Comment Re:So (Score 1) 284
$530 US is about the standard price for unlocked smartphones worldwide. It's about the same price as an unlocked iPhone.
Comment Re:Celsius: It's for telling temperature (Score 1) 1233
One cubic metre of water is actually 1000 litres. I'm not sure I'd want to be boiling a couple of cubic metres of water each time I turn the jug on, let alone try to drink a 2L bottle of Coke.
Choruss Pitching Bait and Switch On P2P Music Tax 119
An anonymous reader writes "A few months back, Warner Music Group started pitching universities on the idea of a new program where they would pay a chunk of money to an organization named Choruss to provide 'covenants not to sue' those students for file sharing, leading many in the press to claim that the record labels are looking to license ISPs to let users file share. Even the EFF has called it a 'promising new approach.' However, the details are quite troubling and suggest that the plan is really a bait-and-switch idea." (More below.)
Comment Re:Compression (Score 1) 596
You do realise that 8 megapixels is the maximum amount of pixels?
I personally do not have any need for 8 megapixel images. I have my 5 megapixel camera set to take images at 3 megapixels. I don't need all of those extra pixels and the file sizes are much smaller.
Comment Re:Another reason not to go to the theatre (Score 2, Informative) 336
The assigned seats are generally only for when the theater is full, and you can make a claim for your assigned seats.
Otherwise nobody sticks to the plan.
Twisted Radio Beams Could Untangle the Airwaves 183
Urchin writes "The radio frequency spectrum available for wireless communication is becoming increasingly crowded thanks to new wireless technology. A solution to the shrinking space might be to put a spin on radio beams during their transmission, to produce a twisted beam, according to Swedish physicists. In theory, huge amounts of data could be sent in the pitch of the twist, which is distinct from the amplitude and frequency of radio waves — the features used at the moment to send information."
Comment Re:Wrong Premise (Score 1) 1108
Quite frankly, the questions of whether global warming exists, and whether is is man made are irrelevant. What we do know is that we as a race are polluting the planet, and upsetting the natural 'carbon cycle' by emitting vast amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Surely it is our responsibility to clean up after ourselves?
Less Is Moore 342
Hugh Pickens writes "For years, the computer industry has made steady progress by following Moore's law, derived from an observation made in 1965 by Gordon Moore that the amount of computing power available at a particular price doubles every 18 months. The Economist reports however that in the midst of a recession, many companies would now prefer that computers get cheaper rather than more powerful, or by applying the flip side of Moore's law, do the same for less. A good example of this is virtualisation: using software to divide up a single server computer so that it can do the work of several, and is cheaper to run. Another example of 'good enough' computing is supplying 'software as a service,' via the Web, as done by Salesforce.com, NetSuite and Google, sacrificing the bells and whistles that are offered by conventional software that hardly anyone uses anyway. Even Microsoft is jumping on the bandwagon: the next version of Windows is intended to do the same as the last version, Vista, but to run faster and use fewer resources. If so, it will be the first version of Windows that makes computers run faster than the previous version. That could be bad news for computer-makers, since users will be less inclined to upgrade — only proving that Moore's law has not been repealed, but that more people are taking the dividend it provides in cash, rather than processor cycles."
Microsoft Releases Source Code For Web Sandbox 188
nandemoari writes "After flirting with open source development for some time, Microsoft has made another step towards real commitment with the release of source code for Web Sandbox, a program used to test and secure web site content.
The Sandbox source code will be released under the Apache 2.0 license, an open source license agreement allowing the content creator to maintain copyright while permitting others to develop the product for their own use. Microsoft has gradually been increasing their involvement with the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) since 2008 when they agreed to fund development of certain ASF initiatives."
Comment Re:Windows 7 non-starter (Score 1) 821
Mod parent up! Too true...
New Open Source FPS Blood Frontier Shows Promise 242
Softhaus writes "The guys at Blood Frontier have been busy for the last two years working on a new FPS called (surprise) Blood Frontier . This game is an enhanced Cube 2 engine with original artwork and new gameplay (including a kid-mode, which optionally turns off the blood — a nice option for a change). Add the new paintball mode and you have a real 'game community' here. The code is all there (complete for you to play with), the team listens to feedback from the community, and the game is great! It's nice to see these talented guys showing a true free software attitude. They've mentioned that the first actual release is scheduled for next Friday. Does anyone know of other great open source games that are truly 'open?'"
SUSE Studio — Linux Customization For the Masses 126
apokryphos writes "Novell just released the first alpha of SUSE Studio (screencast), which provides an easy way to customize your own Linux distribution with the software and configuration you want. Among other things, you can spin a Live CD, a USB image, or create a VMware image. It builds upon the already established openSUSE Build Service and KIWI imaging system."
Comment Re:And What of the Others? (Score 1) 650
The idea about microsoft bundling a CD is a good one, however I don't think that it would be nesessary for them include applications from other providers on this CD.
The whole point is that these components are not installed by default as part of the operating system. It they came on an optional extra CD it should be okay. Customers would be able to have a Windows operating system without the bloat of IE, WMP etc, yet would still be able to optionally install them off a supplied CD.
This solution would allow OEMs and geeks to customise their OS without IE, WMP and the like.
Firm Seeks To Ban Mobile Companies' Imports To US 137
snydeq writes "Texas-based Saxon Innovations has filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission to bar six companies — including Research in Motion, Palm, and Nokia — from importing handheld devices into the US. At issue are three patents that Saxon purchased in July 2007; a patent for keypad monitor with keypad activity-based activation; a patent for an apparatus and method for disabling interrupt marks in processors or the like; and a patent for a device and method for interprocessor communication by using mailboxes owned by processor devices. Saxon, with five employees, purchased about 180 US patents formerly owned by Advanced Micro Devices or Legerity in 2007, according to its ITC complaint."
A Sony Camera Running Linux 209
jonr writes "At the recently concluded Consumer Electronics Show, Sony presented the new camera from its Cyber-shot product line. The DSC-G3 comes with a Zeiss lens with 4x zoom, a large 3.5" touch display, and 4GB of internal memory. Most interesting is the camera's software that includes, among other things, face and scene recognition, based on Busybox and Kernel 2.6.11 for the Access Linux Platform. The camera also has built-in Wi-Fi."
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