artificialj - Slashdot User

Submission + - Is WOW #1 because of its style? (channelmassive.com)

Submitted by on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @05:23PM

An anonymous reader writes: In this blog entry, Are SOE fanboys/girls blind to the sucky-spectrum? the author suggests that the art direction, style and accessibility of World of Warcraft might account for its huge numbers compared to competing games by SOE which rely on heavy duty photorealistic graphics engines and computer horsepower for presentation. The fact that the WOW game is more widely supported by older existing hardware than newer SOE titles such as Vanguard and Everquest 2 is not mentioned in the article but is an interesting side-effect of WOW's less intensive hardware requirements.

Submission + - China to use rockets to keep Olympics Dry (go.com)

Submitted by razorfizh on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @02:04PM

razorfizh writes: "The weathermen in Beijing are moving ahead with plans to fire rockets to disperse rain clouds, an experiment aimed at securing more sunshine during the 2008 Olympics. Zheng Guoguang, head of China's Meteorological Administration, said practice drills were ready to begin, the state-run China Daily newspaper reported Tuesday. Zheng said the drills will simulate what will take place when the Olympics begin on Aug. 8, 2008. He said summer provided the last chance for meteorologists to practice under similar weather conditions. Chinese officials have said historical records show there's a 50 percent chance of rain for the opening ceremony — and the same probability of rain during the closing ceremony." What the $%&^ are they thinking? What precidence does this set? No good can ever come from changing weather patterns ....

Submission + - London Police get real time access to traffic cams

Submitted by

Peil

on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @01:09PM

Peil writes: "After saying for years that the Transport for London traffic cameras would not grant the police routine, real time access it appears that, surprise, surprise, thats just what has happened.

The BBC have flagged that our new Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith has decided to throw out all the previous assurances and data protection laws.

FTA: "Anti-terror officers will be exempted from parts of the Data Protection Act to allow them to see the date, time and location of vehicles in real time. They previously had to apply for access on a case-by-case basis. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith blamed the "enduring vehicle-borne terrorist threat to London" for the change."

Still they do promise to play nice:
The scheme will also be reviewed in three months' time after an interim report by Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, so the home secretary can be "personally satisfied ... that the privacy of individuals is protected""

Submission + - Landmark WTO online gaming case (theregister.com)

Submitted by rocketgoldstar1962 on Tuesday July 17, 2007 @01:02PM

rocketgoldstar1962 writes: The outspoken lead attorney in the ongoing battle between Antigua and the US on cross-border gaming services — which now threatens to unleash an intellectual property battle between the US and its major trading partners — speaks his mind in a wide-ranging interview. Excellent analysis of the legal ramifications of a controversial case about a even more controversial area of the internet.

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