Comment Simply saying that... (Score 1) 478
Life, uh... finds a way
ESA Conducts Mars Terraforming Experiments On ISS 181
geegel writes "Space is a hostile environment for living things, but small organisms on the Expose-E experiment unit outside Europe's Columbus ISS laboratory module have resisted the solar UV radiation, cosmic rays, vacuum and varying temperatures for 18 months. A certain lichen seems to be particularly happy in open space."
Pirates as a Marketplace 214
John Riccitiello, the CEO of Electronic Arts, made some revealing comments in an interview with Kotaku about how the company's attitudes are shifting with regard to software piracy. Quoting:
"Some of the people buying this DLC are not people who bought the game in a new shrink-wrapped box. That could be seen as a dark cloud, a mass of gamers who play a game without contributing a penny to EA. But around that cloud Riccitiello identified a silver lining: 'There's a sizable pirate market and a sizable second sale market and we want to try to generate revenue in that marketplace,' he said, pointing to DLC as a way to do it. The EA boss would prefer people bought their games, of course. 'I don't think anybody should pirate anything,' he said. 'I believe in the artistry of the people who build [the games industry.] I profoundly believe that. And when you steal from us, you steal from them. Having said that, there's a lot of people who do.' So encourage those pirates to pay for something, he figures. Riccitiello explained that EA's download services aren't perfect at distinguishing between used copies of games and pirated copies. As a result, he suggested, EA sells DLC to both communities of gamers. And that's how a pirate can turn into a paying customer."
Comment Re:The senators can sign a law that takes a way th (Score 1) 214
THe President's signature on a Treaty means absolutely nothing. Consider the Kyoto Treaty as an example of a Treaty signed by the USA, but never ratified by the Senate.
Ratification isn't the end of things either, consider the case of Elian Gonzalez. Or hot the US acts with respect to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty.
Ratification isn't the end of things either, consider the case of Elian Gonzalez. Or hot the US acts with respect to the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty.
Comment Does your software work in Turkey? (Score 2, Informative) 420
This is just one of the many pitfalls when trying to localize your software.
Comment To quote the illustrious Mr. Quayle... (Score 1) 123
For NASA, space is still a high priority.
Comment Virus-like Vaccine (Score 1) 80
C'mon folks, did nobody watch I Am Legend?
Submission + - Billionaire adds Laser Shield to Yacht (timesonline.co.uk) 1
IamSmee writes: "Russian Billionaire Roman Abramovich's 557 ft yacht, Eclipse, now boasts a paparrazi-foiling shield of laser beams."
Submission + - Happy 40th birthday, Internet
hamradio writes: September 2, 1969: Forty years ago today, in Leonard Kleinrock's UCLA lab, a group of computer scientists managed to pass bits of data from one computer to another over some some gray cable. In doing so, they created the first node of what we now call (long dramatic pause)... the Internet.
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/09/02/happy-40th-birthday.html
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/09/02/happy-40th-birthday.html
Submission + - Happy birthday, Internet!
NobodyExpects writes: I'd like to wish a happy birthday to the Internet! Today marks it's 40th birthday!
In fall 1969, computers sending data between two California universities set the stage for the Internet, which became a household word in the 1990s. On September 2nd 1969, in a lab at the University of California, Los Angeles, two computers passed test data through a 15-foot gray cable. Stanford Research Institute joined the fledging ARPANET network a month later; UC Santa Barbara and the University of Utah joined by year's end, and the internet was born.
Comment Isn't "Digital Sentience" a prereq? (Score 2, Interesting) 102
US has begun research on Secret Project "Network Backbone". "Where do you want your Node today?"
Submission + - Speeding Stars in Bizarre Faraway Galaxies 1
mcgrew writes: "Space.com reports that individual stars in a very distant galaxy have been imaged for the first time, and they're moving incredibly fast, twice the speed of our sun. This is because the galaxies are massive, yet compact. The galaxy that was imaged is 11 billion light years away. It has properties that have theoists baffled.
There is much more at the above link."
There is much more at the above link."
Submission + - Possible logo for Microsoft retail stores revealed
An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft has filed for the logo of its upcoming retail stores in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. As of publishing time, the status of the filing was "Newly filed application, not yet assigned to an examining attorney." Microsoft wants the design to be able to appear on various goods and services including "retail store services and online retail services featuring computers, computer hardware, software, computer games, computer peripherals, portable music players and accessories, personal digital assistants, cell phones and accessories, video game consoles and accessories, webcams, books, clothing, back packs, messenger bags, computer bags and novelty items."
Comment Should write a program to play it (Score 2, Funny) 119
That'll put a spoke in their wheel.
Comment Re:Slight Correction (Score 1) 424
Well, 12 is "about 15," same way Tyson's bag of 8 frozen chicken pucks contains "about 9" 1-piece servings.
