Comment Tron (Score 1) 298
Not the sequel, the original. Saw it when it came out, read the book, and that's part of the reason why I sit here now doing what I do for a living. Wish that movie had never been made.
Comment Re:Wait? No phone book? (Score 3, Funny) 437
For years and years and years we used phones that didn't have any sort of confirmation of the numbers pressed. Shooot, I've got one on my desk right now that I just have to hope and pray I dial correctly without being able to double check myself.
Comment Re:YEEEEEHAAAAW (Score 1) 858
I believe it was a screaming.
Comment Re:What's the point...? (Score 2, Insightful) 306
I don't know. I think the lack of bells and whistles might be what causes some people to look for an alternative. I've quit using Facebook because of the bells, the whistles, the endless posts of what my friends like, pleas to like things that I don't like, requests to join groups I've got no interest in, and all of it from people I haven't had an actual conversation with or seen in 20 years, or even worse from friends of theirs that I've never met at all. If Diaspora strips social networking back to it's basics, if it lets me see what's going on with friends and family, look at pictures of their recent vacation and send a few "how are you?" messages, then I'm all for it.
Comment Good fro quick trips to the market (Score 1) 509
That'd be great! I'd feel a lot more secure going to the market to pick up more seashells for the bathroom.
Comment Ballroom Dancing (Score 5, Insightful) 733
It's dance, and an art. And yet, you can win at it.
Haptic Gaming Vest Simulates Punches, Shots, Stabbing 110
An anonymous reader writes "IEEE Spectrum reports that University of Pennsylvania researchers have developed a Tactile Gaming Vest that smacks and vibrates as players get shot in a game based on Half-Life 2. Four solenoid actuators in the chest and shoulders in front and two solenoids in the back give you the feeling of a simulated gunshot. In addition, vibrating eccentric-mass motors clustered against the shoulder blades make you feel a slashing effect as you get stabbed from behind. If this kind of vest could be linked to a movie while you watch it, the experience would be that much more exciting. Or as one of the creators put it, 'every time Bruce Willis gets shot, you feel it.'"
Comment Re:Electric Shock (Score 4, Insightful) 951
One of my peeves is users complaining about "jargon". Error messages are not jargon, proper names for peripherals are not jargon. If I ask you if your ethernet cable is plugged into your network card, that is not jargon. And yet users will tell me "why do you guys always use fancy jargon that I don't understand?".
The Grown-Up Video Game 152
Phaethon360 writes "Now, more than ever, we're seeing many Mature ratings (M+, 17+, 18) being distributed by various national media regulators. But that isn't the only indicator for a game's intended audience. It doesn't take a thousand swear words, scantily clad women or gratuitous violence to differentiate a ten-year-old's game from a twenty-year-old's. The spectrum of human emotions encompasses a wider palette than just revenge, fear, and loss, but the games that shy away from these are frequently mistaken as being for a younger audience. From the article: 'The human experience is one that is made up of great hardship, pain, loss, death, and a multitude of experiences seemingly designed to destroy a person. However, that same experience is also filled with joy, love, laughter, family and friends. ... These so-called “grown-up” games need not be relegated to the category of niche gaming. In fact, at times we find that these video games are capable of reaching mass popularity among the gaming community. It is here that we find one of our generation’s outlets for the expression of conflict.'"
Comment Re:It's far too late... (Score 0, Redundant) 474
I wish I had mod points. You'd get '+1 Damn Straight'.
Sony May Charge For PlayStation Network 212
In an interview with IGN, Sony's VP of marketing, Peter Dille, responded to a question about the PlayStation Network by saying that the company is considering charging for the service. He said, "It's been our philosophy not to charge for it from launch up until now, but Kaz recently went on the record as saying that's something we're looking at. I can confirm that as well. That's something that we're actively thinking about. What's the best way to approach that if we were to do that? You know, no announcements at this point in time, but it's something we're thinking about." This follows news of a customer survey from last month that listed possibilities for subscription-based PSN features.
Seinfeld's Good Samaritan Law Now Reality? 735
e3m4n writes "The fictitious 'good samaritan' law from the final episode of Seinfeld (the one that landed them in jail for a year) appears to be headed toward reality for California residents after the house passed this bill. There are some differences, such as direct action is not required, but the concept of guilt by association for not doing the right thing is still on the face of the bill."
Comment Re:Awkward keyboard usage (Score 1) 1713
My thought exactly. I've been looking at this thing trying to figure out how you'd hold and use it. Too big to use your thumbs for the keyboard like a smartphone, you'd have to sit bolt upright and look directly down at it to use all 10 fingers. Weird.
Comment Re:Used in other places, too (Score 1) 350
Also correct for the Central part of the country as well.
Comment Re:One flaw (Score 1) 316
What about looking at logfiles? If your landlord is doing repairs on your home he can see who's going in and out and what they're carrying. Same thing with looking through the email logs as a normal course of business isn't it?
And of course, your landlord can enter your apartment with your keys if he has sufficient reason to believe you're knocking holes in the wall or causing some other damage.
