Enrique1218 - Slashdot User

Comment Forced data plans (Score 1) 245

by Enrique1218 on Sunday June 06, 2010 @11:10PM (#32480122) Attached to: Time For Universal Data Plans?

The real problem is not that Americans pay twice for internet access. Americans are being forced to pay twice for internet access. Smartphone customers should not have to pay for a data plan just to own the phone. They shouldn't have to do it if their land based internet with wifi is sufficient. I suspect that smartphones will replace simple cell phones soon and more customers will be forced to buy the plans. Now, if people want both unlimited access at home and some access anywhere else, let them pay for it. I suspect that there is a significant market for telcos to provide a service and make a profit. Consumers should be able to choose how much internet they want for their devices. My concern is that this decision is made in a board room.

Comment Am I missing something (Score 1) 352

by Enrique1218 on Saturday May 08, 2010 @02:35PM (#32140422) Attached to: TSA Worker Jailed In Body Scan Rage Incident

Forget about a guy fighting with his co-workers. These damn scanners can allow someone to judge the size of your genitals. That is ridiculous. I don't feel I should have to stand naked in front of someone just to board a plane. I am sorry but I prefer to take my chances with the terrorists.

TSA Worker Jailed In Body Scan Rage Incident 352

Posted by samzenpus on Friday May 07, 2010 @03:32PM from the checking-out-your-package dept.

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."

Microsoft Clears MechWarrior4 Free Launch 131

Posted by Soulskill on Thursday April 22, 2010 @03:36AM from the done-and-done dept.

Vamman writes "If you've been following the drama surrounding the free release of MechWarrior4, then you're probably aware that the initial announcement, made last summer, was a bit premature. Now, nearly a year since that announcement was made, MekTek Studios has announced that Microsoft Legal has given clearance for the free release of Mechwarrior4. This move by Microsoft Games couldn't come at a better time for the community, as the owners of MechWarrior are attempting a reboot of the franchise."

The Fruit Fly Drosophila Gets a New Name 136

Posted by timothy on Saturday April 10, 2010 @06:50AM from the hope-you-used-pencil dept.

G3ckoG33k writes "The name of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster will change to Sophophora melangaster. The reason is that scientists have by now discovered some 2,000 species of the genus and it is becoming unmanageably large. Unfortunately, the 'type species' (the reference point of the genus), Drosophila funebris, is rather unrelated to the D. melanogaster, and ends up in a distant part of the relationship tree. However, geneticists have, according to Google Scholar, more than 300,000 scientific articles describing innumerable aspects of the species, and will have to learn the new name as well as remember the old. As expected, the name change has created an emotional (and practical) stir all over media. While name changes are frequent in science, as they describe new knowledge about relationships between species, these changes rarely hit economically relevant species, and when they do, people get upset."

Study Finds That Video Games Hinder Learning In Young Boys 278

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday March 17, 2010 @03:35AM from the fun-activities-distract-from-studies,-film-at-11 dept.

dcollins writes "Researchers at Denison University in Ohio have shown that giving PlayStations to young boys leads to slower progress in reading and writing skills. Quoting: 'The study is the first controlled trial to look at the effects of playing video games on learning in young boys. That is to say, the findings aren't based on survey data of kids' game habits, but instead on a specific group of children that were randomly assigned to receive a PlayStation or not ... Those with PlayStations also spent less time engaged in educational activities after school and showed less advancement in their reading and writing skills over time than the control group, according to tests taken by the kids. While the game-system owners didn't show significant behavioral problems, their teachers did report delays in learning academic skills, including writing and spelling.'"

Comment Re:Go go Nanny State... (Score 1) 794

by Enrique1218 on Thursday March 11, 2010 @09:47PM (#31447714) Attached to: Bill To Ban All Salt In Restaurant Cooking

or just look it up on wikipedia. He only needs to read the first sentence.

Apple Removes Wi-Fi Finders From App Store 461

Posted by timothy on Thursday March 04, 2010 @09:30PM from the you've-been-very-very-naughty dept.

jasonbrown writes "Apple on Thursday began removing another category of apps from its iPhone App Store. This time, it's not porn, it's Wi-Fi. Apple removed several Wi-Fi apps commonly referred to as stumblers, or apps that seek out available Wi-Fi networks near your location. According to a story on Cult of Mac, apps removed by Apple include WiFi-Where, WiFiFoFum, and yFy Network Finder."

Comment Response from the school; "the feature existed". (Score 1) 941

by Enrique1218 on Thursday February 18, 2010 @08:33PM (#31193698) Attached to: PA School Spied On Students Via School-Issued Laptop Webcams

School Response. They acknowledge that the feature existed and was only to be used in case of theft.

StarCraft II Closed Beta Begins 268

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday February 17, 2010 @05:46PM from the rush-starts-now dept.

Blizzard announced today that the multiplayer beta test for StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty is now underway. The client downloader is available through Battle.net for people who have received invites, and the system requirements have been posted as well. A list of known issues is up on the official forums. StarCraft II and the revamped Battle.net are planned for release "in the first half of 2010."

New Riddick Movie Made Possible By Games? 160

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday February 17, 2010 @02:37AM from the this-is-why-gamers-are-scarier-than-bikers dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Scott Harris writes on Moviefone that the economics of Hollywood are often baffling, as DVD sales, broadcast fees and merchandising tie-ins balance against advertising costs and pay-or-play deals to form an accounting maze. The latest example is the untitled sequel to The Chronicles of Riddick, released in 2004 to a slew of negative reviews and general viewer indifference. Despite its hefty $105 million budget, most of which was spent on special effects, the film topped out at a paltry $57 million domestically. So how can a sequel be made if the movie lost money? The answer has to do with ancillary profits from revenue streams outside the box office. While the combined $116 million worldwide probably still didn't cover distribution and advertising costs, it likely brought the film close to even, meaning DVD sales and profits from the tie-in video game franchise may have put the movie in the black. In addition, Riddick itself was a sequel to Pitch Black, a modestly budgeted ($23 million) success back in 2000. Extending the franchise to a third film may help boost ancillary profits by introducing the Pitch Black and Chronicles of Riddick DVDs and merchandise to new audiences, meaning that the new film may not even need to break even to eventually turn a profit for the studio."

Comment Repeat of 80's (Score 2, Informative) 965

by Enrique1218 on Sunday January 31, 2010 @09:30PM (#30976228) Attached to: Apple's Trend Away From Tinkering

One only has to look at Apples position in particular market to understand the contrasts in their developer policies. Apple's PC market penetration is very low. Apple cannot break 5% market share even after the Vista debacle. As a result, Apple ships the Developers tools free with every Mac, aids Windows installation with Bootcamp, and even takes an open source approach to the core of OS X. In contrast, Apple dominates the iPod market and is a strong contender in the iPhone market. Apples developer policy reflects that position. Apple forces developers through the iTunes and only Cocoa SDK . I also seriously doubt Apple is making any effort to put Android on the phone. This position is less developer friendly than the Mac. The powers that be at Apple must feel thar the developers need Apple more than Apple needs them. I believe this will hurt them in the long run. This policy is extremely short sighted given the rise of Android (think Windows in the 80's). iPhone OS may be better than Android now but Google is very flexible with their developers policy. Google will allow them to take Android devices a lot further than Apple will their developers go. Apple will lose out again just as they did with Windows.

Case in point, I am absolutely in love with the iPhone. I would have one right now and would would pay the full price except for one thing. I have to purchase AT&T data plan for $30/month for as long as I have the phone. I have no need for a data plan. I am around wifi most of the time and I would rarely need to use AT&T 3G. If I were so incline to use 3g, I would probably download a tv show off of hulu with Flash. AT&T network can't handle that and Apple won't let me have flash. Moreover, even if they did, it would run very slowly because Apple is not friendly with it developers. I believe Apple is pushing me to buy content from them and pay for a service I will never use. The forced data plan is the same with Android but at least Flash for Android is around the corner. In the race to my pocket, Google may edge out Apple. That is a shame, I do love my Macintosh and would have loved the iPhone. This is bigger than tinkering and I hope Steve Jobs wakes up.

Comment Re:Free-thinking? (Score 2, Interesting) 945

by Enrique1218 on Monday January 25, 2010 @03:59PM (#30894726) Attached to: The Apple Paradox, Closed Culture & Free-Thinking Fans

Maybe free thinking is not uniform across the many aspects of life. For instance, I am a scientist. I am the most creative in my chosen field which is applied physics. I used Macintosh for 10 years and will not seriously consider anything else. I believe Linux to be unpolished and Windows to be buggy and bloated. That may or may not be true now but it was true when I used them last. I am not free thinking when it comes to my computers. Apples always work and require the least amount of maintenance over their life. From purchase to disposal, I spend little time worrying about my computer and more time being creative in my field. I personally like it that way.

Own Your Own Fighter Jet 222

Posted by samzenpus on Saturday January 16, 2010 @03:02PM from the only-one-on-the-block dept.

gimmebeer writes "The Russian Sukhoi SU-27 has a top speed of Mach 1.8 (more than 1,300 mph) and has a thrust to weight ratio greater than 1 to 1. That means it can accelerate while climbing straight up. It was designed to fight against the best the US had to offer, and now it can be yours for the price of a mediocre used business jet."

Blizzard Authenticators May Become Mandatory 248

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday January 09, 2010 @04:27AM from the gotta-take-off-your-shoes-too dept.

An anonymous reader writes "WoW.com is reporting that a trusted source has informed them that Blizzard is giving serious consideration to making authenticators mandatory on all World of Warcraft accounts. The authenticators function the same as ones provided by most banks — in order to log in, you must generate a number on the external device. Blizzard already provides a free iPhone app that functions as an authenticator. The source stated, 'it is a virtually forgone conclusion that it will happen.' This comes after large spates of compromised accounts left Bizzard game masters severely backlogged by restoration requests."

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