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Comment Re:I'm confused.. (Score 1) 172

First, why would you think that ISPs aren't fighting for market share with business connections?

Second, the reason business connections cost more is that generally you get a lot more. ...

Actually, there is a third reason why business connections cost more: the business ARE less price sensitive on that regard than common consumers. Almost all that can be diferentiated and sold as "business expenses" usually comes with higher costs (and usually, though not always, higher margins for providers).

Comment Re:Errr... (Score 1) 414

Could it just be possible that it isn't whether it's "government" or "a corporation" or a "public-private partnership" that makes the difference between well-done and corrupt, but the vision and integrity of the people carrying out the project?

...

It's the quality of the people who make the quality of the world. Whether they organize themselves into "governments" or "corporations" or "anarcho-syndicates" to pursue their goals is totally secondary to the essential matter of who's doing it.

Well, Yes and No... True, were we ALL angels, the organization model chosen would not matter. Since we aren't ALL like that (and even if you can increase the standards of the average, you are going to end up having a few rotten apples there) some organizations do provide better resilience to corruption than others...

Comment Re:yeah riiight. (Score 1) 226

They might even give the OS away free

Frankly, I've always wondered why they don't.

Besides the obvious (bulk revenue from the OS is not something they can just ignore) there are some other reasons: A truly free OS (no strings attached) would be something they couldn't control. Anyone could make their adaptations (even without source code, by replacing some components). This would negate the advantage they have on the Apps market (Office).

A somewhat less free OS (some restrictions on what you could do with the OS) would still suffer from problems (like security, virus, etc.) that would require them to work on it, but if it was free without any revenue stream attached.

Comment Re:What a fucking stupid idea! (Score 1) 540

Paper trees are always re-planted after being cut down (it would get unsustainable very quickly if this didn't happen) - and generally also have a lot of recycled material in the final product. The tree-cutting damage comes from the food industry clearing the way for beef cows or corn crops.

True, but not the whole truth. Deforestation to create a new crop is always worse than sustainable forests (even if grown-for-paper), but grown-for-paper forests are usually not sustainable (mono-cultures, weak bio-diversity, usually increased water consumption).

I am from a country with a LARGE paper production industry, and I've seen first hand the razing of indigenous species to create paper-friendly forests... It wasn't pretty, even if the new forests are denser than before, with more trees, the bio-diversity took a nose-dive.

PlayStation (Games)

PlayStation Home Beta Opens to the Public 206

Yesterday Sony launched the open beta for PlayStation Home, the virtual world designed for PlayStation Network community members. Eurogamer has an in-depth look at the features of Home. They point out some glaring weaknesses, such as a poor communication system, a flawed business model, and the inability to form groups without entering games, something the recently revamped Xbox interface does better. "It's not alienating, it's easy to identify with, and the socialising and advertising are entirely in context. But you're left pondering the inevitable question: why would you want to spend any time here?" Home's debut to the public saw a few typical launch-day problems, but Sony was quick to address them and get things back on track. Gizmodo has some screenshots and basic information available.

Comment Re:Hardly universal. (Score 1) 545

A quick poll of the six friends I generally play WoW with reveals that the most irritating mob in the game is the hyena.

/agreed.

I hate hyenas.

Both of you are Horde players, aren't you? On my horde chars, granted, hyenas are a pest, but Murlocs are MUCH worse than that to lower level (up to 30) Alliance chars.

Robotics

Submission + - Scientists Add Emotions to Robotic Head (deviceguru.com)

__aajbyc7391 writes: Claiming that service-class robots will one day be pervasive, researchers at the University of the West of England's Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) have begun investigating ways to make robots seem more human. As part of a project to enhance robot/human relationships, BRL has created a robotic head that can exhibit emotions, based on both verbal and non-verbal queues. Check out the videos in the article — especially the slightly creepy one in which the robot contemplates its purpose and its relationship to its environment.
Communications

Submission + - CRTC to rule on Bell's throttling on Thursday (www.cbc.ca)

excaliburca writes: "The Canadian Radio and Television Commission is set to make a landmark ruling Thursday on Bell Canada Inc.'s throttling of speeds. The regulator will hand down its decision at 9 a.m. ET after twice delaying it. The decision will determine whether Bell Canada has violated the Telecommunications Act by slowing down the internet access it sells to wholesale customers.

A ruling against Bell would likely allow CAIP members to sell unthrottled internet services, thus giving them a competitive advantage over the company and others that slow peer-to-peer applications, such as Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc."

Windows

Submission + - Microsoft loses anti-trust appeal

Kugrian writes: "Microsoft has lost its appeal against a record 497m euro (£343m; $690m) fine imposed by the European Commission in a long-running competition dispute. The European Court of First Instance upheld the ruling that Microsoft had abused its dominant market position."
It's funny.  Laugh.

Submission + - No goat sex at the Olympics, rules BBC (theregister.co.uk)

csplinter writes: The Web 2.0-tastic BBC just loves "user generated content". So when London's Olympic team unveiled its logo for the 2012 games to much mockery earlier today, what could be better than unleashing the Wisdom of the Crowd? After all, anyone can do better than the official expensive design disaster. One entry, submitted by "Sean Stayte", won the approval of the BBC sitekeepers and was published as one of the twelve best submissions. In Sean's words:

Here is my design for the Olympic logo. It is very simple and so memorable. The hands represent Britain pulling together to reveal the Olympics."
(See Image Here)
Indeed so.

However, it also represents one of the most iconic and notorious shock pictures on the Web, which was originally hosted at goats.cx. Sean's splendid contribution has now been replaced — without comment from the BBC. Wikipedia, which once again proves that it's the undisputed champ of documenting anal-related web trivia, wasted no time in updating this important page,and has a screen grab here. Get there before some joker replaces it with the real goats.cx picture. Sean, we salute you.

Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft take developer to court

chrisbeatty writes: The Register are reporting that Microsoft are threatening a UK developer, Jamie Cansdale who built software to run unit tests in Visual Studio.

What starts as a jovial chat with a senior Microsoft manager has led to Microsoft beginning legal proceedings due to the program working for the free Visual Studio Express product. The developer is now refusing to back down, is Microsoft not just pushing the development community, the support & good press they give away from itself?
Enlightenment

Submission + - Two week holiday... at the bottom of a lake

blueice writes: "Fancy a break from the real world? Then give this a go: The BioSUB Project "A MARINE biologist will spend the next two weeks in an airtight box at the bottom of a lake in an experiment to measure the physical effects of being underwater. Lloyd Godson, 29, today began his unusual holiday in a steel box at the bottom of the lake near Albury, his home town on the NSW-Victoria border (in Australia). Measuring just nine cubic metres, the box is where Mr Godson will eat, sleep and surf the net for the next fortnight, while being tested for the psychological and physical pressures of being underwater." News article here"

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