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Comment Re:Technet Subscription (Score 1) 349

Best look at the new technet T&C that were instituted on 16 July....

The software now has gone to the more 'subscription based' model where as if you do not renew, your keys expire (Previously, unrenewed accounts did have keys expire). They've also removed some 'non enterprise' software such as Windows 7 Ultimate, Home Edition, reduced number of keys, etc etc.

List of software offered on first tab, list of 'retired' software on second tab: http://download.microsoft.com/download/C/7/8/C78DB720-88CB-455E-AA0E-A087CB332A23/TechNet_Product_List.xlsx

Are you better off? Probably if you use it to its full extent "for testing purposes" but you won't get 5 keys unless you go Pro, I believe.

Cheers
-m

Comment Re:Mailing Costs (Score 1) 722

It's odd that that is how NetFlix broke out those costs.... I always believed the less expensive cost (streaming) was the value-added service... So really the correct pricing would be 2 DVD by mail for $12, streaming $3 which is the $15 it is now that I pay. The mentality that the reverse is true is truly the definition of convoluted.

But yes, I'm keeping the DVDs by mail; everyone else can have my streaming bandwidth that I wasn't using anyway, and my bill goes down $3 a month -- I'm off to get a latte!

-m

Image

Solar Panels For Your Pants 81

Phoghat writes "A new line of clothes come with its own solar panels to charge small electronics in your pocket. It might be overdoing the 'Green' technology but for the low, low price of $920, you can own a pair of Go Urban Cargo Pants, which boasts 'fly front, low-slung drawstring waist, and two back patch pockets with button down flaps,' but the main reason you might want them is the: "'two side cargo pockets with independently functioning power supply.'"

Comment Re:Budget? (Score 1) 322

I'm guessing it's buried in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

There are quite a few rules that highway departments have to follow. About the only flexibility is the design on State and local route number signs (County Highway/State Highway) and street signs -- but not how the information is displayed (i.e. font size and proportions).

I'm sure it is the reason you don't SeE StReeT SiGNs LikE THIs... Sure, all uppercase seemed definitive and authoritative and the style of the time. I remember Chicago having all capital lettered street signs, but with the advent of GPS and me knowing where I'm going, I don't remember the last time I looked at one.

For those interested the latest MUTCD is online.... http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009/pdf_index.htm

Enjoy.

Comment Re:bullcrap (Score 1) 475

Not sure what you're implying, but bacon salt (as well as their other line of products) are fully kosher without a hint of pork.... and looks like less sodium than salt per serving. The salts also have no fat.

Research! Oh wait, I forgot this is Slashdot. We don't do that sort of thing.

Comment Re:Don't think this can be stopped (Score 1) 321

I've always found it a bit hypocritical to not allow more bars/pubs/dispensaries in local neighborhoods (at least in the US) because of all the NIMBYs, which makes greater chances that people go out, drink, and drive back home even slightly over the limit.

That, and if you read the arrests for people who actually cause heinous harm, they are far over the "legal limit" for it to matter anyway. I don't think the limit has been 0.16 in over 40 years, but that seems to be the magic number for accidents I've seen ("twice the legal limit").

I'd love to walk to a bar every once in a while, have a couple drinks, and walk home, but the nearest place is 2 miles away and the route is quite literally peppered with cops on the weekends, and it's getting difficult finding a different route these days.

-m

Privacy

Court Rejects Warrantless GPS Tracking 226

The EFF is trumpeting a victory in a case in which it and the ACLU filed an amicus brief. "The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit today firmly rejected government claims that federal agents have an unfettered right to install Global Positioning System (GPS) location-tracking devices on anyone's car without a search warrant. ... The court agreed that such round-the-clock surveillance required a search warrant based on probable cause. ...the court noted: 'When it comes to privacy... the whole may be more revealing than its parts.'"
Biotech

Gasoline From Thin Air 283

disco_tracy writes "An enzyme found in the roots of soybeans could be the key to cars that run on air. If perfected, the tech could lead to cars partially powered on their own fumes. Even further into the future, vehicles could draw fuel from the air itself. Quoting: 'The new enzyme can only make two and three carbon chains, not the longer strands that make up liquid gasoline. However, Ribbe thinks he can modify the enzyme so it could produce gasoline. ... [Perfecting this process] won't happen anytime soon... "It's very, very difficult," to extract the vanadium nitrogenase, said Ribbe.'
Books

Counting the World's Books 109

The Google Books blog has an explanation of how they attempt to answer a difficult but commonly asked question: how many different books are there? Various cataloging systems are fraught with duplicates and input errors, and only encompass a fraction of the total distinct titles. They also vary widely by region, and they haven't been around nearly as long as humanity has been writing books. "When evaluating record similarity, not all attributes are created equal. For example, when two records contain the same ISBN this is a very strong (but not absolute) signal that they describe the same book, but if they contain different ISBNs, then they definitely describe different books. We trust OCLC and LCCN number similarity slightly less, both because of the inconsistencies noted above and because these numbers do not have checksums, so catalogers have a tendency to mistype them." After refining the data as much as they could, they estimated there are 129,864,880 different books in the world.
Games

Submission + - Sometimes It's OK To Steal My Games. (blogspot.com)

spidweb writes: One Indie developer has written a nuanced article on how software piracy affects him, approaching the issue from the opposite direction. He lists the ways in which the widespread piracy of PC games helps him. From the article, "You don't get everything you want in this world. You can get piles of cool stuff for free. Or you can be an honorable, ethical being. You don't get both. Most of the time. Because, when I'm being honest with myself, which happens sometimes, I have to admit that piracy is not an absolute evil. That I do get things out of it, even when I'm the one being ripped off." The article also tries to find a middle ground between the Piracy-Is-Always-Bad and Piracy-Is-Just-Fine sides of the argument that might enable single-player PC games to continue to exist.
Security

Submission + - 'Unhackable' Android can be hacked (networkworld.com) 1

coondoggie writes: Once thought to be unhackable, the Android phone is anything but, according to researchers presenting at Black Hat 2010. Not only has malicious software cloaked in a wallpaper application stolen personal information from infected phones and sent it to a Web site in China, but researchers from Lookout Mobile Security have found a way to take the phones over completely – including top-of-the-line models hawked by major wireless carriers.
Cellphones

Android Data Stealing App Downloaded By Millions 335

wisebabo writes "A wallpaper utility (that presents purloined copyrighted material) 'quietly collects personal information such as SIM card numbers, text messages, subscriber identification, and voicemail passwords. The data is then sent to www.imnet.us, a site that hails from Shenzen, China.'"

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