Comment Re:How much more ridiculous does this have to get (Score 1) 402
Is there no steel left in the American soul?
Thanks to numerous typos on the Internet we have, "steal," not steel. That's probably where the problem comes from.
Apple Patents Glasses-Free 3D Projector 171
angry tapir writes "Apple has been awarded a US patent for a display system that would allow multiple viewers to see a high-quality 3D image projected on a screen without the need for special glasses, regardless of where they are sitting. Entertainment is far from the only field in which 3D can enhance the viewing experience: others include medical diagnostics, flight simulation, air traffic control, battlefield simulation, weather diagnostics, advertising and education, according to Apple's US patent 7,843,449 for a 3D display system."
FCC To Vote On Net Neutrality On December 21 319
GovTechGuy writes "The FCC just released its tentative agenda for the December 21st open meeting, where the Commission will vote on whether to adopt rules to preserve net neutrality. According to the agenda the FCC will consider 'adopting basic rules of the road to preserve the open Internet as a platform for innovation, investment, competition, and free expression.' House Republicans have already promised to oppose any solution put forth by FCC chairman Julius Genachowski."
Comment Re:Surely... (Score 1) 458
... missing option - Blizzard's database. Mah epix!
This has got to be one of the best ways to combine posessions and data and even loved ones all in one. Nice work, I lawled.
Comment No Cowboy Neal? (Score 1) 458
Where's the Cowboy Neal option?
Comment Re:Permanently modified? (Score 1) 426
It's like those game consoles that can take a hard drive upgrade, but only if they get to dip their hand into your wallet during the upgrade, selling you an "upgrade kit" that gets you past their clandestine restrictions on swapping of hardware.
Special side note, the Xbox 360 *used* to be like this but mercifully has changed. With the Slim you can now toss any laptop hard drive in the system freely (as I do myself). We always knew they were just SATA drives but now the 360 will let you do everything from export and import over standard USB to and from right about everything as well as use any drive you please (including removing restrictions on storing games and profiles on thumb sticks).
While it definitely kinda sucked that it was *ever* that way the new line of 360s and the current dashboard for *every* 360 is much, much more forgiving about your storage. This argument *may* apply to the PS3 but I've never had to change the drive on a PS3 whereas I've messed around with storage on three or four 360s over the years.
Comment Re:Burma (Score 1) 149
And NYC was once called New Amsterdam, which is derived from the name of a Dutch city in Holland, the Netherlands. QED.
(BTW, the Dutch people I know refer to their home country as Holland; calling it the Netherlands is more formal, while if you're talking about your homeland it's Holland.)
Seriously I think my head just exploded.
Submission + - Solar Keyboards: Did Logitech Start a Trend? (i4u.com)
i4u writes: Earlier this week Logitech revealed the K750 solar keyboard. This device uses 2.4 GHz wireless tech and has a lux meter to let you know when light levels are sufficient. It can stay charged for three months in the dark and can even charge from light indoors. Altogether, an elegant solution to the problem of wireless keyboards with crappy batteries. Now LCD panel maker AU Optronics has revealed their own 14" solar touchscreen keyboard. It is just 2.1 mm thick, with the solar module built into the notebook cover and keyboard panel. Apparently, this innovation reduces power draw by an impressive 20%. It is due to be showcased in mid-November.
Submission + - End of Net Neutrality? Old crop of neutralists out (cnn.com)
Coldeagle writes: Interesting tidbit from CNN, it appears as if all 95 members of the House and Senete who had previously pledged support for Net Neutrality have all been replaced in yesterday's election. According to CNN, most Republican's oppose Net Neutrality. Interest facts about how the FCC is also attempting to gain the right from Congress to apply Net Neutrality.
Submission + - Is In-Flight Wi-Fi a Boon to Terrorists? (technologizer.com) 5
harrymcc writes: The attempt to ship bombs from Yemen, apparently intended to blow up the planes they were on, has some people wondering whether in-flight Wi-Fi is a security risk that could let terrorists rig a Wi-Fi-enabled cell phone to trigger a bomb from the ground. Seems to me that terrorists intent on blowing up planes would find old-fashioned timers easier and more reliable. Of course, the people in charge of flight security seem to value the appearance of safety above all else, so who knows?
Submission + - CDN optimizing HTML on the fly (cotendo.com)
Caerdwyn writes: Cotendo, which is a content distribution network, has taken to altering HTML as it passes through their CDN to optimize web pages for faster rendering. This is essentially a repackaging of the Apache mod mod_pagespeed (from Google), with the critical difference being that the rewriting of HTML occurs inline rather than at the web server. We all know that well-written HTML can result in much better rendering of whatever your content is; the questions are "will this automatic rewriting cause other problems, i.e. browser quirks" and "assuming that only the web pages of Cotendo's customers are altered, are there nonetheless potential legal troubles with someone rewriting HTML before delivery to a browser"?
Submission + - A Big Loss for Fair Use and the Tech Policy World
Pickens writes: "Gigi Sohn writes in the Huffington Post that one of the results of the mid-term elections was the defeat of Representative Rick Boucher, the current Chair of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, widely recognized as one of the most tech-savvy and intelligent members of Congress, and long an advocate for consumers on a wide variety of communications and intellectual property issues. Boucher has been the best friend of fair use on Capitol Hill writes Sohn. In 2002, 2003 and 2007, Boucher introduced legislation to allow consumers to break digital locks for lawful purposes, a fair use exception to the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and while the odds against that legislation passing were always great, Boucher understood the symbolic importance of standing up for consumers' rights to use technology lawfully. "As important, he served as a moderating force both on the House Energy & Commerce and Judiciary Committees against those many members of Congress willing to give large media companies virtually everything on their copyright wish lists.""
Submission + - Wikia ToU, skin change alienates contributors (wowwiki.com)
ais523 writes: Wikia, the commercial wiki site founded by Jimmy Wales, has alienated many of its largest wikis by forcing a change to their styling, and using their Terms of Use to prevent wiki admins changing it back, despite huge opposition to the fixed-width nature of the new skin. Opposition to the change has mostly been centralised at the debate on WoWWiki, one of Wikia's most active wikis, about whether to leave Wikia for good, with the Wikipedia article on the subject containing an ever-increasing list of wikis that have moved away from Wikia already. Is this the first time people have paid sufficient attention to a website Terms of Service to actually leave in hordes as a result?
Submission + - Harry Potter blamed for India's disappearing owls (google.com) 2
GillBates0 writes: Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has blamed fans of Harry Potter for the demise of wild owls in the country as children seek to emulate the boy wizard by taking the birds as pets. Following Harry Potter, there seems to be a strange fascination even among the urban middle classes for presenting their children with owls," Ramesh said Wednesday, according to comments reported by the BBC.
Submission + - Agloves Allow for Touchscreen Use on Cold Days (gizmag.com)
Zothecula writes: With capacitive the technology of choice on the majority of touchscreen devices hitting the market, people have been coming up with all kinds of interesting ways to interact with their devices when the winter chill sets in and gloves become a necessity. Many South Koreans apparently turned to using sausages as a stylus but if you’d prefer not to be hassled by dogs as you type a text there are less meat product-based solutions, such as the North Face Etip gloves. Now there’s another glove-based solution in the form of Agloves, which provide even greater touchscreen friendly surface area for your hands.
