Comment Upgrades... (Score 1) 549
Last year I flew around 115K. Domestically, mostly in First, because of free upgrades. Internationally, upgrades are harder, but if you have status, it gets easier.
Comment I switched, that's worth something, right? (Score 3) 133
I switched, that's worth something, right?
Comment CueCat+ebay=pure profit (Score 1) 184
Aahh... this brings back great memories! Back in High School, a mate and I cleaned out a couple of local radio shacks, made minor hardware mods to the beasts, and sold them on eBay.
This was a great entrepreneurial experience!
Submission + - Sony says no to porn on Blu-ray Disc
jcatcw writes: Sony Corp. says it will not allow its disc-replicating subsidiary, Sony DADC Global, to handle adult film titles. The decision could have wide implications for Blu-ray Disc. Some analysts say it could eventually mean that Blu-ray loses out to HD-DVD in the battle to become the next-generation DVD format, in a repeat performance of the Betamax vs VHS competition. Nonetheless, a sequel to the classic Deb Does Dallas should be out on both Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD this spring.
Submission + - 'You're hired. Don't forget to bring a chair'
netbuzz writes: "You just landed a job at an exciting new Silicon Valley company and the boss asks you to ... bring your own chair? Guess this really isn't the '90s anymore. Yankee parsimony has replaced conspicuous consumption, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle. One exec even said "no" to T-shirts. ... Tell me foosball's still OK.
Blog:
http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/1061 9
SF Chron story:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/ a/2007/01/21/MNG0JNMFQE1.DTL"
Blog:
http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/106
SF Chron story:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c
Submission + - UN Univ. Report Confirms Open Source Superior
Edoko writes: "Open source software is a viable, and economic alternative to Microsoft, according to a report published by United Nations University."
The report is here: http://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/pb/unu_pb_20 06_01.pdf
Among the many recommendations is that "All Member States and other stakeholders should have the right to access public information made available in electronic format by the organizations and no one should be obliged to acquire a particular type of software in order to exercise such a right"
Also: "The Secretary- General should take the necessary measures to establish a data repository of UNESCO Free & Open Source Software Portal"
A summary is reported by the BBC here: http://http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/627065 7.stm"
The report is here: http://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/pb/unu_pb_2
Among the many recommendations is that "All Member States and other stakeholders should have the right to access public information made available in electronic format by the organizations and no one should be obliged to acquire a particular type of software in order to exercise such a right"
Also: "The Secretary- General should take the necessary measures to establish a data repository of UNESCO Free & Open Source Software Portal"
A summary is reported by the BBC here: http://http//news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/62706
Submission + - The Dangers of Misspelling Google
Xenographic writes: "Ever wonder how people can continue to rack up ever higher amounts of spyware on their computers? This article at GNUCitizen shows how many bits of spyware will own you should you misspell Goggle.com, err, Google.com in the wrong browser. Let's just hope you use a safe browser (i.e. not IE)."
Google Checkout Sees Poor Customer Satisfaction 191
Aryabhata writes "Ars Technica reports on a survey by investment firm J.P. Morgan Securities, stating that Google Checkout has had a relatively quick and modest market penetration of six percent since its launch in June of 2006, but lags behind in customer satisfaction vs PayPal. On the customer satisfaction front, only 18.8 percent reported having a 'good' or 'very good' experience with Google Checkout, while 81.2 percent indicated a fair to poor experience customer experience compared to PayPal's 44.2 percent reporting good experiences. Some users have reported anecdotally that Google Checkout mistakenly canceled sales without warning or that the checkout process took too long."
Submission + - Windows 386 Promo Video
jordanlund writes: "Back in the late 80s I found myself selling hardware and software. Microsoft sent out a promotional video explaining the benefits of Windows 386.
A buddy of mine spared the tape from destruction and digitized it, I down sampled it to a form that could be posted online and the rest, as they say, is history.
Be warned, once you watch it you can't un-watch it. Around the 7 minute mark the production goes from stale corporate Mission Impossible knock off to something... else entirely.
Link to full video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4915875929 930836239
Link to the 7 minute mark for the impatient:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4915875929 930836239#0h7m"
A buddy of mine spared the tape from destruction and digitized it, I down sampled it to a form that could be posted online and the rest, as they say, is history.
Be warned, once you watch it you can't un-watch it. Around the 7 minute mark the production goes from stale corporate Mission Impossible knock off to something... else entirely.
Link to full video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=491587592
Link to the 7 minute mark for the impatient:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=491587592
Submission + - Windows tax now optional at HP
An anonymous reader writes: I've read alot lately about the lack of pre-installed Linux on new machines, and the virtually mandatory Windows tax that customers must pay with most new computers. I haven't found anything WRT the former, but apparently it is possible to opt-out of the latter (up to $100 in some cases) when customizing the options for small and medium business level notebooks from HP's online store. I'll likely take advantage of that option (if it's still available) if/when I'm ready to buy a new notebook.
Submission + - World Safecracking Champion Takes Down Bank Vault
Bob Slidell writes: "http://technofart.com/index.php/2007/01/20/world-s afecracking-champion-takes-down-bank-vault-in-5-mi nutes-19-seconds-video/
Keep in mind that he's doing this entirely BY TOUCH-no drilling, no x-ray machines, no thermic lance, just his fingers. Jeff Sitar is, essentially, the world's greatest living safecracker. He has won the Lockmaster's International Safecracking Competition SEVEN times.
In this video from the Discovery Channel show 'More Than Human', they have Jeff set up with 3 safe dials, each of which has a certain object attached to the ends of them (their spindles) which barely touches a post at a specific number on the dial: one dial, the easiest one, has a toothpick attached to it, another dial has a post-it note attached to it, and the third, and most difficult one, has a feather attached to it.
The next thing they do is have him try cracking a locked gun safe, which he does in 4 minutes and 57 seconds, and lastly they set him up at a real bank in New Jersey (they won't say which one) to see if he can crack their vault: 5 minutes and 19 seconds. Cool"
NYC 911 to Accept Cellphone Pics and Video 251
SpaceAdmiral writes "New York City is developing a plan to allow images to be sent to 911 emergency operators from cellphones. This will likely give emergency operators better information to pass along to responders. They're also planning on implementing a program of street-corner video cameras, as seen in the city of London. According to John A. Feinblatt, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's criminal justice coordinator: 'The more information that the police have and the more quickly that they get it, the more likely that they are going to fight a crime.'" How practical do you think it is to expand this sort of project to cities across the country? Moreover, is it worth the expense?
Submission + - Math Education: An Inconvenient Truth (shocking!!)
thr4wn writes: Apparently, some elementary math curriculums are no longer concerned if students can multiply or divide well. Instead of teaching the standard algorithms for multiplication and division, they teach some other less-efficient algorithms — of which, some are vehemently abominable! This is hopefully not a sign of some national trend, but is nonetheless scary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr1qee-bTZI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr1qee-bTZI
