Comment Re:Bypass the VCs and Code (Score 1) 368
Agree. I can't wait to see where World of Goo goes, a game better than most in 2008 made by a team of... 3.
My wife's the accountant, so I can't comment about Sarbanes-Oxley myself.
Comment Re:Wii got it right (Score 1) 583
Yes, it was after the Wii tipped over the first time that I discovered what the convenient clear plastic disc was for...
Comment Re:Wii got it right (Score 1) 583
I'm not about to re-test the concept, but my Wii once tipped over when it was playing a game, and the disc inside survived. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a little scratch on the disc as a result of that, because it made a nasty high-pitched plastic-on-plastic noise when it did that.
Ditto when I accidentally tip the Macbook when I'm getting up and there's a disc spinning inside of it.
That said, none of the discs in the above two devices were rendered "permanently unplayable" or otherwise unreadable, so the question is, does that make this lawsuit legit?
Comment Time Machine + Mozy (Score 1) 393
Mozy.com does continuous uploads of your stuff to their server - all you need to do is remember to keep the laptop open so that it has a chance to do the upload.
In case I lose data and there is not a fire at my home, I also have a hard drive for Time Machine. However, I don't keep the hard drive in the living room, so I actually back up with Time Machine less often than with Mozy.
Comment In-person, using a touch-screen (Score 1) 709
And then I went to Grant Park, watched Obama win, and then smiled as all my conservative friends post on Facebook that they would vow to move to Canada to avoid some sort of oncoming Obama Socialist Revolution.
Wii Can't Replace Actual Exercise 148
Next Generation notes the results of a study into the health benefits of playing the Nintendo Wii. According to the University of Liverpool research, Wii Tennis can't compare with the real thing. "The result showed that the youths burned 60 calories (in nutrition terms) more an hour playing Wii, a 2% increase in the amount of energy burned versus the Xbox 360 players. The study is quoted as saying that 'these increases were of insufficient intensity to contribute towards recommendations for children's daily exercise,' and that active gaming using the Wii is no replacement for actual sports."
Submission + - Yahoo To Serve Adverts In PDFs (bbc.co.uk)
Placid writes: "According to the BBC, Yahoo! has signed a deal to provide adverts within PDF documents. The article states:
Unlike Web Browsers, the advertisements will not appear if the PDF document is printed."The service will allow publishers to make money by including adverts linked to the content of a PDF document in a panel at the side of the page.
It is Yahoo's latest way of expanding the places it can advertise online following deals with the auction site Ebay and the cable TV group Comcast.
Dynamic adverts can be changed for particular audiences or rotated to make sure that a particular user never sees the same advertisement twice.
Universal and Sony Plan "Free" Music Service 98
Damon Tog writes "Macworld reports that Universal Music Group has enlisted the help of Sony to join forces in a new music service. The price of the subscription is expected to be built-in to the cost of digital music players, leaving the music 'free' to the consumer. 'The plan is still in flux and faces several hurdles, BusinessWeek notes. Among them is finding a business model that allows the hardware makers to subsidize the cost of the music. In addition, the labels have tried to develop their own online music services before without success.'"
Man Claims iPod Set His Pants Aflame 270
alphadogg writes to mention that an Atlanta man is claiming an iPod Nano actually caught fire in his pants creating flames that lasted 15 seconds and reached up as far as his chest. Apple hasn't responded to the claims yet other than sending him a packet to return the iPod.
Submission + - Iowa Wind Farm to use Earth as Battery (businessweek.com)
lpangelrob writes: A group of local utilities in Iowa is building a system to indirectly store unused wind power in the ground, according to a story in BusinessWeek. The system will store excess wind energy produced at night 3,000 feet beneath the ground by powering a generator that pumps compressed air into layers of sandstone. When demand for energy is greater, the compressed air returns to the surface and assists a natural gas-powered turbine, improving the turbine's efficiency.
Similar systems are being examined in Texas, New Mexico and the Gulf Coast.
Similar systems are being examined in Texas, New Mexico and the Gulf Coast.
The DRM Scorecard 543
An anonymous reader writes "InfoWeek blogger Alex Wolfe put together a scorecard which makes the obvious but interesting point that, when you list every major DRM technology implemented to "protect" music and video, they've all been cracked. This includes Apple's FairPlay, Microsoft's Windows Media DRM, the old-style Content Scrambling System (CSS) used on early DVDs and the new AACS for high-definition DVDs. And of course there was the Sony Rootkit disaster of 2005. Can anyone think of a DRM technology which hasn't been cracked, and of course this begs the obvious question: Why doesn't the industry just give up and go DRM-free?"
Submission + - Netflix Down. Unknown Return
DefaultJohnson writes: Netflix is down for the count, and it is not known when it will be back up. I just called the number from WHOIS and asked the operator. They are thinking things may be back up tomorrow, but are not positive. She could not give me any details as to why the site was down.
Submission + - Nintendo DS improving Safeco Field experience (cnn.com)
lpangelrob writes: The Nintendo-owned Seattle Mariners debuted a new feature for fans with Nintendo DS and DS Lites in Safeco Field this year; the Nintendo Fan Network. The Associated Press has a write-up of the new system, accessible through Sports Illustrated.
The Nintendo Fan Network allows users with DS systems to order food and drinks (with the tip included), watch the game live, and access scores and trivia from any seat in the ballpark. The program is still considered to be in beta; few advertisements have been run for the system, and a webpage for the network does not exist. The cost to upload the program onto the DS is $5 per game, or $30 for a set of 10 games.
If fan reaction is positive and the system continues to work properly, Nintendo plans on expanding the program to other stadiums in the league.
The Nintendo Fan Network allows users with DS systems to order food and drinks (with the tip included), watch the game live, and access scores and trivia from any seat in the ballpark. The program is still considered to be in beta; few advertisements have been run for the system, and a webpage for the network does not exist. The cost to upload the program onto the DS is $5 per game, or $30 for a set of 10 games.
If fan reaction is positive and the system continues to work properly, Nintendo plans on expanding the program to other stadiums in the league.
Submission + - Wrestler's Wikipidea page altered before death! (yahoo.com)
sirrube writes: "On June 24, 2007, Chris Benoit, a WWE wrestler was found dead in a bizarre murder suicide that included the loss of his wife and son. Hours before the death was reported by the police the Wikipedia entry about him was altered reporting the death of his wife.
Investigators are looking into who altered pro wrestler Chris Benoit's entry to mention his wife's death hours before authorities discovered the bodies of the couple and their 7-year-old son.
MSN News &&
Yahoo News"
Submission + - Camino 1.5 Released
lpangelrob writes: Camino, the open-source Cocoa-based web browser, has released version 1.5 after a year of work. New features include an upgrade to the Gecko 1.8.1 rendering engine, implementation of OS X spellcheck for form fields, session saving, an improved pop-up blocker, auto RSS feed detection and improved tab preferences.
The main goal of the Camino browser is to combine useful services available only to OS X users, such as Address Book, Keychain, and Bonjour, with the Gecko rendering engine. Camino 1.5 requires OS X 10.3 to run.
The main goal of the Camino browser is to combine useful services available only to OS X users, such as Address Book, Keychain, and Bonjour, with the Gecko rendering engine. Camino 1.5 requires OS X 10.3 to run.
