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Movies

Tron: Legacy 412

In preparation for this weekend's release of Legacy, I re-watched the original Tron. Yes, I own the DVD. I thought I would watch it ironically and sarcastically, but it turns out I just can't. I really like the original. As for the sequel, I'm not going to write a full review, but I'll say that the visuals were pretty amazing. The CG Jeff Bridges was pretty darn close, but just not quite there. And the light cycles were awesome. What are your thoughts?
Graphics

Submission + - Graphics fundamentals - the why of 4-D matrices (blogspot.com) 2

solarmist writes: "I've seen a lot of posts that curse the math used in computer graphics, especially 4-d matrices. Most graphics books skip over the motivation for this entirely; leading people to see this as complicating things and being done arbitrarily, but there's a good reason behind it. This article tries to explain one of the main reasons for this. Basically it simplifies the math and makes representing transformations much easier."

Submission + - Rare earths not so rare in the US

LucasBrown writes: Some flurry was recently made over China's decison to halt exports of rare earth elements. This had the potential to be a big problem, as China has a near monopoly of the metals, accounting for 96% of global production. Fortunately, this may not be such a significant issue, as the USGS just released a study showing that known deposits within the US contain about 13 million metric tons of rare earth elements; furthermore, "at recent domestic consumption rates of about 10,000 metric tons annually, the US deposits have the potential to meet our needs for years to come." This is good news to magnet lovers and especially fans of those tiny little magnet balls--most of the strong consumer magnets are made from neodymium, a rare earth element.
Classic Games (Games)

FPS Games That Need a Remake 518

kube00 writes "With the release and successful sales of Goldeneye 007 on the Wii, this opens the doors for other 90s FPS game remakes. Games like Jedi Knight, Red Rampage and Tribes could all use remakes and would look great with next-generation graphics. Nothing would be more satisfying than a remake of Jedi Knight that lets gamers slice Jar Jar to bits in multiplayer."
Censorship

Oregon Senator Stops Internet Censorship Bill 315

comforteagle writes "Senator Wyden of Oregon has objected to a bill in committee that if passed would have given the government the ability to censor the Internet. His objection effectively stop its current passing, forcing it to be introduced again if the bill is to continue — which it may not. Oregonians, please send this man pats on the back."
Crime

Real-Life Gadgets For Real-Life Superheroes 391

cylonlover writes "Yes, there are real-life superheroes. And no, we're not just referring to firefighters, paramedics, and other heroic people whom we're used to seeing come to the rescue of others. We're talking about costume-wearing, identity-concealing, cool-name-having people who fight crime, pollution, or other evils in their own communities, on their own time, and at their own risk. Many of them actually patrol the city streets, ready to intervene if they see trouble brewing – and being ready includes having the right tools. Given that none of these people have Bruce Wayne's budget, Gizmag takes a look at some of the real-world gadgets they use as they go about their crime-fighting duties."

Submission + - Turns out BP is comprised entirely of saints (newser.com)

wonkavader writes: Not in one single instance did BP cut corners to minimize costs. It's official. The government investigative panel says so. "'We have not seen a single instance where a human being made a conscious decision to favor dollars over safety,' Fred Bartlit, the trial lawyer in charge of the investigation, said today." Not one.
Software

Submission + - Biggest Game Console Failures in History (discovery.com) 1

astroengine writes: "As Microsoft's motion-controlled Kinect gaming device hits stores, everyone from players to industry analysts are wondering whether the device is a "game changer." Unfortunately, releasing new gaming technologies to the market are far from a sure bet. Discovery News reminisces over some of the biggest flops in game console history that, at the time, held so much promise."

Submission + - Robbers steal 100+ copies of COD: Black Ops (baltimoresun.com)

1080bogus writes: "Handgun-wielding robbers who burst into a video-game store in Harford County over the weekend made off with more than just cash. They also stole more than 100 copies of the highly anticipated "Call of Duty: Black Ops." The Black Ops games stolen Saturday night had been set aside for sale on Tuesday, said Monica Worrell, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office. Fans across the country have pre-ordered copies to avoid missing out." I'm glad I bought mine through Steam. I don't have to worry about burglars or lines.
Security

Submission + - US wants upper hand in battling high-tech bad guys (networkworld.com)

coondoggie writes: The US Department of Justice this week said it was looking to boost the research and development of technology that could significantly bolster new forensic tools for digital evidence gathering. The DoJ's research and development arm, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) said it was particularly interested in tools targeting forensic tools for mobile cellular devices; cloud computing environments; VoIP communication and vehicle computer systems.

Submission + - Atlantic current backward during ice age (cosmosmagazine.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The Atlantic Ocean current, which may be affected by future climate change, today takes heat north to Europe but 10,000 years ago it was weaker and flowed in the opposite direction.

Submission + - U.K. Reviewing Copyright Laws (bbc.co.uk)

Uebergeek writes: "It looks like the UK is going to be reviewing its copyright laws. Their Prime Minister specifically cites to the U.S.'s fair use doctrine as something they wish to incorporate into their own laws... apparently they wish to "encourage the sort of creative innovation that occurs in America." One can only assume that they've been missing the continual assault on the Fair Use doctrine here in the States."
Censorship

Submission + - The Revolt of China's Twittering Classes

Ponca City writes: "After Liu Xiaobo was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China, few voices in mainland Chinese media discussed Liu’s Nobel Prize. But Hu Yong, a media critic in Beijing, writes that China’s blogosphere and microblogs exploded after Liu was announced as the winner and a search of the hash tag “#Liuxiaobo” shows that relevant messages pop up hundreds of times per minute on Twitter. "Twitter has become a powerful tool for Chinese citizens as they increasingly play a role in reporting local news in their communities," writes Hu. "Chinese Twitter users lead the world, using it for everything from social resistance, civic investigation, and monitoring public opinion, to creating black satire, “organizing without organizations” in the Guangdong anti-incineration movement, and mailing postcards to prisoners of conscience." The Chinese Twittersphere has three prominent features writes Hu. First, as China’s rulers strengthen their censorship efforts, Twitter has become highly politicized. Second Twitter brings opinion leaders together around one virtual table, attracting a lot of “new public intellectuals” and “rights advocates,” as well as veterans of civil rights movements and exiled dissidents. Finally, Twitter has become the coordinating platform for many campaigns asserting citizens’ rights. "With the proliferation of Twitter clones in China, social movements in China are getting a long-term boost""
Software

Submission + - The Complications Of Owning Software

shmG writes: When someone buys something at a store, they assume they own it. A recent court ruling says that isn't so with software — and that means that unlike a used car, you can't resell it. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in Vernor v. Autodesk that an individual who purchases and then resells secondhand software is not the "owner" of that copy of the software. Therefore, that person cannot resell it if the license agreement accompanying the software restricts such resale. "What if you have a Honda Accord with software running the navigation and radio systems? If Honda were to put in a software licensing agreement, what's the difference between that and regular software? It would mean you wouldn't be able to resell the Honda Accord. You could do this with anything that runs software — microwaves, TVs, cell phones,et cetera," Halpern said.

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