science is a matter of memorizing says Barash. 'It is time, therefore, to start teaching courses, giving lectures and writing books about what we don't know about biology, chemistry, geology, physics, mathematics.' Barash isn't talking about the obvious unknowns, such as 'Is there life on other planets?' Looking just at his field, evolutionary biology, the unknowns are immense: How widespread are nonadaptive traits? To what extent does evolution proceed by very small, gradual steps versus larger, quantum jumps? What is the purpose of all that 'junk DNA"? Did human beings evolve from a single lineage, or many times, independently? Why does homosexuality persist? According to Barash scientists need to keep celebrating and transmitting what they know but also need to keep their eyes on what science doesn't know if the scientific enterprise is to continue attracting new adherents who will keep pushing the envelope of our knowledge rather than resting satisfied within its cozy boundaries."
