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Businesses

EA Shuts Down Pandemic Studios, Cuts 200 Jobs 161

Posted by Soulskill from the say-goodnight-folks dept.
lbalbalba writes "Electronic Arts is shutting down its Westwood-based game developer Pandemic Studios just two years after acquiring it, putting nearly 200 people out of work. 'The struggling video game publisher informed employees Tuesday morning that it was closing the studio as part of a recently announced plan to eliminate 1,500 jobs, or 16% of its global workforce. Pandemic has about 220 employees, but an EA spokesman said that a core team, estimated by two people close to the studio to be about 25, will be integrated into the publisher's other Los Angeles studio, in Playa Vista.' An ex-developer for Pandemic attributed the studio's struggles to poor decisions from the management."
Image

In Praise of the Sci-fi Corridor Screenshot-sm 171

Posted by samzenpus from the getting-there-is-half-the-fun dept.
brumgrunt writes "Technically a corridor in a science-fiction movie should just be a means of getting from one big expensive set to the next, and yet Den Of Geek writes lovingly of the detailed conduits in films such as Alien, Outland, Solaris and even this year's Moon by Duncan Jones."

Comment Re:What I really want to know (Score 1) 245

by TCaptain (#28716211) Attached to: Internet Astroturfer Fined $300,000

Why do you care ? What difference does it make ?

I think the point that the parent post was trying to make is that originally, the internet could have been a tool for meaningful and intelligent discourse. You know intelligent conversation? It can be enjoyable at times. Beneficial too.

The attitude shown in your post is that the internet is already meaningless and we should not care about it.

It's sad that 99.9% of forums out there are reduced to meaningless trolling, astroturfing and rampant idiocy. I find it ironic that the technological advances that brought about the internet has done more to glorify stupidity than anything in the last hundred years.
The Courts

Dutch Court Punishes Theft of Virtual Property 276

Posted by timothy from the pick-a-fight-your-first-day-with-the-toughest-avatar dept.
tsa writes "Last week, the Dutch court subjected two kids of ages 15 and 14 to 160 hours of unpaid work or 80 days in jail, because they stole virtual property from a 13-year-old boy. The boy was kicked and beaten and threatened with a knife while forced to log into Runescape and giving his assets to the two perpetrators. This ruling is the first of its kind for the Netherlands. Ars Technica has some more background information." In Japan, meanwhile, a woman has been arrested for "illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data" after (virtually) killing her (virtual) husband.
Cellphones

Is Anyone Buying T-Mobile's Googlephone? 454

Posted by timothy from the maybe-one-day dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "Laura Holson writes in the NY Times that she 'wandered down to the T-Mobile store at Ninth Ave. and 43rd St. in New York City to see what kind of crowds — if any — were lining up to buy the new T-Mobile G1 which went on sale Wednesday' and saw no lines out the door, no crowding at the counter, and a complete lack of crowds. The iPhone appears to still be the gold standard and Etan Horowitz writes that the G1 'doesn't do a great job showcasing its potential. It isn't as intuitive as the iPhone, and it may take average users a while to figure out basic and advanced shortcuts and features' and 'may appeal more to techies who value open-source products and don't mind a somewhat steep learning curve.' Part of the reason for slow interest may also be that T-Mobile's 3G high-speed data network won't be up and running in many cities until the end of the year."
Mars

First Mars-Goers Should Prepare For a One-Way Trip 528

Posted by timothy from the buy-round-trip-tickets-to-slip-past-tsa-though dept.
Luminary Crush writes with this excerpt from PhysOrg about the permanance of leaving Earth for Mars, at least for early travelers: "The first astronauts sent to Mars should be prepared to spend the rest of their lives there, in the same way that European pioneers headed to America knowing they would not return home, says moonwalker Buzz Aldrin. '[the distance and difficulty is why you should] send people there permanently,' Aldrin said. 'If we are not willing to do that, then I don't think we should just go once and have the expense of doing that and then stop.'" On the other hand, maybe they'll catch a ride back with Carrie-Anne Moss.
Security

Open-Source DRM Ready To Take On Big Guns 520

Posted by CmdrTaco from the when-good-code-goes-bad dept.
Barence writes "An open-source digital rights management (DRM) scheme says it's ready to supplant Apple and Microsoft as the world's leading copy protection solution. Marlin, which is backed by companies such as Sony and Samsung, has just announced a new partner program that aims to drive the DRM system into more consumer devices. 'It works in a way that doesn't hold consumers hostage,' Talal Shamoon told PC Pro. 'It allows you to protect and share content in the home, in a way that people own the content, not the devices.' When asked about the biggest problem of DRM — that customers hate it — he argued that 'the biggest problem with DRM is people have implemented it badly. Make DRM invisible and people will use it.'"
Music

Submission + - Steve Wozniak: Open Source good, DRM dying (10zenmonkeys.com)

Submitted by
destinyland
destinyland writes: "Steve Wozniak just weighed in on DRM, saying "it doesn't make much sense if these things are going to have DRM forever." In this great new interview, he complains that even now, only six songs on his iTunes playlist are DRM-free. He applauds the Open Source Movement, saying "it's very honorable and it's very good for the customers." He's even considering publishing the hand-written code for the Apple II as a manuscript. He's also surprisingly non-commital about the iPhone. ("Will word of mouth kill it or make it a hit? Who knows?") He also talks about his favorite pranks, and reveals that "he Secret Service read me my Miranda rights once."
Announcements

Submission + - In this house we obey the laws of thermodynamics! (www.rte.ie)

Submitted by eiscir
eiscir writes: Scientists at Trinity College Dublin will today begin trying to convince the world's scientific community that their 'Orbo' technology can provide free energy through the manipulation of magnetic fields
User Journal

Journal Journal: Does wireless network equal careless surfing?

Journal by kazakover
Wireless networks extend both mobility and Internet access, which is useful in many situations. However, do you feel secure while using it? Or do you assume it's not worthy the "paranoia"? You must be right in that assumption, but keep in mind that WiFi networks not properly protected by default settings and require extra effort on your part to make them secure. If you follow the advice provided in this article, you'll be well on the way to ensuring that your wireless communications risk-free.

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