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Role Playing (Games)

Submission + - The Life of a Chinese Gold Farmer

Submitted by
jellie
jellie writes: "The New York Times Magazine has a story about real-money trading in massively multiplayer online games titled "The Life of a Chinese Gold Farmer". The author provides some background of the practice and interviews several players. To describe the scale of the virtual-money industry, the author mentions a 2001 paper by an economist from the University of Indiana: "Updated and more broadly applied, Castronova's results [based on his paper from 2001] suggest an aggregate gross domestic product for today's virtual economies of anywhere from $7 billion to $12 billion, a range that puts the economic output of the online gamer population in the company of Bolivia's, Albania's and Nepal's.""
Democrats

Submission + - Obama rips Clinton on outsourcing (nydailynews.com)

Submitted by
slashdotlurker
slashdotlurker writes: "Senator Obama's supposed to be secret scoop on Senator Clinton and Bill Clinton's secret dealings with Indian interests was released to the media by the Clinton campaign and has made for some embarrassing reading given Senator Obama's previous commitment to indulge in a different kind of politics. The Obama campaign has tried to mollify the Indian-American community, but the impact of the episode is likely to be minimal given the low level of support he enjoys among Indian-Americans.

However, the scoop does raise some questions about Senator Clinton's record and the issue of outsourcing. This will probably need to be addressed and not just brushed aside."
Businesses

Submission + - Comcast Blocking FedoraProject.org

Submitted by Kainaw
Kainaw writes: For well over a week, I have not been able to access FedoraProject.org from home (where I use Comcast high-speed Internet). I can access it from work easily. I thought it was a blip for a few days, but then started asking around. Nobody here can access FedoraProject.org through Comcast. I've called and emailed them in the morning and evening for the last three days and I haven't received any worthwhile response. They just tell me to unplug my modem and plug it back in. So, now I'm thinking about the current push by companies like Comcast to charge for preferred Internet service. Is this the first step — blocking Linux sites to push out those "free software" freaks who demand an equal Internet for all?
Enlightenment

Submission + - Bicycling from Alaska to Panama for Charity (cyclingforacause.com)

Submitted by
MBrichacek
MBrichacek writes: "This summer, instead of taking classes or getting a job like other college students typically do, Michal Brichacek has decided to do something radically different. He has decided instead to ride a bicycle from Anchorage, Alaska to Panama City, Panama in order to raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He plans on covering a distance of over 12,000 km in just 120 days and plans on raising $1 for every kilometer he covers. Currently in the city of San Francisco, he has already covered a distance of 5,300 km and has experienced countless adventures. You can check out daily journal updates and photos on his website or even make a donation if your feeling extra generous!"
Software

Submission + - Bush names anti-open source lobbyist as counselor (pressesc.com)

Submitted by
Citizen Pain
Citizen Pain writes: "President Bush today appointed as his counselor a man who received $820,000 from Microsoft to lobby during negotiations over its antitrust settlement as well as to oppose the use, especially within the government, of "open source" systems such as Linux. Enron also paid him $700,000 in 2001 alone to lobby on the "California energy crisis" and thwart efforts to re-regulate the Western electricity market through price controls."
Space

Submission + - New Scientist Retracts "Puddles on Mars" s (newscientist.com)

Submitted by
Geoffrey.landis
Geoffrey.landis writes: "New Scientist magazine retracted a story stating that scientists analyzing MER rover images found evidence of "puddles" of standing water at the Opportunity rover site in Meridiani crater on Mars.

The researchers quoted by the magazine were apparently unfamiliar with MER rover images, and were unaware that the "puddles" they reported were sloped at an angle of nearly 30 degrees. New Scientist had not gotten comments on the story from scientists on the MER mission before publishing because calls from the reporter "were not immediately returned" over the weekend.

New Scientist reports: "In the end, it was savvy readers who first pointed the error out to us over the weekend, sending in panoramic images pinpointing the location of the purported puddles. Though it seemed clear from those images that the terrain was sloped, I found it hard to believe that the researchers themselves could have missed such an obvious — and crucial — detail. But apparently they had, analysing just the smaller images without understanding the larger context of their surroundings — missing the forest for the trees. "I want to retract the claim in the paper that the smooth area we discussed was "standing liquid water"', Levin acknowledged on Tuesday." Earlier Slashdot story"
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - NC man fined for using vegetable oil as fuel (newsobserver.com)

Submitted by
mdsolar
mdsolar writes: "The News and Observer reports on an Charlotte, NC driver who has been fined $1000 for not paying a fuel tax when he fills his tank with vegetable oil. Perhaps the funniest quote is this one:

"With the high cost of fuel right now, the department does recognize that a lot of people are looking for relief," said Reggie Little, assistant director of the motor fuel taxes division. "We're not here to hurt the small guy, we're just trying to make sure that the playing field is level."
since the field is so plainly tilted against Arab oil interests."
Communications

Verizon Accused of Slighting Copper Infrastructure 249

Posted by kdawson from the don't-have-to-share-the-fiber dept.
High Fibre writes "Regulatory hearings in Virginia raise questions about Verizon's stewardship of its copper infrastructure, with workers accusing the telecom of cheaping out on maintenance in Virginia due to its preoccupation with its FiOS network. Ars covers the fracas and gives more time to Verizon than the local media do. From Ars: 'During testimony given before the Virginia State Corporation Commission last week... workers painted a dire picture of the state of Verizon's copper network, saying that the equipment required to make repairs — including tools and cable — is not even available.' Verizon disagrees, saying that while it's a challenge to manage and maintain both networks, they are not neglecting their copper infrastructure." A union official gave written testimony about the Verizon problems, presumably so that individual workers would not have to testify in public and open themselves to retribution.
Privacy

Submission + - States rebel against Real ID Act (lawbean.com)

Submitted by
Spamicles
Spamicles writes: "Four states have passed laws that reject federal rules regarding a national identification system. This casts serious doubt on the future of the 2005 Real ID Act that goes into effect in December 2009. New Hampshire and Oklahoma joined Montana and Washington state in the passage of statutes that refute guidelines set forth in the Act. However, these actions could eventually lead to drivers licenses issued in these states to not be accepted as official identification when boarding airplanes or accessing federal buildings. In addition to these four states, members of the Idaho legislature intentionally left out money in the budget to comply with the Act."
Education

Submission + - History of MECC and Oregon Trail

Submitted by Gammu
Gammu writes: For the past thirty years, many children have been raised with a heavy diet MECC games like Oregon Trail, Odell Lake and Lemonade Stand. These products weren't developed by a major game developer. Rather, they were developed by the state of Minnesota for use in their schools. What began as an initiative to get Minnesota students ready for the micro-computer age turned into a multi-million dollar a year business whose products are still used in US schools even a decade after MECC was sold off to another developer. Read about the history of MECC (and especially Oregon Trail) at Silicon User.
Role Playing (Games)

Submission + - Gamer sues gold farmers

Submitted by navygeek
navygeek writes: Tired of contending with gold farmers in Blizzard's online sensation, World of Warcraft, gamer Antonio Hernadez has filed a class-action lawsuit against gold farming outfit IGE.

The attorney representing Hernandez in the case, Richard Newsome, told The Escapist, "Guys like Tony [Hernandez, the plaintiff] have paid their $15 for some entertainment, and IGE is polluting that entertainment. It's kind of like, if someone pays for a ticket to go see a movie, and if someone else comes in behind them and kicks their seat, you can get them to stop doing that."
Details on the lawsuit may be found at Gamespot and The Escapist. The actual complaint can be found here, PDF warning.
Displays

Submission + - Man sues Gateway because he can't read EULA

Submitted by Scoopy
Scoopy writes: California resident Dennis Sheehan took Gateway to small claims court after he reportedly received a defective computer and little technical support from the PC manufacturer. Gateway responded with their own lawyer and a 2-inch thick stack of legal docs, and claimed that Sheehan violated the EULA, which requires that users give up their right to sue and settle these cases in private arbitration. Sheehan responded that he never read the EULA, which pops up when the user first starts the computer, because the graphics were scrambled — precisely the problem he had complained to tech support in the first place. A judge sided with Sheehan on May 24 and the case will proceed to small claims court.

A lawyer is quoted as saying that Sheehan, a high school dropout who is arguing his own case, is in for a world of hurt: 'This poor guy now faces daunting reality of having to litigate this on appeal against Gateway...By winning, he's lost.'
United States

Submission + - Ford passes Toyota in vehicle quality rankings

Submitted by Vicissidude
Vicissidude writes: Ford supplanted Toyota as the leader of the pack in initial quality rankings, taking the top spot in five of 19 segments in the 2007 survey by J.D. Power and Associates, released on Wednesday. Porsche again dominated the overall ranking of brands, averaging 91 problems per 100 vehicles as it had last year. That compared with a 2007 industry average of 125 problems per 100 vehicles. Last year it was 124. Ford Motor Co. earned segment awards for the Ford Mustang, Lincoln Mark LT, Lincoln MKZ, Mercury Milan and Mazda MX-5 Miata. Toyota Motor Corp., which grabbed the top spot in 11 segments last year, captured only three this year, as did Mercedes-Benz. Toyota's 2007 awards were for the 4Runner, Sequoia and Tacoma. Ford's Lincoln brand took third in overall nameplate rankings, averaging 100 problems per 100 vehicles. It was behind Porsche and Toyota's Lexus luxury brand, which averaged 94 problems per 100 vehicles.

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