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Comment Re:Nuclear Power! (Score 1) 317

I've often wondered why we have compact portable atomic bombs, but no compact portable atomic generators. Perhaps now some will finally be developed! Besides, I can't imagine that solar panels would be a good idea at an FOB. I mean, big square shiny targets? Not good. And they really work poorly when disguised with that camo netting stuff.

No, I'm thinking that some portable nuke plants are in order here. Even something that has to be mounted on a semi flatbed is going to be more useful than a solar panel. At least the flatbed could be rolled into a large trench and covered with camo netting and guarded by dirt and sandbag berms.

The US Military has many smallish nuclear reactors - in every combat submarine in the fleet, for example. They're still fairly large, complicated, and expensive.

Comment Re:It should be: 4+3+2=x+2 (Solve for x) (Score 2, Interesting) 1268

So, it's a textbook problem in your opinion. I think that you're right (and that kids shouldn't be using calculators for quite a while into math).

My daughter's math textbook is more old-fashioned, and it has find the missing addend type questions starting in 2nd grade IIRC. They use the notation of an empty box for the child to fill in.

Comment Re:HDCP (Score 1) 336

But saying the battery "pushed" the current through the bulb is also okay. It's the same way that power plants push water through the city pipes.

You power plants push water? Around here we have power plants provide electricity, and pumping stations push water.

Image

Jordanian Mayor Angry Over "Alien Invasion" Prank 217

krou writes "Jordanian mayor Mohammed Mleihan has taken a dim view of local newspaper Al-Ghad's April Fools prank, which saw a front page story claiming that 'flying saucers flown by 3m (10ft) creatures had landed in the desert town of Jafr.' The paper claimed that communication networks had gone down, and people were fleeing the area. The mayor called the local security authorities, who combed the area, but they were unable to find any evidence of the aliens. Mr Mleihan is now considering suing because of the distress it caused to residents: 'Students didn't go to school, their parents were frightened and I almost evacuated the town's 13,000 residents. People were scared that aliens would attack them.'" I guess they've never heard of Orson Welles in Jordan.
Technology

Iron Alloy Could Create Earthquake-Proof Buildings 107

separsons writes "Researchers at Japan's Tohoku University designed a new shape memory metal alloy. The super elastic iron alloy can endure serious stretching and still return to its original shape. The scientists say that once optimized, the material could be used in everything from braces to medical stents to earthquake-proof buildings!"

Comment Re:News at 11 (Score 1) 553

Here's an easy way to get around 'can't use the last 6 passwords' issue:

password1 password2 password3 password4 password5 password6 password7 password1

You only have to remember what number you're on.

Of course, there are lots of permutations on this (passwordA-Z, p1assword pa1ssword, if case sensitive: Password pAssword, etc etc.)

Social Networks

Is It Worth Developing Good Games For the Web? 82

SlashSlasher writes "A friend of mine started up a Facebook MMORTG game called Realm of Empires with his buddies as a personal project. Over the last couple of years, I've seen it grow up from an idea into a thriving community. A lot of money and effort has been sunk into constant improvement. As a result, it has become one of the most polished and substantial applications I've seen on Facebook. It's been quite interesting seeing the action behind the scenes without being directly entangled. Normal gameplay is free but certain premium features do exist. Recently, after allowing an open beta of premium features, the users complained vehemently that they would have to pay to keep these special features. They went so far as to start a petition to stop them from charging for premium features. People are getting up in arms about features that can be bought for less than $3 a month. I know the project hasn't broken even yet, and more money is put into it every day. I had always assumed that developers would receive a chunk of the ad revenue they attract to Facebook; apparently I was wrong. Facebook only gives the developer a very small (and shrinking) piece of real estate to try and make money with. How are these people supposed to break even, let alone profit? What working business models exist for the small game developer? Are people just too spoiled by free, throw-away games to be a target market for anything significant? Are developers who want to make any money for their work forced to move to restrictive platforms like the iPhone or the console market? More details of their story are available at their blog."
Lord of the Rings

Submission + - LOTRO "finished"

Cranboy writes: "The hands on preview in this issue of PCGZine, which is a free download magazine, reckons that The Lord of The Rings Online is finished. The previewer was show round Middle Earth by one of the developers and says "In essence, LOTRO is finished, with only a few minor AI issues and frustratingly missing NPCs taking the edge off the experience to date." The whole preview can be read in the PDF magazine."
Education

Submission + - Teaching in Second Life

Dancindan84 writes: "Although the press release was in December for Loyalist establishing their presence within SL, Loyalist began teaching a class as part of their full time journalism course within Second Life earlier this month. They are the first Canadian college to do so.

CBC Canada Now Video of story (real media)
Original Press release
SLURL to visit Loyalist College in SL"
Windows

Submission + - Install Windows Vista Upgrade version without XP

Johannes K. writes: It has previously been claimed that to install Windows Vista from an upgrade dvd requires having Windows XP installed on your computer. Not so claims DailyTech: No previous version of Windows is required at all.
Classic Games (Games)

Submission + - What is your favorite athletic sport?

tpetchy writes: With the Super Bowl coming up it would be interesting to know:
What is your favorite athletic sport?

Football
Baseball
Basketball
Hockey
Golf
Tennis
Auto Racing
Bowling
Cowboy Neal's Rodeo
United States

Submission + - A Disputed New Business:Virtual Property Exchange

Steven Golden writes: "In many ways, the in-game economy is similar to a real world economy — goods and services are traded to mutual advantage and are mediated in currencies(gold,platinum,credit,etc.). An online broker, who goes by the screen name Rolala, was not a fan of online games until his 15-year-old son became interested in Final Fantasy XI(FFXI).He then noticed that a large number of gils(currencies used in FFXI) were for sale on eBay. "I started hearing about players leaving the game who were selling their assets at cheap prices," he said, "so I figured, buy low, sell high." But Rolala found his moneymaking options in FFXI "very limited". He switched to World of Warcraft,the world's largest MMORPG. There, he has leveraged his real-life experience into an online business. He converts his game profits into real money on sites likeebay, cheap wow gold ,world of warcraft gold,etc.Earnings can be considerable. He said he was on track to earn about $120,000 in real money in his first year in this business. Rolala's business is just one example of how increasingly popular online role-playing games have created a shadow economy in which the lines between the real world and the virtual world are getting blurred. Edward Castronova, an economics professor at Indiana University who has written a book on the subject, calculated that if you took the real dollars spent within "EverQuest "as an index, its game world, called Norrath, would be the 77th richest nation on the planet, while annual player earnings surpass those of citizens of Bulgaria, India or China. Go to GameUSD, an exchange-rate calculator for the virtual worlds, and do a search for the latest rates of virtual currencies against the U.S. dollar, and let your jaw drop open. The rates of some virtual world currencies are even better than that of the Iraqi Dinar! For instance, here is the exchange rate of several popular virtual currencies: FFXI Gil ( Final Fantasy XI Gil ) ($23.89/1M), Lineage 2 adena ($2.80/1M), Everquest Platinum ($0.24/1K), Everquest 2 Gold ($0.017/gold), WOW Gold ( World of Warcraft Gold ) ($0.178/gold), Star Wars Galaxies Credit ($0.50/1M), Guild Wars Gold ($0.07/1K), Second Life Linden ($3.14/1K), etc. Right now, this business is one of the most hotly debated issues on the internet. Many game companies such as Blizzard who run World of Warcraft discourage profit from in-game properties, though none have found a way to stop it. Sony Online Entertainment, on the other hand, encourages the practice (albeit within the confines of their own "Station Exchange", their own forum for the sale of in-game properties). It recently announced the first month's figures from "Station Exchange". According to SOE, over 45,000 characters from "EverQuest 2" have been active on the exchange and have spent over $180,000 USD in one month, half of which have been spent on in-game gold and platinum. In terms of the law's concern, another issue is, who owns the virtual money? Many virtual world designers maintain that anything created in the world belong to the company. They refuse to recognise the rights of their players in the virtual property for fear of attracting liability for its maintenance or security. But will this work in the long term? Players spend considerable time and/or money acquiring such assets. In many cases they are the creation of the player and even the intellectual property ownership is questionable. "As we spend more time in these worlds, it's not enough for companies to say that 'we own everything and we can turn it off at any time,'" said a gamer. "The question may soon be should we have recourse against a game company for obliterating virtual assets?" With the rapid growth of virtual currency exchange market, should people accord virtual property the same protection as property in the real world?"

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