Comment MOD PARENT UP (Score 1) 336
From the original article:
"Tech industry analysts comScore say figures show MySpace lost more than 10 million unique users worldwide between January and February."
Submission + - Canadian songwriters propose $10/mo Internet fee. (windsorstar.com)
BitterOak writes: According to this story, Canadian songwriters are proposing a $10 fee to be added to monthly ISP bills, giving users a license to download music using peer-to-peer file sharing technologies for free, without fear of reprisal. The money collected would be distributed to members of a Canadian association of songwriters (SOCAN). The story doesn't make clear whether the license would apply only to Canadian music, or how musicians in other nations would be compensated otherwise.
Submission + - DNA sequencing costs falling fast (singularityhub.com) 1
hajus writes: DNA sequencing costs seem to be falling faster than the gene sequencing equivalent of Moore's Law would predict. At about $10,000 per million bases in Jan 2001, the cost has fallen to $.50 per million in Jan 2011.
Submission + - Could we reconnect eastern Libya? 1
GrumpyBagpuss writes: We all know that the internet is supposed to route around damage, but currently eastern Libya is off the net because all their connectivity goes through Tripoli. How difficult would it to be to reconnect eastern Libya via a microwave link to Crete? It's less than 200km away, on the Libyan end there are mountains up to 850m and on Crete they're higher than 2000m. People have achieved distances of over 300km with simple WiFi equipment, but would it be possible to increase the bandwidth to handle a whole, or at least half a country? How would you connect the link at both ends? What other problems would there be? How many pringle cans would we need?
Submission + - Nintendo Hypes 3DS While Slamming Apple at GDC Key (goozernation.com)
Mike Rohde writes: "Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo, believes that social games are both leading innovation and at the same time killing the industry — so much so, that if trends continue, it’s going to be very difficult for developers to earn a living making social games. In particular, he made the innuendo that certain phone manufacturers do not care about the quality of the content, and they are perfectly content at selling free or extremely cheap games in mass quantity that might not be the highest of quality. He went on to state that Nintendo focuses on the value of the game and that content is the top priority. What’s interesting to note, is that between Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo is the company with the most amount of games, and they are also the company with the dreaded title of “shovelware” for much of their Wii titles. With the launch of the 3DS is Nintendo now going to focus on quality and make a solid attempt at eliminating their shovelware reputation? GoozerNation reports from GDC."
Comment Electronic transponder system (Score 4, Interesting) 620
It seems unnecessary to make things nosier for everyone when the number of people that need the noise is very small. Why not just have an electronic transponder system so that people can know where cars are relative to them. It would even work on vibration for those that are blind and deaf. It could give out more information, like speed and direction, and it it could work from further away if necessary.
Comment They are also kiling Altavista (Score 4, Interesting) 311
From looking at the leaked slide, they are getting rid of Altavista which has more meaning for me. Delicious as just another Web 2.0 company, but Altavista was an early pioneer on the web and could have easily been what Google is now.
Comment Re:None of the above. (Score 1) 342
Yup, I went from a S3IS to a 300D a while back and couldn't be happier. Well, I do miss live view, video recording, and focusing manually is harder. The price was right though: I sold my S3 for $175 and got my 300D for $180 the next day.
The big difference in the two is sensor size (12x bigger IIRC) and all that goes with it: ISO400 on the 300D has about the same noise as ISO100 on the S3, and the 300D can go up to ISO3200 if need be. Shots that I needed a tripod for, can now be hand held. Exposures that took 5 minutes now take 30 seconds. I I put it on ISO100 then things are silky smooth.
The range of lenses is a nice help too: Reversal rings, and extension tubes give great macro results for cheap. Another cheap option I like are 50mm, fast lenses, they are great if I don't want to use a tripod: Even a F2 lets in about 2.5x more light then the S3 at F3.5, I just wish I didn't have to deal with the crop factor that are the bane of APS-C sensors.
Comment Most of Google's revenue is advertising. (Score 5, Insightful) 335
Looking here we can see that, for 2009, Google made 23,651 million in revenue. Considering that 22,889 of those millions were from advertising, you have to wonder how long google will tolerate ad blocking in their products. Sure, it is fine now as not many people use chrome, and even fewer of those people install an ad blocking plug-in, but what about if it becomes more popular? Will they still tolerate it then? One wonders what would happen to google if Microsoft decided to make ad blocking default in Internet Explorer.
Comment Re:Carabiners (minimalist approach) (Score 1) 763
I go for that too. Keeps my phone from getting scratched and I can access them with my motorcycle gloves still on. I just can't get my hand in my pocket with motorcycle gloves on. The only real problem with the approach is fashion: It is almost as much of a fashion faux pas as having a cellphone on your belt.
Comment Re: A rare item. (Score 1) 507
True, but you can run any linux command line programs on it if you recompile them.
Cure For Radiation Sickness Found? 385
Summit writes "A scientist has claimed to have discovered a radioprotectant that all but eliminates acute radiation sickness even in cases of lethal doses of radiation in tests on rats and monkeys, when injected up to 72 hours after exposure. They also claim the drug, a protein, has no observed negative effects in humans. They have not irradiated any people just yet, but if this turns out to be true, it could mean everything from curing cancer to making manned interplanetary space expeditions feasible... not to mention treatment for radiation exposures in nuclear/radiological accidents/attacks. If this drug works, it would mean a true breakthrough as past experiments with radioprotectants were not particularly promising in any respect." The only source for the story at this time is an exclusive in YNet News, a site with the subtitle "Israel At Your Fingertips." Such a radioprotectant would be huge news for Israel. Make of it what you will.
Comment Re:The Fix (Score 1) 785
Maybe one could get around that problem by setting their computer's clock to an earlier date, or using an alternative to the zune software to load their files?
Comment The Fix (Score 5, Informative) 785
According to Herman at gizmodo, this is the solution:
"Your zune will need a "hard reset."
To do this, use a small screwdriver to pop off the plastic shielding where the zune cable plugs into and remove the two screws on either side of the plug. Next pop the cover off and locate the battery plug at the top left corner of the zune, using your screw driver, pop the cable connection half way off, and do this to the other plug on the right side. Wait 3 seconds, then push down the right connector and then the left battery connecter. Your zune should start up immediately. Press the backing of the zune down (make sure headphone jack is aligned) and put the screws and cover back in place.
It's an easy process but if you're unsure don't attempt it if you think you'll screw it or something.
Not pretty, but it might help those of you who have this problem.
According to others on the forum, it is caused by the new firmware, so you might not want to update it. Changing the clock might be a temporary fix if you want the new firmware.
Submission + - WSJ: Gaming, or Democratizing 'Most Viewed' Lists?
journalistguy writes: "The Wall Street Journal has an has an article on on how the content on news and other sites is manipulated by users. The article talks about a start-up called Collactive, which has been discussed here before .
What's newsworthy, IMHO, is the fact that Collactive has opened their Web 2.0 site hammering service for use by anyone . They even put up an example on how a bunch of guys pwned the top photo slot on Yahoo News, albeit for a good cause.
What I wonder is whether Collactive's APB system for taking collective action is truly a democratization of the Web, the world's first Web 3.0 service, or just another way to manipulate the news cycle?"
