ShaggyIan - Slashdot User

Blue Blu-ray 396

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday July 31, 2007 @05:26PM from the embracing-while-holding-their-nose dept.

TopSpin writes "Early this year the meme circulated that Blu-ray might be going the way of Betamax, and for the exact same reason: Sony's unfriendliness to the porn industry. But at Japan's recent euphemistically named Adult Treasure Expo 2007, adult filmmakers said Sony has begun offering technical support, and this was later confirmed by Sony PR. The company stated that Sony would offer support to any filmmaker working on the format, no matter their industry. Apparently, Blu-ray is now the preferred medium for Japanese adult films."

A Catalog of Lost PS3 Exclusives 95

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday July 03, 2007 @05:35PM from the wayward-wanderers dept.

Game|Life has a breakdown of the numerous PlayStation 3 exclusives that might have been. The high cost of making games and Sony's slow start out of the game means that titles like Assassin's Creed and Devil May Cry IV, which may have been exclusive to a Sony console at one point, will now be leading a double life on Microsoft's Xbox 360. "Grand Theft Auto IV -- Peter Moore shocked the world at E3 last May when he announced that GTAIV would appear day-and-date on Xbox 360 and PS3. Months later, Newsweek reported that Take Two had wanted to continue its long-standing practice of giving Sony a lengthy timed exclusivity on the game, but they didn't want it. Newsweek says that former Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi's 'radio silence' on the issue left Sony's American execs without the authority to make deals, and nothing happened. Same with ... Assassin's Creed -- Again, Newsweek revealed that Ubisoft had actually gone to Sony with an offer to make the game a PlayStation 3 exclusive. Although Sony did go through the trouble of asking Ubisoft to make it seem as if their multiplatform action game Assassin's Creed was indeed PS3 exclusive , it came out shortly after E3 that it would ship simultaneously on both platforms."

Submission + - Star Trek Tricorder to become science fact

Submitted by

Emmster

on Tuesday July 03, 2007 @05:06PM

Emmster writes: "Purdue University researchers have demonsrated a handheld sensing device that combines a minaturised mass spectrometer and desorbtion electrospray ionization source — very much in the vein of the Star Trek "Tricorder" gizmo."

Submission + - Explaining the Special Effects Behind Transformers (popularmechanics.com)

Submitted by

ntmokey

on Tuesday July 03, 2007 @05:02PM

ntmokey writes: "Popular Mechanics has an in-depth look at the special effects behind the Transformers movie, including some exclusive shots from Paramount Pictures. Apparently, using real cars as models presented some interesting problems for the folks at Industrial Light and Magic, who had to figure out how a recognizable chunk of steel can fold into robot. In the end, the solution was the development team getting hands-on in the auto shop. And lots of grease."

Submission + - Ubuntu Dell $50 Cheaper Than Vista Dell

Submitted by rhinokitty on Tuesday July 03, 2007 @05:00PM

rhinokitty writes: Dell recently announced that their Ubuntu systems will be $50 cheaper than their Vista systems. This will be a good fork in the road for people who need a little extra push to take hold of their dreams and run Linux. http://www.ideastorm.com/article/show/66879/Implem ented_Ubuntu_Dell_is_50_Less_Than_Windows_Dell

Submission + - Jack Thompson faces suspension, psychological test (kotaku.com)

Submitted by grassy_knoll on Tuesday July 03, 2007 @04:51PM

grassy_knoll writes: The Florida Bar is proposing Jack Thompson submit to psychological testing and accept a 91-day suspension of his law license as part of a Florida Supreme Court mandated mediation.

From TFA, Thompson speaks:

"Mediation failed today because there was no mediation whatsoever... [Florida Bar official] Ms. Tuma not only did not move off her [suspension] demand one iota, not one smidgeon, but she instead upped her demand by requiring that Thompson undergo a battery of psychological tests as part of the fabulous deal The Bar offered him...
Ms. Tuma [sic] last demand going into the mediation was a 91-day suspension, and she opened and ended with that and a shrink's couch. This is bad faith...

This "mediation" was a charade... Finally, [Thompson] requests a status conference herein as soon as possible so that we can... shut this Star Chamber down. Thompson is not the one who needs a psych evaluation. "

Submission + - iPhone to be a T-Mobile exclusive in Germany? (macrumors.com)

Submitted by

mutle

on Tuesday July 03, 2007 @04:34PM

mutle writes: "MacRumors.com reports:

The Washington Post translates a Rheinische Post article which reveals that the iPhone will be sold through T-Mobile in Germany and launch on November 1st, 2007.
The cost of the phone for the German market is said to be 450 euros (US $612). There has been no confirmation of rumors the European version of the iPhone may incorporate 3G technology.
Apple launched the iPhone in the U.S. last week and had planned a European launch in Q4 2007 and Asia in 2008.
Currently there is no new information regarding distribution in other European Countries and whether the iPhone will use UMTS (3g) or EDGE, which T-Mobile also provides."

Submission + - Gaming linked to reduced homework and reading time (cnn.com)

Submitted by SomeJoel on Tuesday July 03, 2007 @04:20PM

SomeJoel writes: CNN is reporting that gamers spend less time doing homework or reading, which really shouldn't surprise anyone. The most interesting comment, however, is at the end of the article, where one of the researchers says: 'Gamers may actually be more effective in completing homework assignments, and as a result, they spend less time doing homework. We need to look deeper into what is going on'. The article can be found here.

Allofmp3 Shut Down, Again 291

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 02, 2007 @06:27PM from the e-roller-coaster dept.

studguy1 writes to tell us TorrentFreak is reporting that the Russian government has shut down Allofmp3, the popular online music site. "AllOfMP3 has been a thorn in the side of the RIAA and the US government for years. Last year, U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said that if Russia wants to join the WTO, they should shut down the pirate music website that is robbing US recording companies of sales."

Submission + - iPhone Hacked Within Minutes

Submitted by ancientribe on Monday July 02, 2007 @04:56PM

ancientribe writes: It took security researchers at Errata Security longer to get their iPhone service activated than it did for them to find security flaws in the new handheld mobile device. Within a matter of minutes, the researchers say they found multiple vulnerabilities in the iPhone, including a bug in the Safari browser, the Bluetooth feature, and in its WiFi capability, according to an article in Dark Reading. Interestingly, the researchers say they found the iPhone actually more secure than any other mobile devices, mainly because Apple will offer security updates through iTunes. But they expect the bad guys to target the iPhone big-time.

http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=128 169&WT.svl=news1_1

Submission + - More on bulletproof vests

Submitted by el_flynn on Wednesday May 23, 2007 @06:13PM

el_flynn writes: You thought that polythylene was cool? The Star Malaysia is reporting on a bulletproof vest made out of coconut husk and fibreglass! The invention, which bagged a gold at the 35th Geneva International Exhibitions of Inventions, New Techniques and Products last April, had taken two years to invent, and claims to be able to stop a 9mm bullet at a 5m range. The extra benefits are its weight and cost — it claims to be up to 5 or 6 kilograms lighter than conventional, Kevlar-based jackets, and can be produced at a fraction of the cost.

Submission + - super traffic wardens issued CCTV head cameras

Submitted by Rick on Wednesday May 23, 2007 @06:10PM

Rick writes: The Surveillance Society of Great Britain has taken another turn for the worse, as traffic wardens in Eccles, Manchester are being issued with CCTV head sets and given the legal power to impose fines of up to £80 for littering and other anti social behaviour. For further information, please check out the URL given below: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1007 /1007600_super_wardens_go_on_patrol.html

Submission + - Retail Stores selling SSD Drives

Submitted by Saritarius on Wednesday May 23, 2007 @06:07PM

Saritarius writes: I have been waiting for the day when Solid State Drives become widely available. Every couple of weeks I'd google and froogle for retail SSDs and find nothing. During yesterday's sweep I found that New Egg (www.newegg.com) has got not 1 but 7 SSDs for sale and the price is around $30/GB. This is going to have a radical impact on software development as now low end server disk IO bottlenecks can easily be reduced by a factor of 100.

Submission + - 8 Years For IP Theft

Submitted by nick_davison on Wednesday May 23, 2007 @06:01PM

nick_davison writes: So you though a several thousand dollar settlement is harsh for copying and distributing some music? The BBC reports that Joya Williams, 42, from Atlanta has just been sentenced to 8 years in jail for copying and trying to distribute a recipe — in this case, Coca Cola's. District Judge J Owen Forrester said in sentencing, "This is the kind of offence that cannot be tolerated in our society."

Submission + - How good is Muni Wi-Fi?

Submitted by

Chris Price

on Friday May 18, 2007 @09:21PM

Chris Price writes: "Recently we've heard quite a bit about munis installing free/subsidized Wi-Fi for its residents and businesses. Google/Earthlink is doing one in SFO. While a lot of hype is generated in the market the reality is something else. Business Week recently ran a story about state of public wi-fi in Anaheim. I found a really good article that explains a little more in depth the current on state on Wi-FiGurus.com. Here is the link Is public Wi-Fi good enough?. Enjoy."

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