Comment Re:wow (Score 1) 334
Actually, according to the bbc news they won't be valid in 100 days.
Tetris Clones Pulled From Android Market 396
sbrubblesman writes "The Tetris Company, LLC has notified Google to remove all Tetris clones from Android Market. I am one of the developers of FallingBlocks, a game with the same gameplay concepts as Tetris. I have received an email warning that my game was suspended from Android Market due to a violation of the Developer Content Policy. When I received the email, I already imagined that it had something to do with it being a Tetris clone, but besides having the same gameplay as Tetris, which I believe cannot be copyrighted, the game uses its own name, graphics and sounds. There's no reference to 'Tetris' in our game. I have emailed Google asking what is the reason for the application removal. Google promptly answered that The Tetris Company, LLC notified them under the DMCA (PDF) to remove various Tetris clones from Android Market. My app was removed together with 35 other Tetris clones. I checked online at various sources, and all of them say that there's no copyright on gameplay. There could be some sort of patent. But even if they had one, it would last 20 years, so it would have been over in 2005. It's a shame that The Tetris Company, LLC uses its power to stop developers from creating good and free games for Android users. Without resources for a legal fight, our application and many others will cease to exist, even knowing that they are legit. Users will be forced to buy the paid, official version, which is worse than many of the ones available for free on the market. Users from other countries, such as Brazil in my case, won't even be able to play the official Tetris, since Google Checkout doesn't exist in Brazil; you can't buy paid applications from Android Market in these countries."
Weird Exoplanet Orbits Could Screw Up Alien Life 161
astroengine writes "Life is good in the Solar System. We have Jupiter to thank for that. However, if the gas giant's orbit were a little more elliptical, there's every chance that Earth would become rather uncomfortable very quickly. Researchers looking at the zoo of exoplanets orbiting distant stars have simulated several scenarios of differing exoplanet orbits and find that many don't resemble our cozy Solar System. In fact, weird exoplanet orbits may be the deciding factor as to whether extraterrestrial life can form or not."
UK Newspaper Websites To Become Nearly Invisible 454
smooth wombat writes "Various websites have tried to make readers pay for access to select parts of their sites. Now, in a bid to counter what he claims is theft of his material, Rupert Murdoch's Times and Sunday Times sites will become essentially invisible to web users. Except for their home pages, no stories will show up on Google. Starting in late June, Google and other search engines will be prevented from indexing and linking to stories. Registered users will still get free access until the cut off date."
Mass Effect To Invade the Big Screen 142
UgLyPuNk writes "This could be a good thing or a bad thing: EA has just confirmed that it's making Mass Effect into a movie. The franchise has been acquired by Legendary Pictures, which is best known for its co-productions of The Dark Knight, Clash of the Titans, 300, Watchmen, and, um, The Hangover, as part of a co-financing agreement with Warner Bros."
Comment Re:Maybe I'm missing something (Score 1) 663
Wow thats depressing.
I just graduated last year and the area which I felt was most lacking was low level programming skills. For my OS class, it was all theory, no practical. So I'm now reading a book on the linux kernel to try and understand it a little more.
Our compilers class was a joke! Write a compiler based on c#! What! How does that make any sense?! I'm currently working in a company that writes web apps, which is fine, but I could learn this stuff any time.
Comment Re:Yeah... (Score 1) 158
I might be out of date, but isn't there still a big problem with write speeds? And is there not a limited life span of about 3-5 years for usage?
As I said, may be out of date!!
Comment V'Ger (Score 4, Informative) 874
The V'ger reference at the end annoyed me. It was given life by other beings, it didn't just become sentient!
Comment Re:Can't lose! (Score 1) 546
If you have breakdown cover, its a requirement of most policies to carry a spare tyre.
Submission + - XFX factory broken into ?
AllyGreen writes: An email sent out to XFX customers ...
Dear XFX Customers,
In light of recent events, we suspect that one of our HD 5970 Black Edition Limited graphics cards may have been compromised. In our current inventory check of this limited run of 1,000 individually serialised pieces, #68 is unaccounted for. We have evidence of a security breach in our facility, thus we believe #68 has been illegally obtained as the product has yet to be released. Please be aware that the person responsible will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If any news can be provided to lead us to the apprehension of a suspect, or if you can provide us with any information, please report it to security@xfxforce.com. XFX will reward any information leading to the return of #68. Please do not attempt to buy, trade, or barter for this unit. We thank you for your cooperation and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Sincerely,
XFX
Dear XFX Customers,
In light of recent events, we suspect that one of our HD 5970 Black Edition Limited graphics cards may have been compromised. In our current inventory check of this limited run of 1,000 individually serialised pieces, #68 is unaccounted for. We have evidence of a security breach in our facility, thus we believe #68 has been illegally obtained as the product has yet to be released. Please be aware that the person responsible will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If any news can be provided to lead us to the apprehension of a suspect, or if you can provide us with any information, please report it to security@xfxforce.com. XFX will reward any information leading to the return of #68. Please do not attempt to buy, trade, or barter for this unit. We thank you for your cooperation and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Sincerely,
XFX
Comment Re:Money (Score 2, Insightful) 391
Why would they make the work in the first place then?
Comment What?!? (Score 4, Insightful) 391
Thats a fucking witch hunt, what the heck else could google have done??
Comment Is anything (Score 3, Funny) 193
safe from Chuck Norris??
Comment Re:A super calculator (Score 1) 269
It was definitely an amazing time. TV programmes like "Tomorrows World" promised us a future digital world of CD-players, lasers and computers like the morrow-morrow-land story of Mad Max. Now we are there in the digital city, with laptops, wi-fi base stations, stereographic 3D TV, gigahertz PC's, satellite phones, GPS navigators, Internet, on-demand video and mobile phones with animated 3D visuals.
When you put it like that, today really is quite spectacular. However I would have killed to be around in the 80's/ very early 90's for how exciting the tech was then.
Comment Re:If only... (Score 1) 98
Gotta admit, thats one of the better squatters! Make their ad money and push the user in the right direction. Struggle to see any harm with that!
