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Comment Re:Who gives a shit? (Score 1) 84

It doesn't- but the Wii U emulates the wii, which emulated the gamecube, and if the software is there and you're loading it all from a USB drive, it might be possible.

I'd love to try this out, but lack the console. I fully intend to get it... once there are games I'm interested in playing, just like every other console I've ever purchased.

Submission + - Bionic vision sounds cool, but are contacts the answer?

Myoozak writes: Augmented vision is definitely the future, in fact it's already here today in many way (Google Glass, smart phones that overlay data with video from the camera, etc.). Researchers at the University of Washington took this a step further by successfully integrating an RF-powered LED into a contact lens. Cool stuff, but my question to you slashdotters is this: Are contacts really a viable approach? I think there's some obvious problems with contacts that would be extremely difficult to surmount:
1. Rotation & drift of the lens
2. Out of 120 degrees of FOV, can only read text within 6 deg. So won't text always be in the way of what I'm looking at?
3. Moving eye to focus on text causes text to move as well.
Maybe approaches like this are better? I'd like to hear your thoughts!

Submission + - Ask Slashdot: How important IS advanced math in a CS degree? 6

AvailableNickname writes: I am currently pursuing a bachelor's in CompSci and I just spent 3 hours working on a few differential equations for homework. It is very frustrating because I just don't grok advanced math. I can sort of understand a little bit, but I really don't grok anything beyond long division. But I love computers, and am very good at them. However, nobody in the workforce is even going to glance at my direction without a BSc. And to punish me for going into a field originally developed by mathematicians I need to learn all this crap. If I had understood what I was doing, maybe I wouldn't mind so much. But the double frustration of not understanding it and not understanding why the profanity I need to do it is too much. So, how important is it?

Submission + - Schools scanned students' irises without permission (rt.com)

schwit1 writes: Parents in Polk County, Florida are outraged after learning that students in area schools had their irises scanned as part of a new security program without obtaining proper permission.

Two days before their Memorial Day weekend break, kids from at least three different public schools — Bethune Academy (K–5), Davenport School of the Arts (K–5, middle, and high school), and Daniel Jenkins Academy (grades 6–12) — were subjected to iris scans without their parents’ knowledge or consent. The scans are essentially optical fingerprints, which the school intended to collect to create a database of biometric information for school-bus security.

Submission + - Google Proposes Tattoos And Pills To Replace Passwords

twoheadedboy writes: Google and its Motorola division have come up with some innovative yet scary ideas on how to fix the world’s password woes, proposing tattoos and pills for truly effective authentication. Presented by Regina Dugan, former DARPA head and lead for advanced research at Motoroladuring the D11 conference, the tattoo works as a wearable NFC patch. But it's the pill that's more of a radical idea. It contains a small chip with a switch and a battery, which uses stomach acids to serve as an electrolyte to power it up. "The switch goes on and off, and it creates an 18-bit ECG-like signal in your body and essentially your entire body becomes your authentication token," Dugan explained. Produced by a company called Proteus Digital Health, the pill has already been cleared by the US Federal Drug Administration. With passwords failing as an authentication mechanism, wearable or swallowable tech might be the answer... even if it is creepy.

Submission + - NZ High Court rules that Dotcom is to have property returned (stuff.co.nz)

Nyder writes: In a win for Dotcom's legal team, the NZ High Court ruled the warrents invalid, and is to return his possessions that aren't needed for the prosecution. The judge also ruled that the warrents didn't allow the 150 TB of data to be shipped to the FBI, and that the FBI must destroy the copies they have.

Submission + - Feds authorize sales of American communication technologies to Iran (sfgate.com)

An anonymous reader writes: from sfgate: The United States has lifted portions of two-decades-old sanctions against Iran in an effort to bolster communication between the country’s citizens — and potentially aid organization against a repressive Iranian government. Thursday afternoon the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control authorized the sale of hardware and software that pertain to the Internet, instant messaging, chat, e-mail, social networking, sharing of media, and blogging — basically, all things digitalzu.

Comment Re:This app is silly. (Score 2) 84

Even the original Wii is outselling it.

I'm not sure how relevant that is. The top comment on that link shows that the PS2 outsold the PS3 for quite a while immediately after the PS3 was released, and the PS3 didn't die.

My guess is that people keep buying the old generation console until there are enough major games that only run on the new one. There aren't that many major titles for the Wii-U yet, so I wouldn't say its sales are too surprising.

Quoted to reiterate what AC said.

Comment Re:This app is silly. (Score 1) 84

Nintendo's been like this for a while now, for most of their launches- short on good launch titles, but picking up steam usually within a year of release. You're right in comparing it to the 3DS, which now has too many games for me to afford, compared to when I first bought it, and only one game seemed even remotely interesting.

You list a lot of good games required- Mario Kart will undoubtedly be included, SSB will not only be included but cross-compatible with the 3DS version I hear, F-Zero's in the works, we're due for Metroid, and there are several studios interested in bringing back Starfox. Right now it's pretty empty, but give it some time and we'll see what Nintendo can do.

And if you haven't already, for the love of all that is holy, pick up Fire Emblem Awakening. Easily the best in the series with fantastic writing, blew me away with just how good it was.

Comment This app is silly. (Score 1) 84

It may be a fun little time waster like spinning the globe on the Wii Weather Channel, but this is far from a killer app.

That aside... the Wii U's far from dead. If anything I'd say it hasn't even lived yet. What it needs are games, first party, be they classic IPs or new ones. It's a game console, guys. Give us some good games and you can take all my money.

Comment Re:Where is my option? (Score 1) 187

In that case, I promise not to mistake you for a prostitute unless you're hanging around a hotel lobby soliciting one of my family members. Seriously though thanks for the new info- had no idea about the gender split on that cancer.

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