Comment Re:Lol (Score 1) 711
I wish I could mod you up. Take this hollow gesture as a poor substitute.
Submission + - Windows Phone ecosystem too small for developers to make money (pastagapp.com)
pastagapp.com writes: "With 2 Million downloads on the Windows Phone Marketplace, we're a sizable developer in the ecosystem.
After reaching #35 on the Top Apps for several weeks (out of 80,000 apps, Angry Birds being #1) we believed it was not a small feat. Yet #35 amounted to less than 500 downloads per day. These 500 downloads include free trials, so not all of them are paid. With Microsoft advertising a 10% conversion rate to paid in its fanciest dreams, the 500 downloads become only 50 paid downloads per day. We find it extremely small for being in the top 35 overall.
Add to this some major security concerns we experienced first hand on the platform like piracy and source code freely available to download directly from Microsoft's own server (Rovio's Angry Birds source code linked in the article), along with major sales disappointments at the major milestones (the release of Mango, the new Nokia phones), we're starting to think we bet on the wrong horse... like Microsoft at the Kentucky Derby.
Is the market too small on Windows Phone for developers to be profitable? What download numbers are you guys reaching in the Top 50 on Android and iPhone?"
After reaching #35 on the Top Apps for several weeks (out of 80,000 apps, Angry Birds being #1) we believed it was not a small feat. Yet #35 amounted to less than 500 downloads per day. These 500 downloads include free trials, so not all of them are paid. With Microsoft advertising a 10% conversion rate to paid in its fanciest dreams, the 500 downloads become only 50 paid downloads per day. We find it extremely small for being in the top 35 overall.
Add to this some major security concerns we experienced first hand on the platform like piracy and source code freely available to download directly from Microsoft's own server (Rovio's Angry Birds source code linked in the article), along with major sales disappointments at the major milestones (the release of Mango, the new Nokia phones), we're starting to think we bet on the wrong horse... like Microsoft at the Kentucky Derby.
Is the market too small on Windows Phone for developers to be profitable? What download numbers are you guys reaching in the Top 50 on Android and iPhone?"
Submission + - HP releases Power over Ethernet thin client (techworld.com.au) 1
angry tapir writes: "HP has unveiled an all-in-one thin client capable of being powered by an Ethernet cable. The t410 AiO supports the Type 1 Power over Ethernet (PoE) standard, which means it is capable of drawing its power from a network connection, although it can be powered by standard AC power. It uses an ARM-based processor and has an integrated 18.5-inch monitor, and it is capable of being used for virtual desktops through Windows RDP, VMware View and Citrix ICA."
Submission + - Iconic Piracy Suit Against Google Dismissed, Despite $25,000 Bounty (torrentfreak.com)
TheGift73 writes: "After 8 years the legal battle between Google and adult magazine publisher Perfect 10 has been put to rest. The latter accused the search giant of a variety of copyright infringement breaches which included Google’s use of cached images. In a final attempt to save the case, Perfect 10 offered a $25,000 bounty to anyone who could prove wrongdoing on Google’s part but the initiative failed. The case has now been dismissed without the option for further appeal."
Submission + - New York legalizes child pornography 1
bs0d3 writes: According to a recent ruling in New York state, from Senior Judge Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, "Merely viewing Web images of child pornography does not, absent other proof, constitute either possession or procurement within the meaning of our Penal Law. Rather, some affirmative act is required (printing, saving, downloading, etc.) to show that defendant in fact exercised dominion and control over the images that were on his screen". Which means under New York state law, creating, and possessing child pornography is illegal; the lawmakers never specifically said that merely viewing it is a crime. The prosecution mentioned that the images were saved on his hard drive via the browser cache. However the court ruled that this was not the same as having a saved image. This means that people from New York state who click the wrong link by accident will no longer face serious jail time and a lifetime of registering as a sex offender. People will be able to report what they've found to the police who can then go after the source of the child porn, instead of someone who was merely browsing the internet.
Submission + - Neurosurgeon Removed From Cruise Over Faked Tweet (sfgate.com) 1
Entropy98 writes: "Someone using the name "Shit Jack Kruse Says" on Twitter recently tweeted "security confiscated dynamite. talk won't be as explosive as one at PaleoFx. still have vial of Legionnaires for epic biohack."
Unfortunately for the real Dr Jack Kruse he was searched, detained, and not allowed to re-board the ship "to err on the side of caution"."
Unfortunately for the real Dr Jack Kruse he was searched, detained, and not allowed to re-board the ship "to err on the side of caution"."
Comment Re:That was sad (Score 1) 761
I have to agree. In my time with the Playbook, I have been really impressed with how well the interface operates. It's not perfect, of course, but it's responsive. It has impressed me a great deal more than the iPad 2 and either of the 2 Android based tablets that I have experienced.
Comment Re:Canadians, this is your chance (Score 2) 164
You don't want the TPP and you don't want the US forcing their copyright laws onto you. Here's your chance to say that you want neither.. you should holler it from the rooftops until every last corrupt politician knows it.
Excellent comment. This is exactly what we need to do. Tell every person you meet and scream it to every person that can hear it. Write as many letters to every representative you can. Our freedom continues to creep away from us and we need to make it known that this shit has to stop. They were elected by us and they work for us, let's remind them of that!
Comment Re:Someone better tell Bethesda (Score 1) 235
Likely not, as Minecraft has mostly hit it's prime. A great deal of the people that will ever buy it, probably have. Plus it's in an entirely different pricing league than something like Skyrim. Customers wanting to drop $50 on Skyrim that day, aren't going to suddenly decide to spend $15 on Minecraft instead. Might these guys catch some customers as run-off (maybe from lack of availability of other titles or from people who just don't/can't spend $50 on a game)? Sure, but I truly doubt Bethesda will need to even flinch on this.
Comment Re:haha ahah ahahah (Score 1) 760
Capitol? Those in glass houses, as they say.
And being "stoned" causes your grammar to slip away?
An idiot AND ignorant. I bet your parents are very proud.
Comment Pretty cool. (Score 1) 231
It's about time this begins! :D
Comment Re:So much for... (Score 1) 346
Well, long as it's not more than four words from a lyric out of a RIAA owned song.
I don't have any mod points, but I just want you to know that this comment made me laugh.
Comment Bans were last year... (Score 1) 160
One has to wonder, after the mass bannings last year, pirates and modders (be they the same or otherwise) have smartened up because nobody knew exactly what criteria and flags Microsoft were using to catch the modders. Most modding forums now have a general agreement that dashboard updates were used to catch the mods. Be this the case, the modders have mostly stopped downloading dashboard updates.
This would be a great way for Microsoft to catch modders. The only way to run the ISO, cracked to bypass unique keys, would be to have a modded box. Most anticipated game of the year for the 360, of course a LOT of people are going to jump all over this. Not hard for MS to look at a list of gamertags that have played the game prior to launch and compare that with authorised gamertags that received keys.
Any heavy-hitting game like this that MS is publishing, especially a flagship like a Halo title, will certainly earn their attention to protect their income.
'Leap Seconds' May Be Eliminated From UTC 470
angry tapir writes "Sparking a fresh round of debate over an ongoing issue in time-keeping circles, the International Telecommunications Union is considering eliminating leap seconds from the time scale used by most computer systems, Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Since their introduction in 1971, leap seconds have proved problematic for at least a few software programs. The leap second added on to the end of 2008, for instance, caused Oracle cluster software to reboot unexpectedly in some cases."
Halo Reach Leaked To Filesharing Sites 160
Stoobalou writes "What appears to be the full version of Bungie's Halo Reach game has turned up on a number of file sharing sites. The hotly-anticipated multi-player shooter had been hosted on a private area of the Microsoft Live site in order for journalists to preview the release, but Microsoft has admitted that a security breach has meant that pirates have been able to bypass personal download codes given to writers. Disk images of the game are now appearing on a number of public torrent and P2P sites as well as on popular NZB aggregators and Usenet binaries newsgroups."
The game isn't due to be released until September 14th. Microsoft is said to be "aggressively pursuing" whoever grabbed the files without their permission.
