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Comment I don't need you either. (Score 1) 147

I bought a PS2 with the intent of purchasing $20 games. If I can't find them (out of print or not sold here or whatever), I'll just download them. I intend to give them my money, but if they make it impossible to do that I won't do it.

Of course, that probably means I'll stop buying console stuff and move back to computers. I feel better about giving hardware mfrs my money anyway, even though PC gaming is a constant upgrade treadmill.

Ever higher game prices are only shooting yourself in the foot.

Comment We're making the same mistake over and over... (Score 1) 304

Mr. Nasa approaches a taxpayer... "Say, would you mind funding an attempt to get better data for a group of scientists?" Or he says, "Say, would you mind funding an attempt to physically explore our universe?" Why do we keep making this mistake? Does Mr. Nasa WANT his budget to dwindle to zero?!?
Biotech

Submission + - SPAM: Can new technologies read brain waves?

destinyland writes: "Researchers are building a device that can analyze neuron activity to measure the effectiveness of attention-deficit therapies. ("Many children are getting Ritalin without any objective diagnosis... And many adults don't get Ritalin, even though they might be helped by it.") But DARPA is taking it one step further, funding a $4 million project to map the brain's electrical activity to specific words, hoping to make it possible to communicate by thought!""
Link to Original Source
Microsoft

Submission + - What would make you enter a Microsoft store? (pcauthority.com.au) 3

Slatterz writes: When Apple created its multi-million dollar retail stores, with the gleaming staircases, free Internet, Genius Bars and glass/metal architecture, they broke the mold for how computers should be sold in stores. Plenty of people have written about the appeal of the Apple store. The approach includes employees wearing colour-coded T-shirts, such as Orange-shirted "Concierge" staff, and a Genius Bar for technical questions and product support. Apple's retail division head Ron Johnson has described it as "like one giant window to Apple." Now Microsoft is getting ready to launch its own flagship retail locations. So what will you experience walking into a Microsoft store? What would make the Microsoft store experience compelling enough to draw the kind of crowds that has people queuing for hours at Apple store events like kids at Disney World?
The Internet

Submission + - ISPs that Fail to Adopt IPv6 Could be Negligent (ispreview.co.uk)

MJackson writes: "Network supplier Entanet UK has warned that many broadband ISPs could be missing a "competitive opportunity" by adopting a risky "wait and see" approach to IPv6 adoption. The group, which supplies several ISPs and is itself an early adopter of IPv6, said that some ISPs could be deemed technically negligent and compromise network performance by delaying IPv6. ISPs are still using "lack of customer demand for IPv6" as an excuse for putting off the extra investment, despite the fact that they'll have to do it before 2012 at the latest when IPv4 addresses are predicted to run out."
Data Storage

Submission + - Intel 34nm SSDs lower prices, raise performance (pcper.com)

Vigile writes: When Intel's consumer line of solid state drives were first introduced late in 2008, they impressed reviewers with their performance and reliability. Intel gained a lot of community respect by addressing some performance degradation issues found at PC Perspective by quickly releasing an updated firmware that solved those problems and then some. Now Intel has its second generation of X25-M drives available, designated by a "G2" in the model name. The SSDs are technically very similar though they use 34nm flash rather than the 50nm flash used in the originals and reduced latency times. What is really going to set these new drives apart though, both from the previous Intel offerings and their competition, are the much lower prices allowed by the increased memory density. PC Perspective has posted a full review and breakdown of the new product line that should be available next week.
Idle

Submission + - A World Without A Sysadmin: A Horror Movie (youtube.com)

Nathan writes: "We decided to shoot a video to coincide with International SysAdmin Appreciation Day and shot "A World Without A Sysadmin". Imagine the horror the world would face if every sysadmin on the planet simply disappeared."
Space

Submission + - Buzz Aldrin on NASA's future

basil64 writes: "Buzz Aldrin has weighed in on NASA's long term plans; In short, extend the soon-to-be-cancelled space shuttle, extend the Constellation program and colonize Mars, in an interview with Lester Haines at The Register http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/28/aldrin_space_vision/
from the article:
"The agency's current Vision for Space Exploration will waste decades and hundreds of billions of dollars trying to reach the moon by 2020 — a glorified rehash of what we did 40 years ago. Instead of a steppingstone to Mars, NASA's current lunar plan is a detour."
Aldrin has always been one of the most vocal of NASA's astronauts on the topic of why the future ain't what it used to be; a vocal proponent for space exploration, colonization, and the probability of extra-terrestrial life, He is seen by some as 'out there' but i believe he has the true pioneer attitude that got the whole space program off the ground (so to speak)"
The Military

Submission + - Archives Show Poison Dart Bombs Developed for WWII

Hugh Pickens writes: "BBC reports that newly opened archives from World War II show a coordinated project between Britain and Canada to develop millions of darts, to be dropped from aircraft in "500lb cluster projectiles" each containing 30,000 darts laced with a poison that could cause death "within 30 seconds" without damaging nearby buildings or equipment. A "grooved zinc alloy dart" would contain a small poison deposit in the hollow needle section, kept in place by a cotton and wax seal, while a paper tail would keep it flying straight at up to 250 ft per second. Under the heading "Lethality" the "Top Secret" note explained: "If penetrating into the flesh, will cause death if not plucked out within 30 seconds. If plucked out within this time will cause disablement by collapse. Collapse occurs within 1-5 minutes, and death within 30 minutes." Trials with the darts were conducted at an experimental station in Suffield, Alberta, Canada where in one experiment, the Canadians dressed sheep and goats in two layers of battledress material and positioned them across a wide area, some in trenches, to be exposed to the killer darts. It is unclear why the weapon was rejected although it is speculated that Britain may have worried that its enemies would adopt the poisoned darts and use them on British troops. "To our modern sensibilities it seems shocking and there's a real sense of viciousness about this weapon," says Mark Dunton, a contemporary history specialist at the National Archives. "But it shows the Allies were prepared to consider anything — no matter how gruesome — to secure a victory.""
The Internet

Submission + - Google mistook Jackson searches for net attack (pcauthority.com.au)

Slatterz writes: Web giant Google has admitted it thought the sudden spike in searches for Michael Jackson on Thursday was a massive, coordinated internet attack, leading it to post an error page on Google News. The company's director of product management, RJ Pittman, explained that search volume began to increase around 2pm PDT on Thursday and 'skyrocketed' by 3pm, finally stabilising at around 8pm. According to Pittman, last week also saw one of the largest mobile search spikes ever seen, with 5 of the top 20 searches about Jackson. Google wasn't the only site caught out by the extraordinary events. The Los Angeles Times web site also crashed soon after it broke the news of Jackson's death.

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