Comment Re:Shit like this annoys me (Score 1) 419
Well, Xbox and Xbox live is their brand and it affects their brand image. Sure, it's censorship but it's not an open platform like the PC.
Comment At first I disagreed (Score 1) 547
At first I disagreed because I use Blu-Ray discs all the time, but then I realized that the only reason I use Blu-Ray discs is because there is a lot more selection on Netflix for Blu-Ray compared to the available titles on demand from Nextflix. If the same movies were available for HD on demand I wouldn't be getting the discs either. It seems to me, though, that currently the publishers are doing a pretty good job of keeping Blu-Ray alive because of aforementioned availability compared to on-demand titles.
However when it comes to games, while it is convenient I don't think I would ever want to shell out $50 for a "virtual license" that I can't resell. And then there are those rare things that you always want to have on hand (for me, it's the Planet Earth series on blu-ray...only Blu-Ray movie that I own).
A $20 8-Bit Wikipedia Reader For Your TV 167
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Wired about another entry in the ongoing quest for low-tech-high-tech educational tools to take advantage of distributed knowledge: "The Humane Reader, a device designed by computer consultant Braddock Gaskill, takes two 8-bit microcontrollers and packages them in a 'classic style console' that connects to a TV. The device includes an optional keyboard, a micro-SD Card reader and a composite video output. It uses a standard micro-USB cellphone charger for power. In all, it can hold the equivalent of 5,000 books, including an offline version of Wikipedia, and requires no internet connection. The Reader will cost $20 when 10,000 or more of it are manufactured. Without that kind of volume, each Reader will cost about $35."
Comment Recommended reading (Score 3, Interesting) 294
I would highly recommend Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. It's great science fiction and he piles on the science. In his novels some colonists actually live in lava tubes on Mars. I never get tired of reading those 3 books.
Meet the Men Who Deploy Airstrikes 311
Lanxon writes "Wired followed US Army Staff Sergeant Kevin Rosner into Afghanistan to see first-hand the tools, tactics, and pressures involved in coordinating military airstrikes. This lengthy piece explores the people and technology involved in high-risk airborne warfare, from their perspective. From the article: 'Strapped to his chest, Rosner carries a handheld video player called a "Rover," built by L3 Communications, a New York-based defense contractor. The device, the size and shape of a PSP game console and costing tens of thousands of dollars, reads signals transmitted by the camera pods strapped to the underside of all NATO fighter aircraft. With his Rover, Rosner can see everything a pilot sees, from the pilot's perspective. On his back he carries a radio programmed with secure frequencies that tie him directly to the pilots overhead and to his unit's headquarters, several miles away. At the headquarters, another JTAC monitors a bigger, more sophisticated video terminal that displays the same video Rosner sees, plus other data.'"
Comment Re:Any side-effects or drawbacks? (Score 1) 205
You know what sounded too good to be true 100 years ago? A hand held light bulb which could be powered for hours by a little cylinder the size of one's index finger.
In other words: it's call the advancement of technology.
I don't know how valid this technology is but I am not going to dismiss it just because "it sounds too good to be true"
Google Buys Finnish Paper Mill 166
raffnix writes "Today, Finland-based paper group Stora Enso has announced that Google is buying the buildings and most of the Summa Mill site, where production of paper was ceased last month, for approximately 40 million Euros ($51.7 million). Obviously the space is most likely going to serve as a data center, which has now also been confirmed by
Reuters."
MIT Team Creates Shock That Recharges Your Car 281
An anonymous reader writes "If you had a GenShock, you may not mind those potholes in the road any longer because this new prototype shock actually harvests energy from bumps in the road to save on fuel. A team of students at MIT have invented a shock absorber that harnesses energy from small bumps in the road, generating electricity while it smooths the ride more effectively than conventional shocks. Senior Shakeel Avadhany and his teammates say they can produce up to a 10 percent improvement in overall vehicle fuel efficiency by using the regenerative shock absorbers. They also already have a lot of interest in their design, specifically the company that builds Humvees for the army are already planning to install them in its next version of the Humvee."
Comment Re:I didn't know Obama was supporting this (Score 5, Informative) 1088
His explanation is here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barack-obama/my-position-on-fisa_b_110789.html
b
Still BS though.
