Comment Re:Come to California... (Score 1) 660
Political parties? Or politics?
Comment Re:Lawsuit? (Score 1) 583
Has anyone sued a manufacturer for false advertising and/or fraud, because they advertise that the computers come with Windows, when in fact they're hobbled by coming with (Windows + Crapware)?
No. Because that's about as absurd as suing McDonalds for not explicitly stating that their coffee is hot.
Oh, wait...
Comment Re:humans (Score 3, Funny) 536
Absolutely. Half-elves, half-orcs, half-ogres... half-fiends... centaurs...
French Branch of Scientology Is Convicted of Fraud 622
The trial we discussed this spring has come to a verdict, and
reader lugannerd was one of several to note a milestone in the fight against the Church of Scientology. "The French branch of the Church of Scientology was convicted of fraud and fined nearly $900,000 on Tuesday by a Paris court. But the judges did not ban the church entirely, as the prosecution had demanded, saying that a change in the law prevented such an action for fraud. The church said it would appeal. The verdict was among the most important in several years to involve the controversial group, which is registered as a religion in the United States but has no similar legal protection in France. It is considered a sect here, and says it has some 45,000 adherents, out of some 12 million worldwide. It was the first time here that the church itself had been tried and convicted, as opposed to individual members."
"2012" a Miscalculation; Actual Calendar Ends 2220 600
boombaard writes "News is spreading quickly here that scientists writing in a popular science periodical (Dutch) have debunked the 2012 date (google translation linked) featuring so prominently in doomsday predictions/speculation across the web.
On 2012-12-21, the sun will appear where you would normally be able to see the 'galactic equator' of the Milky Way; an occurrence deemed special because it happens 'only' once every 25.800 years, on the winter solstice. However, even if you ignore the fact that there is no actual galactic equator, just an observed one, and that the visual effect is pretty much the same for an entire decade surrounding that date, there are major problems with the way the Maya Calendar is being read by doomsday prophets." I wonder what Amazon's return policy on a box full of 3 doomsday wolves shirts is?
Comment Re:WHAT!! (Score 1) 418
Not that any of us would notice a difference... The internet is full of one-dimensional idiots.
The Ultimate Limit of Moore's Law 418
BuzzSkyline writes "Physicists have found that there is an ultimate limit to the speed of calculations, regardless of any improvements in technology. According to the researchers who found the computation limit, the bound 'poses an absolute law of nature, just like the speed of light.' While many experts expect technological limits to kick in eventually, engineers always seem to find ways around such roadblocks. If the physicists are right, though, no technology could ever beat the ultimate limit they've calculated — which is about 10^16 times faster than today's fastest machines. At the current Moore's Law pace, computational speeds will hit the wall in 75 to 80 years. A paper describing the analysis, which relies on thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and information theory, appeared in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters (abstract here)."
BSA Says 41% of Software On Personal Computers Is Pirated 569
An anonymous reader writes "Individuals are turning to P2P networks and auction sites in staggering numbers to acquire or transfer illegal software and in doing so are harming the economy whilst exposing themselves to malware, identity theft and criminal prosecution, according to a report from the Business Software Alliance. Beyond P2P and auction site piracy, the report also draws correlations between Internet piracy and the spread of malware such as viruses, trojans and spyware, which often exploit vulnerabilities in illegal software that does not benefit from security updates provided by manufacturers. Although the correlation is not universal, geographies with high instances of software piracy suffer from high instances of malware."
Comment Re:T-Mobile Press Release (Score 1) 304
Somebody set up us the backup?
In-Game Advertising Makes Games Better? 352
Pretty much every time we hear about a game launching in-game advertising it sounds like a horrible idea that will only serve to detract from the experience. However JJ Richards of Massive wants you to give it a chance, claiming that if done correctly it can not only work, but actually enhance the overall experience. "In fact, according to Massive's research, gamers like ads. Here's the caveat: they have to add to the gaming experience. He describes a game that takes place in Times Square. With no ads, it's not real at all. With generic ads, it's a little better. 'Now imagine Times Square with ads you just saw on television or read in a newspaper—the latest movie release or television show or a new car model,' he said. 'Imagine further that it is up-to-the-minute, whether you played your game today or six months from now. That is much more realistic.' His argument is that gamers consume the experience of ads, not just the ads themselves. 'The ads add to and enhance that experience, and our research shows that it is highly effective for both game play as well as advertisers.'"
Comment Re:To a US viewer, the BBC is biased to the left (Score 1) 1721
The irony of discussing Charlie Brooker when we're talking about bias...
Comment Re:personally (Score 1) 1721
tl;dr: Obama did stuff. He spent our money and our children's money and our grandchildren's money lots of times. Also he stopped spending our money on things he didn't like.
Comment Re:personally (Score 1) 1721
He was a community organizer in Chicago? Of COURSE that deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, what were we thinking?
Comment Re:The road to hell is paved with what now? (Score 1) 1721
*cough*bullcrap*cough*
POTUS's power consists mostly of making people feel warm and fuzzy inside, and making the final (but not TOO final, don't want to upset the voters) decision on military matters. Also he can ask Congress to please do what he wants.
Solutions to these problems still have to exist before the problems can be solved. I know it sounds elementary, but just because someone is in a pseudo-powerful position doesn't mean they can fix such large and complicated problems.
POTUS's power consists mostly of making people feel warm and fuzzy inside, and making the final (but not TOO final, don't want to upset the voters) decision on military matters. Also he can ask Congress to please do what he wants.
Solutions to these problems still have to exist before the problems can be solved. I know it sounds elementary, but just because someone is in a pseudo-powerful position doesn't mean they can fix such large and complicated problems.
Comment Re:personally (Score 1) 1721
Actually, no one voted Bush out.
/pedant
/pedant
