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Comment Re:Not surpising that Xbox 1 -a PC- had great yiel (Score 1) 230

by coop247 (#24900589) Attached to: A History of the Xbox Red Ring of Death Fiasco
The real issue was MS deciding to design, and therefor own, the chips used in the 360. Even a seasoned hardware manufacturer like Sony wasn't stupid enough to take that on, they partnered with IBM to do most of the heavy lifting. They are a software company, and developing software is very different from manufacturing chips.

The article sure made it sound like the classic case of marketing making too many early decisions, as in picking a small curved case, then forcing engineering to figure out how to pack it all in.

I'm still pissed that they kneecapped this entire cycle by releasing a console without a hard drive for cost purposes.
Earth

Submission + - Will the Large Hadron Collider Destroy the Earth? (nytimes.com)

Submitted by mlimber
mlimber writes: The NYTimes has an article about a lawsuit brought by a Berkley-trained physicist turned lawyer and a researcher on time theory that seeks to stop the firing up of the Large Hadron Collider this summer. Why? Because they believe LHC scientists 'have played down the chances that the collider could produce, among other horrors, a tiny black hole, which, they say, could eat the Earth [or that] it could spit out something called a "strangelet" that would convert our planet to a shrunken dense dead lump of something called "strange matter."' The two men want further study on the risks. The article adds, 'Doomsday fears have a long, if not distinguished, pedigree in the history of physics. At Los Alamos before the first nuclear bomb was tested, Emil Konopinski was given the job of calculating whether or not the explosion would set the atmosphere on fire.'
The Almighty Buck

Submission + - Another Wave of H-1Bs on the Way (businessweek.com)

Submitted by UHE
UHE writes: 'With visas set to max out quickly again, tech companies want more. Amid rising joblessness, does America need more skilled foreign workers?

U.S. unemployment may be a concern, but tech companies are telling Congress they need more skilled workers from overseas. With the Apr. 1 application deadline for H-1B specialty worker visas looming, tech giants like Microsoft (MSFT), Oracle (ORCL), and Google (GOOG) are stepping up efforts to raise the cap on the number of visa workers they can have access to each year. Microsoft's Bill Gates argued in Congress (BusinessWeek.com, 3/12/08) for the second straight year that there's a severe shortfall in U.S. science and engineering talent, and predicted that for the fifth straight year the cap for worker visas would be reached in only one day. Days later, bills to aggressively raise the visa cap reached the House floor. With concerns about a recession growing, the call for more visas has provoked an outcry from U.S. tech worker advocate groups and other longstanding critics of the H-1B program. They say issuing more visas would dampen U.S. workers' wages by bringing in cheaper workers, and facilitate outsourcing as trained workers return to their home countries '

We deal with stagnant wages, jobs getting outsourced, funds for education drying up (and no free/subsidized higher education like some other countries), sky-high student loans, ridiculous hiring requirements ("You need 20 years of Java!"), high competition due to the glut of unemployed workers, and rampant ageism in IT, and we're importing yet more workers. The cost of living is rising apace, yet to even think about competing with people who are willing to work for a fraction of what US workers are, we have to be willing to work for peanuts ourselves. Is there something wrong with this picture? Full Story
Google

Submission + - Valid HTML + Google? Yeah right! 2

Submitted by
xarium
xarium writes: "With all this hype about how good (or bad) various browsers are at passing the acid tests put forth by the W3C, many seem to be oblivious to the equally important "validation test" which ensures that compatible browsers have valid HTML to work with. We demand that Microsoft fix their browser to, at least seem to, make an attempt at compliance, but what about website compliance? Websites have an equal share of the responsibility.

Test Google's front page and laugh

Most websites, those which don't pass, usually have only a few fairly technical and nit-picky kind of mistakes; Google however is beyond ridiculous; the validator has to guess at numerous points because the pages are so badly constructed that it's amazing any browser renders anything at all. Not a single one of Google's various websites comes even remotely close to being valid (as any kind of HTML) — in fact, I can't even find one that is well-formed."
Programming

Submission + - DBA vs. Programming Professions

Submitted by
Anonymous
Anonymous writes: "I am currently employed as a Sr. IT Help Desk Support Technician but have the opportunity to move up in the company to either an Entry Level DBA (Oracle) or Entry Level Programmer (PeopleSoft). I have spoken with people on both sides of the fence in regards to which position to pursue, but unfortunatly, their opinions are rather biased. My understanding is that Oracle DBA's are sought after but that it's a hard area of the industry to get into. I've been told that the programming position is more of a stepping stone to becomming a DBA. I'm just not sure which position to pursue. I don't have a degree or any certs (though I am working towards each of those, and the company is willing to provide all training for either position), and the positions that I'm being offered are based strictly on my my current experience in IT. I have done some limited scripting in my current job, but have a strong desire to learn more. Basically, I'm just looking to find out some information about what the job outlook/stability is for both areas."
Businesses

Journal Journal: Defending "Less then Legit" Software at Work

Journal by ttapper04
I am in the middle of an office flame war with a co-worker. He has argued the point to our boss that the "less then Legit" software and music on my computer is a risk to the company. He sites the argument that a disgruntled former employee can snitch on us and bring legal issues to our door. Our steel fabrication company employs about twenty people; he and I are the only 2 that are computer literate. Sometimes I use Photoshop for odd jobs my boss needs done, now this fact has become the centerpi

Feed Engadget: Europe getting 40GB PS3 bundles packing Gran Turismo, Blu-ray movies (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Gaming

While we chew on that incoming Metal Gear Solid 4 80GB PS3 (with DualShock 3) in the States, Europe has a pair of SKUs of its own to look forward to. Sony's hitting with a "movie bundle" on March 19th that includes Spider-Man 3, 300 and Casino Royale on Blu-ray, along with a 40GB PS3, all for the regular €399 price. If you can wait until March 29th, for the same price you can nab a 40 gigger bundled with Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Both bundles promise to be quite appealing, but apparently neither come packing HD cables, which could be a bit of a hangup for those ready to make the Blu-ray plunge. GT5 box art is after the break.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Continue reading Europe getting 40GB PS3 bundles packing Gran Turismo, Blu-ray movies

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PlayStation (Games)

Submission + - Sony Replaces 80GB PS3 With 80GB PS3 (playstation.com)

Submitted by
_xeno_
_xeno_ writes: "Starting in early February, the $500 80GB PS3 bundle started disappearing from stores, prompting speculation that it was due for replacement. Sony has finally announced the new $500 PS3 bundle: an 80GB PS3. It's not completely the same, though: it will come with the Dual Shock 3 controller, returning rumble support to the PlayStation consoles. It will also be bundled with Metal Gear Solid 4, which is scheduled to be released mid-June along with this new bundle. Sony has yet to confirm that this 80GB PS3 will support any form of PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility, although with any other company it would be a safe bet that it would maintain the previous 80GB's software backwards compatibility. The linked article also gives the release date for the Dual Shock 3 controller in the US (April 15th at $55) and information on a God of War: Chains of Olympus red PSP bundle."

Feed Engadget: Sony announces $499 Metal Gear Solid PS3 bundle, God of War PSP pack (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Gaming

It's no surprise that Sony has had some sort of new PS3 SKU in the works, but the company has now finally gotten official with it, and thrown in another surprise to boot. On that former front, Sony's announced the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PS3 Bundle, which includes said game, an 80GB PS3 and a DualShock 3 wireless controller (also available separately), all for the usual $500 price tag. Look for it to coincide with the launch of MGS4 in the second quarter of this year. As if that wasn't enough, Sony's also taken the wraps off its new God of War PSP Entertainment Pack, which includes a spiffy red Kratos-approved PSP, the God of War: Chains of Olympus game, Superbad on UMD, and a voucher to download Syphon Filter: Combat Ops for free. $200 and it's yours on March 4th.

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The Courts

Submission + - RIAA "expert witness" exposed (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "Prof. Johan Pouwelse of Delft University — one of the world's foremost experts on the science of P2P file sharing and the very same Prof. Pouwelse who stopped the RIAA's Netherlands counterpart in its tracks back in 2005 — has submitted an expert witness report characterizing the work of the RIAA's expert, Dr. Doug Jacobson, as "borderline incompetence". The report (pdf), filed in UMG v. Lindor, pointed out, among other things, that the steps needed to be taken in a copyright infringement investigation were not taken, that Jacobson's work lacked "in-depth analysis" and "proper scientific scrutiny", that Jacobson's reports were "factually erroneous", and that they were contradicted by his own deposition testimony. This is the first expert witness report of which we are aware since the Free Software Foundation announced that it would be coming to the aid of RIAA defendants."

Feed Engadget: PlayStation 3 leapfrogs Xbox 360 in January US console sales (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed

Filed under: Gaming

Hmmph. Would you look at that? Nary a fortnight after EA proclaimed that Sony's PlayStation 3 would best the Xbox 360 in sales during 2008, said prophecy is already starting to come true. Granted, we're only talking one month so far, but according to new US sales data from NPD Group, Microsoft's console actually slipped to third in the numbers race. Unsurprisingly, Nintendo's darling took home the gold (again) with 274,000 units sold in January, while the PS3 slipped in just 5,000 units below with 269,000. As for Redmond, it only moved 230,000 units last month, but spokesman David Dennis boldly stated that the firm believes its third-place finish to be "an anomaly." Considering that the Grim Reaper is well on its way to claiming the life of the 360s HD DVD add-on while Sony relishes the decision to cram BD drives within the PS3, we're not so sure these figures won't become a trend.

[Via TGDaily, ]

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PlayStation (Games)

Submission + - PS3 Projected Eventual Console Wars Winner (news.com)

Submitted by
PHPNerd
PHPNerd writes: "A report from a well known market research firm has placed predictions based on current market evidence and trends that the PS3 will outstrip all competitors and nay-sayers to be the leading next-gen console by 2011. From the CNET article: "The research firm predicted that by the end of 2011, the PS3 could have sold 38.4 million units, while the Wii might be in second place at 37.7 million." But the writer on CNET goes on to say that "Of course, three-year forecasts have about as much chance of being right in electronics as predictions of who will win the World Series in three years.""

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