Comment Re:This is ridiculous (Score 1) 217
Thanks for the car analogy. I had this long-winded post written up about the "entitlement" of receiving the authenticator with the game, but I think your post responds in a much better manner.
Comment Re:This is ridiculous (Score 5, Informative) 217
If you really want to be correct, income can be either net or gross. Gross income is revenue. Net income is profit. Because he didn't state what kind of income, he's technically still correct. </pedantic>
Comment Re:This is ridiculous (Score 2) 217
You don't need a phone to run the mobile app. The fact that you can run android apps on a SDK on the computer has been known for a while now. See: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/713865-How-to-get-Battle-net-Mobile-Authenticator-COMPLETELY-free
Comment Re:This is ridiculous (Score 2) 217
Hacked accounts are a loss for Blizzard. Not only do they have to staff GMs to handles these requests, they have to restore items and more often than not they can't remove the stolen items. I firmly believe the $6.50 pays for the keyfob and the postage, and that's it. If they can break even, its a net gain for them since they can reduce the GM ticket queue and free up these expenses and time for other things. Remember how they laid off 600 employees in April? (http://wow.joystiq.com/2012/04/27/the-lawbringer-autonomous-systems-deal-with-customer-service-pr/) That was a reduction in operating costs for supporting these types of requests.
Comment Re:This is ridiculous (Score 5, Insightful) 217
Right, because the keyfobs and shipping are free to Blizzard.
How does this guy know that Blizz made $26 mil from them? Does he have access to the sales reports? Remember, "the complaint accuses Blizzard of making $26 million in Authenticator sales." Accusing someone of making money and them -actually- making that much money is two completely different things.
Comment Re:Free mobile version is free (Score 4, Informative) 217
They introduced a "restore" feature a while back that allows you to migrate devices without removing two-factor authentication. Basically, you enter the restoration code into the new phone/device and both devices will continue to generate the same seeded code. This can also be used to extend the authenticator to multiple devices like having a smartphone and a tablet both generate the same code. This is just an ease-of-use feature, especially when sometimes you can't find one of the devices you installed your authenticator on.
Comment This is ridiculous (Score 5, Insightful) 217
Not only does the $6.50 help cover postage and pay for the dongle, its completely optional and Blizzard makes the app available to as many platforms as they can. You can even install the authenticator on a Android simulator on a computer.
I'm in shock as to how entitled this person is. I honestly just can't fathom how he can claim that Blizzard "makes money" off these authenticators.
Mozilla: Browser Ballot Glitch Cost Us 9m Firefox Downloads 90
nk497 writes with this selection from PC Pro magazine: "Microsoft's failure to include the EU browser ballot in Windows 7 SP1 cost Mozilla as many as 9 million Firefox downloads, the organisation's head of business affairs revealed. Harvey Anderson said daily downloads of Firefox fell by 63% to a low of 20,000 before the ballot was reinstated, and after the fix, downloads jumped by 150% to 50,000 a day. Over the 18 months the ballot was missing, that adds up to six to nine million downloads — although it's tough to tell if the difference has more to do with Chrome's success or the lack of advertising on Windows systems. The EU is currently investigating the 'glitch,' and Microsoft faces a massive fine for failing to include the screen, which offers download details for different browsers to European Windows users, as part of measures ordered by the EU to balance IE's dominance." Reader Dupple points to coverage at ZDnet, too.
Microsoft Urges Businesses To Get Off XP 727
An anonymous reader writes "It's approximately 11 years since Windows XP was unveiled, and this week Microsoft was still at it trying to convince users that it's time to upgrade. A post on the Windows For Your Business Blog calls on businesses to start XP migrations now. Microsoft cites the main reason as being that support for XP ends in April 2014, and 'most new hardware options will likely not support the Windows XP operating system.' If you run Windows Vista, Microsoft argues that it's time to 'start planning' the move to Windows 8. As this article points out, it's not uncommon to hear about people still running XP at work."
Submission + - WIFI/cell signal blocking maternity clothes 1
musikit writes: My wife and I have recently found out she is pregnant with our first child. She thinks that WIFI and cell signals pose a big risk to the child, or maybe she just wants to reduce any impact while in the womb. Today in Ikebukuro Tokyo she bought "RF blocking maternity belt" but on testing it, it did not block out our cell phones. I looked (briefly) into it and discovered http://www.bellyarmor.com/ that apparently has this type of wear. Can anyone recommend this or other brands? is it effective? is she off her rocker? Most appreciate the help.
Submission + - Google moves into NASCAR with its autonomous driving (google.com) 3
squiggly12 writes: It seems that NASCAR is ready to take the driver out of the car and let Google take their place. I for one welcome our autonomous vehicle driving overlords.
In Xhengzhou, Thousands Vie For Foxconn Jobs 386
hypnosec writes "Foxconn is supposedly looking to enhance its workforce in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou and despite the less-than-satisfactory working conditions in the company, thousands of aspirants are lining up for jobs in its factories. Not caring about the harsh working conditions at Foxconn, thousands of people congregated outside a labor office in Zhengzhou, the largest city of Henan province in North central China, impatiently waiting for a chance to work at Foxconn. Foxconn, which is engaged in assembling iPhones and iPads for Apple, is planning to hire an additional 100000 employees as it is aiming at augmenting its iPhone production."
Comment Re:Thieves? (Score 1) 135
I would love it if, after connecting the cable, it detects the stolen MSIN, takes the phone, and notifies the police.
Researchers Demonstrate Quantum Levitation 133
UnknownSoldier writes "Wired reports that researchers at Tel Aviv University have discovered you can 'lock' a magnetic field into place with a superconductor. They have a very cool demonstration of a frozen puck and some of the neat things you can do with it while its orientation remains locked but its location is movable. Might we someday see high speed trains that will be 'impossible' to tip over, or a new generation of batteries with this technology?"
Ask Slashdot: Passively Cooled Hardware For Game Emulation? 229
akutz writes "I recently sold a 2011 Mac mini on Craigslist because after using it to rip my Blu-ray collection, I tried to use it as an emulation station connected to my TV. However, emulators like Dolphin, BSNES, etc. would cause the Mac mini's fans to spin up like turbine engines — much too loud for my liking. I ask, therefore: What hardware would you recommend for building a passively cooled mini-system that will serve as a media center's emulation station?"
