Comment On the Flip Side (Score 2, Interesting) 349
Placebo also has the most side effects of any drug on record.
Comment Actually GOO enables a second hand market (Score 5, Informative) 232
With GOO, you are able to decouple your e-mail from the game and transfer ownership.
Comment Not correct (Score 2, Informative) 273
He most likely has both, as Obama has been seen using a blackberry while president: http://i.gizmodo.com/5144129/the-secrets-of-obamas-email
Comment The answer to reducing illegal file-sharing (Score 4, Insightful) 309
How about producing music people actually want to buy?
Comment Re:It freaks me out... (Score 4, Informative) 358
You might want to revisit that story. Somewhere a long the way, the Obama administration putting a stay on all pending cases (including wiretapping) somehow means he "supports" warrantless wiretapping. You might notice Obama has yet to get his Attorney General pick confirmed. So Obama has yet to actually support warrantless wiretapping. Whether he will or will not will be a story for another day.
Comment Looks like it is Launch Exclusive (Score 1) 617
Looks like Sprint only has a launch exclusive, so you can be sure the Verizon and U.S. GSM iterations will soon follow a few months after.
Comment Discuss/Consider = Action? (Score 1) 491
I'm not entirely sure whether Obama will actually pursue this, but I notice a trend going on.
Maybe it's just me, but it seems like every time any idea is discussed, the press seems to make the assumption that the Obama administration is actually going to pursue it (and unmodified). Are they just not use to the idea of actual discussion about choices?
Submission + - Why you can't get a date
mcgrew writes: "New Scientist is running a story totled A quirky look at our quirky species, about "'quirkology' — the use of scientific methods to study quirky human behaviour, or quirky methods to probe weightier topics."
Of the eight "quirkology" subjects presented, number seven, "Hot and spicy" caught my eye, as it directly affects most of us loveless slashdot nerds. The author did a study to find the best pickup lines, and "the secret of a good chat-up line is to encourage someone to talk about themselves in a quirky, fun way. So the best line from the top-rated man was 'If you were on Stars In Their Eyes, which celebrity would you be?' On a similar theme, the top-rated female asked 'If you were a pizza topping, what would you be?'".
But the interesting (to me) part was at the end. The world's worst pickup line?
"I have a PhD in computing.""
Of the eight "quirkology" subjects presented, number seven, "Hot and spicy" caught my eye, as it directly affects most of us loveless slashdot nerds. The author did a study to find the best pickup lines, and "the secret of a good chat-up line is to encourage someone to talk about themselves in a quirky, fun way. So the best line from the top-rated man was 'If you were on Stars In Their Eyes, which celebrity would you be?' On a similar theme, the top-rated female asked 'If you were a pizza topping, what would you be?'".
But the interesting (to me) part was at the end. The world's worst pickup line?
"I have a PhD in computing.""
Submission + - Nintendo holds 20 best selling games in Japan
moderatorrater writes: Further evidence of Nintendo's dominance comes from Japans sales charts for last week. The top 21 games were all for either the Wii or the DS and all but 6 were published by Nintendo themselves.
Submission + - Safeguards Set for RIAA Hard Drive Inspection
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "In SONY v. Arellanes, an RIAA case in Sherman, Texas, the Court entered a protective order (pdf), which spells out the following procedure for the RIAA's examination of the defendant's hard drive: (1) RIAA imaging specialist makes mirror image of hard drive; (2) mutually acceptable computer forensics expert makes make 2 verified bit images, and creates an MD5 or equivalent hash code; (3) one mirror image is held in escrow by the expert, the other given to defendant's lawyer for a 'privilege review'; (4) defendant's lawyer provides plaintiffs' lawyer with a "privilege log" (list of privileged files); (5) after privilege questions are resolved, the escrowed image — with privileged files deleted — will be turned over to RIAA lawyers, to be held for 'lawyers' eyes only'. The order differs from the earlier order (pdf) entered in the case, in that it (a) permits the RIAA's own imaging person to make the initial mirror image and (b) spells out the details of the method for safeguarding privilege and privacy."
Journal Journal: Safari Attack Worth $10,000
In an article with scant details, The Register reports a successful Mac attack:
Submission + - Blitz++... C++ as Fast as FORTRAN?
j writes: For decades, FORTRAN has been the hallmark of academic computing, with object-oriented principles taking a backseat to slick matrix handling and sheer speed. Meanwhile, C++ was stigmatized for its bulkiness and verbose syntax of matrices and vectors. The Blitz++ library for C++ is rapidly encroaching on that. Nearly matching FORTRAN in performance, Blitz++ offers an intuitive matrix handling syntax (with an elegant cout response) essential for efficient mathematical expressions. With Sun's Fortress several years away, will Blitz++ be adequate to introduce robust OOP to numerical computing? And is that even needed?
Submission + - SCO vs. IBM Leaks Exposed
Xenographic writes: "Remember all the fuss about SCO subpoenaing PJ of Groklaw, where they allege that she's funded by IBM because she once got a publicly available document from a volunteer at the courthouse a little before it hit the Court's website? That's nothing. Groklaw has a story evidence that other materials have been leaked in this case — but they weren't leaked to Groklaw, and they weren't leaked by IBM. Information about the sealed materials in question made its way to Maureen O'Gara, who wrote a story based on inside information, displaying a positively uncanny insight into what SCO was planning, including far more than just the sealed document a SCO lawyer read out loud in open court. Interestingly, several witnesses report that Maureen O'Gara did not even attend that hearing, leaving us to speculate about her source."
Journal Journal: April Fool's Submissions Overboard and Underfunny 2
I agree with some of the comments and submissions I have seen today that the yearly stupidity on Slashdot is just plain dumb. Unfortunately, these comments are drowned out. One or two good hoaxes would have made my day. ("Google Paper" was actually quite good). A score of idiotic and unbelievable posts just ruins the site and real news is buried. Having looked through the Firehose at several points today, there have been several serious submissions that have been voted up but have never made
Submission + - RIAA Can't Have Defendant's Son's Desktop
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "The RIAA's attempt to get Ms. Lindor's son's desktop computer in UMG v. Lindor has been rejected by the Magistrate Judge. The judge said that the RIAA
Decision by Magistrate Judge Robert M. Levy. (pdf)""offered little more than speculation to support their request for an inspection of Mr. Raymond's desktop computer, based on... his family relationship to the defendant, the proximity of his house to the defendant's house, and his determined defense of his mother in this case. That is not enough. On the record before me, plaintiffs have provided scant basis to authorize an inspection of Mr. Raymond's desktop computer."
