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Facebook To Make Facebook Credits Mandatory For Games 116

Posted by Soulskill from the hope-that's-ok-with-you dept.
An anonymous reader sends this excerpt from TechCrunch: "Facebook has confirmed that it is indeed making Facebook Credits mandatory for Games, with the rule going into effect on July 1 2011. Facebook says that Credits will be the exclusive way for users to get their 'real money' into a game, but developers are still allowed to keep their own in-game currencies (FarmBucks, FishPoints, whatever). For example, Zynga can charge you 90 Facebook Credits for 75 CityCash in CityVille. ... The company acknowledges that some developers may not be pleased with the news, explaining this is why it is announcing the news five months in advance, so it can 'have an open conversation with developers.' The rule only applies to Canvas games (games that use Facebook Connect aren't affected), and while it's games only at this part, Facebook says that it eventually would like to see all apps using Facebook Credits. It's a move that's been a long time coming — there has been speculation that Facebook would do this for a year now, spurring plenty of angst in the developer community."
Image

Selling Incandescent Light Bulbs As Heating Devices 557

Posted by samzenpus from the a-bulb-by-any-othe-name dept.
Csiko writes "The European Union has banned by law trading of incandescent light bulbs due to their bad efficiency/ecology (most of the energy is transformed into heat). A company is now trying to bypass this restriction by offering their incandescent light bulb products as a heating device (article in German) instead of a light device. Still, their 'heat balls' give light as well as heating. So — every law can be bypassed if you have some creativity!"
Cellphones

Windows Phone 7 Gaming and Xbox Live 99

Posted by Soulskill from the at-least-they're-trying dept.
Engadget is running a preview of Microsoft's attempt to bring Xbox Live to upcoming Windows Phone 7 devices. Launch titles will include Guitar Hero, Castlevania, and Halo: Waypoint, and many of the features from the console version of Xbox Live will make the transition intact. Quoting: "Live on WP7 will allow for full avatar integration (we're talking fully rendered, interactive avatars) along with customization (clothes, accessories, and more). The company has even crafted an avatar-centric version of familiar phone utilities like flashlight apps and levels, adding some whimsy to what would normally be pretty staid affairs. Additionally, messaging, friend lists / status, achievements, and leaderboards (with friend comparisons) are all here as well, making for a pretty complete mobile Xbox Live experience. And also just like the console, every game will have a try-before-you buy demo to check out before spending your hard-earned cash."
Security

Doom-Like Video Surveillance For Ports In Development 56

Posted by Soulskill from the hurt-me-plenty dept.
oranghutan writes "A research and development group down under is working to develop an advanced video surveillance system for ports around the world that uses video superimposed onto a 3D map. With 16-megapixel high-definition cameras on a distributed (cabled) network and a proprietary system written in a variety of languages (C++, Python, SQL, etc.), the group from NICTA is aiming to allow security teams at the Port of Brisbane — which is 110km long — to monitor shipping movements, cargo and people. By scrolling along a 3D map, the security teams can click on a location and then get a real-time video feed superimposed onto the map. Authorities from around the world with the right permissions can then access the same system. The main difference from regular surveillance systems is the ability to switch views without having to know camera numbers/locations and the one screen view."

Comment Wow - more than I thought - 13 over 26 years (Score 1) 357

by Alphi1 (#30145702) Attached to: Total number of conventional, paid positions I've held:
1) Newspaper delivery 2) Janitor 3) Pizza Cook/Bingo Waiter at Restaurant A 4) Pizza Cook at Restaurant B 5) Salesperson at Retail Store A 6) Salesperson at Retail Store B 7) Residence Hall Receptionist 8) TV Channel Graphic Designer 9) Contract Mainframe software developer for company A 10) Contract Mainframe software developer for company B 11) Contract Mainframe software developer for company C 12) .NET developer for company D 13) .NET developer for company E I guess if you average it (out to a new job every 2 years) that looks kinda bad, until you consider I've been at the last one for 8 years now, and that the first 8 were part-time while I was in varying levels of school/college.

Comment Re:G-forces ???? (Score 1) 384

by J05H (#29720295) Attached to: Gigantic Air Gun To Blast Cargo Into Orbit

You didn't understand. Escape velocity is for leaving Earth's vicinity. This dude is talking about achieving Low Earth Orbit, LEO or equivalent. No matter how much energy is imparted, to achieve LEO (or MEO, GEO, etc) requires one or more circularization burns. This simply can not be done by applying more initial force to the object. It could be done with Myrabo-type laser propulsion or a small solid rocket.

Comment Re:Management (Score 3, Informative) 246

by pz (#29720241) Attached to: The Sidekick Failure and Cloud Culpability

There's no magic. All we're seeing is stupid people getting burned because they didn't use basic due diligence.

Yes, and, no. The people getting burned here are customers, by the many thousands. You can't expect the end-user to know what the DRP / BCP is for a subcontractor of the provider of their wireless communicator data plan. I wouldn't call the end-users stupid, and they are the ones most significantly affected in this case.

Comment Re:Windows 7 reviews are no different.... (Score 3, Informative) 414

by tomithychen (#29720173) Attached to: Revisiting the Original Reviews of Windows Vista
This has nothing to do with "depth of Microsoft's problems". Your school probably pays for MSDNAA as a benefit to students (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/academic/default.aspx/). This program has been around for a long time. I used it to get windows 98/2000/xp from my university back in the day.

Comment Re:Let's think of what makes no sense in this movi (Score 1) 592

by Alphi1 (#27998769) Attached to: What Did You Think Of The New Star Trek Movie?
What I didn't get was at the end, after telling Nero that he basically has no chance to survive that close to the singularity and Nero tells Kirk to basically stuff it, why bother shooting all the phasers/torpedos at them at all? Especially considering not only did that waste a lot of ammo for no good reason (Nero was done anyways from the sounds of things), but it delayed them enough that they almost didn't escape themselves.
Microsoft

Microsoft Uses "I'm a PC" Character In New Ads 837

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the straight-for-the-jobsular dept.
arcticstoat writes to tell us that in the wake of their largely unsuccessful Jerry Seinfeld ad campaign Microsoft is setting their sights directly on recent Apple ads by featuring the "I'm a PC" character in their new advertising campaign. "He then follows this with another phrase, such as 'and I've been made into a stereotype' before the advert shifts to a range of people performing a diverse assortment of jobs, all of which also say they're a PC. Among those featured are astronaut Bernard Harris, as well as religious author Deepak Chopra and 'Desperate Housewives' actress Eva Longoria. The ad also features a wide range of anonymous people, including a shark diver, a teacher and a guy with a beard."

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