Comment: As long as you keep them away from babies (Score 1) 323
You'll be fine. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/3109815261/
Comment: Re:Private land owner wanted to clear his land (Score 1) 276
Sounds like the land owner didn't really have any say in it. Of course, I've no idea what the state of law enforcement is like in Belize, entirely possible that a big enough bribe would do the trick. From TFA:
"The Noh Mul complex sits on private land, but Belizean law states any pre-Hispanic ruins are under government protection."
Comment: Re:The real state of Diablo III (Score 2) 237
The DRM might piss some people off but isn't the server-client integrity quite important when dealing with real money transactions within the game such as the real money auction house?
It would. And it is a problem easily ('easily' in theory, though not perhaps in execution) solved: I can create characters 'online,' which are stored on Blizzard servers, only playable when connected to the internet for communication with said servers, and can vend their inventories on an RMT market. I can also create characters 'offline,' which can be played anytime, connected or not, and whose inventories can't interact with an RMT market. This is a solution which would give Blizzard the ability to keep a tight reign on RMT market activity and still give people to chance to play on a plane, or on a laptop with the wireless off to save battery, or on a dodgy internet connection. It would not, however, serve as DRM, which is half the reason (if not more) why they're doing this in the first place. Yes, Blizzard wants to control RMT stuff tightly, which is why the game is "always online." But they also want to try and stop the pirates, which is why there's no offline play. Simply put, their desire to try and stop the pirates is more important to them than an offline mode for the (who knows how many) players that want/need it.
Comment: Re:Holy shit (Score 1) 103
According to the FA, the grenade-shaped design is for an art exhibit, and there's a donation drive for a version of the software that will run on Android devices.
+ - Netflix creates Qwikster for DVD only business->
Submitted
by
Frankie70
Frankie70 writes "Netflix CEO Reed Hastings just dropped a bombshell. In the wake of a rapid decline in Netflix’s stock price last week, Hastings is taking a bold step by separating the DVD and video streaming services. The DVD-by-mail service will now be called Qwikster, and the streaming service will maintain the Netflix brand."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
+ - Thinking inside the box-> 1
Submitted
by
Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes "Sometimes thinking outside the box means thinking inside the box. Does that make sense? Well it does for San Jose, CA startup NoteInABox.com. Users can visit the NoteInABox website (http://www.noteinabox.com) and compose a message that is mailed in a physical box to a designated recipient for a small fee.
Just when you thought smart phones, email, and mass marketing were not enough! These guys might be onto something though. They highlight that people genuinely like receiving packages in the mail. It's true, there is noting like ripping a box open to see what's inside.
“Hey there's nothing in this thing but a card... All your base are belong to us. What the??”
To make matters more interesting, users can opt to include a code with the note that allows the recipient to send an email response. The original sender can view the response on the NoteInABox.com website and carry on a conversation while both parties contact details remain anonymous.
It is definitely a fun/quirky concept that is a mash-up of high vs. low tech. The hilarious possibilities here might be endless."
Link to Original Source
Just when you thought smart phones, email, and mass marketing were not enough! These guys might be onto something though. They highlight that people genuinely like receiving packages in the mail. It's true, there is noting like ripping a box open to see what's inside.
“Hey there's nothing in this thing but a card... All your base are belong to us. What the??”
To make matters more interesting, users can opt to include a code with the note that allows the recipient to send an email response. The original sender can view the response on the NoteInABox.com website and carry on a conversation while both parties contact details remain anonymous.
It is definitely a fun/quirky concept that is a mash-up of high vs. low tech. The hilarious possibilities here might be endless."
Link to Original Source
Journal: Uh oh... here we go again 6
Journal
by
countertrolling
Slashdot just rolled out another nasty update... Scroll to the bottom of the page, and watch the fun begin
Comment: Tivo (Score 1) 59
This just means that after teaching them how to use money, we'll have to teach them how to timeshift past all those annoying commercials.
+ - Netflix' Altered Web Interface given 1-Star rating-> 1
Submitted
by
Verdatum
Verdatum writes "Entertainment Weekly is one of many sites reporting the strong negative reaction from users of the new Netflix web interface. The new interface presents larger title images at the cost of visible ratings and the "Sortable List" view. To see a suggested rating or view details, one must now first hover over each individual title.
Netflix announced the new interface on Wednesday, in an official blog post. So far, the post has received thousands of negative comments, but only a few dozen comments by users believing the change is an improvement."
Link to Original Source
Netflix announced the new interface on Wednesday, in an official blog post. So far, the post has received thousands of negative comments, but only a few dozen comments by users believing the change is an improvement."
Link to Original Source
Apple Forces Steve Jobs Action Figure Off eBay 233
Posted
by
timothy
from the hope-you-got-in-on-the-ground-floor dept.
from the hope-you-got-in-on-the-ground-floor dept.
Hugh Pickens writes "Kevin Parrish writes in Tom's Guide that last month, just in time for Christmas holiday gift-giving, M.I.C. Gadget began the manufacture and sale of a Steve Jobs action figure featuring an oversized head, Steve's trademark black shirt/blue jeans outfit, and a new iPhone 4 like a magical world-saving talisman in Jobs' left hand. The action figure, selling for $79.90, came with an Apple logo stand and cartoon balloons for writing custom messages. Soon a warning letter from Apple stated that the figurine violated a California statute prohibiting the use of a person's likeness in a product without prior authorization and sales ceased. But shortly after production stopped, the figurines began to appear on eBay selling for up to $2,500. Now Apple's lawyers have raided the online marketplace, zeroing in on one Canadian eBay seller who had already sold the figurine for $1,125 and eBay has removed other listings, telling sellers that the object for sale 'violates a celebrity's right of publicity.'"
+ - FCC Chair Seeks Comcast-NBC Merger Conditions-> 1
Submitted
by
Anarki2004
Anarki2004 writes "From the article: The head of the Federal Communications Commission proposed regulatory conditions Thursday to ensure that cable giant Comcast Corp. cannot stifle video competition once it takes control of NBC Universal. Comcast is seeking government approval to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co. for $13.8 billion in cash and assets. The deal would create a media powerhouse that both produces and distributes content."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
+ - Bank of America Buys Offensive Domain Names->
Submitted
by
itwbennett
itwbennett writes "When WikiLeaks releases its expected flood of internal documents from Bank of America, there's one thing you can count on, says blogger Chris Nerney: 'All will be quiet over at BrianMoynihanBlows.com.' That's because, as Domain Name Wire reports, BofA 'has been aggressively registering domain names including its Board of Directors’ and senior executives’ names followed by 'sucks' and 'blows'.'"
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
+ - Comcast Charges Level 3 for Netflix Traffic-> 1
Submitted
by
NicknamesAreStupid
NicknamesAreStupid writes "On the eve of purchasing 51% of NBC, Comcast has decided to turn "net neutrality" on its ear by placing a surcharge on Level 3's Netflix traffic, which has become a major load. Of course, Netflix competes with Comcast. Will this help Comcast clear the SEC and FCC hurdles to purchase NBC? Judging from the way the SEC handled the Wall Street mess — YES!"
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
+ - NBC's Syfy delaying online episodes 30 days-> 1
Submitted
by
commodore64_love
commodore64_love writes "The Comcast/NBC-owned Syfy cable channel has decided to delay Online airing of new episodes. Most of its shows (including Haven, Ghost Hunters, Sanctuary) will not be legally available online for 30 days, in an attempt to get more people watching the show live on their Cable or Dish TV subscriptions. The response from Syfy VP Craig Engler: "How soon we post video is dependent on various agreements with producers, distributors, etc. We post as much as we can as soon as we can."
The explanation given by Hulu on their Stargate Universe page: "The first 3 episodes of the new season will be available the day after their original airdates. Subsequent episodes will become available 30 days after their original airdates.""
Link to Original Source
The explanation given by Hulu on their Stargate Universe page: "The first 3 episodes of the new season will be available the day after their original airdates. Subsequent episodes will become available 30 days after their original airdates.""
Link to Original Source
+ - Fixing SSD Performance Degradation->
Submitted
by
Zombie Puggle
Zombie Puggle writes "It's a fairly well known fact that solid state disk (SSD) performance can suffer over time. Performance degradation problems are a result of how SSDs are constructed and how file systems and applications interact with them. Almost all of the problems stem from the design of SSDs. Jeff Layton – Enterprise Technologist for HPC at Dell – examines why SSD performance degrades over time and offers some potential solutions to the problem, including write combining, over-provisioning and TRIM."
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source