Comment Re:I am. (Score 1) 358
I am also still alive, I've been licensed for a year and 4 months, and at only 32 years old, I expect to be around for quite a while longer.
Comment Re:Was this article all a mistake? (Score 3, Funny) 688
Thank god. VB 6 is horrid. I am still trying to rehabilitate people who spent to many years programming in it.
Comment Re:Was this article all a mistake? (Score 1) 688
That's the cool thing, I don't have to be careful, there is this large company called Microsoft that does that for me. For the record, my code is currently running on every flavor of windows from XP to Win7, (OK no XP 64 bit, but everything else) and it works just fine, I have never had an incompatibility. Now I do have a couple of apps that also run under Linux, and mono has a few rough edges, but it gets better all the time.
Comment Re:How are you screwed? (Score 5, Insightful) 271
which is a life time in terms of technology
A lifetime in terms of computer technology. In terms of phone technology, where you might install a phone system and not really touch it for 10 years... 2 years is very short.
Comment Re:Dear God (Score 4, Informative) 271
not affecting the majority does not imply not screwing the userbase
Yes it does.
Customers are not only the majority slice.
No, but the customer base is. Hence the term base, as in the most substantial part; not the fringe elements or corner cases.
Actually the userbase is all of the users.
Comment Re:Time for a serious effort on renewables (Score 2, Insightful) 964
The NIMBYs are going "I told you so" around Tokyo right about now.
Only because they are idiots. So far no one has died from radiation, and it looks like no one will. Instead we have 11000 confirmed dead and another 17000 missing from the disaster, but because people are idiots they only talk about the damn reactors. We are going to have more deaths this summer from rolling blackouts in a heat wave, then will happen because of these reactors.
Submission + - India's $35 Android 7-in Tablet to Hit in Jan '11 (tomshardware.com) 2
indogiree writes: Link: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/india-android-tablet-35-indiapad,11255.html
"Engadget reports that India has just awarded the manufacturing contract to HCL Technologies. The first shipment will supposedly only contain the 7-inch model and is set to arrive on January 10. It's unclear if the $35 price has stuck or whether India's been successful in plans to eventually drive the price down to $10 with the help of large orders and government subsidies."
Additional Info: http://nexus404.com/Blog/2010/09/11/sakshat-tablet-from-india-gets-a-release-date-the-cheap-tablet-from-india-will-be-officially-out-by-january-10-2011/
"HCL Technologies plans to initially produce 100,000 units. Among the key features of this India-based tablet include 2GB of RAM, web-conferencing, PDF reader unzip, WiFi, camera and USB connectivity.
The Sakshat tablet will be available in an array of screen sizes. It will come out in 5, 7 and 9 screen sizes."
"Engadget reports that India has just awarded the manufacturing contract to HCL Technologies. The first shipment will supposedly only contain the 7-inch model and is set to arrive on January 10. It's unclear if the $35 price has stuck or whether India's been successful in plans to eventually drive the price down to $10 with the help of large orders and government subsidies."
Additional Info: http://nexus404.com/Blog/2010/09/11/sakshat-tablet-from-india-gets-a-release-date-the-cheap-tablet-from-india-will-be-officially-out-by-january-10-2011/
"HCL Technologies plans to initially produce 100,000 units. Among the key features of this India-based tablet include 2GB of RAM, web-conferencing, PDF reader unzip, WiFi, camera and USB connectivity.
The Sakshat tablet will be available in an array of screen sizes. It will come out in 5, 7 and 9 screen sizes."
Submission + - Microsoft Zombies Dance on iPhone's Grave
theodp writes: If you're Microsoft, what do you do when grizzly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom? TechFlash reports that Microsoft celebrated the completion and upcoming launch of Windows Phone 7 on Friday with a 'Windows Phone Pride Parade' complete with zombies, a 'Thriller' Dance, and pallbearers carrying a giant iPhone. 'These kind of 'ship' parties are common throughout the industry,' explained Microsoft communications VP Frank Shaw. 'It's a great way for teams that have worked overtime to create a kick-ass product blow off steam and have a little fun.' More pics at Technolog.
Submission + - Rocket Engine: Plugin-free Web Game Dev Platform (rocketpack.fi)
An anonymous reader writes: Finnish game developers Rocket Pack have built a browser based games development platform dubbed Rocket Engine. The blurb from the site touts Rocket Engine as being 'built by and for professional game developers, Rocket Engine is the only fully integrated solution for plugin-free browser game development'. Focused on rapid development and deployment, it supports all major browsers from IE8 to Firefox to mobile Safari without the need for browser plugins such as Flash or Silverlight. Be sure to check out the demo video.
Submission + - Wearable Air Filter Transforms CO2 Into Energy (ecouterre.com) 2
An anonymous reader writes: Brazilian designers Martina Pagura and Pedro Nakazato Andrade have created an oxygen-filtering breathing device that removes carbon dioxide from the air, stores it in a battery-like device, and then converts it into electricity for later use. Dubbed the W/Air, the mask pumps in fresh oxygen while distilling carbon dioxide from respiration and the environment. It is capable of producing enough energy to power a cellphone or portable music player.
Microsoft Talks Back To Google's Security Claims 528
Kilrah_il writes "Yesterday there was a piece about Google ditching Windows for internal use because of security concerns. Now Microsoft is fighting back, claiming its products are the most secure — more than Google's and Apple's. 'When it comes to security, even hackers admit we're doing a better job making our products more secure than anyone else. And it's not just the hackers; third-party influentials and industry leaders like Cisco tell us regularly that our focus and investment continues to surpass others.'"
Comment Re:New from Gawker Games: Grand Theft iPhone! (Score 1) 1204
How is the LOST iPhone stolen goods? It was lost. The guy who found it reported it to Apple, and they didn't know what to do with it. He then sold it to Gizmodo. The phone wasn't stolen, it wasn't taken at gunpoint from the engineer, it was FOUND on the floor! Now do I agree that selling it was the right thing to do? No, not really. But it's not stolen.
Um read the parent...
property laws that go back to the 1800s that say if you find something worth more than $400 and use it for your own purposes you can be charged with Grand Theft
He found it, did not turn it over to the appropriate place then sold it. He stole it.
Police Seize Computers From Gizmodo Editor 1204
secretcurse writes "California police have served a search warrant and seized computers from Jason Chen, the Gizmodo editor who unveiled the 4th-generation iPhone to the world. Gawker Media's COO has replied claiming that the warrant was served illegally due to Mr. Chen's status as a journalist. The plot thickens..."
Comment Re:A false choice, of course... (Score 1) 2044
And that is why we insure groups of people and not individual people. Yes he may have a $1000 a month health issue, but I generally never go above my deductible. The idea with the bill is to force everyone to buy insurance so that us cheap people balance out the expensive people.
Also, that way we can't just skip getting insurance until something goes wrong with us, so we have to pay into the system during our healthy years.
Why Computers Suck At Math 626
antdude writes "This TechRadar article explains why computers suck at math, and how simple calculations can be a matter of life and death, like in the case of a Patriot defense system failing to take down a Scud missile attack: 'The calculation of where to look for confirmation of an incoming missile requires knowledge of the system time, which is stored as the number of 0.1-second ticks since the system was started up. Unfortunately, 0.1 seconds cannot be expressed accurately as a binary number, so when it's shoehorned into a 24-bit register — as used in the Patriot system — it's out by a tiny amount. But all these tiny amounts add up. At the time of the missile attack, the system had been running for about 100 hours, or 3,600,000 ticks to be more specific. Multiplying this count by the tiny error led to a total error of 0.3433 seconds, during which time the Scud missile would cover 687m. The radar looked in the wrong place to receive a confirmation and saw no target. Accordingly no missile was launched to intercept the incoming Scud — and 28 people paid with their lives.'"
