European universities are really good. The overall education standard in Europe is higher than the US and while there's some possibility that they may want to work in the US in the future it shouldn't be impossible for them if they've got relatives there to get in even without citizenship. They can work in any european country they like so there's plenty of opportunities without forcing them to go through the tax burden of being a US citizen. Having lived and worked in the US myself (silicon valley) I just don't see the attraction other than maybe money but the standard of living isn't great all things considered.

I spent a month in Japan with a Korean friend and we didn't have any problems, though we stayed mainly in the cities, perhaps things would have been different in smaller towns.

I thought it was more of a case "That is allowed, so why not this?" If the government required that all internet communications into the country were decrypted for inspection, then sure, it would be logical to require that personal storage devices be decrypted as well.

But I don't see why data is subject to inspection when you're carrying it, but not when you're sending it electronically. Why is it fine to send a private email to your drug dealer while you're standing in line at customs, but as soon as you reach the agent, you have to decrypt the storage you're holding in your hand?

Judging by the diagram, the "offending sections" are huge swathes of virtualisation-specific code that ESXi runs on, written or modified by VMWare.

Being forced to open-source their largest software project is a quite conceivable (even if unlikely) outcome. Not everyone who has a part in the Linux kernel is going to accept "Here's some cash, ssshh, don't tell anyone we cocked up" compared to forcing them to open their code.

VMWare accepted a (believed to be) legally binding agreement to open any code that modified or become part of the kernel under GPL licences to anyone who asked. You can't always buy your way out of such obligations with money, and the courts may well end up showing that.

And that... that's gotta hurt the bottom line to have vast portions of ESXi available as open-source software.

Steam aren't a monopoly by a long shot (which I consider a shame, personally!). Origin, Windows Store, hell even Desura. And they aren't lording any kind of monopoly over developers - use it or don't. Use it and tie it into our platform, get a discount. It's not a monopoly, nor a monopolistic action, until you don't have a choice.

And nobody knows what they're charging except those who can't say. As as the quote says, compared to OTHER digital distributors, it's about the same. Sorry, but half the people I know who play games (things like World of Warcraft, etc.) have never heard of Steam anyway. They certainly aren't a do-or-die outfit. Hell, Humble bundles make MILLIONS for their developers in some cases, for smaller indie outfits. If you can't make money on Steam, there are plenty of other places for such work who'll be glad to throw money at decent projects.

P.S. I am looking to publish a game at some point on Steam, only an indie thing, but I've seriously considered it since before Greenlight existed.

Personally, I'd sacrifice quite a hefty percentage just for the personal satisfaction of saying my game was on Steam rather than the alternates. But, then, I wouldn't let myself do it for next-to-nothing either. And if Steam charge more as a percentage but get a ton more exposure and sales, that's surely better? And there's NOTHING that says you can only release a game on Steam anyway.

Sorry, if you want to be on the bigger, more popular services, you have pay somewhere along the way. And NOBODY can say what they're paying. For all we know, they could be the cheapest place in town.

Terabytes (Petabytes?) of encrypted data enters the country every day from across the world via the internet, yet Border Services thinks they need to inspect the data on everyone's phones?

I sincerely hope he wins the case.

"The prescribed global standard doesn't work so we're just going to roll our own. Twice."

Great. Thanks for that. Not "we will penalise sites that don't allow OSCP pinning because we think it's necessary" but "bugger this, we'll apply our own definition of what can be trusted or not to every user"

1) Nobody can really say what Steam's royalty rates are. They almost certainly vary dependent on the risk of the game itself (low cost probably = high royalty and vice versa). However, Tripwire have said this:

http://www.destructoid.com/tri...

"Let me just say that our royalty deal was great, and is in line with what I understand that other digital distribution services are offering"

So, no, 30-40% isn't some set figure, it's some rumour on the Internet dredged up by someone who's in breach of their NDA in doing so anyway and I don't think any serious game studio would risk that.

2) So what? If you want to use Source, you'll pay. If it's not good value, nobody would use Source (or, by extension, Steam). It's really that simple. If that's the market rate, that's the market rate for PC digital distribution of something using their own engine, and yet console developers and all kinds are using it, then that's what it costs and it's worth that to you, or not.

There aren't a dearth of games using Source and neither are there an overwhelmingly majority. So it's probably about right in terms of value even if it DOES cost more (which isn't a given at all).

Given that source has been around since 2004, and EA etc. are happy publishing Source Games (don't EA own Origin?), I hardly think there's a big problem there.

I pick up spam calls only when I'm overseas.

"Nej, det är lite för dyrt till mig just nu... Så jag önskar dig Gott Kineskiskt Nytt År från Guangzhou och en jättebra kväll! Tack för att du spelar!"

Here's MS' problem, there's a strong perception that they don't exist in the phone market. I was watching the news the other day and they were covering various gadgets and they had this thing which paired over bluetooth with a phone and had an app. The reviewer actually said that it supports all smartphones, both android and iPhone. Boom, there's your problem MS. No-one even knows or cares that you exist.

As a long time Linux user, it feels good that MS is getting killed because no-one is supporting their product however good it may be.

Smart article yes, but it's still incredibly stupid to buy a lottery ticket.

Unless you think it's fun to play. Idle daydreaming about what you'd do if you won; the excitement as the numbers are called; the rollercoaster of emotion as you realize you may win - no you won't - oh but you did get a small price.

It's only stupid if you see it as an investment. See it as entertainment and it's no more dumb than paying to watch a movie.

I tried it but it wasn't that fun, my Mistress just said "What are you doing!? That's disgusting, pull your pants back up!", then she slapped me across the face and walked out -- she's quite harsh.

19 students, one codebase, 4500 lines.

Hell, my HOBBY project has something like 120,000 lines and that's not including any of the huge open-source libraries that I suck in to do the interesting stuff. And that's just the stuff I tinker with when I have a spare day or so.

I wrote more than 4500 lines (not including bracketing and whitespace) for my first set of Introduction To Programming coursework answers, for the first week, for the course I took in my first year of my degree, in Java, that was designed for the people on the maths courses who'd never touched a computer.