Comment I would say: Self-modifying code (Score 2) 662
We sacrificed creativity, and some unknown possibility for the security fit for dumb majority.
Submission + - Nintendo Warns 3D Games Can Ruin Children's Eyes 1
Hugh Pickens writes: "Fox News reports that Sony has posted a cautionary note on its Japanese website that "“vision of children under the age of six has been said [to be in the] developmental stage,” adding that 3D content “delivers 3D images with different left and right images, [which] has a potential impact on the growth of children’s eyes.” The notice went to say that Sony recommends that all viewers take regular breaks while watching 3D video or playing stereoscopic 3D games (google translation). Dr. Michael Ehrenhaus, an ophthalmologist with New York Cornea Consultants, thinks Nintendo and Sony may be getting ahead of themselves with these disclaimers. "It's hard to say that it'll ruin development," says Ehrenhaus. "I don't foresee it as a major issue, they're just being overly concerned." Ehrenhaus says the disclaimer comes from worries about the eye strain people can get by focusing on something for long periods of times and that young children may suffer from a condition called amblyopia or "lazy eye," where one eye sees better than the other. Eye strain from 3D may turn out to be merely the latest in a long line of fears about television and video gaming similar to the widespread worries that arose after flashing lights in games led to rare epileptic fits, or the old wives tale about sitting too close to the television. "A lot of these myths never really play out," Ehrenhaus says."
Comment Nettop itx ATOM board done right. (Score 1) 86
Look at the picture of this board. Unlike typical atom330+945gc nettop board it has NO FAN. And if we recall the fact that 945gc chipset consumes 25w of power, way more than 8w cpu itself, I would rather call this board "Nettop ATOM board done right, powerwise". So if you already have netbook which uses 945gse mobile chipset(which is already power efficient), this would mean nothing more than minor facelift. But if you're going to buy atom330+945gc itx nettop board, this is much improved product to consider regarding power. And minor upgrade from gma950 to gma3150(slightly improved g31), would be better than nothing.
DoE Considers Artificial Trees To Remove CO2 418
eldavojohn writes "CNN is running an article on a new angle of attack to reducing greenhouse gases. After meeting with the US Department of Energy on the concept, the researchers revealed the details that each 'tree' (really a small building structure in the concept design) would cost about as much as a Toyota and remove 1 ton of CO2 from the air per day. Don't worry, they're accounting for the energy the 'tree' uses to operate: 'By the time we make liquid C02 we have spent approximately 50 kilojoules [of electricity] per mole of C02. Compare that to the average power plant in the US, which produces one mole of C02 with every 230 kilojoules of electricity. In other words, if we simply plugged our device in to the power grid to satisfy its energy needs, for every roughly 1,000 kilograms [of carbon dioxide] we collected we would re-emit 200, so 800 we can chalk up as having been successful.' Each unit would remove 20 automobiles' worth of CO2 from the air and cost about as much as a Toyota... so the plan might be a five percent surcharge on automobiles to fund these synthetic tree farms."
Submission + - Sony Films Won't Play on Sony DVD Players
taxevader writes: Sony Films Won't Play on Sony DVD Players, Say Reports
Complaints have begun appearing on some tech websites that copyright-protection coding on new releases from Sony, including Stranger Than Fiction, The Holiday, Casino Royale, and The Pursuit of Happyness, has made them unplayable on certain DVD players. One person complained on an Amazon.com discussion board that when inserted in Sony's DVP-CX995V player, the disks "load up to the splash title screen and then load no further, then after about 60 secs the player turns itself off!" The writer said that when he contacted Sony he was told that the company was aware of the problem and that it was working on a firmware update. The writer then asked Sony, "Would it not be a good idea to test changes you intend to make on your DVDs at least on your own equipment so that if you find a problem you could have the firmware update available instead of not only inconveniencing, but alienating your own customers?"
http://imdb.com/news/sb/2007-04-16/
Complaints have begun appearing on some tech websites that copyright-protection coding on new releases from Sony, including Stranger Than Fiction, The Holiday, Casino Royale, and The Pursuit of Happyness, has made them unplayable on certain DVD players. One person complained on an Amazon.com discussion board that when inserted in Sony's DVP-CX995V player, the disks "load up to the splash title screen and then load no further, then after about 60 secs the player turns itself off!" The writer said that when he contacted Sony he was told that the company was aware of the problem and that it was working on a firmware update. The writer then asked Sony, "Would it not be a good idea to test changes you intend to make on your DVDs at least on your own equipment so that if you find a problem you could have the firmware update available instead of not only inconveniencing, but alienating your own customers?"
http://imdb.com/news/sb/2007-04-16/
Journal Journal: Vista Still Primed for Double Extension Exploits.
The Register lead me to this Mikko Hyppönen of F-Secure tells us that Vista's default file viewing behavior still "sucks".
