Comment Just for the record (Score 5, Insightful) 79
Some of these are jokes, yeah, but it appears other people are genuinely confused. We're talking about the James Bond Q, not the Star Trek Q. RTFA.
British Spy Agency Searches For Real-Life 'Q' 79
suraj.sun writes with this quote from the Associated Press:"Britain's domestic spy agency — MI5 — is hunting for its very own 'Q,' of sorts. MI6's sister organization, which carries out surveillance on terror suspects inside Britain and gives security advice to the government, is searching for someone to lead its scientific work. Projects could include everything from developing counterterrorism technology to tackling a biological or chemical attack. 'Looking for a chief scientific adviser to lead and coordinate the scientific work of the security service so that the service continues to be supported by excellent science and technology advice,' MI5's Web site ad reads. MI5 has long had a roster of scientific staff tasked with developing high-tech gadgets, but an official said the service now wants a high-profile figure to lead pioneering work in technology and science. The adviser's work will focus chiefly on creating sophisticated new tools to help security service officers carry out surveillance and analysis work, said a government security official, who requested anonymity to discuss the work of MI5."
MIT Tracking Campus Net Connections Since 1999 125
An anonymous reader writes "MIT has been monitoring student internet connections for the past decade without telling them. There is no official policy and no student input." The Tech article says, though, that the record keeping is fairly limited in its scope (connection information is collected, but not the data transferred) and duration (three days, for on-campus connections).
Comment Re:My solution is simple & elegant: (Score 1) 522
Those that actually RTFA will recognize that Anon's post as relevant.
Google's Plan For Out-of-Print Books Is Challenged 324
Death Metal writes to tell us that a growing tide of complaints are being piled at Google's feet in response to a far-reaching settlement that some feel will grant the giant too much power over the "orphan books" they have been scanning into digital format. The settlement could give Google near-exclusivity with respect to the copyright of orphan works — books that the author and publisher have essentially abandoned. They are out of print, and while they remain under copyright, the rights holders are unknown or cannot be found. "Critics say that without the orphan books, no competitor will ever be able to compile the comprehensive online library Google aims to create, giving the company more control than ever over the realm of digital information. And without competition, they say, Google will be able to charge universities and others high prices for access to its database. The settlement, 'takes the vast bulk of books that are in research libraries and makes them into a single database that is the property of Google,' said Robert Darnton, head of the Harvard University library system. 'Google will be a monopoly.'"
Comment Getting tired of 4/1 already (Score 2, Informative) 75
So far, only Gmail Autopilot has managed to impress me.
Comment Re:The source is free (Score 1) 232
Developers have already paid more than that to have access to the tools needed to compile said source to use on an iPhone/iPod Touch. It's justified.
Comment Re:Gaming on the iPhone (Score 1) 232
Wait for iPhone 3.0 in the summer. It'll allow phones to connect wirelessly to other devices near them, for yes, multiplayer gaming on an iPhone. As far as over the cell network, good luck with that, though. Many areas have trouble enough with users clogging up the towers.
Comment Re:But of course! (Score 1) 117
Indeed, indeed. There is a certain amount of necessity to it. Personally, I'm all for standardization as far as web content goes. It really would stand to benefit the masses.
One of the big problems, though, is getting said masses to go along with it. There're a certain number of individuals out there that just don't want to play nice. They want to do things their way, regardless of what "standards" the majorities want to enforce. The internet's a big place, and it's tough to get everyone in it to follow the rules.
One of the big problems, though, is getting said masses to go along with it. There're a certain number of individuals out there that just don't want to play nice. They want to do things their way, regardless of what "standards" the majorities want to enforce. The internet's a big place, and it's tough to get everyone in it to follow the rules.
Comment Re:On the other hand... (Score 1) 117
True that. I guess it can't be discounted completely even given past failures/shortcomings. It's at least an interesting idea. Who knows, maybe if it gets some proper support behind it, it might actually go somewhere.
Comment But of course! (Score 1) 117
Yeah, because standardizing web content has worked so very well thus far. This should take right off and just roll. No problems whatsoever. Yep.
Comment Re:So push notification but no background apps? (Score 2, Interesting) 619
The apps still won't run in the background, but yes, that's the intended purpose. Basically, take an IM client as a great example. For most of them out there (Beejive and others excepted, because they're smart), when the app isn't running, you're logged out of the service, and people have to know your phone number to send you messages. With 3.0, apps like IM clients can notify the phone directly when its user has received a new message, then they can tap into the app and get said message. This is how it was initially intended to be, and it'll be nice to finally see some follow-through.
Comment Re:Good for them (Score 2, Informative) 123
Exactly. Yeah, there's a lot of hate out there for 'em. You can't be a big guy in the market and avoid hate. You have to admit, though, that being said big guy does have its advantages in areas like this. There's a lot of power in this company. No matter how much some of us may dislike Microsoft, they deserve some props for the strokes of genius they occasionally show. I'm impressed, at least.
Comment Re:Pathetic moon. (Score 1) 102
It's all really about the proportion. Take the size of this object, and compare it to all the tiny little things floating around in those rings. It's significantly bigger, and therefore, could reasonably be called a moon.
Yeah, forget the fact that it's a speck compared to Saturn itself, but whatever. Let them have their wonky classification "standards". :P
Yeah, forget the fact that it's a speck compared to Saturn itself, but whatever. Let them have their wonky classification "standards".
Comment Re:Can you blame them? (Score 1, Interesting) 770
No blame whatsoever. The US seems to be a sinking ship as of late; why not abandon it and head to solid ground? I'd likely do the same if I were in their position. I don't blame them one bit. It's like Zelos from ToP said. "I side with the strongest." In terms of one's own self-preservation, it's a very smart move.
It begs a question, though. Will there be some time down the road when, should our economy rebound and achieve the levels that those people once sought again? And, if so, would we see a sort of inverse-mass-exodus? Only time will tell, I suppose.
It begs a question, though. Will there be some time down the road when, should our economy rebound and achieve the levels that those people once sought again? And, if so, would we see a sort of inverse-mass-exodus? Only time will tell, I suppose.
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