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Comment Re:getting middlemen out of the picture (Score 1) 131

Obsidian and inxile have largely achieved what the public expected, and have delivered fairly reasonably on time, double fine is still a worry. If you watched the documentary for the double fine adventure, you'd find that mission creep has plagued it as well, but that was completely self inflicted. Meanwhile the RPG games have been quite expansive games, and present seriously more value for money than the adventure game.

Comment Re:This happens about... (Score 4, Insightful) 131

I work as a mechanical engineer, in the building industry (HVAC) and while this is also quite normal, the word that gets thrown around is variation, obviously to the contract.

Reading the article, particularly between the lines, it appears that the problem wasn't really with the studio; they were trying to get more money out of MS, but MS just decided to kill the project rather than have a cost blowout. While mission creep did kill the game, the studio didn't plan any contingency or mitigation for a cancellation (or more likely it was just sack everyone).

Comment Re:Another? (Score 2) 199

And that's why I use neither firefox nor chrome (and definitely not IE). It's really annoying that selecting a browser is no longer getting one which is the best, but rather picking the one which is the least worst of the lot. For a long time I was a firefox user, but after Australis, that just did it for me, but what I replaced it with, has big problems too, but at least the UI is easy enough to use.

Comment Re:regulation? (Score 1) 245

Maybe if those links supported what you're saying, I could argue. Problem is firearm homicides and firearm suicides in Australia definitely did not peak in 1996/1997, as they had been trending downwards since the mid 1980's. The only thing is that 1996 had a big peak due to the Port Arthur massacre, but even then, more people were killed by firearms in 1992 than 1996. firearm homicides had been trending downwards since about the 1980's and there's no structural break to signify a change as a result of the buyback legislation. Similarly applies to firearm suicides.

You could check out this paper and get a better look at the statistics, and see that the gun buyback isn't all that it was cracked up to be.

Comment Re:Not gonna happen (Score 1) 245

But there are no regional inconsistencies when it comes to 3D printing firearms. Each jurisdiction requires that a firearm is registered. I believe this means that if a dealer (they are allowed to manufacture a firearm) were to 3D print a firearm and go through the correct procedure in getting it registered, it would be legal. If they do anything, they might just outright ban 3D printing firearms by making them unable to be registered and considered a prohibited weapon like semi automatics. But it seems futile, as it won't do anything to prevent illegal manufacture, as it's already considered an illegal firearm due to being unregistered.

Comment Re:regulation? (Score 2) 245

Owning weapons is a common law right, however statute has the power to override and essentially revoke common law rights. As a result, we have no guaranteed rights in Australia (because our constitutions don't define any, except for free political speech and a right to vote, no those are the only two protected in our constitutions), because the parliament can just change it immediately.

So now we're seeing our democratically elected representatives debate, adjust, and they will pass laws regarding metadata retention. Is this a situation of the people speaking? Can you really suggest that metadata retention is something that the Australian public really want? Both sides of politics are agreeing to metadata retention in principle, so it's going to happen.

Comment Re:regulation? (Score 1) 245

Yea, now you read about in the Australia media how they don't know how many illegal guns there actually are in Australia. Maybe comedians can be funny, but Jim Jeffries is certainly talking out of his arse. The Howard gun laws did nothing statistically speaking, there's even a research paper which shows that there are no statistical breaks as a result from the gun buyback. While it may make some people feel all warm and fuzzy, meanwhile we have a situation where firearms are being smuggled for organised crime, there's even local manufacture of machine pistols and other types of firearms here, which the police haven't been too keen on publicising at all. So Jim Jeffries rebuttle is hardly one when you insert some facts into the situation.

Submission + - 3D printed guns might lead to law changes in Australia (computerworld.com.au) 1

angry tapir writes: An inquiry by an Australian Senate committee has recommended the introduction of uniform laws across jurisdictions in the country "regulating the manufacture of 3D printed firearms and firearm parts". Although current laws are in general believed to cover 3D printed guns, there are concerns there may inconsistencies across different Australian jurisdictions. Although there aren't any high-profile cases of 3D printed weapons being used in crimes in the country, earlier this year a raid in Queensland recovered 3D printed firearm parts.

Submission + - Windows 10 To Offer Unified Store For Apps, Music, And Movies Across All Devices (hothardware.com)

MojoKid writes: Today, Microsoft has let it slip that it is taking things a step further with Windows 10 and a single, unified app and media Store. That means that the new Microsoft Store will serve not only as a home for apps, but also as a repository for music, movies, and TV shows. The new Store Beta, which will roll out to customers currently test driving the newest build of the Windows 10 Technical Preview over the next 24 hours, will populate the Movies & TV section within the Store. This option was previously available, but you couldn't access the content within.

Submission + - German teenager gets job offer by trying to use FOI for his exam papers! (theguardian.com)

Bruce66423 writes: "A German schoolboy has taken exam preparation to ingenious new levels by making a freedom of information request to see the questions in his forthcoming Abitur tests, the equivalent of A-levels in the UK." and SATS in the USA.

The media attention from his FoI request has already garnered him an offer of work from another transparency-related organisation, the research website Correctiv.

Comment Re:Blackberry (Score 1) 445

The sad thing is, the official office apps are probably the worst ones to use. Word does some ridiculous scaling which wraps text, making it impossible to actually view a document as it was intended, meanwhile excel has an extremely reduced function set, to the point that any spreadsheet with some more useful formulas will no longer work.

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