Comment Re:Battlefield (Score 1) 313
Unfortunately, the Battlefield and Call Of Duty series are fairly different shooters. The loss of Call Of Duty would be noticed, as much as I do like Battlefield.
Comment Re:Did I miss something (Score 3, Insightful) 594
but I'm not eligible due to a stupid law.
This pretty well sums up the entire program. It looks like more of an Obama government PR stunt, being able to claim "hey, we paid $4,500 of your new ride!". Of course it will have little real benefit in the long term, just as Bush's stimulus check to every house didn't make an ounce of difference. And hell, I voted for the man (although buyer's remorse has long ago kicked in).
And honestly, the fact you can even buy an SUV or light truck with this money is insane. A 2 mpg increase is nearly statistically insignificant, and one or two extra MPG on a 30 gallon tank is 30 or 60 miles. You're still using a lot more gas (and petroleum) to get you, your spouse and your 2.2 kids around town than you would with a nice Camry. Hey Obama government, if you want to use tax dollars to fund our automobile addiction, at least try to legislate some morality into it. The soccer mom SUV is a pinnacle of the self-centered, sedentary American lifestyle.
Submission + - IBM executive to head up U.S. patent office (networkworld.com)
jbrodkin writes: "Nobody has dominated the annual list of new U.S. patents like IBM. Now Big Blue may put one of its own officials at the top of the government office that oversees patents in America. David Kappos, vice president and assistant general counsel for intellectual property at IBM, was nominated by President Obama for the post last month and went through a confirmation hearing Wednesday. If confirmed, he will become the new Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the U.S Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
Kappos would be charged with reforming an office that suffers from a backlog of 770,000 patent applications. IBM is also one of the key contributors to the patent backlog, having been awarded the most patents of any company for 16 consecutive years. IBM set a record in 2008 with 4,000 new patents, and could benefit substantially from a patent office equipped to more speedily approve applications."
Submission + - VistA: The VA's Open-Source Health Record Software (washingtonmonthly.com)
Artifice_Eternity writes: "VistA — the open-source electronic health records system developed by the U.S. Veterans Administration — is widely acknowledged as one of the best EHR platforms in the country. Washington Monthly's Philip Longman writes, "The VA's evolving code also has been adapted by providers in many other countries, including Germany, Finland, Malaysia, Brazil, India, and, most recently, Jordan. To date, more than eighty-five countries have sent delegations to study how the VA uses the program, with four to five more coming every week." WorldVistA.org is a hub for extending and improving the VistA system for use outside the VA. Meanwhile, proprietary private systems cost more, can't be improved by users, and are often clunkier and buggier. Longman argues that the $20 billion for EHR systems included in the stimulus bill may end up being wasted on bad products, and should be frozen until a thorough study of VistA's potential is completed next year."
Comment On the contrary (Score 1) 168
Microsoft's Zune is nearly impossible to control without looking at it. About all the touchpad is good for is games and library searching, and those both require looking.
Even then, clicking often works better. It's lazy, but if you've got a long way to go, you don't want to have to keep flicking your thumb.
Even then, clicking often works better. It's lazy, but if you've got a long way to go, you don't want to have to keep flicking your thumb.
Comment Re:RIAA got its wish (Score 1) 590
Are you suggesting citizen's arrest?
Comment Re:BitTorrent (Score 5, Insightful) 388
companies like Apple who take massive amounts of GPL code to build their empires and give NOTHING in return.
... except the huge advances Apple has given KHTML in the form of WebKit.
Alaskans Prepare For Volcanic Eruption 293
An anonymous reader writes "Mount Redoubt, or Redoubt Volcano, is an active stratovolcano in the largely volcanic Aleutian Range of Alaska. The once quiet volcano has begun to roar once again. Its last eruption was in 1989 and geologists suggest that the next one is upon us. Alaskans who lived through the earlier eruption are stocking up on breathing masks and goggles. Starting on Friday, January 23 2009, the level of seismic activity increased markedly, and on Sunday AVO raised the Aviation Color Code to ORANGE and the Volcano Alert Level to WATCH. On the basis of all available monitoring data AVO regards that an eruption similar to or smaller than the one that occurred in 1989-90 is the most probable outcome. We expect such an eruption to occur within days to weeks." From the AP article: "Alaska's volcanoes are not like Hawaii's. 'Most of them don't put out the red river of lava,' said the observatory's John Power. Instead, they typically explode and shoot ash 30,000 to 50,000 feet high — more than nine miles — into the jet stream. 'It's a very abrasive kind of rock fragment,' Power said. The particulate has jagged edges and has been used as an industrial abrasive. 'They use this to polish all kinds of metals,' he said." The server for the Alaska Volcano Observatory appears to be overloaded and is unresponsive.
Comment Re:boxen! (Score 1) 480
This is probably why there will never be a year of the linux desktop.
Nonsense, 2009 is the year of the linux desktop!
Comment From the horse's mouth (Score 1) 752
As an undergrad working in IT as a student job, I can confirm that it is, in fact, boring. Infinitely more boring and less enjoyable than the other part-time jobs I've worked including apartment cleaning, table waiting, bussing and food delivery. At least I didn't have to deal with 5 30 ton A/C units constantly whirring in the background at the restaurant. Oh, and my coworkers had more depth in both jobs than comic book movies and WoW.
5 Predictions for Apple in 2007 257
Michael writes "2006 is coming to a close, and all anyone can think about (in regards to Apple, at least) is the upcoming Apple phone, but what happens next? What are we going to be salivating over and speculating about after Macworld? What changes are in store for Apple in 2007? No one knows for sure, but it sure is fun to take a guess."
