Comment Oh thank Christmas! (Score 1) 476
I got what I wanted for Christmas, early - proof that we can still have a flamewar about News for Nerds!
Comment Re:throw away laptops (Score 1) 402
HARDWARE keyloggers (someone mentioned replacement keyboards with them built in, too)
Comment Re:throw away laptops (Score 1) 402
Given some of the other comments in the thread, I'd be worried about keyloggers, unless (maybe "even if") you've got two-factor authentication going for your VPN.
Comment The ATH uses-all-one-cpu bug is still in there (Score 5, Informative) 295
For some reason, on some machines the ATH.exe (wifi sync) will take up 100% of one CPU. Happened on the old iTunes, happens on the new iTunes. https://discussions.apple.com/message/20463456?ac_cid=tw123456#20463456
Comment Isn't this just irradiation? (Score 1) 1
Seriously - microwaves at a particular frequency... this is irradiation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irradiation), isn't it?
Tuition Should Be Lower For Science Majors, Says Florida Task Force 457
Hugh Pickens writes "Jordan Weissmann writes that a task force commissioned by Florida Governor Rick Scott is putting the finishing touches on a proposal that would allow the state's public universities to charge lower tuition for studying topics thought to be in high demand among Florida employers including science, technology, engineering, and math. The hope is that by keeping certain degrees cheaper than others, Florida can encourage students into fields where it needs more talent. For some, it might seem inherently unfair to send dance majors deeper into debt just to keep tuition low for engineers, who are already poised to earn more once they graduate, but task force chair Dale Brill says tax dollars are scarce, and the public deserves the best possible return from its investment in education and that means spending more generously on the students who are most likely to help grow Florida's economy once they graduate. Brill also argues that too few young people consider their career prospects carefully when picking a major. 'We're trying to introduce some semblance of a market dynamic information in an environment where there is none,' Brill says. 'Most students couldn't tell you what they pay in tuition. In economics, pricing is all we have to determine and work out supply and demand. So, when the consumer is completely separated from the cost of a product, then the cost rises.'"
Remember when everyone was supposed to become an aerospace engineer and then the industry collapsed in the early 90s?
AT&T To Pay $700,000 For Overcharging Consumers 74
An anonymous reader writes "CNet reports on an agreement between AT&T and the FCC which will require the telecom company to pay $700,000 to the federal government to resolve overcharging complaints. AT&T will also refund charges to customers who were switched from pay-as-you-go data plans to monthly plans after AT&T said they could keep the old plans. 'AT&T has also agreed to an extensive compliance plan (PDF), which includes: consumer notification, training of customer care representatives, and periodic compliance reports to the FCC. AT&T must also conduct additional searches of its records to identify improperly switched consumers and ensure appropriate refunds.'"
Comment Re:RIM Fan here (Score 1) 349
Honestly curious: how do you have multiple profiles ( I have one when on-call, one when I'm in the movies, one when off-call...and just using the 'silent' switch isn't enough), and device-level email filters? That's been the dealbreaker for me (plus the fact that the iphone mail tone wasn't enough to wake me), but if there's options, I'd love to know.
Comment Re:This won't save them from Samsung/Android. (Score 1) 178
Yes to skip the trolling, but "multiple aspect ratios" only really came with ICS.
Intelligence Agencies Turn To Crowdsourcing 41
An anonymous reader writes "IARPA — the sister agency to DARPA — is sponsoring researchers to examine crowdsourcing as a method to derive better intelligence predictions. This research will eventually be transitioned to the intelligence community to improve national intelligence estimates. From the article: 'Like Darpa, its better-known counterpart in the Pentagon, Iarpa funds far-out research ideas. However, Iarpa works on ideas that could eventually be used by the likes of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), rather than the military. “The goal that Iarpa has is to eventually transition this to the intelligence community, and use it for something like the National Intelligence Estimates,” says Jenn Carter, who works on the project.'"
Comment I'd settle for a PGPFone-like app (Score 1) 1
How about just a app that makes a phone call, but encrypts the transmission between the two phones? I'm sure it would have to be a jailbreak app because it's messing with the phone dialer, but it'd be nice.
Comment Re:Top Gear already done this... (Score 1) 717
Or the fact that Top Gear has successfully won lawsuits because people expect it to be entertainment and not real. It was jimmied. No idea how, no idea if he knew, but if _I_ were Top Gear I would've done whatever to make it more entertaining.
Comment Re:nothing new at all needed (Score 2) 717
Ditto. I climbed in a Prius V expecting to have to cram in - and came out astonished. My 50-pound daughter "fell" off the seat onto the floor - and had more than enough room to sit cross-legged and then stand up. It had more room in the back seat than most of the SUVs (and, it turns out the EU version actually seats 6 because it uses a different battery pack).
Didn't buy it (wife didn't like acceleration), but damn if it wasn't in the final 3 (out of 20+ tested).
Tell people where it counts - driving 20k miles a year (which we do - we live in a large state) would have cost me $100 a month less to drive the Prius than the SUVs getting 24.
Submission + - Aros Magic Announces World's Fastest Photo Viewer
redblue writes: I have figured out how to decode certain kinds of data formats really fast using parallel processing techniques, calling the technology magiXcan. The Aros Magic Viewer3 beta (for Windows) showcases its application to the fast processing of photos in JPEG format. To extend the scope of magiXcan so that it can cover a wide variety media formats and operating systems — thereby creating much faster and more energy-efficient computers — I am running a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo entitled “magiXcan: Imagine computers 10X faster. 100X? More!” (http://indiegogo.com/magiXcan). Please help us to revolutionize computing as we know it.
T-Mobile Merging With MetroPCS 86
Daetrin writes "Last year T-Mobile tried to merge with AT&T but the deal was blocked by the FCC. Now T-Mobile and MetroPCS have agreed to merge in a $1.5 billion deal. There doesn't seem to be much concern that the FCC will disagree with this deal, perhaps because the two companies combined will have a user base of 42.5 million, which will still be smaller than the #3 player Sprint's 56.4 million. Because the two companies have similar spectrum holdings T-Mobile claims the merger will allow them to offer better coverage. They also say they will continue to offer a range of both on and off-contract plans."
