Comment Hypocrit (Score 1) 495
Didn't Jobs and Woz get started in this business by hacking the phone system in the first place? I seem to recall something about blue boxes. :-)
Comment Re:Flawed interpretation of the study (Score 1) 685
You could speculate that the XBox numbers don't overcome the PS3 numbers, or you could RTFA and find out the actual results of the survey.
Assuming that there's negligible overlap:
Blu-ray (7%) + PS3 (9%) = 16%
HD-DVD (11%) + XBox 360 (13%) = 24%
So, according to the referenced survey, HD-DVD has more U.S. household penetration than Blu-ray whether you count the game consoles or not.
Comment NPR has a phthalates story today (Score 1) 356
NPR has a phthalates story today. It explains how certain phthalates were banned from children's products based on scientific evidence that they were dangerous, but other phthalates were banned just this year for political reasons despite scientific evidence that they were safe.
Comment Re:Our own treaties and laws, hidden from us. (Score 1) 364
The request was for drafts and proposals for treaties. This doesn't keep any existing treaty, law, or regulation secret.
Interestingly, the letter references Executive order 12958, which Clinton issued to loosen up documents under the FOIA. Bush issued EO 13292, which made it easier to classify documents (and gave the VP more power to do so). Since the denial references the older Clinton order, I assume that means Obama has rolled back the standards to the Clinton-era.
Comment Americans with Disabilities Act (Score 1) 683
I'm surprise Amazon wasn't sued because the original Kindle lacked text-to-speech. Isn't it just an accessibility feature added for people with disabilities? Aren't such things virtually required under the Americans with Disability Acts?
Submission + - Revote likey because Diebold recount impossible
Aidtopia writes: A judge in Berkeley, California, has ordered a re-vote in a 2004 medical marijuana measure which had lost by fewer than 200 votes. A group supporting the measure requested a recount, which was meaningless since the Diebold electronic voting machines didn't produce physical ballots. The group petitioned for audit logs and other supporting documentation. The Registrar initially gave them the run-around, and, with a lawsuit pending, shipped the machines back to the manufacturer where 96% of the stored votes were erased. The ruling is tentative. The revote, if it happens, will be in the 2008 general election, using different electronic voting machines that produce a paper trail.
