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Handhelds

Should I Learn To Program iOS Or Android Devices? 403

HW_Hack writes "In my early career in the '90s I had a hardware tech degree, but also a strong interest in software. I completed software courses in assembly, Pascal, HTML, and C as I prepped for a CS degree. I then got my chance to do hardware design for a major US firm and went that direction for a good 18-year career. I now work in a good sized school district doing IT support work at a large high school. I plan to revive my programming skills this winter so I can write apps for the flood of mobile devices. I am very much platform / OS agnostic and I support on any one day OS X, XP, Win 7, Linux servers, and now iOS as we pilot iPads in our school. My question focuses on three topics: Which programming environment (iOS or Android) is easier to jump into from a technical perspective / number of languages needed to master? Which one has a better SDK ecosystem of documentation, programmer support, and developer community(s)? Where is the market and the money going? I do not expect to get rich doing this, but with my insights into K12 needs I hope I can write effective apps for that market."

Comment Re:Huh? (Score 1) 700

Are you Sony's official apologist? Justifying each and every thing removed as opposed to admitting it was removed. I'm sure there was a good reason for Sony but that doesn't mean it is a good reason for the consumer. It was over priced at the beginning, removing features to reduce price is not what people wanted. I have the BC 40gig version which I bought used because I wanted the BC version. I planned on upping the HDD and playing around with Linux on it. No more. While you claim it was horrible I found many people who were really pushing(aka selling) the 'other OS' option even though it didn't access the game engine. Sony still hasn't matched Live for feature which is why they couldn't charge for it. I was hoping Sony Online would advance enough so MS would have to at least reduce the cost of Live. Sony can't even manage a consistent background download yet and we are stuck with a two step process to install demos. Now they have the ability to remove any features they want. Looking at Sony's history of removing features for what ever reason, I think people have a reason to get a bit peeved at them.

Comment I lied to a Comcast rep (Score 2, Interesting) 738

Interesting read. I still don't consider the US #1 in broadband. I do defend it when people compare it to the faster much smaller in terms of sq mileage and people countries. I'm sure Verizon goes many steps further to qualify their self claim of #1.

I had a Comcast rep come to my door just last week asking/begging me to come back to Comcast/xfinty. One of the many reasons why I switched was the cap Comcast was enforcing where I hadn't heard about Verizon's until now. My usage while not torrent heavy it is still active and I work from home 3 days a week so I would be concerned on any limitation. I have a 20/20 package and that seemed to floor him. "20 up?" he asked.

Comment Re:You know... (Score 1) 345

Wow, that is a pretty fancy logical fallacy there. There is no reason for customer to use the money on a game at GS or for on another game that is from the same publisher. Hell they may get wise and buy a used games instead. GS makes money off of used games, publisher do not which is why they are trying to use expiring DLC to sweeten a new deal and to go completely DL games which eliminates the used game market and GS from the picture. Publishers would jump for job if the used game market dried up. Of course those who buy used games would then decided whether to buy new, pirate the game or move on and do something else. Seems to me that the publishers can't come out and kill the used market directly or they will piss off a lot of people into not buying anything.

Law suit worthy or even justified? Doubt it.

The Courts

GameStop Sued Over Lack of DLC For Used Games 345

Absolut187 writes "According to IGN, 'A lawsuit filed earlier this week against retailer GameStop says the company is "deceptively misleading" its customers into believing a used game purchased from the store comes with all packaged downloadable content advertised on the box. This content, however, is only made available for free to those who purchase the game new, as the code to access the content can be only used one time.' I personally don't have a problem with publishers charging for DLC. IMHO, you put in the effort to make it, you have the right to (try) to charge whatever you want. I have the right to take it or leave it if I don't find your price fair (same goes for the main game). But what about the used game market? Should publishers be allowed to destroy the used market for their games by including 'free' DLC with a one-time use code? Should the copyright doctrine of 'first-sale' have any effect here? Or is it up to the consumer (frequently children) to realize that the product will have a reduced resale value due to the one-time nature of the DLC code? Is this any different from the use of unique 'CD-Keys' that are required for online play (e.g. for Blizzard games since 1997 or earlier)?"
Security

Submission + - Cameras Unravel a Homicide, Frame by Frame 3

Pickens writes: "For years, the United Arab Emirates has been using its oil wealth to build up a defense and security infrastructure with over 10,000 surveillance cameras that allows law enforcement to track anyone, from the moment they get off an airplane, to the immigration counter where their passport is scanned, through the baggage claims area to the taxi stand where cameras record who gets into what cars, which log their locations through the city's automated highway toll system, all the way to their hotels, which also have cameras. Now the Los Angeles Times reports that a team of 20 investigators pored over 648 hours of surveillance videos using facial recognition software to sketch out a picture of 27 suspects involved in the murder of a 50-year-old Hamas commander wanted by Israel in the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers. In the end, a mixture of high-tech razzle-dazzle and old-fashioned investigative work cracked the case. "Dubai police are very good at piecing together crimes," says Theodore Karasik, a security analyst at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Affairs. "I've seen it before when you had robberies or murders occur and you'll forget about the story and then six months later the guys are arrested via Interpol brought back here and then they disappear into the system." The case has generated what most analysts consider unwelcome fallout for Israel, which many suspect of being behind the attack but if Mossad agents were involved, the operation blew the identities of 27 agents. "They'll never be able to go outside of Israel again, even with disguises," says Karasik. "Biometrics means all of the contours of your face are on file.""

Comment Consultant gimmick or not? (Score 1) 5

Usually these type of changes occur from a magazine an exec read or an expensive consultant who recently visited. Putting uniforms on does promote unity in your group and separates you from the other employees. To the same degree plenty of companies want employees to do the tie thing because it promotes professionalism. If they are paying for your uniforms then by all means let them but remind them of the 'cons' so management goes into this with eyes wide open.

Cons: Eliminates individuality, puts up an artificial wall between them and other parts of the company who may not look at the uniforms in a positive fashion and may demoralize those in staff.

I won't list the pro side because management already figured out those.

If they try to put your name on the shirts, look for a new career.

Spam

jQuery Dev Bemoans Overwhelming Spam On Google Groups 251

angryrice tips a blog post by John Resig, lead developer for jQuery, about the failure of Google Groups to manage spam, declaring attempts to use it as a public discussion system "completely futile." Quoting: "The final straw was placed upon my patience with the Google Groups system a few weeks ago. Spammers are now spoofing the email addresses of existing group participants to sneak their messages through. Previously you would've seen a delightful 'FREE MOVIE DOWNLOADS' spam from 'freemovies123@gmail.com' — but now you'll see it coming from existing group users — or even the group moderators themselves. This cheat completely bypasses the moderation system since the spammers are pretending to be pre-moderated users. The Google Groups system is completely fooled. The spam message comes in claiming to be from an existing group participant — and according to the Google Groups interface there is no difference. If you click the user's name you'll be taken to a full listing of that user's posts (with the spam messages delightfully interspersed)."
Science

Darwin's Voyage Done Over, Live 147

thrill12 writes "Almost 178 years ago, Charles Darwin set sail in the HMS Beagle, to do the now famous explorations that formed the basis for Darwin's On The Origin Of Species. Now, a group of British and Dutch scientists, journalists and artists set sail again to redo the voyage of the Beagle. This time, they are taking modern equipment with them and they have live connections through Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and Flickr. As they re-explore, and (re)discover, we can join that 8-month-long trip, live over the internet."

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