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Comment You don't say... (Score 1) 745

"It's long been known that America's school kids haven't measured well compared with international peers. Now, there's a new twist [...]
Really? Kids become adults? How can we not expect generations of kids fitting a specific profile not translating to their adult life in some manner.

Comment Re:is there just NO originality anymore? (Score 1) 196

Maybe Apple is just being a massive troll?

Apple: Hey, everyone, we're making a smart watch!
Samsung: We have to make one too so we're not left out on the market. We're making one too!
Google: Hey, us too, this goes great with your Google glass!


Apple: *hushed laughter* Look at those idiots building a ridiculous product! *snicker*

Submission + - One screen, multiple views

e-sas writes: Researchers from the University of Bristol have built a new type of display which allows both a shared view and a personalised view to users at the same time. Through the two view-zones, PiVOT provides multiple personalized views where each personalized view is only visible to the user it belongs to while presenting an unaffected and unobstructed shared view to all users. They conceive PiVOT as a tabletop system aimed at supporting mixed-focus collaborative tasks where there is a main task requiring the focus of all individuals of the group but also concurrent smaller personal tasks needing access to information that is not usually shared e.g. a war-room setup. Imagine you and your friends playing multiplayer Starcraft on one big screen instead of individual computer screens!
Security

Submission + - Would You Put a Tracking Device on Your Child? 3

Hugh Pickens writes writes: "In 2007 businessman Russell Thornton lost his 3-year-old son at an amusement park. After a frantic 45-minute search, Thornton found the boy hiding in a play structure, but he was traumatized by the incident, and it spurred him to build a device that would help other parents avoid that fate. Even though most statistics show that rates of violent crime against children have declined significantly over the last few decades, and that abductions are extremely rare, KJ Dell’Antonia writes that with the array of new gadgetry like Amber Alert and the Securus eZoom our children need never experience the fears that come with momentary separations, or the satisfaction of weathering them. "You could argue that those of us who survived our childhoods of being occasionally lost, then found, are in the position of those who think car seats are overkill because they suffered no injury while bouncing around in the back of their uncle’s pickup," writes Dell’Antonia. "Wouldn’t a more powerful sense of security come from knowing your children were capable, and trusting in their ability to reach out for help at the moment when they realize they’re not?""

Comment Re:Default Interface (Score 2) 302

Over time, browsers have evolved to utilize screen space more efficiently. SeaMonkey still has the massive navigation bar at the top with bookmarks. Consider current versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. All have reduced the size of the navigation buttons at the top to allow focus on the content of the webpage. The ironic part is that now, people have cheap access to large screens. The first time I used Netscape, I think it was on a 13 inch monitor.

There's no feature that I feel is left out that should be demanded. I was hoping to encounter a discovery like the first time I found mouse gestures in Opera. Something different and fun for me to become attached.

Comment Re:Mobile bandwidth (Score 1) 261

If the theoretical average consumption is an adequate restriction, as stated, "[...] I doubt the average user would be able to exceed that cap in under 24hrs even if they tried [...]" then why does the cap need to be put on the consumer? Perhaps one month I have an actual need for more than the cap, however every other month, only 25% of the cap is used. As with most agreements between large corporations and the consumer, there's an odd sense of one-sidedness.

Comment Re:Is this different from sport? (Score 4, Insightful) 487

"Fuck "fair." "

Exactly! First comes the feeding, then the ethics.

Unfair doesn't have to be unethical. There are several different colleges, some better than others. These also vary by cost. My parents may have helped with the cost of the college where another student's parents did not. This is clearly unfair, but not unethical.
If everything had to be "fair", then wouldn't a countries resources have to be be equally distributed to all people that live there? I couldn't even say citizens of the country, as that would be unfair to the non-citizens that live there. Now, for the rhetorical part of this, doesn't this make it unfair to take more money from one person than another to insure that it's fair for everyone? E.g. professional skills/labor pay more/contribute more than unskilled labor.

Comment Re:I approve it. (Score 1) 540

I'm not sure he meant it in the same way you may have responded. I much prefer a less invasive method that either the RFID or the GP's post. Anything that requires participation from the parents is a good thing. (I'm making the generalization that increased parental participation in a child's education directly equates to the success/performance of the child.)

If you enforce point 1, "Tracking performance negates the need to track attendance." I think you've found the key right there, but that means administration and parents will have to demonstrate dedication and effort into the system. If you can "ace" all of your tests and not show up, good for you. The option for advanced/college credit courses might be a good thing to be offered.

On the other hand, if a student is performing poorly, force additional parental involvement, require more time be spent at school by the child for additional tutoring. If you make the community get involved, you'll likely get the best result. But it's not the easy way, so it's more quickly rejected.

Comment Re:Can you still run the Amazon applications? (Score 2) 41

The benefit is that you can get the Google Play store on the device. This can only be achieved after rooting the device. I much prefer the AOSP experience to the one that Amazon chose for me. I've also used go launcher, and a root control tool so that you could temp unroot and continue to use the amazon streaming. Dual boot is feasible, however, with the Kindle's limited 8gb of storage, a lot of storage space gets tied up in the "other OS" you're not using. I prefer the full tablet functionality, but that's the beauty of Android. Pick what suits you.

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