Comment: Re:How about ICQ? (Score 1) 128
I don't see what Google Buzz has to do with any of this.
Comment: Re:Cybauorg! (Score 2, Informative) 118
You might be pleased to know that there's a contribution in the pipeline that will argue along these lines.
Comment: Re:say what again? (Score 4, Informative) 118
The mention in the NYT is a reporter reporting on the talk that Clynes and Kline gave. So yeah, I figured the one where they actually publicly define the term would be the better anniversary.
September is Cyborg Month->
Submitted
by
Snowmit
Snowmit writes "In May 1960, Manfred E. Clynes and Nathan S. Kline presented a paper called "Drugs, Space, and Cybernetics". The proceedings of the symposium were published in 1961 but before that, an excerpt of Clynes & Kline's paper appeared in the September issue of Astronautics magazine (issue 13), entitled Cyborgs and Space [PDF]. Aside from a mention in the New York Times, that's is the first time the word appears in print. This month is the 50th anniversary of that article.
To commemorate, a group of writers and artists have gotten together to create 50 Post About Cyborgs. Over the course of the month, there will be essays, fiction, links to great older material, comics, and even a song. We're going to talk about Daleks, IEDs, Renaissance memory palaces, chess computers, prosthetic imagination, Videodrome, mutants, sports, and maybe the Bible. To kick things off, Kevin Kelly wrote this essay arguing that we've been cyborgs all along."
Link to Original Source
To commemorate, a group of writers and artists have gotten together to create 50 Post About Cyborgs. Over the course of the month, there will be essays, fiction, links to great older material, comics, and even a song. We're going to talk about Daleks, IEDs, Renaissance memory palaces, chess computers, prosthetic imagination, Videodrome, mutants, sports, and maybe the Bible. To kick things off, Kevin Kelly wrote this essay arguing that we've been cyborgs all along."
Link to Original Source
Microsoft helps Russia pursue opposition->
Submitted
by
asaz989
asaz989 writes "The New York Times reports that Russia selectively pursues software piracy complaints from Microsoft in order to suppress the opposition — confiscating computers for evidence, searching offices, and the like. Microsoft lawyers usually back the authorities in such cases, even when cases such as that of the environmentalist group Baikal Waves, which went out of its way to buy licenses to prevent police harassment and nevertheless had its offices raided, and its computers confiscated. Microsoft participated in this legal process. Published alongside this story, under the same byline, is a related piece on the collusion of Microsoft lawyers with corrupt Russian police in extorting money from the targets of software piracy investigations. In a responding press release, the company states, 'Microsoft antipiracy efforts are designed to honor both [antipiracy concerns and human rights], but we are open to feedback on what we can do to improve in that regard.'"
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Is Android's Openness a Bug or a Feature?
Submitted
by
theodp
theodp writes "When MG Siegler asked TechCrunch readers why they chose Android, a large percentage of the nearly 1,000 who responded cited the idea of 'openness.' In theory, Siegler's right with them. But in reality, he finds that idea to be 'a load of crap' — Android is as open as the clenched fist he'd like to punch the mobile carriers with. Instead of consumers being able to choose what they want on their own devices, 'open' is proving instead to mean that the carriers can choose what they want to do with Android, locking down features like tethering, app installation, and even Android upgrades. 'This is an open platform,' laments Siegler, 'and yet you're more restricted than on Apple's supposedly closed one.'"
Comment: Re:Meh. (Score 1) 77
By your hilarious logic, keyboards should come completely unlabelled, because any labelling is just a crutch for people who are too lazy to learn to touch-type.
There are tonnes of applications for a self documenting input device, the least of which is preventing needless staring at a manual while you learn a new program's interface.
The important point though is that this is an innovation contest. Thousands of students will spend more time thinking about this than you did before dismissing it and it's highly likely that some of them will come up with something really cool.
But yes, it probably won't help you to get better at using the software to which you are already zenly attuned.
Comment: Re:Do not want. (Score 1) 497
However to suggest it was "designed" for creating, rather than consuming (within their walled garden), seems quite a stretch. I don't even recall Apple pitching that
Really? Because I do. The announcement of the device featured longish demos of a painting program (Brushes) and the 3 office apps (Pages, Numbers, Keynote). The iOS4 announcement included a video editing program. I'll be extremely surprised if that doesn't end up on the iPad too.
Comment: Re:wow (Score 1) 207
Let them have their moment. This is basically the only time that "dog bites man" will be news.
Comment: Re:Walled garden discussions (Score 2, Insightful) 144
I've got another one for you: PC gaming vs Console gaming
PCs have been around longer, have more options re: hardware & software, not to mention complete freedom for developers to charge and distribute however they wish, along with extreme modability. Meanwhile consoles are hampered by incredibly restrictive walled gardens, developer-hostile revenue splits and licensing and they only release new hardware every few years.
Given the obvious openness and freedom of PC gaming compared to console gaming it may come as a surprise that console games outsell PC games at ratios around 5:1.
(Source: http://forum.pcvsconsole.com/viewthread.php?tid=15831)
So now your job is to show that Android vs Apple is more like Internet vs AOL than it is like PCs vs Consoles.