Comment Re:Recycling is Bullshit (Score 1) 622
...eh? That's rubbish.
I thought that was funny.
Comment Re:Americans with Disabilities Act? (Score 1) 203
Perhaps a concern in future presentations but FTA:
Deploying a game for an entire cohort to play at the same time requires more problem-solving than you might expect. We ultimately decided that hardware, installation, and licensing issues were complex enough to dissuade us from teaching Portal in all sections of the course this year; so I and a group of eager colleagues will play the game in our sections to work out the kinks. I don't want our first college-wide experience with a game to be plagued with problems.
I'm sure when the issue of accessibility will be identified.
Comment Re:Not sure if this is best for the consumer (Score 1) 127
I'm not blaming Sony and I didn't say I was. I said that if PSN was subscriber funded it would encourage Sony to put pressure on developers to fix bugs IF PSN started losing subscribers.
You can only mute in game, not in the waiting areas.
Comment Re:If anything, too active... (Score 1) 124
100% legit e-meters
Never thought I'd see that on Slashdot!
Comment Not sure if this is best for the consumer (Score 1) 127
What I find with PSN is that a lot of games, big titles too (Call of Duty 4 and 5 for example) have some horrendous bugs that ruin online play - such as the (now patched) CoD5 Castle level where you could get under the play area and kill but not be killed.
If Sony pays the bills with content providers and not from its customers subscriptions then there isn't the direct incentive to put pressure on developers to fix games quickly that there would be if the customer base withdrew funding.
They also seem to care less about there customers online experience - PSN really needs the ability to kick some players - I'm all for freedom of speech but I'm sure it doesn't include the right to whistle in your headset or sit right in front of the TV creating the feedback loop from hell. I'd pay for that.
Comment Re:Denver uninstalled their cameras (Score 1) 740
Not in the UK, garages cost a bloody fortune and the NHS is free.
Comment Re:armchair lawyers (Score 1) 457
Can you clarify why (3)(2) gives them wiggle room:
"A person is guilty of an offence if at the time when he does the act he has the requisite intent and the requisite knowledge to cause a modification of the contents of any computer and by so doing impair the operation of any such program or the reliability of any such data."
IANAL but that seems pretty watertight and section 17 paragraph 18 is also pretty succinct:
"(8) Such a modification is unauthorised if-- (a) the person whose act causes it is not himself entitled to determine whether the modification should be made; and (b) he does not have consent to the modification from any person who is so entitled. "
Comment Re:Other companies could learn from this... (Score 1) 114
That as a customer their server up time is not as big a factor as poor delivery. I'd go further to say that I wish their service was as good as their uptime. I would have thought the post was pretty straight forward.
Submission + - Apple restricts iTune video (wired.com)
ddrichardson writes: "Apparently Apple's iTunes video download service will not be available for iPod's manufactured before September 2007. Apple's site doesn't mention the generation being an issue but users are confirming it on the forum.
The article suggests that this may be a DRM issue:
The article suggests that this may be a DRM issue:
"For now, the most likely suspect has to do with what some have deemed the "analog hole" present in 5-G iPods. Previous generation iPods have an analog video output that works with standard video cables. As some have observed, this theoretically makes it easier to copy rented movies, by plugging the iPod into a camcorder or other video-recording device.
Cell Phone Sommeliers on the Way? 159
Japan is reportedly toying with the idea of educating and licensing "sommeliers" to help potential buyers wade through the vast sea of options available for a new cellphone purchase. "Japan's communication ministry is looking to the private sector to manage the potential nightmare exam and certification process, with children's online safety highlighted as an important part of the plan. Mobile sommelier sounds like a pretty sweet title, we can totally feel how an HTC TyTN II might be paired with an earthy unlimited plan followed by the soft nutty finish of a 200-minute a month daytime calling package."
Legalize File Sharing, Say Swedish MPs 545
CrystalFalcon writes "In the past week, the file sharing debate has exploded in Sweden, with numerous mainstream politicians finally having understood the issue. Last week, seven Swedish MPs wrote a prominent opinion piece saying that fully legalized file sharing is not just the best solution, it's the only solution. Now their number has increased to 13, and the issue continues to grow. Good summaries at TorrentFreak and P2P Consortium. Original opinion piece in English here."
Submission + - BBC iPlayer Welcomes Linux (and Macs) (bbc.co.uk) 2
h4rm0ny writes: "The story is brief but wonderful. After previously limiting their iPlayer only to the Windows platform (as covered on Slashdot here and here, the BBC's content is now available to users of Linux and Macs. From their site:
It seems that the BBC have listened to people who petitioned them for broader support and an open format. Well Flash isn't exactly open but its a lot more ubiquitous than Windows Media and Real Player formats. Sadly for the rest of the World, you're going to have to go through the usual proxy Hell to get at this, as it's for us in the UK only. Now this sort of response to demand is why we pay our licence fee!"
From today we are pleased to announce that streaming is now available on BBC iPlayer. This means that Windows, Mac and Linux users can stream programmes on iPlayer as long as their computer has the latest version of Flash. Another change is that you do not have to register or sign in any more to download programmes, and Windows XP and Vista users will have an improved version of Download Manager (formerly the Library) available to them.
It seems that the BBC have listened to people who petitioned them for broader support and an open format. Well Flash isn't exactly open but its a lot more ubiquitous than Windows Media and Real Player formats. Sadly for the rest of the World, you're going to have to go through the usual proxy Hell to get at this, as it's for us in the UK only. Now this sort of response to demand is why we pay our licence fee!"
Submission + - Virus Entices Users to Thwart CAPTCHA System (foxnews.com)
schematix writes: FOX News is reporting that spammers are boosting efforts to bypass CAPTCHA systems in an attempt to gain access to e-mail services and financial institions. "I have to hand it to them," Paul Ferguson of Trend Micro said, laughing. "The social engineering aspect here is pretty clever."
Submission + - BBC's Linux figures innacurate (bbc.co.uk) 2
ddrichardson writes: "Following an earlier story, BBC's Ashley Highfield has changed his mind on the number of Linux users accessing the BBC's website. It would appear to be more like 36,600 and 97,600. Interestingly, he hasn't changed position:
"We'll try and get a more accurate picture: over 30 thousand Linux users is a not insubstantial number, but we do have to keep this in context with the vast majority of users who use either Windows or Macs to access bbc.co.uk.
Submission + - BBC iPlayer to be cross platform (pm.gov.uk)
ddrichardson writes: "The BBC iPlayer service is no longer to be tied to Windows only. Following a scucessful online government petition, the BBC trust in conjunction with Ofcom have decided to make the system cross-platform. From the Government response:
The BBC Trust made it a condition of approval for the BBC's on-demand services that the iPlayer is available to users of a range of operating systems, and has given a commitment that it will ensure that the BBC meets this demand as soon as possible."
The BBC Trust made it a condition of approval for the BBC's on-demand services that the iPlayer is available to users of a range of operating systems, and has given a commitment that it will ensure that the BBC meets this demand as soon as possible."
