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Comment Re:Everquest didn't have forums (Score 1) 833

I have a feeling this change will cause similar forums to rise in popularity and Blizzard will accomplish little other than losing control of the conversation and pissing off their users.

This is already largely the case with the min/max raiding crowd gravitating to a few non-Blizzard sites/forums for their information and discussion.

For example:
http://www.elitistjerks.com/

Interestingly, one reason the referenced site grew to popularity is the iron-handed approach to moderation - the slightest hint of trolling or asshatery is generally quickly stomped upon and/or mocked relentlessly by both the moderators and user population.

Submission + - ACTA draft to be made public next week (zdnet.co.uk)

Spitfirem1 writes: "Negotiators will on Wednesday publish the first officially-released draft of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a new treaty designed to harmonise copyright enforcement around the world.

The decision to release the consolidated draft on 21 April was made at the eighth round of Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) negotiations, which took place this week in Wellington, New Zealand. So far, the only publicly available information on the negotiating countries' proposals and amendments have been leaked documents purporting to be drafts of the agreement."

Comment Re:Is anyone surprised? (Score 2, Insightful) 130

Saying that the system of government best suited to corporate profits is a fascist-leaning dictatorship is like saying Bernie Madoff will get you the best return on your investment. It is sometimes true in the short term, but in the long term it is very, very false.

That would be relevant, if only people and corporations had the foresight to pay attention to anything more than the Next Big Thing. The lack of any sort of a long view and the attitude that what is best for right now is always the right choice are both almost ubiquitous in our culture and are detrimental to society in many cases.

Comment Re:Wonderful news (Score 1) 413

Source?

Cash depreciates over time relative to inflation, so almost no one holds significant amounts of cash but rather invest in securities, real estate, commodities, etc.

Here is Warren Buffett's portfolio, as an example.

http://www.gurufocus.com/holdings.php?GuruName=Warren+Buffett

In 2007 he was worth 60 billion, today he is worth 47 billion, which is a 'gain' of 10 billion over last year but is down from the 2007 number.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Buffett#Path_to_wealth
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35799215/ns/business-forbescom/

Comment Re:Wonderful news (Score 1) 413

We also keep in mind that large portions of these people's wealth is invested in various markets, so a year ago when the market was driven down by the panic-stricken masses, their wealth also plummeted. With the market correcting to more normal levels, they can't help but show massive gains in the past year.

If I had $20 invested in the stock market at the peak, which dropped to $10 in the market at the bottom, and now have $16, I would show a gain of 60% in the last year, but would have still lost money due to the recession.

Comment Re:Why are Bluetooth mouses so rare? (Score 1) 48

I think the big factors are the perceived lack of responsiveness for the gaming crowd and the lack of value it provides to most business-class desktop users. Speaking from experience, I would be vary cautious were I to decide to purchase another bluetooth mouse. I personally found Bluetooth to be far more trouble than it was worth. On the gaming side of things, the small but perceptible lag I experienced coupled with the connection dropping at inopportune times and requiring the pairing process to be completed again put a damper on things. For business applications it was less frustrating, but in that realm the added convenience doesn't seem to offset the increased price and support cost with the exception of mobile users. When 90% of calls regarding user input devices coming in to a help desk concern problems with wireless keyboards/mice, they quickly go away for most users. The Logitech Bluetooth mouse I was using was the top of the line offering at the time I purchased it. I picked up a comparatively inexpensive corded USB mouse and continue to enjoy using it years later, and haven't missed the cordless convenience one bit.
Displays

Submission + - Chameleon Liquid Could Replace LCDs (newscientisttech.com)

InvisblePinkUnicorn writes: "NewScientist reports on a color-changing liquid that could cheaply replace the color components of standard LCDs. According to researchers at UC Riverside, the liquid 'contains tiny iron oxide particles coated with plastic. It is cheap and easy to make, and could also be used in flexible, rewritable, electronic paper.' From the article: 'The opposing forces of electrostatic repulsion [in the plastic] and magnetic attraction [in the iron oxide] result in the particles arranging themselves into an ordered structure, known as a colloidal "photonic crystal". The colloidal crystal reflects light because the spacing between neighboring particles in the structure is equivalent to the wavelength of light. Also, tuning the spacing slightly alters the exact wavelength, or colour, of light that is reflected. This can easily be done by varying the strength of the magnetic field applied to the crystal.'"
Microsoft

Submission + - AA dumps Open Office in favour of MS Office

(Score.5, Interestin writes: The NZ Automobile Association has just announced that it's dropping Open Office and switching back to MS Office. According to their CIO, "Microsoft Office is not any cheaper, but it was almost impossible to work out what open-source was actually costing because of issues such as incompatibility and training". In addition "you have no idea where open-source products are going, whereas vendors like Microsoft provide a roadmap for the future".
Privacy

Submission + - Latest revelations on FBI's data mining of America (yahoo.com)

An anonymous reader writes: You probably already knew that the FBI was data mining Americans in the "search" for potential terrorists, but did you know that they're also supposed to be looking for people in the U.S. engaged in criminal activity that is not really supposed to be the province of the federal government? Now the feds are alleged to be data mining for insurance fraudsters, identity thieves, and questionable online pharmacists. That's what they're telling us now. What else could they be looking for that they are not telling us about?
Microsoft

Submission + - Groklaw Explains Microsoft & The GPLv3 (groklaw.net)

A Groklaw Reader writes: "After all the questions about how the GPLv3 will or won't apply to Microsoft following Microsoft's declaration that they weren't bound by it, PJ of Groklaw wrote this story about how and why the GPLv3 will apply to Microsoft. Specifically, it covers in what ways Microsoft would convey GPLv3 software under the Novell agreement, and how Microsoft's refusal to allow previously sold vouchers to be redeemed for GPLv3 software would impact that agreement. Given that Novell said that they will distribute GPLv3 software, Microsoft may have had the tables turned on them already."
Businesses

Consumerist Catches Geek Squad Stealing Porn 686

mekane8 writes "Consumer-advocate blog Consumerist ran a sting operation to catch a Best Buy Geek Squad member searching for and stealing media files from a customer's computer. The article includes the story with screen captures and a video of the technician's actions. From that piece: 'Reached for comment, Geek Squad CEO Robert Stephens expressed desire to launch an internal investigation and said, "If this is true, it's an isolated incident and grounds for termination of the Agent involved." This is not just an isolated incident, according to reports from Geek Squad insiders alleging that Geek Squad techs are stealing porn, images, and music from customer's computers in California, Texas, New Jersey, Virginia and elsewhere. Our sources say that some Geek Squad locations have a common computer set up where everyone dumps their plunder to share with the other technicians.' A related story from a former Geek Squad employee details the decline of the Geek Squad and Best Buy ethics in general."

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