Comment If I take one more step ... (Score 1) 85
"If I take one more step it'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been."
Comment Re:old news... (Score 1) 96
Also noted by Bruce Schneier in 2008 ... https://www.schneier.com/blog/...
Comment Humanity Research Consultancy (Score 2) 100
The Humanity Research Consultancy in Taiwan has perhaps some of the most up-to-date and deep analysis of this new form of human trafficking. I recently returned form the Asia Regional Anti-Trafficking conference and the details of this forced-scamming operation is horrendous.
Comment Re:Now? (Score 1) 193
I agree ... "It's always been about reputation"
The majority of our beliefs are based on what we have learned from an authority figure of one form or another. We could not develop otherwise -- it is not feasible to spend the time that would be needed to validate what we are told based on either rationality or personal experience.
Comment I thought it was Kim Jong-un (Score 1) 189
Elon Musk invented BitCoin? Surely not. I heard it was Kim Jong-un.
Comment Re:Only themselves to blame (Score 1) 93
I think you're a little harsh. Garnet puts a lot of AI into those reports.
Comment Not shutting down - moving to a new platform (Score 1) 75
Hang on a sec ... if you read the Club Penguin announcement, they are not closing down Club Penguin but replacing the current version with a new one. Sounds like a big fuss about nothing.
Comment Hijacking and theft (Score 2) 215
How will the drones ensure that the recipient is the correct person? And how will they protect themselves against other people or drones stealing the cargo?
Comment Re:I'll get flak for this (Score 1) 552
FWIW, I am also praying for your sister in law and those surrounding her.
Comment $88.5 million *earnings* not $88.5 million tax (Score 1) 288
The /. item claims "The article states that last year alone, Apple Australia paid only $AU88.5 million in tax ..." but that is incorrect. The article states "Last year Apple reported pretax earnings in Australia of only $88.5 million ..."
Comment That's "Giving", not "Gifting" (Score 1) 110
Who invented this term "gifting" and what's wrong with just giving?
China's Influence Widens Nobel Peace Prize Boycott 360
c0lo writes "Not only did China decline to attend the upcoming Nobel peace prize ceremony, but urged diplomats in Oslo to stay away from the event warning of 'consequences' if they go. Possibly as a result of this (or on their own decisions), 18 other countries turned down the invitation: Pakistan, Iran, Sudan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Venezuela, the Philippines, Egypt, Ukraine, Cuba and Morocco. Reuters seems to think the 'consequences' are of an economic nature, pointing out that half of the countries with economies that gained global influence during recent times are boycotting the ceremony (with Brazil and India still attending)."
Comment Re:Just to point out... (Score 1) 95
The problem with Facebook's groups of friends is that the UI hides the functionality. I doubt that one in 1,000 users would have stumbled upon the right process for making a photo available to just a subset of their friends. I've suggested that a better approach to this type of control is to assign "privacy tags" to both people and published objects. A "friend" could then see just those objects of mine for which both they and the object share the same privacy tag.
Breaking the Squid Barrier 126
An anonymous reader writes "Dr. Steve O'Shea of Auckland, New Zealand is attempting to break the record for keeping deep sea squid alive in captivity, with the goal of being able to raise a giant squid one day. Right now, he's raising the broad squid, sepioteuthis australis, from egg masses found in seaweed. This is a lot harder than it sounds, because the squid he's studying grow rapidly and eat only live prey, making it hard for them to keep the squid from becoming prey themselves. If his research works out, you might one day be able to visit an aquarium and see giant squid."
Virtual Currency Becomes Real In South Korea 203
garylian writes "Massively is reporting that the South Korean Supreme Court has stated that virtual currency is the equivalent of real-world money. For those of you who might not be drawing the link, the core there is that selling in-game currency for real money is essentially just an exchange of currency and perfectly legal in South Korea. This could have sweeping implications for RMT operations the world over, not to mention free-to-play games and... well, online games in general. The official story is available online from JoongAng Daily."
