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Government

Trying To Find White House Missing E-mails 437

Gov IT writes "On Wednesday a federal court ordered all employees working in the Bush White House to surrender media that might contain e-mails sent or received during a two and a half year period in hope of locating missing messages before President-elect Barack Obama takes over next week."

Comment Really expensive (Score 1) 504

As someone who has spent time at sea on research ships and works with satellite communications on research ships for a living, I can say that it's really expensive once you get away from coastal waters. The US academic research fleet (UNOLS) didn't get full internet access until 2005 because of this, and even now it's very limited in terms of bandwidth compared to what you are used to in your mom's basement/dorm room.

Near coast, you can use your cell phone, but once you get more than 50 miles offshore, your options quickly become limited and really expensive. You are at the mercy of various satellite operators, all of which charge you a pretty penny for the privilege of using their birds. The fact that most satellites are positioned to concentrate on populated areas (read: land) makes satellite connectivity in the middle of the ocean a very pricey commodity. This is why they charge you on a per-byte basis - C-band internet connectivity is typically a couple of thousand dollars US a month for a whopping 256 kilobits per second of bandwidth.

With all of the nerdy stuff out of the way, the MV explorer looks like a really cush cruise ship rather than a research vessel so you probably won't get much of an "at sea" experience other than not being able to leave the ship between ports. Enjoy your active stabilization, swimming pool, and piano bar.

For others considering time at sea, the Sea Education Association is the real deal. I've been aboard the SSV Robert C Seamans, their Pacific-based ship, and was kinda jealous that I never got to do something like that while I was in college. The students get a chance to climb the rigging and really sail the ship, rather than just being chauffeured around on a giant floating school bus. Additionally, you get to do some real science on their ships. Port stops in Tahiti and the Marquesas are tough to beat as well.

Comment Lease time on a botnet... (Score 2, Insightful) 252

Botnets have a whole bunch of IP addresses. Simply deploy your Yahoo CAPTCHA cracker code on a botnet that some other fine internet entrepreneur has assembled, and it doesn't matter how many negatives you generate because they will be from a variety of hosts. Certainly with 33% success rate, you're doing pretty well, especially considering your typical spray-and-pray spam blitz.
Movies

Netflix and iTunes Rentals Aiming At Different Crowds 166

Engadget notes an article in the New York Times discussing the substantially different markets that Netflix and Apple's movie rentals are aiming for. The site views the loosening of Netflix streaming restrictions as a reaction motivated entirely by the iTunes movie rental announcement, but beyond that the two services seem to have little connection. From Engadget's observations: "After speaking with Netflix's Reed Hastings, it was found that the vast majority of its streamable content was 'older,' and considering that users of this service can never look forward to brand new releases being available, the cost (i.e. free to most mail-in subscribers) makes sense. As for Apple, it's able to focus on crowds who are looking for a more robust, generally fresher selection, but of course, you'll pay the premium each time you indulge. Furthermore, Netflix has yet to make transferring video to any display / device other than your monitor easy, and while an LG set top box is indeed on the horizon, the differences in content selection are still likely to lure separate eyes."

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