Comment Re:The iPad is not that bad (Score 1) 780
Whoops.. Sorry. Thought you were replying to instar, not the Flamebait.
Comment Re:The iPad is not that bad (Score 1) 780
s/interjecting/injecting/
Comment Re:The iPad is not that bad (Score 1) 780
Wow... Just "Wow." You've read quite a bit into that post. I didn't see any anger; on the contrary, he seemed rather calm while interjecting a differing opinion. What on earth would lead you think the poster had too much caffeine and/or anger management problems?
I mean, geez... There was no cursing, no mud slinging, no name calling. Maybe -you- need to relax and let people voice their (well-thought-out) opinions.
Comment Re:The iPad is not that bad (Score 4, Interesting) 780
I own one, as do two of my close friends. We all fit the late 20s, middle-class, lower/middle management, computer geek stereotype - we love gadgets and are early-adopters.
I understand full well that the iPad is only a fraction of what it could be if it had been produced by a company other than Apple and ran Android instead of iOS. But I happened to be in the market for an e-reader anyway, and the iPad happens to excel at that (iBooks is overrated, but there are now apps for just about every major e-book store), and also lets me read news feeds, check email, look up video game stragegies online, etc. It's also a great airport time-waster. Apart from the price difference there was just no reason to NOT buy an iPad rather than a Nook or Kindle or whatever.
Anyway, I don't think you're particularly wrong.. there's just another class of us out there who bought the iPad because it filled a niche that no other product currently fills. There are a lot of Android tablets slated for this holiday season, though
Comment Re:HOAs may be evil, but she agreed to it (Score 1) 54
I believe that depends on your HOA. Around where I live, those fees also go for neighborhood cleanup (plowing/etc). I tend to agree that HOAs are evil. I looked at a few of them and decided "I'm buying this house, I'll do what I want with it." and avoided the HOA trap.
Comment Re:HOAs may be evil, but she agreed to it (Score 2, Insightful) 54
Deny service, sure. But allowing guests in isn't a 'service'. Mowing your lawn: service. Plowing your driveway: service. Blocking your family from coming to a birthday party: DIS-service.
Comment Re:Washer and dryer (Score 1) 422
My iphone went through the washer not that long ago, and of course appeared dead when I found it. This was the day before I left for a business trip, so I stuck the SIM in an old phone and went on my way. A week later I get home and plug the iphone in for shits and giggles, and it powered on and continues to work fine.
This was about 3 weeks after I dropped it 3+ feet onto the driveway while getting out of my truck.
I guess I'm just lucky
Portugal's Vortalgate — No Microsoft, No Bidding 312
An anonymous reader writes "Companies using software other than Microsoft's are unable to bid at many Portuguese public tenders. This is due to the use of Silverlight 2.0 technology by the company, Vortal, contracted to build the e-procurement portal. This situation has triggered a complaint to the European Commission by the Portuguese Open Source Business Association; the case is unofficially known in Portugal as 'Vortalgate.'"
Comment Re:The women! must not forget them (Score 1) 281
My husband and I recently bought a second 360 so we didn't have to fight over who got to play Oblivion =) He plays on the projector screen and I play on the TV, in the same room.
Really, gaming together isn't much different than watching TV together. Gaming is interactive and often involves problem/puzzle solving, and for me at least is much more fun than watching the same 5 plots get repeated week after week on TV.
For what it's worth, we both also play WoW, along with two other couples. So I believe there are more women out there than a lot of people would like to think.
Too Human's Absence From E3, Silicon Knights Suit 23
GameDaily points out something I didn't even notice: Too Human wasn't at E3 this year. Denis Dyack's histrionics in the year since the game's terrible E3 2006 showing may have had something to do with that. According to the site, Dyack said: "We made the decision not to show Too Human at the press conference some time ago. The reason for this decision was that we have another event planned in the future for Too Human that we thought would be more appropriate ... Not attending the show and setting appointments with the press was due to Silicon Knights being extremely busy finalizing the game and we simply could not spare the time." Of course, today's announcement of a pending lawsuit between Silicon Knights and Epic may have something to do with it as well. Too Human is using Epic's Unreal engine to get the job done ... perhaps they've run into a snag?
Checkers Solved, Unbeatable Database Created 359
tgeller writes "My story on the Nature site announced that a team of computer scientists at the University of Alberta has solved checkers. From the game's 500 billion billion positions (5 * 10^20), 'Chinook' has determined which 100,000 billion (10^14) are needed for their proof, and run through all relevant decision trees. They've set up a site where you can see the proof, traverse the logic, and play their unbeatable automaton. '[Jonathan] Schaeffer notes that his research has implications beyond the checkers board. The same algorithms his team writes to solve games could be helpful in searching other databases, such as vast lists of biological information because, as he says, "At the core, they both reduce to the same fundamental problem: large, compressed data sets that have to be accessed quickly."'"
ESA Names New President 14
Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce Mike Gallagher, it has been announced, will be filling the shoes left empty by Doug Lowenstein when he left the Entertainment Software Association late last year. GameDaily had a talk with Gallagher and ESA Chair (and Microsoft front man) Robbie Bach. "Although Gallagher does not have a video game industry background, during a conference call he talked about how he's been a lifelong gamer, still plays games by himself and with his kids, and he's enjoyed watching the game industry grow over the years. Gallagher also has a strong background in technology in general. During his over four-year tenure at the Department of Commerce, he led successful efforts to pave the way for a number of new technologies and services, such as ultrawideband, broadband over powerlines, advanced wireless services, and millimeter wavelength networks."
Does Zelda Need an Overhaul? 286
CVG has up a piece noting the fact that not much about Zelda games have changed since the move to 3D. Chalk that up to the greatness of Ocarina of Time if you will, but the same mirror moving, fire-arrow switch activating puzzles have been in the last several titles. Is it time for some kind of radical change to the equation? "People generally don't like to accept change. But change doesn't always spell disaster. Final Fantasy introduces a totally new cast, setting and theme with each sequel and continues to please fans. Resident Evil 4 completely revolutionised Capcom's horror series and is now viewed as one of the best games ever made ... We still totally adore Zelda but eventually the appeal will tire and the series risks bombing. Nintendo needs to take the bold step and inject something totally new into Zelda. We're not talking about a couple of new items, or a new location - that's been done. We mean a significant change that affects the whole structure and gameplay."
Why Web Pirates Can't Be Touched 402
gwoodrow writes "Forbes has a brief article about, essentially, the ultimate futility of fighting online pirates. From the article: 'As the world's largest repository of BitTorrent files, ThePirateBay.org helps millions of users around the world share copyrighted movies, music and other files — without paying for them ... That's illegal, of course — at least it is in the U.S. But when Time Warner's (nyse: TWX — news — people ) Warner Bros. studio accused them of breaking U.S. copyright law in 2005, the pirates gleefully reminded the movie company that they didn't live in America, but rather in the land of vikings, reindeer, Aurora Borealis and cute blond girls.' The article also touches on the many YouTube clones and AllofMP3.com."
Feed Lipoic Acid Explored As Anti-aging Compound (sciencedaily.com)
Researchers said they have identified the mechanism of action of lipoic acid, a remarkable compound that in animal experiments appears to slow down the process of aging, improve blood flow, enhance immune function and perform many other functions.
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