Comment Re:How about å, ä, ö, and ø? (Score 1) 968
I guess you didn't get the joke about Columbus and Eriksson.
Hint: the A in ASCII stands for a land discovered by Leif Eriksson.
Comment Re:In spreadsheet form... (Score 1) 175
Best rendering so far!
Others focused in removing the crossing edges, which is an improvement, but this arrangement makes it easy to see who is suing and who is being sued.
Thank you!
Comment Re:they're not spies, they're defectors (Score 1) 191
Hah, it had to be circletimessquare -- oh how I miss Kuro5hin and this kind of out-of-the-box thinking that used to come up there so often from you and the rest of the people. Too bad the place was filled with trolls to the point of unusability the last few times I tried to return.
Comment Re:Well at least... (Score 3, Insightful) 525
Those of us in the rest of the world, who have been suffering being the weaker part in the worldwide marketplace game, we've been paying attention for much longer than two years.
Comment Re:Wake up and smell the stock market people... (Score 1) 359
You are merely being compensated for your expenditure of time and energy, not gouging someone.
I see your point (and I agree with Sloppy's point above) but, to nitpick, compensation of time and energy is gross profit (which even not-for-profit companies have to have, in order to remain operational, unless they're funded by a third party). The grandparent post was explicitly talking about net profit, which is what remains after all costs are compensated.
Comment Please mod parent back up! (Score 1) 359
How did people mod this down as troll? The parent expressed a valid opinion. It may be diametrically opposed to your core values, or even the core values your country is based on, but it's a valid, clearly-stated opinion. Don't use "Troll" as a synonym for "Disagree".
Come on people, we're no Thought Police here.
Comment "transformational change" (Score 1) 367
Yeah, that must be it. Transformational change -- not to be confused with metamorphic change, or modificational change.
Comment If the headline was true (Score 1) 168
...it would mean "Google Chrome Now Officially Not Free Software".
Fortunately, it isn't.
Comment If I defeat Jetman... (Score 2, Funny) 140
Do I keep his jet-powered wings? Are they useful for beating other bosses or is he too hard and I should get some other weapons first? Do you guys think I should defeat him before or after Cutman?
Comment Mod parent up! (Score 0) 200
It's been a while since anything made me laugh in
Submission + - Obama Defends Warrantless Wiretapping
a whoabot writes: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Obama administration has stepped in to defend AT&T in the case over their participation in the warrantless wiretapping program started by Bush. The Obama administration argues that that continuation of the case will lead to the disclosure of important "state secrets." The Electronic Frontier Foundation has described the action as an "embrace" of the Bush policy.
Submission + - Leaked Memo: XP Reprieve May Go On After Windows 7 (computerworld.com)
CWmike writes: "Gregg Keizer reports that Microsoft acknowledged today it has 'broadened the options' for PC makers to continue offering Windows XP as a downgrade from Vista — and potentially even Windows 7. However, the company would not confirm specific reports that HP has been given the green light to sell new PCs with Windows XP Pro preinstalled through the end of April 2010. 'Based on feedback, Microsoft is further broadening the options provided to Direct OEMs to help customers facilitate End User downgrade rights included in the product license terms of a new system with either Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate,' a Microsoft spokeswoman said in an e-mail. 'This option is designed to help ... small business customers, looking for Windows XP Professional due to application compatibility concerns.'"
Submission + - Obama's Gift to Gordon Brown fails due to DRM 9
quanticle writes: According to the Daily Telegraph, when Gordon Brown sat down to watch the DVDs that Obama had given him, he found out that they were from the wrong region. Will this be the impetus that finally convinces our government that region coding is detrimental?
Microsoft To Open Retail Stores 535
chaz373 writes "CNET reports that Microsoft is going retail. In the 'Beyond Binary' blog Ina Fried reports, 'After years of brushing off the notion, Microsoft said on Thursday that it will open up its own line of retail stores. Without detailing the plans, Microsoft said it has hired David Porter, a 25-year Wal-Mart veteran, to lead the effort. Sources say that Porter's mission will be to develop the company's retail plans and that the effort is likely to start small with just a few locations.'"
How the City Hurts Your Brain 439
Hugh Pickens writes "The city has always been an engine of intellectual life and the 'concentration of social interactions' is largely responsible for urban creativity and innovation. But now scientists are finding that being in an urban environment impairs our basic mental processes. After spending a few minutes on a crowded city street, the brain is less able to hold things in memory and suffers from reduced self-control. 'The mind is a limited machine,' says psychologist Marc Berman. 'And we're beginning to understand the different ways that a city can exceed those limitations.' Consider everything your brain has to keep track of as you walk down a busy city street. A city is so overstuffed with stimuli that we need to redirect our attention constantly so that we aren't distracted by irrelevant things. This sort of controlled perception — we are telling the mind what to pay attention to — takes energy and effort. Natural settings don't require the same amount of cognitive effort. A study at the University of Michigan found memory performance and attention spans improved by 20 percent after people spent an hour interacting with nature. 'It's not an accident that Central Park is in the middle of Manhattan,' says Berman. 'They needed to put a park there.'"
