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Microsoft

Submission + - Ballmer hints at Xbox 360 price cuts

Submitted by thefickler
thefickler writes: Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has strongly hinted that the company will look at cutting the price of its Xbox 360 in a recent financial analyst briefing in New York. Ballmer said that the company would review the price of the Xbox 360 to ensure that it remains competitive as well as profitable:
Businesses

Game Development Conditions Could Drive Devs East 87

Posted by Zonk from the no-more-crunch dept.
Kotaku has up a feature piece looking at the opening of a new studio in mainland China. Staffed by expatriate Western game developers, it represents something that founders Chris Pfeiffer and Max Garber see as a future trend: developing games in the west is soul-crushing. The two participated in the grind to get Resistance: Fall of Man out in time for the PlayStation 3 launch, and have now opened a studio with the goal of 'making great games while living a good life.' Lower costs in China allow for a higher standard of living, while labour laws will force game studios to stick to rational work-weeks. Pfeiffer also suggests that the overwhelming costs involved in making games will force U.S. studios to outsource development work to Asian nations. When that happens, Pfeiffer's studio and compatriots will be ready.
OS X

Submission + - 3 Different Ways To Run Windows Applications on yo

Submitted by
luna6
luna6 writes: "http://lunapark6.com/?p=3079 Article compares three different ways to run Windows Applcations on Intel Macs: Codeweaver's Crossover for Mac, Parallels for Mac and Apple Boot Camp. In the article the advantages and disadvantages are discussed for each method and a final conclusion is given for which method is best suited for a particular user's needs. Plenty of screenshots are provided to give a reader a better idea of what each program does."
Communications

Submission + - Outsourced call centre jobs returning to UK

Submitted by fiannaFailMan
fiannaFailMan writes: The BBC is reporting that more UK companies are reversing the call-centre outsourcing trend.

"Hello, it's my car." ''Your cat, sir?." "No, my hatchback." "Your bad back, sir?" "No my car, it's a hatchback." "Your cat has a bad back, sir?" "Arghhhhhh!" ...Just 4% of people have had a good experience when dealing with a call centre, according to a recent survey by YouGov. Over half of those asked said their biggest gripe was having to contact call centres outside the UK and more than a third admitted to shouting and swearing at agents because they got so frustrated.
Software

New Blender Released 170

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the i-am-blender-please-insert-image-of-girder dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Blender, the cross-platform, open source 3d suite, has released version 2.43 along with a website redesign. This version brings powerful new features within reach of every person. These features include sculpt modeling, retopologizing tools, render passes, render baking, support for multi-uvs, enhanced fluid simulator with particles, new rigid body engine, numerous new compositing modes including defocus (DOF) node and much more. Feature videos are also available."
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - In-Depth Dell XPS 710 H2C Edition Evaluation

Submitted by RL20-II
RL20-II writes: Dell's XPS 710 H2C Edition is touted as a top-of-the-line, ultra-performance machine built with power users in mind. Not only does the XPS 710 H2C hold the distinction of being Dell's first non-limited edition factory overclocked computer, but it also uses Dell's first in-house developed liquid cooling system to keep its quad-core power plant cool. This in-depth evaluation at HotHardware has plenty of performance data and goes into great detail on the technologies employed in the XPS 710 H2C Edition. This seems like a killer system if you can justify the investment.
Media

Submission + - Anti-DRM Petition Response From Downing Street

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Downing Street have released a statement in response to a petition on their website.
It states that all products with DRM should be labelled on how the product can be used or not used.

It is clear though that the needs and rights of consumers must also be carefully safeguarded. It is reasonable for consumers to be informed what is actually being offered for sale, for example, and how and where the purchaser will be able to use the product, and any restrictions applied.

It also references the Gowers Report [PDF warning] published December 2006 and the recommendations proposed in the report.

Recommendations include introducing a limited private copying exception by 2008 for format shifting for works published after the date that the law comes into effect. There should be no accompanying levies for consumers. Also making it easier for users to file notice of complaints procedures relating to Digital Rights Management tools by providing an accessible web interface on the Patent Office website by 2008 and that DTI should investigate the possibility of providing consumer guidance on DRM systems through a labelling convention without imposing unnecessary regulatory burdens
The Internet

Submission + - What Do Geeks Want Out Of Social Networking?

Submitted by
Praedon
Praedon writes: "I run a Social Networking site called Geekalize, which is geared toward gamers, programmers, IT, etc. My goal here, is to bring a GOOD name to social networking and raise the bar, where there are such low standards elsewhere at other sites. I have focused on integration using YouTube API, I have spent countless hours browsing the web for new and unique things, but creativity can only go so far.

So I am calling on you, Slashdot, to speak your mind about social networking for geeks (and nerds!), and to give all the constructive feedback that you possibly can on what the standards should REALLY be for a social networking site 100% driven by the members."
GUI

Submission + - Full .NET application running on Linux

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: It seems there could be a place for Mono on the Linux GUI game. Many people thought Mono was going to be an easy way to port .NET Windows apps to Linux, but at the end it was just a new development platform. But it seems after release 1.2, Mono is reaching an acceptable maturity level.

Today I just checked Codice's Software blog, codicesoftware.blogspot.com, a small start-up company developing a new version control system. Their product, named Plastic, is fully written in .NET/Mono, and they finally made the GUI client run on Mono/Linux. It is probably one of the best looking SCM systems running on Linux. Is worth to have a look into it.

Have a look at the following post at their blog: http://codicesoftware.blogspot.com/2007/02/plastic -scm-running-on-sled-mono.html

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