Follow Slashdot stories on Twitter

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×

Comment Re:Another raving success (Score 1) 87

by Mr. Droopy Drawers (#36681712) Attached to: Dell Sets Stage To Take On Apple's iCloud

There's a big difference. HP actually rebranded the unit. You could get an "HP iPOD" including a U2 commemorative model. Dell simply added it to its "store" like they do with the PS3 and XBox today.

Dell's entry into this market was the ill-fated "Dell Jukebox" or (DJ) and "Dell Ditty" which were rebranded Creative Nomads and Zens. They were roundly criticized for their horrible user interface and support software; neither of which Dell created.

Comment Re:Connections - Faith in Numbers (Score 2) 139

I have no idea why this comment was modded down. I,too, enjoyed TLC before it became the "Paint Your House" channel. James Burke will always be a on a pedestal for me. He had other series and books besides "Connections". Pick up a copy of the "Pinball Effect" and you'll be mesmerized for hours reading and re-reading his prose.

There's still hope for good programming. Unfortunately, it's not coming from network or cable tv. I've setting IPTV. TWIT.TV and Revision3 are highly bookmarked on my system.

Now, how do we convince someone to put Connections on the air again? Those Youtube versions are pretty grainy...

Comment Re:Library of Congress tosses out books (Score 1) 234

by Mr. Droopy Drawers (#35584984) Attached to: Federal Judge Rejects Google Books Deal

Library of Congress regularly tosses out books and does not have them on microfiche or other archival method. Found this out on a recent visit there. I asked how they were able to store so many copyrighted materials coming in over the years. The head librarian I spoke to stated, "we keep on the significant ones".

I dived deeper into that... What do you mean by "significant"? She said, "you know, we don't keep Barbara Cartland Romance novels, for instance". Really?, I asked.

What about Edgar Alan Poe, he was a penny paperback writer in his day. Would they toss his stuff too if he were to write today?

Comment Re:!MMM (Score 4, Interesting) 231

by Mr. Droopy Drawers (#31436678) Attached to: "Mythical Man-Month" Supposedly Busted By MIT Startup

I wish I had mod points. This needs to be modded up.

I work for a large FW company and we host interns regularly. I am always surprised (shouldn't be) at what passes for projects assigned to them. I participated in a code review for one of these. Nothing prepared me for the abomination of code I encountered.

Now, 6 months past, I noticed another team deployed that code in their group and is coming back to our team to fix it since it originated from our group.

Smart ne Experience. This article was short on detail but long on dumping on Mr. Brooks. I think they need to (re)read his book.
Image

Mexico Wants Payment For Aztec Images Screenshot-sm 325

Posted by samzenpus from the montezuma's-latest-revenge dept.
innocent_white_lamb writes "Starbucks brought out a line of cups with prehistoric Aztec images on them. Now the government of Mexico wants them to pay for the use of the images. Does the copyright on an image last hundreds of years?"
Games

Pirates as a Marketplace 214

Posted by Soulskill from the marrrrrrrket-share dept.
John Riccitiello, the CEO of Electronic Arts, made some revealing comments in an interview with Kotaku about how the company's attitudes are shifting with regard to software piracy. Quoting: "Some of the people buying this DLC are not people who bought the game in a new shrink-wrapped box. That could be seen as a dark cloud, a mass of gamers who play a game without contributing a penny to EA. But around that cloud Riccitiello identified a silver lining: 'There's a sizable pirate market and a sizable second sale market and we want to try to generate revenue in that marketplace,' he said, pointing to DLC as a way to do it. The EA boss would prefer people bought their games, of course. 'I don't think anybody should pirate anything,' he said. 'I believe in the artistry of the people who build [the games industry.] I profoundly believe that. And when you steal from us, you steal from them. Having said that, there's a lot of people who do.' So encourage those pirates to pay for something, he figures. Riccitiello explained that EA's download services aren't perfect at distinguishing between used copies of games and pirated copies. As a result, he suggested, EA sells DLC to both communities of gamers. And that's how a pirate can turn into a paying customer."

Comment generally favorable reviews? (Score 1) 555

by Mr. Droopy Drawers (#30031530) Attached to: Verizon Droid Tethering Comes At a Hefty Price

Robert Scoble compares the Droid to to Windows 3.1.

The Droid fails AS A PRODUCT when compared to Palm Pre and iPhone

Between this review, the increased cost of dumping a crappy phone, and the general high cost of actually using it for data, I'm going sit on the sidelines a little longer

A battery cover that falls off? A physical keyboard that "peels" off?

Come on Motorola! I think you're better than that!
Games

Early Look At the New Bionic Commando 63

Posted by Soulskill from the you-and-what-arm-eek dept.
G4 had a chance to try out the upcoming Bionic Commando title due out in May. The game is a sequel to the NES version from 1988. Their impression is mostly positive: "The gameplay is fast and exciting, but a little light on combat, at least during the first level. There are also challenges that unlock upgrades for Nathan. These could be as simple as doing five zip kicks or as complex as killing a specific enemy with a specific move. It's a great way to add depth to the game and encourage the player to use all of the moves available to them." However, they do criticize the game's linearity, where movement is often restricted by arbitrarily placed radiation clouds. Capcom recently announced that a demo for the game will be available in the coming weeks.

Slashdot Top Deals

Kleeneness is next to Godelness.

Close