Comment: Re:It used to be losing mass (Score 1) 177
Even latin1 (aka ISO8859-1) lacks a mu character.
Consider character code 0xB5 (181 decimal) in ISO/IEC 8859-1 (micro sign).
Comment: Re:Irony (Score 1) 274
I'm trying to switch over to linux, but only if I can run lotro. I'm hoping eventually swtor will play in wine...but right now I'll be happy just playing lotro.
I was under the impression that "Lord of the Rings Online" worked well in Wine 1.4, is it not the case?
http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?iAppId=4891
What GPU do you use? and what distro are you running?
Comment: Re:None of this (except the passwords)... (Score 1) 261
In my opinion, in most (democratic) countries, the current voting system is too simple, and this simplicity favors the two major ruling parties, preventing all alternative voices from gaining any traction.
There are other (more complex) voting systems. I believe that some form of graphical user interface is necessary, should one ever intend to introduce any of these more complex systems.
Comment: Re:Don't get overexited (Score 1) 130
None of this solves the software patents problem in the USA. The software patents problem isn't caused by some bad apple applications slipping through the procedures. The problem is that software has to conform to standards (interfaces and data formats), and these are being covered by thickets of patents.
I think everyone concerned about this sad state of affairs should read Xiph's comments to the FTC Patent Standards Workshop. Their submission focuses on how software patents affect Standards Setting Organizations.
Comment: Misunderstandings of Privacy (Score 1) 323
Please do read Daniel J. Solove's article:
"I've Got Nothing to Hide" and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=998565
Comment: Re:single process for all flash (Score 1) 261
This means while you are enjoying a show on hulu.com, a rogue flash ad could still spoil the fun
You might try Flashblock
Flashblock is an extension for the Mozilla, Firefox, and Netscape browsers that takes a pessimistic approach to dealing with Macromedia Flash content on a webpage and blocks ALL Flash content from loading. It then leaves placeholders on the webpage that allow you to click to download and then view the Flash content.
Comment: Re:Floppies (Score 1) 558
+ - HDD manufacturers moving to 4096-byte sectors
Submitted
by
Luminous Coward
Luminous Coward writes "As previously discussed on Slashdot, according to AnandTech and The Tech Report, hard disk drive manufacturers are now ready to bump the size of the disk sector from 512 to 4096 bytes, in order to minimize storage lost to ECC and sync. This may not be a smooth transition, because some OSes do not align partitions on 4K boundaries."
EA Flip-Flops On Battlefield: Heroes Pricing, Fans Angry 221
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the put-your-money-where-your-gun-is dept.
from the put-your-money-where-your-gun-is dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Ben Kuchera from Ars Technica is reporting that EA/DICE has substantially changed the game model of Battlefield: Heroes, increasing the cost of weapons in Valor Points (the in-game currency that you earn by playing) to levels that even hardcore players cannot afford, and making them available in BattleFunds (the in-game currency that you buy with real money). Other consumables in the game, such as bandages to heal the players, suffered the same fate, turning the game into a subscription or pay-to-play model if players want to remain competitive. This goes against the creators' earlier stated objectives of not providing combat advantage to paying customers. Ben Cousins, from EA/DICE, argued, 'We also frankly wanted to make buying Battlefunds more appealing. We have wages to pay here in the Heroes team and in order to keep a team large enough to make new free content like maps and other game features we need to increase the amount of BF that people buy. Battlefield Heroes is a business at the end of the day and for a company like EA who recently laid off 16% of their workforce, we need to keep an eye on the accounts and make sure we are doing our bit for the company.' The official forums discussion thread is full of angry responses from upset users, who feel this change is a betrayal of the original stated objectives of the game."
US Congressman Announces Plans To Probe Wikileaks 311
Posted
by
kdawson
from the good-luck-with-that dept.
from the good-luck-with-that dept.
eldavojohn writes "Congressman Peter King (R-NY) is calling for a probe into Wikileaks with regard to the recent publication of half a million 9/11 pager messages. He has announced that he plans to have his Washington staff begin a preliminary investigation because Wikileaks' action 'raises security issues.' A word of caution: Congressman King has been known to make inflammatory and unpopular statements."
Inkscape 0.47 Released 225
Posted
by
kdawson
from the drawing-not-quartering dept.
from the drawing-not-quartering dept.
derrida writes "After over a year of intensive development and refactoring, Inkscape 0.47 is out. This version of the SVG-based vector graphics editor brings improved performance and tons of new features, including: timed autosave, Spiro splines, auto-smooth nodes, Eraser tool, new modes in Tweak tool, snapping options toolbar & greater snapping abilities, new live path effects (including Envelope), over 200 preset SVG filters, new Cairo-based PS and EPS export, spell checker, many new extensions, optimized SVG code options, and much more. Additionally, it would be wrong to not mention the hundreds of bug fixes. Check out the full release notes for more information about what has changed, enjoy the screenshots, or just jump right to downloading your package for Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X." We've been following the progress of Inkscape for years (2006, 2005, 2004).
iPhone Owners Demand To See Apple Source Code 298
Posted
by
kdawson
from the you're-a-brick dept.
from the you're-a-brick dept.
CWmike writes "iPhone owners charging Apple and AT&T with breaking antitrust laws asked a federal judge this week to force Apple to hand over the iPhone source code, court documents show. The lawsuit, which was filed in October 2007, accuses Apple and AT&T of violating antitrust laws, including the Sherman Act, by agreeing to a multi-year deal that locks US iPhone owners into using the mobile carrier. On Wednesday, the plaintiffs asked US District Court Judge James Ware to compel Apple to produce the source code for the iPhone 1.1.1 software, an update that Apple issued in September 2007. The update crippled iPhones that had been unlocked, or 'jailbroken,' so that they could be used with mobile providers other than AT&T. The iPhone 1.1.1 'bricked' those first-generation iPhones that had been hacked, rendering them useless and wiping all personal data from the device. The plaintiffs say that the source code is necessary to determine whether all iPhones were given the same 1.1.1 update, and whether it was designed to brick all or just some hacked iPhones."
Comment: Re:True cost of windows? (Score 1) 318
This case has already been judged in France. You are acually entitled to the full retail price of all programs installed on your pc. Of course the refund policies never refund this much. You have to go to court to get it.
Could you please provide a reference?