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Comment Re:Valve Handheld. (Score 1) 191

by codepigeon (#42764723) Attached to: Gabe Newell: Steam Box's Biggest Threat Isn't Consoles, It's Apple

There are some young adults that have their gaming console smacked right in the living room, but by and large this isn't a very useful arrangement...are couch potatoes(sic)...and the adults can watch the football game, or actually have friends over to see something besides empty pizza boxes and smashed beer cans

What decade are you living in? Or is your interpretation of 'young adults' anyone under 50?
Space

Submission + - Hot Planet Cools Off Its Own Sun (sciencemag.org)

Submitted by sciencehabit
sciencehabit writes: What do you do if you're a hot Jupiter and want to cool off? Why, you use your gravity to lift up the surface of your sun, cooling it and creating a dark spot on the star. In a forthcoming issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters, astronomers will report using the Kepler spacecraft to observe the brightness of a star in the constellation Cygnus more than a million times. Named HAT-P-7, this star has a hot Jupiter—a giant planet orbiting close-in —which other scientists found before NASA launched the spacecraft. The world's gravity raises the star's surface away from its hot center, causing part of the surface to cool by just a fraction of a degree Kelvin and produce a dark spot that lags behind the planet's position by a few hours. If confirmed, this discovery is the first time astronomers have ever seen planet-induced "gravity darkening" and demonstrates Kepler's remarkable ability to detect even the subtlest of stellar signals.
Graphics

Submission + - Microsoft Phases Out XNA and DirectX? (i-programmer.info) 2

Submitted by mikejuk
mikejuk writes: It is reported that Microsoft has sent an email to DirectX/XNA MVPs which informs them that they are no longer needed because XNA and DirectX are no longer evolving. What does this mean? If you don't need MVPs then presumably you anticipate nothing to support in the future.
Apple

Submission + - Gabe Newell: Steam Box's biggest threat isn't consoles, it's Apple (polygon.com)

Submitted by silentbrad
silentbrad writes: The biggest danger facing the success of Steam Box or any other PC ecosystem hoping to find space in the living room is Apple, according to a lecture given by Valve co-founder Gabe Newell to a class at the University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs. "The threat right now is that Apple has gained a huge amount of market share, and has a relatively obvious pathway towards entering the living room with their platform," Newell said. "I think that there's a scenario where we see sort of a dumbed down living room platform emerging — I think Apple rolls the console guys really easily. The question is can we make enough progress in the PC space to establish ourselves there, and also figure out better ways of addressing mobile before Apple takes over the living room? ... We're happy to do it if nobody else will do it, mainly because everybody else will pile on, and people will have a lot of choices, but they'll have those characteristics. They'll say, 'Well, I could buy a console, which assumes I'll re-buy all my content, have a completely different video system, and, oh, I have a completely different group of friends, apparently. Or I can just extend everything I love about the PC and the internet into the living room.' ... I think the biggest challenge is that Apple moves on the living room before the PC industry sort of gets its act together."
Games

Submission + - Valve sued in Germany over game ownership (pcadvisor.co.uk)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZVB) has sued computer game distributor Valve because it prohibits Steam-gamers from reselling their games.

Steam users own the games they purchase and should be able to resell them when they want to, just like owners of traditional card or board games can, said Carola Elbrecht, project manager for consumer rights in the digital world at the VZVB, on Thursday. But while those traditional game owners can resell their games whenever they like, Steam users often cannot, she said.
China

Submission + - New York Times Targetted By Chinese Hackers (nytimes.com)

Submitted by zbobet2012
zbobet2012 writes: The New York Times is reporting that is was the target of hacking attacks of Chinese origin. The hacking is purportedly in response to printed news regarding the wealth of China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao. The attack was apparently carried out through comprised American university networks. The involved security firm has stated that it is likely the attack was carried out by an arm of the Chinese Military.

Comment Re:The really disturbing part (Score 1) 436

by codepigeon (#42521009) Attached to: Anonymous Helps Find Evidence In Gang Rape Case
> Why is being able to run fast and throw/catch a ball accurately considered something that elevates these people above everyone else? >Why can't people be elevated for doing things that actually contribute to society?

I have been hearing these same questions for 30 years. I am tending to think it is just human nature.

Comment Re:First amendment (Score 1) 1435

by codepigeon (#42457917) Attached to: Newspaper That Published Gun-Owners List Hires Armed Guards
Ok. So the second amendment was written to assure that we had the ability to fight the government in the event that they overstepped their bounds.

The government now has nuclear weapons, tanks, automatic grenade launchers.

Should citizens be allowed the same weapons that the government has access to? (therefore assuring we could actually revolt)

Comment 2nd amendment (Score 1) 1435

by codepigeon (#42457759) Attached to: Newspaper That Published Gun-Owners List Hires Armed Guards
Woo hoo. I am sure that this is what the founders thought of when they wrote and voted on the second amendment.

You have the right to own weapons with the ability to kill dozens(tens of dozens) of people in a matter of seconds, and if that ability is exposed to your neighbors you should threaten to use those weapons against people who pose you no threat to make them quite.

Comment Re:Unbelievable. (Score 5, Insightful) 561

by codepigeon (#42429483) Attached to: Why Linux On Microsoft Surface Is a Tough Challenge
I was right there with you until: 'just because you buy the hardware, you think you have the privilege to install what you want'.

what!!! What has happened to this world?! I bought it. If I want to install DOS 6.2 on it, that is nobody's business but mine. I cant believe the corporations have managed to convince people like you otherwise.

Comment Re:Modern Luddites (Score 4, Insightful) 544

by codepigeon (#42279203) Attached to: Is Technology Eroding Employment?
"whether or not we should reduce the work week's duration and increase paid vacation time"

That is such a ridiculous statement. Oh yes, my work week will be shortened; along with my paycheck.

What fantasy land do you live in where corporations value the happiness of their employees? Or to be more blunt, openly willing to spend more on paid vacation time? It took unions to get fair pay for workers and look what is happening to them. Do you honestly think a company will waste profits on its employees without being forced to?

Comment Pretty cool (Score 2) 60

by codepigeon (#42266495) Attached to: Hubble Sees Tribe of Baby Galaxies 13+ Billion Light Years Away
I love seeing images like these. I wish some clever astronomer or graphics guru would make a 'flip book' type of image (think those old layered plastic anatomy pictures in encyclopedias) where each layer contains the galaxies at a certain distance.

That way you could see the evolution, or a qasi-3d image of what hubble is seeing.

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