Comment Sounds logical. (Score 1) 511
Because all sex offenders prey through World of Warcraft, right guys? Can we just ban games already? Seems like the only rational way to protect children.
Comment Re:well, of course (Score 0) 353
This. It would be a different story if there were actual options for the consumers, but there really aren't that many choices- and no choice is especially greater than the others.
Comment Re:Google should then provide signed certs (Score 2) 299
I don't think anyone's arguing that you should have to pay for a service that costs money to provide- I think we're just miffed that a service that worked and was free has been altered so that it can be no longer. I think anyone would be willing to pay for a service that costs money to provide (and a lot of us geeks do, i.e, linux is free but support costs money), but when it comes down to it, A. Google isn't exactly strapped for cash, and B. As IBitOBear suggested, the cost is trivial, and Google really ought to offer an alternative means to comply without paying a third party. But that's just my two cents, take it or leave it.
Comment Re:What ranges are these? (Score 2) 304
Last year, I made the holiday run in less than a parsec.
Comment Re:Google should then provide signed certs (Score 3, Insightful) 299
Agreed. The problem is not the levity of the price, but the existence of the price itself.
Comment The fine print: (Score 1) 286
I don't think anyone who firmly believes in the Mayan doomsday is going to be swayed by a little organization like NASA. You'll always have people saying "there's things they can't predict!"
Submission + - AMD Unveils Preliminary Radeon HD 8000M Series Mobile GPU Details (hothardware.com)
MojoKid writes: "AMD has just released some preliminary information regarding the company’s upcoming Radeon HD 8000M series of mobile GPUs. Based on the naming convention alone, it may obvious that the Radeon HD 8000M series is AMD’s second generation of products featuring the GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture, which debuted in the Radeon HD 7000 series. Like its predecessors, the Radeon HD 8000M series targets gamers with full DirectX 11.1 support and improved gaming performance over the previous-gen, but the architecture also lends itself to GPU compute applications as well. The Radeon HD 8500M sports 384 Stream Processors with an Engine Clock up to 650MHz. Memory clocks will vary based on the use of GDDR3 or GDDR5 memory. The Radeon HD 8600M is essentially the same, but with a slightly higher Engine Clock up to 775MHz. The Radeon HD 8700M is also based on the same GPU, but will be clocked at up to 850MHz, for a further increase in performance over the 8600M. The Radeon HD 8800M series, however, is based on a larger, more powerful chip and will sport 640 Stream Processors with an engine clock of up to 700MHz. GDDR5 memory will be used exclusively with 8800M, at speeds up to 1125MHz. It will be interesting to see how these new GPUs stack up versus NVIDIA's latest GeForce 600M series of mobile chips."
Submission + - AT&T Extols Telecom Monopoly In Groovy 1970 Video (itworld.com)
jfruh writes: "For many Slashdotters, the day in 1984 when the AT&T telecommunications monopoly was broken by court order is at best a hazy childhood memory, and they can't remember a time when the telephones in your house weren't your property. A Ma Bell propoganda video from 1970 was an early salvo in the fight to end that monopoly. With groovy, Sgt. Pepper-style graphics, AT&T explained why owning your own phone could damange phone service for everybody; why early experiments in competition were unfair (they were skimming off cheaper customers and leaving AT&T with the legal responsibility of connecting less profitable rural users); and why subsidizing high-quality phone service for everyone ought to be seen as a public good."
Submission + - Single Microbe May Have Triggered World's Largest Mass Extinction (medicaldaily.com) 1
An anonymous reader writes: About 251 million years ago, 90 percent of the Earth's species became extinct. The mass extinction, called the "Great Dying" or the more scientific-sounding Permian-Triassic extinction event, made 96 percent of marine animals and 70 percent of land-dwelling animals extinct in just a few thousand years, and it took the earth as much as 10 million years to regain the biodiversity that it had lost. Researchers believe that they may finally know why the event occurred, but the theory is not without controversy.
There are several theories, including the possibility of a meterorite hitting the planet. Previously, most researchers believed that the Permian mass extinction was a result of a series of volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia. These eruptions would have caused a dramatic rise in the amount of greenhouse gases which would have, in turn, killed off a bulk of species.
However, Daniel Rothman from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is floating around a different theory. As he presented in a meeting for the American Geophysical Union, he believes that the mass extinction could have been caused by something much smaller. His theory is that the extinction was caused by a single strain of bacteria.
There are several theories, including the possibility of a meterorite hitting the planet. Previously, most researchers believed that the Permian mass extinction was a result of a series of volcanic eruptions in what is now Siberia. These eruptions would have caused a dramatic rise in the amount of greenhouse gases which would have, in turn, killed off a bulk of species.
However, Daniel Rothman from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is floating around a different theory. As he presented in a meeting for the American Geophysical Union, he believes that the mass extinction could have been caused by something much smaller. His theory is that the extinction was caused by a single strain of bacteria.
Comment Say cheese (Score 5, Funny) 97
They may take our patents... but they'll never take our Kodak Moments.
Submission + - Ticking Arctic Carbon Bomb May Be Bigger Than Thought (sciencemag.org) 2
sciencehabit writes: Scientists are expressing fresh concerns about the carbon locked in the Arctic's vast expanse of frozen soil. New field studies quantify the amount of soil carbon at 1.9 trillion metric tons, suggesting that previous estimates underestimated the climate risk if this carbon is liberated. Meanwhile, a new analysis of laboratory experiments that simulate carbon release by thawed soil is bolstering worries that continued carbon emissions could unleash a massive Arctic carbon wallop.
Comment As good a time as any (Score 1) 181
Well, I was planning on selling my T.V. anyway.
Comment Re:Why bother? (Score 1) 74
But maybe if we sign enough online petitions- Right guys!? Guys?
Comment Re:What's the point? (Score 1) 74
No, what we need to get these people to do is to give us the code to their engines (even if under a mostly proprietary license). That way we will be able to continue enjoying what makes GNU/Linux attractive and play games as well.
That just doesn't leave enough incentive for developers to work on the platform. I'm a die hard Linux fan, but I don't think most game developers are. And keeping us happy isn't really that high on their priorities list. I think they're thinking somewhere along the lines of "take it or leave it"? Lord knows Valve can afford it.
Comment New website for that? (Score 3, Funny) 148
We should probably start a new website devoted specifically to tech-famous people shoving drugs up their rears. Assdot?
