Comment Which technicians were cut? (Score 5, Interesting) 143
Which technicians were cut?
The ones with the lowest technical aptitude, or the ones who pushed the least amount of unnecessary service on their customers?
Comment Paging the Texas Bar... cleanup in aisle seven... (Score 1, Interesting) 418
So, how long before the Texas bar pulls the Jack Thompson trigger on Ms. Schwager for conduct unbecoming?
Comment Give up PC-based syncing? Absolutely not... (Score 1) 332
...and it's for a simple reason.
There are two iOS devices in our household - my iPod Touch, and the "family" iPad. The iPod has "my stuff" -- music and apps that only interest me. The latter is more geared towards the kids -- children's videos, songs, and games.
I maintain a separate iTunes library for each device, though both are tied to the same Apple ID, so that I can purchase content once, and load it onto each device as I see fit.
Apple's cloud service, however, forces me into two undesirable options:
1) Getting to buy everything once, but forcing me to keep copies of all content on all devices.
2) Setting up multiple Apple IDs, and having to buy multiple copies of anything I want to have on more than one device.
Neither of these appeal to me, so I have no interest in giving up PC-based syncing.
Keep trying, Apple...
Comment Something people may not have caught... (Score 5, Interesting) 527
The article mentioned a couple things that have profoundly disturbing implications when considered together:
1) This expedited screening program is by invitation only.
2) The TSA agents staffing the expedited checkpoints are smiling and extra-friendly.
So now, air travel has a caste system. VIPs (everybody who might possibly have a chance to successfully reform/dismantle the TSA) get kid glove treatment, and the filthy plebes get the rude assholes who steal stuff from your luggage and molest your children with complete impunity.
Joy.
Comment More interesting than it would first appear... (Score 4, Informative) 48
These ousters are more interesting than they first appear...
Judging by this summary (now out of date) of the Yahoo board, 2 of the removed board members (Arthur Kern and Gary Wilson) were financial/investment guys (i.e. not technical people), 1 (Vyomesh Joshi) was a former "printer guy" from HP (whose technology credentials are highly suspect given his probable ties to Carly Fiorina), and 1 (Roy Bostock) was the current CEO.
Almost all of the people left on the board appear to have some decent technology credentials. If you wanted to "cut the fat" from the Yahoo board, you could do a lot worse than removing these four people.
Comment Re:Implications for EULAs? (Score 1) 160
I've heard of some EULA-upholding precedents (no time to Google for citations at the moment, sorry), so I doubt that they would get nuked across the board.
However, a narrowly-focused precedent barring/limiting "no refund" clauses would be quite welcome.
Such a precedent could also be used to mandate refunds for DRM-protected materials in the event that the parent company shuts down / goes bankrupt, which is one of the biggest problems with our increasing use of digital media (books, movies, etc).
Comment Implications for EULAs? (Score 4, Interesting) 160
I'm sure the SuperPoke EULA had provisions stating that all virtual currency purchased for use in-game was non-refundable, no matter what.
In light of that, it'll be interesting to see how this plays out in court. If Google doesn't settle, and loses, we could possibly see an EULA-affecting precedent come out of this.
Comment Re:You failed the (comprehension) test (Score 1) 116
...pond scum doesn't usually care what you think about it.
If the backlash is big enough, it will.
See the recent case study of Paul Christoforo (Captain "I wwebsite as on the Internet"), for example.
Comment Re:Refund? (Score 5, Interesting) 115
Will they get their money back?
Even with a refund of the booth fee, the Pirate Party could still be out a significant chunk of change.
Exhibition-grade booth displays and paraphernalia cost thousands of dollars (even tens of thousands for large booths), and if the Pirate Party invested money on materials specifically for this show, they may have just flushed a significant portion of their yearly budget.
The paranoid might even think that this invite-then-ban manuever was done deliberately.
Even with a refund of the booth fee, the Pirate Party could still be out a significant chunk of change.
Exhibition-grade booth displays and paraphernalia cost thousands of dollars (even tens of thousands for large booths), and if the Pirate Party invested money on materials specifically for this show, they may have just flushed a significant portion of their yearly budget.
The paranoid might even think that this invite-then-ban manuever was done deliberately.
Comment Re:Need Slashdot usage advice (Score 1) 261
Starting a month or two ago, Slashdot is showing me very few postings when I read the discussions. It's not the rating filter; I've tried many different settings on that. I've tried both D1 and D2 discussion systems, and that doesn't help. I just want things to be the way they used to be.
I've had the same thing happen too, though I haven't tried using D1 system to get around it.
Best I can figure (I haven't spent much time investigating -- better things to do), the source of the problem is that
I've been waiting for the
Comment Re:awsome. (Score 1) 435
Just found the page myself, but the periodic downloads from far-eastern Russia / western China every few seconds are what get me.
"Yes, Virginia, there is Firefox in Siberia."
Submission + - Toyota Software Has No Sudden Acceleration Issue (thecarconnection.com) 1
thecarchik writes: As Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood put it: "The jury is back. The verdict is in. There is no electronic-based cause for unintended high-speed acceleration in Toyotas. Period. Our conclusion--that Toyota's problems were mechanical, not electrical--come after one of the most exhaustive, thorough and intensive research efforts ever undertaken."
You may remember the NHTSA came to the same conclusion in a preliminary report issued last August. Another NHTSA report found that the drivers themselves were often to blame.
You may remember the NHTSA came to the same conclusion in a preliminary report issued last August. Another NHTSA report found that the drivers themselves were often to blame.
Submission + - McAfee: Malware Threats To Smartphones Are Real
An anonymous reader writes: Trojan and Zeus, security threats that have thus far been associated with desktop computers, are now being brought to mobile platforms. A recent report from security giant McAfee said malware growth on mobile devices is at an all time high.
Submission + - Why won't anyone hire middle-aged geeks (itworld.com)
jfruhlinger writes: Over the past year, unemployment for computer pros over 55 has gone up, while the rate for those younger than that has gone down. Blogger Kevin Fogarty thinks older tech workers generally do a good job keeping up on their skills — so what's the problem? Is there age discrimination? Are their salary requirements simply too high? Do younger managers not want to supervise them?
Submission + - Officials warn U.S. against another oil disaster w (dbune.com)
dbune writes: A retired Coast Guard admiral has warned that the United States is not well equipped to deal with another major oil catastrophe in Alaska just months after a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Talking to reporters, retired Adm. Thad Allen said that of the three icebreakers that the U.S. Coast...
