dissolved - Slashdot User

Comment bit short of ideas... (Score 1) 185

by dissolved on Tuesday August 11, 2009 @04:09AM (#29020603) Attached to: Classic Game Console Design Mistakes

Problem 1: Poor Controllers, Problem 3: Ergonomically Hellish Controllers, Problem 4: Unreliable controllers. That and the fact power through RF is mentioned twice - this could have been a lot more concise without losing a lot of the facts.

Comment Re:The Germans... (Score 2, Funny) 207

by dissolved on Sunday July 26, 2009 @04:39PM (#28829701) Attached to: Linux Notebooks Selling Well On Amazon Germany

you started it!

Comment Why does emulating something have to be the key? (Score 1) 617

by dissolved on Friday January 09, 2009 @04:36PM (#26391387) Attached to: Palm Announces Killer New Phone

I've recently taken delivery of a BlackBerry Bold when I was originally in the market for an iPhone. It turns out it did all the things *I* wanted and none of the things that the iPhone did that I didn't want. I didn't want a touch screen that I'd grease up and scratch, I don't need to tilt it to drink a pretend beer or shake imaginary dice, I wanted a phone that did SMS, email and instant messaging perfectly.

Success in this market won't come through emulation, it's through giving your users what you want. The Palm just looks like a HTC or somesuch copy of an iPhone to me.

Comment hmmmm (Score 3, Insightful) 300

by dissolved on Friday December 19, 2008 @04:38PM (#26176887) Attached to: Hacked Business Owner Stuck With $52k Phone Bill

I work for a Telco. We flag to clients when they accrue silly spends to foreign numbers. This happens around the $100 mark generally. Why did this go unnoticed for so long? Incidentally this is completely the responsbility of the end client. Anyone could ring Bulgaria for hours on end and then blame "teh criminalz!!!11". Secure your equipment better.

Comment Re:yawn (Score 1) 89

by dissolved on Tuesday September 23, 2008 @08:36AM (#25118673) Attached to: Get Ready For ... Nanosoccer!

Perhaps we're already seeing Quantum theory in "soccer"... http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/7614022.stm

Submission + - In Trade Ruling, Antigua Wins a Right to Piracy (nytimes.com)

Submitted by

Lingenfelter

on Tuesday January 01, 2008 @05:09PM

Lingenfelter writes: "World trade Organization legalizes piracy for Antigua In an unusual ruling on Friday at the World Trade Organization, the Caribbean nation of Antigua won the right to violate copyright protections on goods like films and music from the United States — an award worth up to $21 million — as part of a dispute between the countries over online gambling."

Submission + - Wonderfest (wonderfest.org)

Submitted by

cameronk

on Tuesday January 01, 2008 @05:05PM

cameronk writes: "Wonderfest finally released their video archive to the public. Top scientists debate subjects like, "Humans versus Microbes, who will win?" and "Will the Universe have a happy ending?" for the general public near San Francisco. Very cool, finally I can catch up on missed talks."

Submission + - Personal Space Invaders

Submitted by

theodp

on Tuesday January 01, 2008 @04:21PM

theodp writes: "Over at Slate, William Saletan offers his list of the top science-and-tech privacy threats of 2007: 1. Surveillance cameras. 2. The war on smoking. 3. The war on junk food. 4. The war on salt. 5. Pedestrian cell-phone use. 6. Naked body scanners. 7. Phone-surveillance ads. 8. Human chip implants. 9. Mind-reading. 10. Manipulating sexual orientation. So what other up-and-coming threats should he have included?"

Submission + - IE7 and Firefox could be target of hackers

Submitted by

Vinit

on Monday February 19, 2007 @07:47AM

Vinit writes: "Michal Zalewski, a security researcher has found flaws in IE7 and Firefox which could be the next target of hackers. The flaws will lead users to malicious websites controlled by hackers, thus allowing them to grab files from your hard drive. Microsoft has already confirmed the flaw and said, "the company is taking appropriate action." In addition to the above mentioned flaw, Firefox is vulnerable to another severe flaw which allow hackers to alter cookies stored on a computer. It indicates that display of some sites could be tempered. Firefox has already come up with a fix which will be released soon. http://www.pclaunches.com/software/ie7_and_firefox _could_be_target_of_hackers_who_can_play_with_your _hard_drive.php"

Submission + - Asteroid deflection talks at the UN

Submitted by

MattSparkes

on Monday February 19, 2007 @07:20AM

MattSparkes writes: "The asteroid Apophis has a 1 in 45,000 chance of hitting Earth on 13 April 2036, which although reasonably small, is very real. Because the impact site would be hard to predict accurately, discussion about a possible deflection attempt would have to be international. A new group, formed by a former Apollo astronaut, will host a series of meetings to provide the UN with a 'decision process' for assessing and acting on the hazard posed by Apophis and other near-Earth asteroids (NEAs)."

RIAA Hires Artists, Then Sends In the SWAT team 420

Posted by Zonk on Monday February 19, 2007 @07:03AM from the dirty-pool-riaa-dirty-pool dept.

cancan writes "The NY times is carrying an article about how the RIAA is hiring hip hop artists to make mix tapes, and then helping the police raid their studios. In the case of DJ Drama and DJ Don Cannon, they were raided by SWAT teams with their guns drawn. The local police chief said later that they were 'prepared for the worst.' Men in RIAA jackets helped cart away 'evidence'. Just the same, 'Record labels regularly hire mixtape D.J.'s to produce CDs featuring a specific artist. In many cases, these arrangements are conducted with a wink and a nod rather than with a contract; the label doesn't officially grant the D.J. the right to distribute the artist's songs or formally allow the artist to record work outside of his contract.' " This is more of the shenanigans that we've previously discussed on the site.

Submission + - 'Fight Club' Author's Fansite Becomes School

Submitted by

Mark Vanderpool

on Monday February 19, 2007 @06:23AM

Mark Vanderpool writes: "February 2007

'Fight Club' Author's Fansite Becomes International School for Scribes

With the advent, March 1st, of a new class in experimental literature led by British author Nick Walker, the official fan-based website started around Portland cult author Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Haunted) breaks new ground this year as an international nexus for the study and practice of avant garde writing.

Founded in 1999, the website (www.chuckpalahniuk.net) has attracted a large and growing membership, probably galvanized by the cultic success of David Fincher's 1999 film version of Palahniuk's first published novel, Fight Club (Norton, 1996). With the release of subsequent Palahniuk novels and the word-of-mouth discovery of related authors, such as Brett Easton Ellis, Douglas Coupland, and Irving Welsh — all providing fresh fuel for the conversation — the website's forum community has made it possibly the busiest author website in the world.

In 2003, 'The Cult' as it's colloquially called by members (short for 'A Writer's Cult,') launched a custom-coded, peer review based writer's workshop. And beginning in 2004, Palahniuk himself began providing two years worth of monthly essays on the craft of writing. In 2006, as a follow-up to Palahniuk's personal involvement, writer's workshop administrator, Mark Vanderpool, launched the website's 'Master's Program', wherein established authors teach novices and undiscovered writers through intensive, month-long, online classes. 2006 instructors included Will Clarke (Lord Vishnu's Lovehandles, The Worthy), Stephen Graham Jones (All the Beautiful Sinners, Demon Theory), and Will Christopher Baer (Kiss Me, Judas, Godspeed).

Englishman Nick Walker (Blackbox, Helloland) marks the entry of the website's first instructor from outside the continental United States. Walker, who has a background in experimental theater, will be performing material generated in collaboration with his students for the b-theater company in Birmingham, England:

http://www.b-theatre.co.uk/Pages/PILOT/pilotintro. html

Cult Workshop administrator, Mark Vanderpool, reports a good response in enrollments from both British and American participants.

Find related information at:

http://www.chuckpalahniuk.net/"

Submission + - MiiTube - YouTube on your Wii

Submitted by

fshrc

on Monday February 19, 2007 @05:37AM

fshrc writes: "MiiTube is a nice little site for watching YouTube videos on your Wii. The interface is neat and lends itself well to using the Wiimote on a TV screen. There are a number of interesting features, such as a viral video chart and it appears that you can search for any video currently on YouTube. http://www.miitube.co.uk/"

Robotic Arm Aids in Grasping After Stroke 32

Posted by Zonk on Monday February 19, 2007 @05:24AM from the i've-seen-this-anime dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "In the U.S., stroke is a major cause of long-term disability which affects 700,000 people annually. Most of them are over 65 years old and some have difficulties grasping objects after their stroke. This is why Californian researchers have developed a robotic therapy which helps restore hand use after stroke. The Hand-Wrist Assisting Robotic Device (HoWARD) has successfully been tested on seven women and six men who had suffered a stroke at least three months before the study. These results, while encouraging, need to be balanced. There must be enough residual motor power in the arm and hand of stroke patients to initiate some movement for this robotic therapy to work."

Possible 25 Million Year Old Frog Found 151

Posted by Zonk on Monday February 19, 2007 @03:44AM from the ancient-froggie dept.

dispatch writes "A small frog, found preserved in amber, has been found by researchers in Mexico City. The frog, according to the scientists, may be some 25 million years old! According to the article: 'The chunk of amber containing the 0.4-inch frog was uncovered by a miner in southern Chiapas states in 2005 and was bought by a private collector, who lent it to scientists for study.' Unfortunately, it doesn't seem as though the scientists will be allowed to drill into the rock, at the owner's request."

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