Comment Re:FF4 (Score 1, Informative) 352
PhD or not, you're still an idiot.
Comment Re:FF4 (Score 2, Insightful) 352
You're an idiot. There's no strict definition of what a beta release is or how often it can be released and, since everybody has a different way of working and putting out releases, there's no way to compare the number of betas to anybody else that produces any meaningful statistic.
Comment Maybe for perfect vision, but not for 20/20. (Score 4, Informative) 476
According to Wikipedia, for an 'excellent' human eye the PC World analyst is correct; however for us average joes with 20/20 vision (or worse) Apple's claims are accurate:-
For a human eye with excellent acuity, the maximum theoretical resolution is 50 CPD[32] (1.2 arcminute per line pair, or a 0.35 mm line pair, at 1 m).
...A resolution of 2 arcminutes per line pair, equivalent to a 1 arcminute gap in an optotype, corresponds to 20/20 (normal vision) in humans
If my math is correct then this is 60% worse than the 'excellent' eye; so the figure of 477 ppi at 12 inches is 286.2ppi; so well within the retina display's capability.
Comment Re:Patent risks (Score 1) 421
How the hell are you on your way to a PhD? You're describing a motor, not the law of physics that combusting something causes it to expand, causing pressure against its container. If somebody patented "The combustion of fuel causing the resulting pressure to push against an object, therefore causing motion", it might be analogous to a patent on an algorithm.
Comment Re:Patent risks (Score 1) 421
That would be why they couldn't patent physical principle of fuel-air mixture burning. Instead, they had to patent an engine that used it.
Comment Re:Patent risks (Score 2, Insightful) 421
No. Algorithms are the maths. An implementation of the algorithm is the application. However, we already have a system for protecting implementations of algorithms, we call it copyright.
Comment Re:Nice! (Score 3, Insightful) 865
Depends if you have a licence to run the OS in question.
Comment Re:My brain hurts, Steve! (Score 1) 865
It's Apple's OS, they developed it, spend years and millions of $$$ making it - why shouldn't they be allowed to say what machines can and can't run it?
These arguments about "I'd buy a Mac if it had exactly X configuration, but seeing as they don't I'll just pirate it on my own system" have absolutely zero merit. Just because the developers of Windows and Linux have chosen to let you run their OS on any x86 machine, doesn't mean you automatically have the right to run any piece of software you like on your machine.
Mythic Shutting Down 63 Warhammer Servers 137
Gamasutra reports that Mythic Entertainment is consolidating a number of their Warhammer Online servers to keep population levels within an acceptable range. 43 servers are set to close in North America and Oceania, and 20 more in Europe. Mythic posted details of the character transfers at the game's website. CEO Mark Jacobs also made a "State of the Game" post, highlighting the live expansion that's currently underway, as well as the changes and updates they have planned for the near future.
Comment Re:Stealth is good, detection is poor (Score 2, Informative) 622
What I mean by passive detection systems is anything like an optical camera which does not need to emit anything to see something. I am not sure what technologies could be used, but while hiding is a good thing, being able to 'see' is just as important.
An optical camera relies on light coming from or reflect off an object to see it. Light only travels a matter of a few metres underwater, and to hear another vessel (i.e. SONAR) that vessel needs to be emitting some sound; which these submarines are designed to minimise.
Microsoft Zunes Committing Mass Suicide 785
jddeluxe writes "There are multiple reports springing up all over the internet of a mass suicide of Microsoft 30GB Zune players globally. Check Zune forums, Gizmodo, or other such sites; the reports are spreading rapidly, except apparently to the Microsoft official Zune site."
The State of UK Broadband — Not So Fast 279
Barence writes "The deplorable speed of British broadband connections has been revealed in the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics, which show that 42.3% of broadband connections are slower than 2Mb/sec. More worryingly, the ONS statistics are based on the connection's headline speed, not actual throughput, which means that many more British broadband connections are effectively below the 2Mb/sec barrier. Better still, a separate report issued yesterday by Ofcom revealed that the majority of broadband users had no idea about the speed of their connection anyway."
An Early Look At Prince of Persia 13
Joystiq reports that work on Ubisoft's re-imagined Prince of Persia is complete, and the game has been sent off for certification leading up to its scheduled December 2nd launch. They were able to get some hands-on time with the game, and they have nothing but praise for the controls and the combat system. Quoting:
"The game walked us through several fights' worth of control tutorial until we honestly didn't have to give second thought to what button we were pressing to execute a particular move. By the time we wrapped up our play session, we were sliding between enemies' legs, tossing them into the air, calling in Elika to teleport-kick them, and thwacking away until they teetered on the edges of cliffs — just before we delivered a final blow that sending them plummeting. What was doubly impressive about the combat system was the fact that, according to Delbuquet, it continues to evolve steadily throughout the course of the game. We were already stringing together our own combos at this point; nothing felt canned."
Motorola To Hire 300 Android Developers 88
ruphus13 writes "Google's Android is starting to see more industry support. Motorola recently announced plans, despite hardships within the company, to hire 300 Android developers. Quoting: 'A quick search of Motorola's job openings suggests that, indeed, Android is set to become a permanent fixture at Motorola, which has long built Linux-based phones but hitherto used MontaVista's Mobilinux. The goal? Move from an internal development pool of 50 Android-savvy developers to 350. Motorola, recognizing that most developers won't have deep experience with Google Android, is looking for a somewhat general skillset ... Java and Google Android programming experience is listed as 'highly desirable,' but not required.'"
T-Mobile has already made plans to use Android as well. Xconomy has a related interview with a member of the MIT team that won a $275,000 prize in the Android Developer Challenge by creating an application to automatically modify a phone's settings depending on its location, which they say "wouldn't even be possible on an iPhone." We've previously discussed the Challenge itself and some of the other winning apps.
Comment Re:-gasp- Slashdot, too! (Score 1) 287
D'oh!
