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UK Video Game Tax Cuts Sabotaged? 123

Posted by Soulskill on Monday June 28, 2010 @02:20AM from the i-wonder-if-it-rhymes-with-shmactivision dept.

ninjacheeseburger writes "Develop recently published an article claiming that the UK government was put under pressure by one of the biggest game companies in the world to cancel planned tax breaks for video game developers. This company had apparently viewed game tax relief as a measure that would have given the UK an unfair advantage over other nations."

Comment Still room for improvement (Score 1) 445

by elij on Monday June 21, 2010 @08:51AM (#32639518) Attached to: New Air Conditioner Process Cuts Energy Use 50-90%

Fact: The most efficient air conditioning system is hiring one of the millions of out of work Americans to walk around and fan you 24 hours a day. Even the Amish would buy into it.

Should the Gov't Pay For Injured Man's Wii? 222

Posted by kdawson on Monday May 03, 2010 @06:38AM from the if-the-wii-fits dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Politicians in the Australian state of Victoria are currently locked in a debate about whether an injured man should be able to claim the cost of a Nintendo Wii for rehabilitation purposes under worker's compensation. The man's doctor apparently recommended he use the Wii Fit exercise device, but both insurance companies and the government itself have blocked the payment and have now ridiculed the idea as paying for video games. But with the Wii Fit increasingly being used for rehabilitation purposes internationally, does the man have a fair case?"

Aral Sea May Recover; Dead Sea Needs a Lifeline 131

Posted by timothy on Saturday April 24, 2010 @02:48AM from the just-needs-feng-shui-adjustment dept.

An anonymous reader writes "It's a tale of two seas. The drying up of the Aral Sea is considered one of the greatest environmental catastrophes in history, but the northern sector of the sea, at least, is showing signs of life. A dam completed in 2005 has increased the North Aral's span by 20 percent, and birds, fish, and people are all returning to the area. Meanwhile, the Dead Sea is still in the midst of precipitous decline, since too much water is being drawn out of the Jordan River for thirsty populations and crops. To keep the sea from shrinking more, scientists are pushing an ambitious scheme called the 'Red-Dead conduit,' which would channel huge amounts of water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. However, the environmental consequences of such a project may be troubling."

Brain Training Games Don't Train Your Brain 151

Posted by timothy on Wednesday April 21, 2010 @03:03PM from the maybe-it-just-takes-more-than-6-weeks dept.

Stoobalou writes with this excerpt from Thinq.co.uk: "A new study has shown that brain training games do little to exercise the grey matter. Millions of people who have been prodding away at their Nintendo DS portable consoles, smug in the knowledge that they are giving their brains a proper work-out, might have to rethink how they are going to stop the contents of their skulls turning into mush."

The Fruit Fly Drosophila Gets a New Name 136

Posted by timothy on Saturday April 10, 2010 @06:50AM from the hope-you-used-pencil dept.

G3ckoG33k writes "The name of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster will change to Sophophora melangaster. The reason is that scientists have by now discovered some 2,000 species of the genus and it is becoming unmanageably large. Unfortunately, the 'type species' (the reference point of the genus), Drosophila funebris, is rather unrelated to the D. melanogaster, and ends up in a distant part of the relationship tree. However, geneticists have, according to Google Scholar, more than 300,000 scientific articles describing innumerable aspects of the species, and will have to learn the new name as well as remember the old. As expected, the name change has created an emotional (and practical) stir all over media. While name changes are frequent in science, as they describe new knowledge about relationships between species, these changes rarely hit economically relevant species, and when they do, people get upset."

Comment Re:Ha, lucky! (Score 1) 369

by elij on Friday February 06, 2009 @01:25PM (#26754587) Attached to: Charter Cable Capping Usage Nationwide This Month

OK.. you win.

Comment Wow, they are lucky. (Score 4, Informative) 369

by elij on Thursday February 05, 2009 @03:30PM (#26742203) Attached to: Charter Cable Capping Usage Nationwide This Month

Where I live in Canada, my only high speed option is the dreadlord Rogers Cable. MY monthly limit? 95GB, and that's with their most expensive (re: 54.95 monthly) service. Granted, I can go over but I'm charged a rather whopping 2.00 for every 1GB I'm over. I'd love to see other options but I'm SoL where I live.

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