Comment Re:Uninformed Rant, or Sony Apologist? (Score 1) 185
I could be wrong here, but I think the Secu-ROM is DRM added by whatever company made the game, and not something that's part of Steam itself.
Comment Re:Pull A Jordan? Seriously? (Score 1) 279
I genuinely believe that the next two books will happen a lot faster than the previous two did. From what I understand, the long delays on AFFC and ADWD occurred because of restructuring/rewriting. This restructuring occurred because Martin had originally intended to have them take place after a 5-year gap (in-book time), but realized after partially writing it that this necessitated too many flashbacks and wasn't working, and changed it so that the events in AFFC and ADWD take place immediately after A Storm of Swords.
I think Martin will probably have gotten most of the parts of the books that the timeline change affected out of the way with ADWD. Also, he has a few chapters banked for the next book already. Besides, he'll have to write faster so the new HBO series based on his books doesn't catch up with him.
Submission + - "A Dance With Dragons" gets a release date (georgerrmartin.com) 1
Nimrodel writes: "The long-awaited 5th book in George R. R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series has gotten a relase date: July 12, 2011."
Submission + - Two Patriot Act Provisions Ruled Unconstitutional
buswolley writes: Judge Ann Aiken in Federal court ruled two key provisions of the Patriot Act unconstitutional. According to the ruling, the Patriot Act provisions unconstitutionally circumvented the 4th Amendment, and removed the checks and balances provided for by our Constitution. This is a great victory for the people of the United States, and demonstrates the inherent strength of our system of government.
Submission + - Two PATRIOT Act provisions ruled unconstitutional
frdmfghtr writes: CNN is reporting that an Oregon judge has ruled two provisions of the Patriot Act unconstitutional. FTA:
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, set up to review wiretap applications in intelligence cases under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA [as amended by the Patriot Act, stated later in the article], "holds that the Constitution need not control the conduct of criminal surveillance in the United States," Aiken wrote.
"In place of the Fourth Amendment, the people are expected to defer to the executive branch and its representation that it will authorize such surveillance only when appropriate."
The government "is asking this court to, in essence, amend the Bill of Rights, by giving it an interpretation that would deprive it of any real meaning. The court declines to do so," [Judge Ann]Aiken said.
Submission + - No bundled operating system to improve competition (globalisation.eu)
ephraimhorse writes: ""Computers in the European Union should be sold without a bundled operating system," recommends a new submission to the European Commission. The justification: "bundling of Microsoft Windows with computers is not in the public interest, and prevents meaningful competition in the operating system market." Original story at http://www.globalisation.eu/blog/corporations/what's-next-for-eu-competition-policy?-200709231242/"
Submission + - Five Ways Linux Is Better Than Vista (crn.com)
An anonymous reader writes: Forced to use Vista? Don't like it? Here's a look at how Linux stacks up to Vista.
Submission + - Unauthorized iPhone (Ajax) apps market flourishing
BobB writes: Software developer Dylan Schiemann used Steve Jobs' own words against him in a presentation on developing third-party software applications for Apple's iPhone. "You can write amazing Web 2.0 and Ajax apps that look and behave exactly like apps on the iPhone," CEO Jobs said at an Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June in San Francisco. "It depends on your meaning of the word 'exactly,'" Schiemann said Monday at the AjaxWorld 2007 Conference & Expo in nearby Santa Clara. While an endorsement of Ajax from Jobs is welcome, Schiemann and others say there are limitations on how their apps can run on Safari, and there is a vibrant community of developers writing apps to install directly on iPhone, contrary to Apple's wishes.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/092607-unauthorized-iphone-applications.html
Submission + - Internet Uses 9.4% of U.S. Electricity (prweb.com)
ribuck writes: "Equipment powering the internet accounts for 9.4% of electricity demand in the U.S., and 5.3% of global demand, according to research by David Sarokin at online pay-for-answers service Uclue. Worldwide, that's 868 billion kilowatt-hours per year. The total includes the energy used by desktop computers and monitors (which makes up two-thirds of the total), plus other energy sinks including modems, routers, data processing equipment and cooling equipment."
Submission + - Archbishop claims condoms cause aids (bbc.co.uk)
iceph03nix writes: Recently the Archbishop of Mozambique claimed that several European countries were manufacturing condoms intentionally infected with the AIDs virus. He claims they did this "in order to finish quickly the African people." He also makes statements as to their intention to further colonize Africa. Is this just an attempt to promote abstinence over safe sex or is their some sort of conspiracy.
Submission + - NY State AG Taking Heat for Secret Porn Plan (wired.com)
Billosaur writes: "Wired is reporting that defense lawyers have become a bit wary of NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's plan to engage MediaDefender to help track down child-porn and its users on the internet. They are worried that the partnership could lead to favoritism in the AG's office later on if MediaDefender were to violate NY state law in the future. There is also concern that such a contract would lead to the incentive to "get results," leading to a host of legal problems. There is also the question of privacy, given the recent hack of MediaDefender's email system that led to the agreement coming to light. "Generally it is not looked upon favorably when a prosecutor engages a private company to collect evidence in a case or to ... partner with in a criminal case," says San Francisco public defender Jeff Adachi."
Submission + - MIT Hacks Harvard Mascot for Halo Release (gizmodo.com) 1
Gabriel J. Michael writes: In honor of the release of Halo 3, MIT Hackers dressed up the statue of John Harvard at Harvard University.
Submission + - MIT Student arrested at Airport for LED Art (google.com)
An anonymous reader writes: An MIT student was arrested today at Logan Airport because she "had a computer circuit board and wiring in plain view over a black hooded sweat shirt she was wearing" when talking to a staffer at an information booth. She was visiting the airport to greet an arriving friend. She was wearing the shirt at a Career Fair earlier to stand out, and apparently didn't change before entering the airport.
The police believed the object was a bomb and she was surrounded by a group of officers with submachine guns. Didn't the city learn its lesson from the Aqua Teen Hunger Scare?
Submission + - MIT Student arrested for wearing circuit board art (3232zoo.com)
muellerr1 writes: An MIT student was arrested at Boston's Logan International Airport for wearing a suspicious device. She claimed it was artwork, and she was wearing it to impress potential employers at Career Day. Police said she's lucky she didn't end up in a body bag.
Submission + - MIT Student Arrested for "Bomb Art"
Damocles the Elder writes: Apparently Boston remains a place where you shouldn't show off your computer parts. According to a pair of local news outlets, an MIT student was arrested for wearing what's being called "fake bomb art" in a Boston airport. FTA:
Star Simpson, 19, had a computer circuit board and wiring in plain view over a black hooded sweat shirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj. Scott Pare, the commanding officer at the airport. "She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," Pare said at a news conference. Simpson was "extremely lucky she followed the instructions or deadly force would have been used...[s]he's lucky to be in a cell as opposed to the morgue."
