Comment Surprised (Score 1) 206
I am surprised to learn that the show was still running. I haven't heard it for 25 years or so.
Comment Local programming . . (Score 1) 180
has always been financed by advertising on the nationally syndicated programs. The proliferation of cable channels has already fragmented the audience watching local stations. This has reduced the amount that stations can charge for advertising. If people turn to the Internet for their programming, this will only accelerate this fragmentation, making local stations financially unsustainable. It is already happening in Canada where TV networks have demanded that cable and satellite TV providers begin to pay fees to carry their programming, which the cable providers have traditionally not paid for.
Comment Mobile Mania (Score 1) 791
Here are a couple of articles in Skeptical Inquirer:
- Power Line Panic and Mobile Mania is written by a physicist.
- A Growing Hysteria
Comment Re:Conductive films, cloths, or plastics... (Score 1) 791
It only filters ultraviolet. Its purpose is to prevent the fading of colours on fabrics exposed to sunlight from windows.
Comment Invisible Threat? (Score 2, Interesting) 791
You could read this book and be even more afraid (or maybe this author is just paranoid.)
Comment I prefer spatial view (Score 2, Interesting) 311
Having switched to KDE4.x from Gnome, spatial view is the one thing I miss. I never liked using Konqueror for file management in KDE3.x, which is why I mostly used Gnome. I wish someone would write a spatial view file manager for KDE. I came to Linux from OS/2 back in the last century, so spatial view seems like the normal way to do things for me. Although I confess that I still use Midnight Commander for a lot of stuff, especially when I am moving a lot of files from place to place.
Sharp Rise In Jailing of Online Journalists; Iran May Just Kill Them 233
bckspc writes "The Committee to Protect Journalists has published their annual census of journalists in prison. Of the 136 reporters in prison around the world on December 1, 'At least 68 bloggers, Web-based reporters, and online editors are imprisoned, constituting half of all journalists now in jail.' Print was next with 51 cases. Also, 'Freelancers now make up nearly 45 percent of all journalists jailed worldwide, a dramatic recent increase that reflects the evolution of the global news business.' China, Iran, Cuba, Eritrea, and Burma were the top 5 jailers of journalists."
rmdstudio writes, too, with word that after the last few days' protest there, largely organized online, the government of Iran is considering the death penalty for bloggers and webmasters whose reports offend it.
Journal Journal: Canadian Recording Industry Faces $60 Billion Copyright Infringement Lawsuit
Michael Geist reports on a class action copyright infringement lawsuit by musicians against the Canadian Recording Industry Association. It seems that the recording industry is guilty of the very crimes of which it accuses others.
New Aliens Vs. Predator Game Doesn't Make It Past AU Ratings Board 277
An anonymous reader writes "Australia refused to give Rebellion's new Aliens Vs. Predator game a rating, effectively banning it in the country. Rebellion says it won't be submitting an edited version for another round of classifications, however. (As Valve did with Left 4 Dead 2.) They said, 'We will not be releasing a sanitized or cut down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices.'"
Scientists Say a Dirty Child Is a Healthy Child 331
Researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California have shown that the more germs a child is exposed to, the better their immune system in later life. Their study found that keeping a child's skin too clean impaired the skin's ability to heal itself. From the article: "'These germs are actually good for us,' said Professor Richard Gallo, who led the research. Common bacterial species, known as staphylococci, which can cause inflammation when under the skin, are 'good bacteria' when on the surface, where they can reduce inflammation."
Comment Perimeter Institute and Quantum to Cosmos (Score 1) 899
The Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is doing great work with its public outreach program that includes public lectures that are always have full attendance and which are available online. This year they are holding the Quantum to Cosmos Festival from Oct. 15 to 25. From the "About" page: "For 10 exciting days this October, Perimeter Institute's Quantum to Cosmos: Ideas for the Future (Q2C) will take a global audience from the strange world of subatomic particles to the outer frontiers of the universe. All events will occur on-site in Waterloo, Ontario and online at q2cfestival.com."
Comment Re:Relevance of ethnic background in science? (Score 1) 385
So? How does that make it relevant?
Comment Relevance of ethnic background in science? (Score 1) 385
This article seems to put an emphasis on the scientists ethnicity. Why is a scientists ethnic background relevant to a scientific discovery? If the scientists in question were Arab-Americans, would this news site have treated the news differently?
Comment Re:No smoking gun, just pro-Linux propoganda (Score 1) 406
Well Joe computer user should care. Real competition in the marketplace makes for better products and consumer choice. We would not accept the situation in the computer industry in any other industry. I can walk into an electronics retailer and see multiple brands of sound systems, or go into a housewares store and choose among multiple brands of cookware or coffee makers, yet if I walk into a computer store I see the same OS on all of the computers even if they have different brand names on them. Many people might prefer Windows to Linux, but they should have the right to make that choice. As things stand, they do not in any meaningful way.
Comment Plenty of critics (Score 1) 1127
Apparently this guy has never subscribed to a development mailing list. Linux users who have a criticism post a bug to their distributions bug tracker or discuss it on the relevant mailing list. Linux users get so critical that they start a new distribution just because they are ticked off that the existing ones won't do things the way they want. What we don't need is non-contributing criticism. If you don't like something, post a bug report or discuss it on the appropriate list. Don't just whine on your blog.
