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The Courts

Thompson Stifled by Take Two Suit 55

Take Two has done something that many gamers have probably dreamed of: they've managed to make Jack Thompson shut up. In return for dismissing their suit against Thompson (and the dismissal of Thompson's counter-suit), Thompson has agreed to limit communication with Take-Two Entertainment. He's also barred for the time being from filing suit against games made by the company, ensuring we'll see a minimum of court drama around the release of GTA IV later this year. Ars Technica's Opposable Thumbs blog reports: "It appears that his once mighty roar is now to be temporarily quieted, as the well-documented case--which included numerous bold claims, outrageous scandals, and even a counter-suit--between Thompson and publisher Take-Two has reached a settlement ... Any statements or concerns that Thompson wishes to voice will now have to first go through Take-Two's lawyers."
Networking

Submission + - OpenOffice Could Soon Become Network-enabled

An anonymous reader writes: Linuxtoday.com has picked up a message from the OpenOffice Dev mailing list in which a new company is introducing the GravityZoo OpenOffice porting project with the aim of bringing it to the Internet. GravityZoo is a networked computing platform that looks very interesting. "When OpenOffice.org is "GravityZood", it will become a suite of productivity applications that are always available, online, via a broad range of devices. It will be possible to share and collaborate in real-time, to switch from one device (e.g. a PC) to another (Mobile) device. There will also be no need to save data, because everything you produce is saved automatically on the network. There is no need to download, install or update, the latest version is just available and accessible from any GravityZoo enabled client.
Wii

Submission + - Wii still #1

Pompatus writes: "According to cnet, U.S. sales of video games, hardware and accessories rose 33 percent year over year to $1.1 billion in March, propelled by sales of new consoles, according to market researcher NPD Group. The Wii was again the No. 1 current-generation video game console, selling 259,000 units in March, NPD said Thursday. I want one!"
Music

Why the RIAA Doesn't Want Defendants Exonerated 199

RageAgainsttheBears writes "The RIAA is beginning to find itself in an awkward position. A few of its many, many lawsuits don't manage to end in success for the organization. Typically, when they decide a case isn't worth pursuing (due to targeting the wrong person or not having sufficient evidence), they simply move to drop the case. Counterclaims are usually dropped in turn, and everyone goes separate ways. But recently, judges have been deciding to allow the RIAA to drop the case, but still allowing the defendant's counterclaim through. According to the Ars Technica article: 'If Judge Miles-LaGrange issues a ruling exonerating Tallie Stubbs of infringement, it would be a worrisome trend for the RIAA. The music industry has become accustomed to having its way with those it accuses of file-sharing, quietly dropping cases it believes it can't win. It looks as though the courts may be ready to stop the record labels from just walking away from litigation when it doesn't like the direction it is taking and give defendants justice by fully exonerating them of any wrongdoing.'"
Google

Submission + - Google Map Directions from Washington to London

derami writes: "With even president Bush admitting that climate change is a sure thing, and the new scrambling for Arctic waterways and other related goods, the world's oceans seem indeed to be the new frontier. Thank you, Republican leadership! Meanwhile, one search engine has risen to the occassion with Google map directions that include long-distance deep-sea swimming Personally, I hope Obama and Clinton will manage to tread water in the coming years — presumably, when the oil runs out, they'll be using this trans-Atlantic tranporation method to contact whoever succeeds Blair."
Enlightenment

Submission + - Quiet Please on the Internet

darguskelen writes: Wired Magazine has a story on Learning 2.0. The program is to get public libraries and librarians involved in the new Web 2.0 features so they know how to help patrons with the new technologies. The Learning 2.0 Blog has more information for potential participants.
Software

Journal Journal: OpenOffice 2.2

At OpenOffice's web site we can get the new release of the suite. Bug fixing and new features, specially for Base and Calc are now present, including the ability to import Excel Sheets with Pivot tables from external data, among other thing, according to the release notes.

Operating Systems

Submission + - Open source cars?

Invertdna writes: Most cars today are a complex system of computer-controlled modules that determine the details of how your car runs (e.g., air/fuel mixture, spark plug firing, etc.). However, these operating systems are locked to all but those who design them; even dealerships don't have the ability to change code for the car's computer(s). In talking to a repairman about how to make my gas-powered car run cleaner, he suggested that I could change the air/fuel ratio, which would sacrifice some power for greater fuel savings and lower emissions. The problem, of course, is that I can't get to the code to do it. My question is this: has anyone thought about this problem and gotten around it? Or is there open-source code for commercially-available cars out there? This would obviously void most cars' warranties, but for older cars this might be a great way to live slightly greener (and cheaper).
IBM

Submission + - IBM to demonstrate high-speed chip

Hedbonker writes: "http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_5523978 IBM will demonstrate a new chipset today that can download a high-definition movie in a single second, compared to the current time of 30 minutes or more. The company said its optical transceiver chipset transfers information eight times as fast as currently available components. Such high speeds would have a significant impact on the way people share and access media and informmation, from video to music to corporate financial data."
Graphics

Submission + - What graphics company should I buy from?

PalmKiller writes: My question is who is a reputable graphics company (reputable as in stands behind their warranty) that makes an AGP 4x/8x video card that performs as well as my Geforce 4 Ti4400 did (i know I know pci-e...but I don't want to upgrade my memory, mb, cpu right now)? I am not stuck on nvidia chipsets though they seem to work better with my amd processor. My Ti4400 spec page:

http://www.pny.com/products/verto/discontinued/geF orce4/ti4400agp.asp

And here is why I am asking:

Well a few days ago my PNY Ti4400 video card went belly up. Flashing color blocks in text mode, the whole gory end type thing. I bought it in june 2003 from a internet reseller, so its slightly less than 4 years old. I put in a geforce 4 mx card I had laying around, and well needless to say it sucks. It had a lifetime warranty, and I am short on cash so due to the wife, new baby, etc...so I then decided to request an RMA from PNY...it was promptly denied.

When I asked why I got this explanation (cut and pasted with only my personal info obscured):

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 12:03:37 -0400
From: Technical
To: *My Real Name*
Subject: RE: RMA Request via Web — Verto Graphics Card

The life time warranty means: the lifetime of the product or life cycle
of the product. All product has a time where it becomes obsolete, as is
this case. It is considered old technology and can not be replaced.

— Original Message —
From: *My Real Name* [mailto:xxxxxx@xxxxx.net]
Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 11:41 AM
To: Technical
Subject: RE: RMA Request via Web — Verto Graphics Card

It says in my paperwork that it has a lifetime warranty. I am still
alive as is the computer it was put into, so what exactly does lifetime
mean to your company?

thank you
*My Real Name*

On Fri, 23 Mar 2007, Technical wrote:

> Randal,
>
>
>
> We're sorry that video cards life cycle has expired and the warranty
is
> no longer in place.
>
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: xxxxxx@xxxxx.net [mailto:xxxxxx@xxxxx.net]
> Sent: Friday, March 23, 2007 5:06 PM
> To: Technical
> Subject: RMA Request via Web — Verto Graphics Card
>
>
>
> Name: *My Real Name*
> Email: xxxxxx@xxxxx.net
> Phone Number: 870-853-xxxx
> Address: *My Street*
> City: *My City*
> State: *My State*
> Zipcode: *My Zip*
> Country: United States of America
> Date of Purchase: 06/04/2003
> Proof of Purchase: yes
> UPC Code: N/A Lost box
> Product Category: Verto Graphics Card
> Product: GeForce4 Ti4400
> System Information: Soyo Dragon 333 Ultra motherboard
> Operating System: Windows 2000
> Description: Was working great with this mainboard, suddenly it has
> strange color blocks all over the place in graphics modes, and funny
> text in text mode. Does the same thing with a new gigabyte mainboard.
> I tried a geforce 440mx in the mainboard and it worked properly, so I
> determined that this board has died.
>
>
Quickies

Submission + - Scientists Create Sheep with 15 Percent Human Cell

anthemaniac writes: Esmail Zanjani and colleagues at the University of Nevada-Reno have created sheep that are 15 percent human at the cellular level. Half the organs in the sheep are human. The idea, of course, is to harvest those organs to transplant into human patients. From the article: ;He has already created a sheep liver which has a large proportion of human cells and eventually hopes to precisely match a sheep to a transplant patient, using their own stem cells to create their own flock of sheep.' One scientists worries, however, that the work could lead to new viruses that cross from animals to humans.
The Internet

Submission + - FCC announces inquiry into "net neutrality"

yuna49 writes: Last Thursday, the US Federal Communications Commission announced a "Notice of Inquiry" (warning: pdf) into "the behavior of broadband market participants, including:
  • How broadband providers are managing Internet traffic on their networks today
  • Whether providers charge different prices for different speeds or capacities of service
  • Whether our policies should distinguish between content providers that charge end users for access to content and those that do not
  • How consumers are affected by these practices."
According to this article at eWeek, the study is targeted at whether broadband providers are treating some content providers more favorably than others. Distinctly absent is any discussion about port filtering or other restrictions on Internet usage.

In published statements, the two Democrats on the Commission pressed for a "Notice of Rulemaking" rather than a "Notice of Inquiry" arguing that the Commission should declare a policy of non-discrimination now rather than waiting months or years for another study to be conducted. The Republican majority ignored these arguments and voted for an Inquiry to which the Democrats concurred.
IBM

Submission + - IBM Set to Make 1-Second Movie Downloads Possible

Accidental.Librarian writes: Details are slim in this posting, but IBM has announced that they have designed a new optical transceiver that is capable of data transfer rates in the neighborhood of 160 gigabits per second.

The breakthrough could transform how data is accessed, shared and used across the Web for corporate and consumer networks. The transceiver is fast enough to reduce the download time for a typical high definition feature-length film to a single second compared to 30 minutes or more over the best available connectivity today.
More details are to be announced at the 2007 Optical Fiber Conference in Anaheim this weekend, to which the researchers have submitted a paper for presentation.

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