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Java

Submission + - The Coming War Over the Future of Java (infoworld.com) 1

snydeq writes: "Fatal Exception's Neil McAllister writes about what could be the end of the Java Community Process as we know it. With the Apache Software Foundation declaring war on Oracle over Java, the next likely step would be a vote of no confidence in the JCP, which, if the ASF can convince enough members to follow suit, 'could effectively unravel the Java community as a whole,' McAllister writes, with educators, academics, and researchers having little incentive to remain loyal to an Oracle-controlled platform. 'Independent developers could face the toughest decisions of all. Even if the JCP dissolves, many developers will be left with few alternatives,' with .Net offering little advantage, and Perl, Python, and Ruby unable to match Java's performance. The dark horse? Google Go — a language Google might just fast-track in light of its patent suit with Oracle over Android."
Technology

Submission + - Android Phone Solves Rubik’s Cube in 12.5 Se (deviceguru.com)

__aajbyc7391 writes: A Lego Mindstorms robotics kit controlled by an HTC Nexus One smartphone successfully untangled a Rubik’s Cube puzzle in 12.5 seconds at this weeks ARM technical conference in Silicon Valley. The current 3x3x3 cube-solvers's 15-second average represents a substantial improvement over the 25-second solutions of an earlier version, which was powered by a circa-2006 Nokia N95 smartphone, thanks to a faster (1GHz) CPU, more RAM, and revamped cube-solving algorithms. ARM Engineer David Gilder, who created the robotic cube-solver, claims the current version's algorithms can handle cube complexities up to 100x100x100, assuming he build the mechanics. In terms of racing humans, Gilder says the Lego robotics kits can only manage around 1.5 moves per second, whereas human players can make between 5 and 6 moves per second, amazingly enough.

Comment 1/100 (Score 1) 240

I work as a dev for one of the biggest game companies. Around me, in the studio, are close to 100 programmers. Over the last 4 years I have only met 1 (one) programmer without a university degree. He got fired at some point when cuts were made, but not for lack of coding skills. So your chances of finding a job without a university degree here are 1/100. I would do a CS degree! Of course, very little of what you learn in school will be used, so it may be that you can use those 3 years of your life to get a kick ass game out on your own, and even make money instead of spending on tuition. tThe experience gained this way will make yo employable right away. But realistically speaking, very very few people have the discipline to do it.

Comment Mass Effect 2 (Score 1) 461

The inability to use online multiplayer unless you are the original purchaser is pretty ludicrous. Video game companies claim that they lose money by consumers purchasing used games. This may be true to some extent, but those used games had to be purchased new at some point. And what about games that have been out of print for long periods of time? Why should I be penalized for that?

To be fair to Mass Effect 2, however, the "Cerberus Network" registration code that you receive with an original game copy only gives you three free DLC packs; it does not break half the game as Sony does in TFA. You can still play ME2 without registering the game; you simply do not have access to DLC (most of which has sucked thus far). It remains to be seen if purchasing DLC requires registration.

Comment Re:Watch that price, NYT (Score 1) 217

Let's wait and see how many newspapers successfully follow that model - especially considering the ones who take the plunge and go first will suddenly lose all the influx of traffic/advertising revenue that Google was previously sending their way. If they're big players they might survive, otherwise there's a good chance they'll quickly disappear and someone else will step up to offer free news in their place.

Comment Thank you mother Helvetia (Score 2, Interesting) 276

This won't prevent me from driving 15 minutes to enter France and buy my games there. However, as Swiss Citizen, I feel concerned since: 1. This law will infantilize me and strip me from my adult judgment over what is good or bad for me. 2. This law doesn't deal with the real issue which is the lack of liability of today's parents in their progeniture's education. They tend to rely more and more on school & State to raise the kids they chose to have. 3. Child Pornography and Video Games are put together in this extract while they are different issues to be adressed. 4. What about other medias carying violence such as TV, Theatre, Sport, etc?
The Courts

Judge In Pirate Bay Trial Biased 415

maglo writes "The judge who handed down the harsh sentence to the four accused in the The Pirate Bay trial was biased, writes Sveriges Radio (Sweden Public Radio): sr.se (swedish). Google translation. The judge is member of two copyright lobby organizations, something he shares with several of the prosecutor attorneys (Monique Wadsted, Henrik Pontén and Peter Danowsky). The organizations in question are Svenska Föreningen för Upphovsrätt (SFU) and Svenska föreningen för industriellt rättsskydd (SFIR)."

Comment Re:I wanted to (Score 1) 215

Same thing in Montreal. I had my mind set to change my old oil/electric furnace and heat pump with a geothermal system. The total price after federal and provincial rebates was over 3 times more expensive than other "regular" systems. We calculated that you need 14 years to break even, and start to save any money in heating/AC cost. Not worth for us.

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