Comment Re:A good idea (Score 1) 297
That still doesn't change the fact that I can't put Kindle files on my Sony Reader. Even though I don't have a Nook, I can still use B&N's ebooks (ePub) on my device.
Comment Re:How It's Different (Score 1) 90
Tried it for a while. Got tired of having Amateur Hour on a computer my wife has to use and went back to a rock-solid Ubuntu LTS install.
Comment Re:profiles vs fast user switching (Score 1) 326
There's an ad on this page? Where?
Comment Re:Save the Franchise? (Score 1) 603
The midichlorians make perfect sense if you think about what happens to Vader. As a whole-body person, he was supreme. The Emperor turned him to the Dark Side because of his power with the Force.
Then Obi-Wan laid the smack down on Mustafar, reducing his body mass (and, thus, his midichlorian count) by 50%. After that, Vader was a mechanical wretch, the Emperor's little whipping boy unable to live up to his full potential.
That's why the Emperor wanted Luke. He wasn't stunted like Vader was. He had the potential to be far more powerful than Vader.
Vader is a truly tragic character. He turned to the Dark Side due to the promise of power, then he lost it all.
Also, Dooku and/or Palpatine arranged for his mother to be kidnapped and tortured by the sandpeople. Anakin's fall was set up right away from his introduction. The prequels aren't as ham-fisted as people like to make out.
But Jar Jar still sucks.
Submission + - KDE 4.0: revolution or hype? (computerworld.com.au)
Da Massive writes: The next-generation of the KDE open source project, version 4.0, has been touted as the beginning of a new era in desktop computing, but only two months from the first release some users are wondering if it's just all hype.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;33906 6012;fp;16;fpid;1
Submission + - Calif. video game law unconstitutional (reuters.com)
shystershep writes: "The law California passed in 2005 requiring violent video games to be labeled and which barred their sale to minors has been ruled unconstitutional. Gov. Schwarzenegger says he will appeal the ruling."
Submission + - DRM Scorecard: Hackers 1000, Industry Zero 2
An anonymous reader writes: InfoWeek blogger Alex Wolfe put together a scorecard which makes the obvious but interesting point that, when you list every major DRM technology implemented to "protect" music and video, they've all been cracked. This includes Apple's FairPlay, Microsoft's Windows Media DRM, the old-style Content Scrambling System (CSS) used on early DVDs and the new AACS for high-definition DVDs. And of course there was the Sony Rootkit disaster of 2005. Can anyone think of a DRM technology which hasn't been cracked, and of course this begs the obvious question: Why doesn't the industry just give up and go DRM-free?
Submission + - Man Watches Bra Bandit On Home Web Cam Feed
Rio writes: A businessman in downtown Orlando, Fla., used a motion-detecting Web cam to watch and grab images of a thief inside his home stealing his wife's bras and other items, according to police. "That goes beyond a little bit past creepy," the victim said. "That goes past being a little bit weird. That goes to scary. Scary is what I call it."
Submission + - Babies starved while parents game (msn.com)
AccioBrain writes: A Reno couple has pleaded guilty to child neglect after their two children, both under the age of two, were found starving. Prosecutor Kelli Ann Viloria said,
"They had food; they just chose not to give it to their kids because they were too busy playing video games."
An online version of the RPG Dungeons & Dragons was cited as the couple's main distraction. This comes just a few weeks after the AMA decided to review its classification of gaming addiction as a mental disorder.
Submission + - RIAA Accused of Extortion & Conspiracy
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The defendant in a Tampa, Florida, case, UMG v. Del Cid, has filed counterclaims accusing the RIAA record labels of conspiracy and extortion. The counterclaims (pdf) are for Trespass, Computer Fraud and Abuse (18 USC 1030), Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices (Fla. Stat. 501.201), Civil Extortion (CA Penal Code 519 & 523), and Civil Conspiracy involving (a) use of private investigators without license in violation of Fla. Stat. Chapter 493; (b) unauthorized access to a protected computer system, in interstate commerce, for the purpose of obtaining information in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1030 (a)(2)(C); (c) extortion in violation of Ca. Penal Code 519 and 523; and (d) knowingly collecting an unlawful consumer debt, and using abus[ive] means to do so, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692a et seq. and Fla. Stat. 559.72 et seq."
Submission + - Tux Takes His Place On Racecar
An anonymous reader writes: Tux, the cherubic penguin mascot of the Linux computer operating system has just taken up residence on the front nose of the Chastain Motorsports Panoz / Honda Indy car. Driver, Stephan Gregoire, and team owner, Tom Chastain, applied the ceremonial first decal yesterday to the distinctive two-tone blue, 225 mph Indy racer that Gregoire will pilot for this year's 91st running of the famed Indianapolis 500 mile race on May 27, 2007.
Submission + - New wireless chips boost transfer rate to 80Gbps
toiletduck2 writes: A group of CSIRO scientists have developed the world's best 200GHz millimetre-wave (mm-wave) chips that double wireless data transfer rates to 80 gigabits per second, while being more cost and power efficient than current wireless chips.
From the article: "Where current mm-wave chips base their architecture on frequencies from the first harmonic of a wave, the new chips tune into its fourth harmonic. This allows for a four-fold increase in frequency without the need for oscillators that may otherwise complicate the core architecture.
From the article: "Where current mm-wave chips base their architecture on frequencies from the first harmonic of a wave, the new chips tune into its fourth harmonic. This allows for a four-fold increase in frequency without the need for oscillators that may otherwise complicate the core architecture.
Bookmark SPAM: Glamour Model: Ashley Gellar
Submission + - Do you clean your teeth?
An anonymous reader writes: A new Swedish study has shown there to be a very strong correlation between the loosening of teeth and the risk of disease. Even smoking is less significant.
Submission + - EPA forced to defend the environment
Nitack writes: The NY Times is reporting that the US Supreme Court has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency is required by the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon emissions. Senator John Kerry is quoted as saying "It's an historic moment when the Supreme Court has to step in to protect
the environment from the Bush administration."
