Comment Re:What bankers? (Score 1) 168
How about the companies that were rating bonds as AAA, when they clearly were not.
Comment Re:Crazy talk man... (Score 1) 131
Interesting enough, I clicked the link to your homepage. I notice at the bottom web page there is a copyright notice.
Why should I respect your notice?
The cost to you for me downloading your images and reusing them are zero.
Netflix Extends "Watch Instantly" To Mac Users 205
CNet is reporting that Netflix has opened up its "Watch Instantly" feature to Mac users (here is Netflix's blog entry). They accomplished this by using Microsoft's Silverlight technology on both platforms, abandoning the Windows Media Player solution that had been employed in the first, Windows-only, version. Silverlight's DRM capabilities meet Netflix's needs, apparently. Netflix warns that this is beta software. Mac users can opt in here, then watch instantly with Safari or Firefox 2+, with the Silverlight plugin in place. Movie selection is somewhat limited.
Study Links Personal Music Players To Hearing Loss 405
fprintf writes "A recent NY Times article discusses links between personal music players and hearing loss. This is not anything new; personally, I have hearing loss from listening to my Sony Walkman cassette player many years ago. However, given the widespread use of the personal music players, I see people using earbuds everywhere; is there a technical solution to the potential danger?"
Alternative Uses For an Old Satellite Dish? 552
ya really writes "My family has one of those BUDs (Big Ugly Dishes) sitting in their back yard still. The other day they asked me if I would take it apart for them. Aside from simply recycling it, I was wondering if there are any alternatives for its use. It was one of the last made before DirectTV and Dish took over satellite broadcasting, and even has a digital receiver. I'd say it was made around 1996."
Taliban Demands Downtime on Afghanistan Cellphone Networks 659
faster_manic writes "The Taliban has demanded that cellphone network providers in Afghanistan cease service between the hours of 5pm and 7am each night of the week, as they believe American troops are able to track down Taliban members using their cellphones."
Best Presidential Candidate, Republicans 1481
A few days ago we posted a story for you to discuss the best presidential candidates for Super Tuesday, but I figured it would be an interesting idea to try that again, but split the discussion into 2 halves. This is the Republican half — please only discuss the Republican candidates in this story. Huckabee, McCain, and Romney only.
Physicist Calculates Trajectory of Tiger At SF Zoo 713
KentuckyFC writes "Is it really possible for a 350-pound tiger to leap a 12.5-foot barrier from 33 feet away? (Said another way: a 159-kg tiger, a 3.8 m barrier, and 10 m away.) A physicist at Northeastern University has done the math, a straightforward problem in ballistics, and the answer turns out to be yes (abstract on the physics arXiv). But I guess we already knew that following the death of Carlos Souza at the paws of Tatiana, a Siberian Tiger he had allegedly been taunting at San Francisco zoo at the end of last year."
Journal Journal: Mac Pro
Last Sunday (January 20, 2008) I purchased a Mac Pro (2x quad 2.8Ghz, 2G ram). I also purchased a 23" cinema display, iPod Touch (16G), iPod Nano (8G), ElGato eyeTV2, 3 applecares and an Airport Extreme card.
This puppy rocks for ripping DvDs. I use MacTheRipper to rip the DvD and then use Handbrake to transcode it into the iPod Touch format. For the Clint Eastwood movie 'A Fist Full of Dollars', the ripping took 15 minutes and the transcoding took 13 minutes.
Journal Journal: New Mac Pros
Yesterday, Apple released new Mac Pros. These appear to be a pretty major update to their product line. I am probably going to get the baseline (2 quad core cpus) with the upgraded video card.
I am planning on traveling to Delaware to purchase this machine as the state of Maryland has just increased the sales tax. Maryland can bite my ass.
Hopefully, I can get this machine next weekend.
Microsoft Disses Windows to Sell More Windows 407
mjasay writes "I stumbled across this fascinating Microsoft tutorial entitled "How to Justify a Desktop Upgrade." It's an attempt to coach IT professionals on how to sell Windows desktop upgrades internally. Apparently the value of Vista is not readily apparent, requiring detailed instructions on how to connive and cajole into an upgrade from XP. The most intriguing thing about the tutorial is its implicit rejection of Microsoft's older technology. Just a few years ago Microsoft was pitching the world on how secure and cool XP was. Now it's telling us largely the opposite, implying that XP is a security threat, costs too much to run, and so on. With Microsoft marketing against itself, perhaps the Mac and Linux camps can simply wait for Microsoft to self-destruct?"
Dvorak Says gPhone is Doomed 454
drewmoney writes "Speaking with his usual frustrated crankiness John Dvorak rants his way through an article explaining why the gPhone will never work. 'First of all, it wants to put Google search on a phone. It wants to do this because it is obvious to the folks at Google that people need to do Web searches from their phone, so they can, uh, get directions to the restaurant? Of course, they can simply use the phone itself to call the restaurant and ask! I've actually used various phones with Web capability. They never work right. They take forever to navigate. It's hard to read the screens ... I also hope that people note the fact that the public has not been flocking to smartphones of any sort.' "
How Big Will the iPhone Become? 388
palewook writes "Combine the best elements of an iPod with a BlackBerry's addictive usefulness, and you may just get Apple's Next Big Thing. Around 2009, when the lower cost version of iPhone appears, Business Week believes the yearly market for iPhones could be over 10 billion dollars a year. Its an interesting prediction; if those numbers come to pass, iPhone could become a bigger source of revenue than the traditional iPod. 'The answer may not come until 2009. By then, Apple should have begun creating lower-cost iPhone variants to reach consumers scared off by the introductory $499 price. It also will probably have moved into overseas markets and cut deals with more carriers to utilize higher-speed wireless networks. So while most analysts look for Apple to sell around 3 million units this year and 10 to 12 million in 2008, many figure that 20 million will move in 2009.'"
Feed New analysis warns of solar outbursts (pheedo.com)
Submission + - Apple release DRM free tunes
IndiepoprockJesse writes: "Apple today released their announced DRM free itunes music. The new service, called iTunes Plus, let's you download DRM free music with a higher bitrate at 30 cents a piece more. Currently only EMI music is available in the DRM free AAC 256kbps format, including singles and albums from Coldplay, The Rolling Stones, Norah Jones, Frank Sinatra, Joss Stone, Pink Floyd, John Coltrane and more than a dozen of Paul McCartney's classic albums.
People who have EMI music on their computer can upgrade to the new DRM free format for 30 cents a song or 3 dollars for most albums.."
