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Comment Re:Whut? (Score 1) 60

by ViralInfection (#32727610) Attached to: Magento 1.3 Sales Tactics Cookbook
I come from a PHP background and have written entire Content Management Systems with eCommerce and a whole bunch of other crap. Since then I've moved into Ruby & MVC work. However, about 4 months ago I got into a Magento project.

So here are the problems:

1. Bane of documentation
2. Ugly MVC implementation
3. Indian Developer Support (& slow in my opinion)
4. Unoptimized querying (just watch your query log)
5. Zero developer tools (just wait until you have to debug this bitch)
6. Mage_Has_Great_Catalog_Product_Class_Name_Yah_Shit_Is_Retarded
7. 1-6, need more?

I've worked with so many different code bases and web application structures, but Magento is absolutely the worst.
Earth

Completely Farm-Bred Unagi, a World First 204

Posted by timothy from the hey-hajime-at-mashiko! dept.
JoshuaInNippon writes "Japanese scientists at the National Research Institute of Aquaculture, Fisheries Research Agency have reported that they successfully completed an artificial cultivation cycle for unagi, or eel — a world first. Unagi is a traditional delicacy in Japan, and can commonly be found in baked form at sushi restaurants. The fish has long been caught either matured, or still young and then fattened on farms. Sadly, as a result, natural stocks of unagi have plummeted in recent years. However, the research news indicates a future method to completely farm breed the tasty creature in mass quantity. Good news for sushi lovers, Japanese businesses, and wild eel alike."
HP

HP Reports Memory Resistor Breakthrough 141

Posted by samzenpus from the flip-the-switches dept.
andy1307 writes "Hewlett-Packard scientists on Thursday will report advances demonstrating significant progress in the design of memristors, or memory resistors. The researchers previously reported in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that they had devised a new method for storing and retrieving information from a vast three-dimensional array of memristors. The scheme could potentially free designers to stack thousands of switches on top of one another in a high-rise fashion, permitting a new class of ultra-dense computing devices even after two-dimensional scaling reaches fundamental limits."

Comment Satoru Iwata, wtf? (Score 0, Troll) 287

by ViralInfection (#31070564) Attached to: Man Fined $1.5 Million For Leaked Mario Game
A kid has to declare bankruptcy over the companies lack of policies in managing their intellectual property.
Is that non-existent $1.5 million going to help Nintendo protect their property or just hurt their public image and a kid, you decide!
Well, I guess Nintendo throwing down $100k for publicity might be worth it, however it still grosses me out.
Satoru Iwata step off the kid, you got your publicity.
Censorship

Google Suggest Disabled In China Due To Porn 106

Posted by kdawson from the selective-harassment dept.
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The Chinese government has asked Google to disable Google Suggest because it has been suggesting that people search for pornography based on its analysis of the most popular search terms in China. This comes on the heels of a fake CCTV interview being used to support the government requirement that all new computers ship with the 'Green Dam' Internet censoring program, which is still in force, despite reports to the contrary." The story on the chinaSMACK site demonstrates that Chinese search engine Baidu features a comparable search-suggestion function, which similarly recommends adult-themed sites, but that the government has not attacked Baidu over the issue of porn.
Software

Sothink Violated the FlashGot GPL and Stole Code 312

Posted by kdawson from the gentlemen-do-not-do-that dept.
ShineTheLight sends in news of two Firefox plug-ins: FlashGot, the original, and Sothink, the GPL-violating come-lately. "People at Sothink decided to violate the GPL by stealing a piece of core code from FlashGot and using it without even the decency of covering their tracks. It is an exact copy of a previous version of FlashGot. This deception came to light when users reported to the FlashGot support forum that their software was not working right. Some digging led to the discovery that the older module that Sothink stole and used verbatim was overriding the more recent engine on the machines of those who had both installed and it was causing the issue. It has been reported to AMO and the FlashGot developer is aware of it. The Sothink people have completely ignored and been silent on the subject. This is why most good programmers will stop contributing to the global community because there are those who will steal their work, pass it off as their own, never acknowledge or give credit, and then shamefully stick their head in the sand and ignore the consequences." The three most recent reviews of Sothink point out this plug-in's dishonest nature. A number of earlier, one-line, 5-star reviews — expressed in a similar style — sound suspiciously like astroturfing.
Patents

Microsoft Patents the Crippling of Operating Systems 394

Posted by kdawson from the can't-have-just-anybody-writing-software-no-sir dept.
theodp writes "On Tuesday, Microsoft was granted US Patent No. 7,536,726 (it was filed in 2005) for intentionally crippling the functionality of an operating system by 'making selected portions and functionality of the operating system unavailable to the user or by limiting the user's ability to add software applications or device drivers to the computer' until an 'agreed upon sum of money' is paid to 'unlock or otherwise make available the restricted functionality.' According to Microsoft, this solves a 'problem inherent in open architecture systems,' i.e., 'they are generally licensed with complete use rights and/or functionality that may be beyond the need or desire of the system purchaser.' An additional problem with open architecture systems, Microsoft explains, is that 'virtually anyone can write an application that can be executed on the system.' Nice to see the USPTO rewarding Microsoft's eight problem-solving inventors, including Linux killer (and antelope killer) Joachim Kempin, who's been credited with getting Microsoft hauled into federal court on antitrust charges." Sounds like the mechanism by which Microsoft sells one version of Vista to all users, and lets users upgrade to higher-tier flavors of the OS after cash changes hands.
Input Devices

Microsoft Buys Motion-Detection Technology 65

Posted by Soulskill from the fewer-broken-televisions-this-way dept.
DaMan1970 writes with news that Microsoft has purchased 3DV Systems, a company that specializes in motion detection technology. When early reports of this deal appeared last week, it led to speculation that this could be part of Microsoft's plans for future gaming technology. 3DV itself has been focused on the gaming market. "Now that graphics have become so advanced, it explains, the key to making a real difference lies in how you can control the game. The ZCam lets players control the game using body gestures alone, rather as PlayStation's EyeToy does, or Microsoft's Vision or Nintendo's Wii. 3DV Systems argues that its system is better than these, adding that you don't have to wear anything."
Cellphones

Handset Vendors Plug Micro-USB Charge Ports 363

Posted by timothy from the kicking-and-screaming-to-the-briar-patch dept.
ketan324 points to a Register story touting an agreement among several phone makers to settle on Micro USB for their phones' charging ports, writing "It's about time for these cellphone manufacturers to wise up and design a universal phone charger. Although many manufacturers have already 'standardized' to a mini-USB interface, there are many more out there who use proprietary adapters. I wonder how Apple will feel about this? Will they finally realize that their oh-so-special adapter is nothing more than a fudged USB interface?" No legislation required.

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