Become a fan of Slashdot on Facebook

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Image

Verizon Charged Marine's Widow an Early Termination Fee 489

Posted by samzenpus from the literal-charges dept.
In a decision that was reversed as soon as someone with half a brain in their PR department learned about it, Verizon charged a widow a $350 early termination fee. After the death of her marine husband, Michaela Brummund decided to move back to her home town to be with her family. Verizon doesn't offer any coverage in the small town so Michaela tried to cancel her contract, only to be hit with an early termination fee. From the article: "'I called them to cancel. I told them the situation with my husband. I even said I would provide a death certificate,' Michaela said."

Comment Re:Interesting but non-conclusive (Score 1) 133

by JJTJR (#32677184) Attached to: Nintendo 3DS GPU Revealed

I meant notionally, but that's very interesting. I didn't realize the top screen was doing 800*240 all the time regardless of whether it was in 3D mode or not. So this means the parallax barrier can be turned on/off? That's cool, do you have a link that talks about that?

Comment Re:Interesting but non-conclusive (Score 1) 133

by JJTJR (#32676352) Attached to: Nintendo 3DS GPU Revealed

Just to clarify, when you say 'twice' the resolution, you are talking the difference between 320x240 and 452x340 not the difference between 320x240 and 640x480 because that would actually require four times the computation since there would be four times the pixels. So not that this is the point but seems to me like you get more band for your buck going to 3D than going to the slightly higher 2D resolution for the same pixel fill rate.

Comment Re:Just as much right? (Score 1) 402

by JJTJR (#32617792) Attached to: Tornado Scientists Butt Heads With Storm Chasers

I somewhat agree but I do believe asshattery is not against the law. In which case, the scientists are really just complaining that people looking for excitement are getting in the way of science. If this is a legitimate safety problem then the scientists should be lobbying the relevant lawmakers to make it a punishable crime to drive towards a tornado unless you have a permit for scientific purposes. Then they should apply for and get said permits and then they would have ever right in the world to complain. Media stories of them complaining may set the ground work for this I guess but it comes off as a little whiny.

Comment How does this relate to the recent court ruling? (Score 2, Interesting) 323

by JJTJR (#32606480) Attached to: FCC Vote Marks Effort To Take Greater Control of the Web

The implications of this for net neutrality are important so I'm wondering how this effects the recent court ruling that stated the FCC didn't have the power to regulate them http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15160454 Does this coming out of committee start the process that will allow a new law which will make the court ruling moot? If so, then hooray!

Comment Valid way to learn piano? (Score 1) 107

by JJTJR (#32604758) Attached to: <em>Rock Band 3</em> To Include MIDI Keyboard

So I've played piano for many years and what I find myself wondering is, does anyone learn to play piano in this manner, where the actual key to press is the visual cue instead of musical notes? There are many techniques/methods for learning piano and I cannot make up my mind if this is an approach that may translate into useful, valid, musical skills. Thoughts?
Crime

Geologists Might Be Charged For Not Predicting Quake 375

Posted by timothy from the google-will-no-doubt-be-found-at-fault dept.
mmmscience writes "In 2009, a series of small earthquakes shook the region of L'Aquila, Italy. Seismologists investigated the tremors, but concluded that there was no direct indication of a big quake on the horizon. Less than a month later, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake killed more than 300 people. Now, the chief prosecutor of L'Aquila is looking to charge the scientists with gross negligent manslaughter for not predicting the quake."
Image

The White House Listed On Real Estate Website 123

Posted by samzenpus from the been-for-sale-for-years dept.
Forget visiting the White House, if you have $10 million you can own it. At least that is the price for the president's home on the real estate website Redfin. From the article: "Obviously this is an error. It looks like Redfin software pulled an example listing from the website Owners.com by mistake. That example listing was the White House. We have e-mailed Redfin for comment." I know it's historic but it still looks a bit on the high side according to the comparables in the area.
Music

Rock Band 3 To Include MIDI Keyboard 107

Posted by Soulskill from the hey-guys-let's-get-some-of-that-innovation-in-here dept.
xbeefsupreme writes with news that Harmonix has officially demonstrated Rock Band 3's 25-key MIDI keyboard. From USA Today: "During the game, green, red, blue, yellow or orange keys flow on a 'stream' representing the notes to be played on five corresponding keyboard keys. In a new authentic Pro mode meant to help players segue to actual instruments, all 25 keys are used; the streams shifts left and right to cover the correct keys. The keyboard also works as a MIDI keyboard that can be connected to a computer. 'This is a real instrument and a real device,' says senior designer Sylvain Dubrofsky." The game will also support more advanced "real" guitar controllers, which have six actual strings you can strum. Hit the link below to see the keyboard in use.
Cellphones

Why Overheard Cell Phone Chats Are Annoying 344

Posted by timothy from the they-drown-out-the-bark-of-my-gun dept.
__roo writes "American researchers think they have found the answer to the question of why overhearing cell phone chats are annoying. According to scientists at Cornell University, when only half of the conversation is overheard, it drains more attention and concentration than when overhearing two people talking. According to one researcher, 'We have less control to move away our attention from half a conversation (or halfalogue) than when listening to a dialogue. Since halfalogues really are more distracting and you can't tune them out, this could explain why people are irritated.' Their study will be published in the journal Psychological Science."
Image

Doctors Seeing a Rise In "Google-itis" 368

Posted by samzenpus from the sounds-like-rickets-to-me dept.
It's one of the fastest-growing health issues that doctors now face: "Google-itis." Everyone from concerned mothers to businessmen on their lunch break are typing in symptoms and coming up with rare diseases or just plain wrong information. Many doctors are bringing computers into examination rooms now so they can search along with patients to alleviate their fears. "I'm not looking for a relationship where the patient accepts my word as the gospel truth," says Dr. James Valek. "I just feel the Internet brings so much misinformation to the (exam) room that we have to fight through all that before we can get to the problem at hand."
Image

Using Augmented Reality To Treat Cockroach Phobia 126

Posted by samzenpus from the virtually-fixed dept.
RichDiesal writes "In this blog post, I describe a new use for augmented reality — treating people for cockroach phobia. A recent paper in the academic journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking discusses a system where people suffering from cockroach phobia sit at a desk with a virtual reality headset. The headset has a camera on the front so that patients see the desk they're sitting at — but covered in cockroaches. In the study, researchers managed to elicit a fear response to virtual cockroaches similar to what would be experienced with real cockroaches. Sounds like a little slice of hell to me."
Earth

Debunking a Climate-Change Skeptic 807

Posted by kdawson from the so-many-notes-mister-mozart dept.
DJRumpy writes "The Danish political scientist Bjørn Lomborg won fame and fans by arguing that many of the alarms sounded by environmental activists and scientists — that species are going extinct at a dangerous rate, that forests are disappearing, that climate change could be catastrophic — are bogus. A big reason Lomborg was taken seriously is that both of his books, The Skeptical Environmentalist (in 2001) and Cool It (in 2007), have extensive references, giving a seemingly authoritative source for every one of his controversial assertions. So in a display of altruistic masochism that we should all be grateful for (just as we're grateful that some people are willing to be dairy farmers), author Howard Friel has checked every single citation in Cool It. The result is The Lomborg Deception, which is being published by Yale University Press next month. It reveals that Lomborg's work is 'a mirage,' writes biologist Thomas Lovejoy in the foreword. '[I]t is a house of cards. Friel has used real scholarship to reveal the flimsy nature' of Lomborg's work."

Slashdot Top Deals

"I've seen it. It's rubbish." -- Marvin the Paranoid Android

Close