Comment I give up. (Score 1) 137
First Battleship, now this.
Comment Re:International Copyright (Score 4, Informative) 172
"Licensing issues" seems to be the standard reply. But, why would licensing in Australia be different from licensing elsewhere? Isn't a show streamed to Australia is just as profitable as a show streamed to Europe or America?
Yes, but Netflix must sign and *pay for* a license in each separate territory. The company pays per show/movie, per market, per year (or whatever licensing timeframe), and it doesn't make sense to roll out an actual service until you have the rights to a decent content library in that new territory.
Netflix is working on licenses for Australia, but doesn't have a service yet. And whatever agreements it did sign so far likely don't become active until Launch Date X.
So as usual, it all boils down to costs. Follow the money.
Submission + - Quickflix Wants Netflix to Drop Australian VPN Users
ashshy writes: 200,000 Australian residents reportedly use Netflix today, tunneling their video traffic to the US, UK, and other Netflix markets via VPN connections. A proper Netflix Down Under service isn't expected to launch until 2015. Last week, Aussie video streaming company Quickflix told Netflix to stop this practice, so Australian viewers can return to Quickflix and other local alternatives. But Quickflix CEO Stephen Langsford didn't explain how Netflix could restrict Australian VPN users, beyond the IP geolocating and credit card billing address checks it already runs. Today, ZDNet's Josh Taylor ripped into the absurdity of Quickflix's demands. From the article: "If Netflix cuts those people off, they're going to know that it was at the behest of Foxtel and Quickflix, and would likely boycott those services instead of flocking to them. If nothing else, it would encourage those who have tried to do the right thing by subscribing and paying for content on Netflix to return to copyright infringement."
Comment Perl, anyone? (Score 1) 387
I'm still getting paid for some Perl 5 work. Learned some when it was still hot, built something with passing value, and now I'm pulling a small but significant monthly fee for supporting it.
It's still what I do best, thanks to all this regular practice. Coding is otherwise more of a hobby than a job for me. Can't say that I see a lot of demand for Perl code monkeys out there, though.
Comment Shooter? Well, that makes sense. (Score 1) 266
At first glance, I thought John Romero had reinvented the scooter. Segway 2.0 with a BFG on the handle bar?
Journal Journal: Full transcript for the Argonne interview
Comment More caffeine? Better flavor? Higher crop yields? (Score 1) 167
Bring it on!
Submission + - Power Grids: The Huge Battery Market You Never Knew Existed 1
ashshy writes: Following up on a recent Slashdot posting, The Motley Fool digs into another huge market for rechargeable batteries. Unlike the obvious battery needs for smartphones or electric cars, many consumers are unaware of the exploding need for enormous batteries as modern power grids bring a whole new set of requirements.
Submission + - How Argonne National Lab Will Make Tesla Cars Cheaper
ashshy writes: Argonne National Lab is leading the charge on next-generation battery research. In an interview with The Motley Fool, Argonne spokesman Jeff Chamberlain explains how new lithium ion chemistries will drive down the cost of electric cars over the next few years. Tesla Motors picked a terrific time to get into battery manufacturing.
Comment Mainstream ain't what it used to be (Score 1) 65
Some commenters say that Linux and Open Source have been mainstream tools for a while. That's true -- in the tech world. Whitehurst mentions this, then goes on to explain that more traditional industries are accepting FOSS now. Things like railroads and power utilities, where open source remained a scary, newfangled, and unproven security hole as recently as last year.
RTFA, please.
Submission + - Red Hat CEO: Open Source Goes Mainstream In 2014
ashshy writes: Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst likes to post "state of the union" addresses at the end of every year. Last December, he said that open source innovation is going mainstream in 2014. In an interview with The Motley Fool, Whitehurst matches up his expectations against mid-year progress. Spoiler alert: It's mostly good news.
Comment Someone needs to mash up a Google Map tool here (Score 1) 558
This was fun! Starting with my little router here in Tampa, the signal bounces to Washington DC, New Jersey, Atlanta, back up to Virginia, across to California. back to New York, before finally landing in Slashdot's native Illinois. Either that, or my IP geolocator is lying to me about the California piece. Ping times don't seem to increase enough to make it all plausible.
1 router (192.168.1.1) 0.415 ms 0.658 ms 0.731 ms
2 L100.TAMPFL-VFTTP-75.verizon-gni.net (173.65.42.1) 10.180 ms 10.310 ms 10.368 ms
3 G0-5-4-5.TAMPFL-LCR-22.verizon-gni.net (130.81.110.226) 13.401 ms 17.740 ms 18.155 ms
4 ae2-0.TPA01-BB-RTR2.verizon-gni.net (130.81.199.82) 17.794 ms 17.863 ms 17.921 ms
5 0.xe-11-1-0.BR2.ATL4.ALTER.NET (152.63.4.41) 30.529 ms 33.033 ms 33.157 ms
6 63.137.84.17 (63.137.84.17) 35.762 ms 35.573 ms 35.569 ms
7 cr2-te-0-0-0-0.atlanta.savvis.net (204.70.200.2) 36.872 ms 25.998 ms 61.362 ms
8 206.28.96.234 (206.28.96.234) 54.209 ms 56.239 ms 56.389 ms
9 hr2-tengigabitethernet-12-1.elkgrovech3.savvis.net (204.70.195.122) 56.506 ms 56.580 ms 56.730 ms
10 das5-v3032.ch3.savvis.net (64.37.207.158) 59.489 ms 59.562 ms 59.623 ms
11 64.27.160.194 (64.27.160.194) 58.696 ms 58.770 ms 58.846 ms
12 slashdot.org (216.34.181.45) 58.912 ms 58.976 ms 58.970 ms
Solar Impulse Airplane To Launch First Sun-Powered Flight Across America 89
First time accepted submitter markboyer writes "The Solar Impulse just landed at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California to announce a journey that will take it from San Francisco to New York without using a single drop of fuel. The 'Across America' tour will kick off this May when founders Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg take off from San Francisco. From there the plane will visit four cities across the states before landing in New York."
Roku Finally Gets a 2D Menu System 80
DeviceGuru writes "Many of us have griped for years about Roku's retro one-dimensional user interface. Finally, in conjunction with the release of the new Roku 3 model, the Linux-based media streaming player is getting a two-dimensional facelift, making it quicker and easier to access favorite channels and find new ones. Current Roku users, who will now begin suffering from UI-envy, will be glad to learn that Roku plans to push out a firmware update next month to many earlier models, including the Roku LT, Roku HD (model 2500R), Roku 2 HD, Roku 2 XD, Roku 2 XS, and Roku Streaming Stick. A short demo of the new 2D Roku menu system is available in this YouTube video."
Comment No way, Jose (Score 1) 264
Way too close. I call gerrymandering.
