Comment Re:I was all set to go see it (Score 1) 412
He probably hates the original because it's "slow, boring and confusing" too.
Kids have no appreciation for good cinema these days.
Hong Kong Team Stores 90GB of Data In 1g of Bacteria 164
Bananana writes "A research team out of the Chinese University of Hong Kong has found a way to do data encryption and storage with bacteria. The project is called 'Bioencryption,' and their presentation (as a PDF file) is here."
Comment Re:What, a computer virus? (Score 1) 347
A lot. Viruses are called that because, well, they're viral. They can be passed from pigs to humans, from dogs to cats, from monkeys to humans, from birds to humans and vice-versa.
Comment Re:The end of brick & mortar? (Score 1) 454
Maybe not. I will say that the TV I'm planning on buying in the next month will most definitely not come from Best Buy, though!. I've also dropped the $70 on Amazon prime and am purchasing books & DVDs via them, instead of running to my local Best Buy (which is in walking distance of my house)
Comment The end of brick & mortar? (Score 5, Interesting) 454
Really this is just another bump on the road that leads to the crumbling of brick & mortar stores. Best Buy is trying to squeeze as much cash out of their customers as they possibly can.
A couple days ago I went in to my local Best Buy to buy a hard drive that they had listed for $129.99 on their website. I got to the store, and it was $165 on the shelf. In the past, it's been no problem to price match things that were on their site. However, this policy has apparently changed in the last few weeks, as they informed me that they no longer match prices on their site. The tag on the shelf wasn't one of the standard corporate tags, (the font was different, and the background of the tag was different) so it looks like they purposely jacked the prices of some items up. Anyway, I proceeded to stand in front of their customer service desk and order the drive off of their website with my phone using the "pick up at store" option. As I walked around for 15 minutes while I waited for the order to "go through" I noticed a lot of tags that were similar to the one I described. When comparing them to the website, all the tags had a significant markup compared to the Best Buy website. Other tags with the standard background matched the price on the website.
The girl at the customer service counter that I talked to said that this was "a new policy that went into effect a few weeks ago." She then proceeded to tell me that they did some sort of study that showed they were losing a ton of money by matching prices on their website. Personally I just see this as a huge death knell for, if not all best buys, at least my best buy.
A couple days ago I went in to my local Best Buy to buy a hard drive that they had listed for $129.99 on their website. I got to the store, and it was $165 on the shelf. In the past, it's been no problem to price match things that were on their site. However, this policy has apparently changed in the last few weeks, as they informed me that they no longer match prices on their site. The tag on the shelf wasn't one of the standard corporate tags, (the font was different, and the background of the tag was different) so it looks like they purposely jacked the prices of some items up. Anyway, I proceeded to stand in front of their customer service desk and order the drive off of their website with my phone using the "pick up at store" option. As I walked around for 15 minutes while I waited for the order to "go through" I noticed a lot of tags that were similar to the one I described. When comparing them to the website, all the tags had a significant markup compared to the Best Buy website. Other tags with the standard background matched the price on the website.
The girl at the customer service counter that I talked to said that this was "a new policy that went into effect a few weeks ago." She then proceeded to tell me that they did some sort of study that showed they were losing a ton of money by matching prices on their website. Personally I just see this as a huge death knell for, if not all best buys, at least my best buy.
Comment I still run a BBS... (Score 1) 186
There's still quite a few of us who live in the past, and still run BBSes. SynchroNet BBS Software makes it fairly simple, and is still (very) actively developed.
My BBS (listed in my signature!) runs on Linux, gets a few callers a month, and has the old door games that everyone loved. It's primary purpose is for me to make fun of all the conspiracy-theorist nut-jobs in FidoNet. (Yes, FidoNet still exists!)
My BBS (listed in my signature!) runs on Linux, gets a few callers a month, and has the old door games that everyone loved. It's primary purpose is for me to make fun of all the conspiracy-theorist nut-jobs in FidoNet. (Yes, FidoNet still exists!)
Comment Look on the bright side... (Score 1) 153
It can't possibly be worse than Star Trek: Online.
Comment Pure Digital? (Score 1) 547
I don't think "pure digital" is going to catch on for quite some time. While many people like to download their content. Some people are still going to want everything a Blu-Ray disk provides. The extras, the commentary, etc. Digital downloads, from what I have seen, don't do this.
While I do have the habit of ripping all of my DVDs and Blu-Rays, and storing them on my massive media server because hard drives are cheap, I still prefer to have a physical copy. With limited programs that can play back ripped Blu-Rays with full menu support, sometimes it's just easier to pop it in a Blu-Ray player and enjoy.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy tinkering, but when something goes wrong (it inevitably does), it's always when you're trying to play a movie for friends.
While I do have the habit of ripping all of my DVDs and Blu-Rays, and storing them on my massive media server because hard drives are cheap, I still prefer to have a physical copy. With limited programs that can play back ripped Blu-Rays with full menu support, sometimes it's just easier to pop it in a Blu-Ray player and enjoy.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy tinkering, but when something goes wrong (it inevitably does), it's always when you're trying to play a movie for friends.
Comment Ah, Memories. (Score 3, Funny) 663
This warms my heart, the first language I learned was TurboPascal just so I could program Door Games for my BBS.
I still run a BBS
I still haven't written any door games.
Submission + - Traces of Earth's first rocks found in Australia (australiangeographic.com.au)
An anonymous reader writes: Rocks found in the central part of the Australian tectonic plate help to fill a 500-million-year gap in our knowledge of the Earth's early history.
Submission + - Jack Thompson Recommended Psychiatric Evaluation. (daitengu.com)
daitengu writes: "An Email from Jack Thompson suggests that an official at the Flordia Bar proposed that he recieve a 91 day suspension of his law license as well as submit for psychological evaluation."
Comment I already beta-test software for free.. (Score 3, Insightful) 238
Half of Google is in "Beta", 90% of the video games I buy are beta-quality, more and more software now-days is labeled as "beta release 3.1415", I don't need to beta-test a processor or GPU as well! While it would be nice to be able to _add_ things to your CPU, like support for SSE42, I think something like this in a CPU would cause more harm than good.
It'd also make debugging software that much harder, as you won't be sure where the problem lies, with the CPU or the software program itself.
It'd also make debugging software that much harder, as you won't be sure where the problem lies, with the CPU or the software program itself.
Spacecraft May Surf Magnetic Fields 98
Maggie McKee writes "Future spacecraft may surf the magnetic fields of Earth and other planets, taking previously unfeasible routes around the solar system, according to a proposal funded by NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts. The electrically charged craft would not need rockets or propellant of any kind. To get charged up, the spacecraft could either fire a beam of charged particles into space or simply allow a radioactive isotope to emit charged particles. Because long, thin filaments have large surface areas for holding charge, the spacecraft might look like Einstein's head — with wiry filaments sticking out at all angles — or a weird space 'stocking.'"
Is Vista a Trap? 559
logube writes "BBC has up an article about the trap of installing Vista in your existing desktop. Written by Tim Weber, a self-confessed 'sucker for technology,' this article is a good introduction to the pain and extra money required to get going with the newest version of Windows. See how you can spend an extra 130 british pounds, and still have no working webcam! Says Weber, 'It took me one day to get online. The detail is tedious and highly technical: reinstalling drivers and router firmware didn't work, but after many trial and error tweaks to Vista's TCP/IP settings, I had internet access. Once online, Creative's website told me that my sound card was a write-off. No Vista support would be forthcoming.'"
Skype's Free Phone Call Plan Will Soon Have Annual Fee 171
The New York Times is reporting that Skype has said it would begin charging $30 a year for unlimited calls to landline and mobile phones within the United States and Canada. From the article: "As a promotion, Skype began allowing its users to place free domestic 'SkypeOut' calls from their computers to traditional and mobile phones last May. At the time, the company said the promotion would extend only through year's end. The company is offering a half-price subscription to those who sign up before Jan. 31. Calls from one computer to another have been and will continue to be free."
