Comment Whats the point? (Score 1) 646
Great, now i have to avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup And "Corn Sugar"
I don't see what the point is.
Boy cot this shit. Vote with your dollars is the only way to really make change happen.
Comment I See Potential (Score 1) 123
Gotta say i was somewhat impressed by this technology. But i think it needs to be tweaked. I think after this sort of gesturing gets more refined we may see it more. I don't like the idea of having to wave my arm at something to see the next picture. But if it were good enough to detect each finger it could potentially be a very good interface. After the revolution we have seen with touch technology, which started with clunky pens and moved on to fingers, seeing this start as a wild arm flailing makes me hope that this will evolve into a minority report type interface. Or maybe it will fall flat on it's face.
TSA Internally Blocking Websites With 'Controversial Opinions' 147
sterlingda writes "The Transportation Security Administration is blocking certain websites from the federal agency's computers, including halting access by staffers to any Internet pages that contain a 'controversial opinion,' according to an internal email obtained by CBS News. The new rules came into force on July 1, and prevent TSA employees from accessing such content, though what is deemed 'controversial opinion' is not explained."
IBM Supercomputer Cooled With Hot Water 89
1sockchuck writes "IBM has deployed an innovative supercomputer cooled by hot water in a Zurich computer lab. The Aquasar supercomputer employs a chip-level liquid cooling system that can use water at temperatures as high as 60 degrees C (140 degrees F), and as a result consumes up to 40 percent less energy than a comparable system using room-level air-cooling. The system also uses waste heat to provide warmth to buildings, reducing Aquasar's carbon footprint even further."
Reading E-Books Takes Longer Than Reading Paper Books 186
Hugh Pickens writes "PC World reports on a study showing that reading from a printed book — versus an e-book on any of the three tested devices, an iPad, Kindle 2, and PC — was a faster experience to a significant degree. Readers measured on the iPad reported reading speeds, on average, of 6.2 percent slower than their print-reading counterparts, while readers on the Kindle 2 clocked in at 10.7 percent slower. Jacob Nielsen had each participant read a short story by Ernest Hemingway. Each participant was timed, then quizzed to determine their comprehension and understanding of what they just read. Nielsen also surveyed users' satisfaction levels after operating each device (or page). For user satisfaction, the iPad, Kindle, and book all scored relatively equally at 5.8, 5.7, and 5.6 on a one-to-seven ranking scale (seven representing the best experience). The PC, however, did not fare so well, getting a usability score of 3.6."
BBC Web Slip-Up Insults Facebook Fans 262
An anonymous reader writes "The BBC has accidentally insulted its Facebook followers by revealing a version of a new website which wasn't yet ready for public consumption and in which it referred to its social media followers as 'saddos.' The same website also features a picture of the Queen, described as the Pakistan hockey team. File this one under 'a really bad day at the office' for one web developer."
A Composer's-Eye View of the Copyright Wars 973
bonch writes "As an experiment, composer Jason Robert Brown logged onto a site illegally offering his sheet music for download and contacted hundreds of users, politely asking them to stop listing the material. Most complied, some were confused, and a few fought back. Brown chronicles a lengthy exchange he had with a teenage girl named Brenna, which provides an interesting insight into the artists' perspective of the copyright debate. He also responds to several points raised in comments to the article and says, 'I don't wish to be the enemy; I'm just a guy trying to make a living.'"
Users Report Foul Play In App Store Rankings, Purchases 144
An anonymous reader writes "Two iPhone App developers have spotted what appears to be a hacking of the App store rankings by a rogue developer. The rankings in the books category of the US iTunes store features 40 out of 50 apps by the same app developer, Thuat Nguyen. What's more concerning is that it seems individuals' iTunes accounts have been hacked to make mass purchases of that one developer's apps." Among the comments attached to the linked story is one which suggests the security problem may lie elsewhere.
Finding Open Source Projects Looking For Help? 151
aus writes "I've been doing web development for about 10 years now. It's been very good to me, but I want to do more than write HTML, PHP, JavaScript and CSS. Since the job market isn't all that great right now in the US, it would seem that volunteering some time on an open source project would give me the satisfaction I'm looking for. The problem is finding a project that wants/needs help that I would also be interested in. I've tried browsing around on Sourceforge and Freshmeat ... is there a site somewhere that I'm not aware of that has classifieds where open source project maintainers post 'job' listings?"
Comment Re:Not very forward thinking really (Score 2) 223
I totally agree. I don't understand EA's thinking.
They should do like blizzard or steam, where you are effectively buying a CD key that is tied to your account. Then you can download and play the game any time you want, and if you sell your account your selling all your games.
This "$10 used game service charge" is totally absurd. you won't catch me buying any of these games, new or used...
Comment Controller Advantage (Score 2, Interesting) 389
I'm sure there are some architectural reasons why games don't talk, but just think if TF2 was cross platform online play. How bad would XBOX 360 players do vs people with keyboard and mouse. I think they would be at a HUGE disadvantage because they don't have anywhere close to the same control scheme. This destroys all balance to the game. Granted you can buy an adaptor to use keyboard and mouse on the 360, but i don't think that more than the top 2% of hardcore games go so far as to buy a $100 add on to do it.
Comment Yay (Score 1) 274
So when can I buy my working Light Saber?
Microsoft Ending Mainstream Support For XP 580
Slatterz writes "Come next week, Microsoft will be in the unusual position of no longer offering mainstream support for its most widely used product. Windows XP will pass another milestone next week on the road to retirement when mainstream support ends on 14 April 2009, over seven years after the OS originally shipped. While the company said that it will continue to provide free security fixes for XP until 2014, any future bugs found in the platform will not be fixed unless customers pay. Windows XP accounts for about 63 percent of all Internet-connected computers, according to March 2009 statistics from Hitslink, while Windows Vista makes up about 24 percent."
Re-imagined Silent Hill Announced 63
Konami has announced that a new Silent Hill game, titled Shattered Memories, is due out this fall for the Wii, PS2, and PSP. "While the game shares its twisting plot with the original PlayStation game, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories takes a different path in many, many ways. Characters can be approached but will offer different responses and be found in different places, while new clues and gameplay paths can be followed." The Wii version will make full use of the Wii Remote, taking the role of both phone and torch, as well as being used to "pick up, examine and manipulate items to solve puzzles along the journey." According to the Opposable Thumbs blog, the choice not to develop for the PS3 and Xbox 360 was due to the development costs associated with those consoles.
Comment Re:200% more? (Score 2, Insightful) 935
I think the point most people are missing is that, sure it is cheaper to buy from an alternate reseller and install yourself, however the average Joe, isn't able to install himself. The other thing is that you are paying for the labor of a professional to install the item, as well as (in this case) the apple care provided with the item. I have a feeling that apple would frown at opening a computer and seeing 3rd party ram.
Another note is that if you take apple.com and dell.com and compare computers, apple's are actually cheaper for what you get. Granted you need to compare EXACT components. Dell likes to cut corners on features most people fail to look for... such as cache on the processor. Go ahead, try it. The problem most people think to be apple being so overpriced is a misconception, really they just don't carry a low end model, they only go down to upper mid-range.
