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Music

Submission + - CRB kills streaming Internet radio

An anonymous reader writes: The Copyright Royalty Board recently announced new rates for streaming Internet radio that require stations to pay a fee per song per listener. Streaming stations already pay 10% of their revenues to the RIAA (compare to traditional broadcast radio stations who pay nothing) but apparently this is not enough; the new fees would amount to 100%-200% of total revenues for a typical streaming station operating today. Furthermore, the fees have been made retroactive to 2006 (can they do this?) meaning that any station that has been operating over the last year would likely owe hundreds of thousands of dollars to the RIAA. Barring the negotiation of a last-minute revenue sharing agreement with the RIAA, this would make Internet radio streaming as a business model completely unsustainable. More details here.
Privacy

Submission + - Singapore a haven for anonymous online bashing

An anonymous reader writes: Once again the Singapore online community, which has a reputation for being harsh and judgemental while remaining anonymous under the cloak of internet access, does it again! The online community shows how people who write in to a local newspaper with their real names will be treated. http://sgcafe.com/showthread.php?t=31710&page=14
Games

Rockstar to Use NaturalMotion Technology in Upcoming Games 39

CVG reports that future Rockstar titles will feature NaturalMotion technologies in an effort to make the games more realistic. Specifically, Rockstar will be licensing the 'Euphoria' engine, an advanced physics and substance simulation model already in use in several upcoming LucasArts titles. There's no word in the article on which games will feature the technology, but this certainly seems like something that would fit well with the sandbox style games of the GTA series. " Employed in the recently revealed The Force Unleashed, euphoria simulates the human body and motor nervous system. It means that in-game characters are fully interactive and always react differently to external influences, ultimately leading to a more life-like experience for the player. Specific reference to how euphoria 'uses the processing power of PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360' to simluate the human body and motor nervous system was made in the announcement. While Rockstar is yet to name games using euphoria, its integration of the tech is well advanced."
Linux Business

Submission + - Dell's Not Ready For Business Linux

taoman1 writes: ""Dell is warming up to the idea of reintroducing Linux desktops and notebooks, but for now the computer maker plans to remain on the sidelines and wait until there's a clear winner among the various distributions of the open source operating system.""
Graphics

Submission + - Open Graphics Round Table

cranos writes: "In this fortnights episode of Open Source On The Air, I sit down with three Graphic Artists who have based their entire work flow on Free and Open Source Software.

We talk about the state of the current FOSS graphics toolset, how this has affected things like barriers to entry, as well as discussing the growing interaction between the audience and the graphic artists.

You can find the full show here: http://localfoss.org/OSOTA/Episode_16"
Robotics

Submission + - Robots for the Aging Population

QuantumCrypto writes: "University of Tokyo is exploring the possibility of making robots to be better servants. The researchers there are hoping to use these robots in the care of the fast aging population, as well as the sick and the bedridden. As a demonstration of their latest advancement, they showed off a robot that can serve tea. Interestingly, tea-serving robots have been around for 400 years."
Puzzle Games (Games)

Submission + - Memory...Can you remember all without writing down

MacD writes: "About a year ago I saw that a company called Posit Science had a flash based game called the Brain Speed Test. It was a pretty amusing mind exercise. I went back to there cite last week and noticed they still have a newer version of the Brain Speed Test(although its seems to be in look only), but also a sister site about Brain Fitness. On this site they have new memory exercise called Word List Recall. Its pretty simple, but first couple times I found it tough to memorize...maybe Im just getting older. Enjoy. http://bfc.positscience.com/eval/wlr.php"
Music

RIAA Announces New Campus Lawsuit Strategy 299

An anonymous reader writes "The RIAA is once again revising their lawsuit strategy, and will now be sending college students and others "pre-lawsuit letters." People will now be able to settle for a discount. How nice."
Data Storage

Submission + - Free online storage services reviewed

prostoalex writes: "ExtremeTech runs a review of free online storage offerings from box.net, DropBoks, eSnips, MediaMax, OmniDrive and openomy. While there are many more companies offering online storage and backups, this review deals with free plans. Box.net and OmniDrive both get 8 stars out of 10: "All of these services reliably stored our test files, without any evidence of file corruption. The trend was for services that offered more advanced features to be more quirky and at times even buggy. If you just want no frills storage, choose DropBoks or openomy. If you need subfolders and would like a prettier interface, look into box.net. One thing we missed in many of these services was actual OS integration — with the sole exception of OmniDrive, which lets you upload files via a right-click option in Windows Explorer. Some of the other services, such as openomy and box.net do allow developers to build such functionality. ""
XBox (Games)

Casual Play on 360 Live Arcade 48

twoallbeefpatties writes "Columnist Chris Suellentrop writes an article for Slate describing how his desire for casual gaming is fulfilled more by the 360 than the Wii due to the presence of simpler games available over Live Arcade. The availability of oldschool Nintendo games on the Wii network fulfills his nostalgic hardcore gaming side, but when he really wants to just relax, he'd rather be trying to top his Live high score on Root Beer Tapper. Says Suellentrop: 'The Nintendo Wii will transform the way we play games at home. But the Xbox 360, through its Xbox Live service, is building something equally compelling: a celestial arcade, where casual and hard-core gamers alike can connect over the Internet and find like-minded souls. For an old-timer like me, the celestial arcade also lets me feel like I still have some of my old gaming mojo.'"
Software

Submission + - Adobe To Take Photoshop Online

Mr. Linton writes: "In this CNET article Adobe is apparently planning to take Photoshop to the web. From the article: "the hosted Photoshop service is set to be free and marketed as an entry-level version of Adobe's more sophisticated image-editing tools, including Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. Chizen envisions revenue from the Photoshop service coming from online advertising.""
Businesses

Is Network Engineering a Viable Career? 229

An anonymous reader asks: "I'm fresh out of high school and interested in getting a job in networking. One option is a degree in networking, the alternative I've considered is just getting certificates (CCNA/P, A+, MCSA). A large factor in my decision is which route is most likely to land a secure and well-paid full time job. I'm located in Melbourne, Australia and I don't have any local contacts in the industry who can advise me, and so was hoping some other Australian (or international) readers could share their knowledge and experience with these issues."

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