fyleow - Slashdot User

Comment Re:Let's stop making reviews for gamers (Score 1) 214

by fyleow on Friday March 20, 2009 @12:59PM (#27270193) Attached to: Phenom IIs, Core I7-920 Win Out In Value Analysis

Silent PC Review catering to the gamer/overclocker/max performance crowd?? Are we visiting the same website?? There's an entire forum on that site dedicated to green and eco friendly computing. There are also recommendations to use slower but quieter 5400 RPM WD Green drives and notebook drives on desktops. That's hardly max performance. There are also plenty of threads about underclocking and undervolting processors to save power and heat.

Draconian DRM Revealed In Windows 7 1127

Posted by kdawson on Monday February 16, 2009 @10:18PM from the just-who-did-you-think-owns-your-machine dept.

TechForensics writes "A few days' testing of Windows 7 has already disclosed some draconian DRM, some of it unrelated to media files. A legitimate copy of Photoshop CS4 stopped functioning after we clobbered a nagging registration screen by replacing a DLL with a hacked version. With regard to media files, the days of capturing an audio program on your PC seem to be over (if the program originated on that PC). The inputs of your sound card are severely degraded in software if the card is also playing an audio program (tested here with Grooveshark). This may be the tip of the iceberg. Being in bed with the RIAA is bad enough, but locking your own files away from you is a tactic so outrageous it may kill the OS for many persons. Many users will not want to experiment with a second sound card or computer just to record from online sources, or boot up under a Linux that supports ntfs-3g just to control their files." Read on for more details of this user's findings.

High Tech Misery In China 876

Posted by kdawson on Sunday February 15, 2009 @05:55PM from the dawn-of-the-industrial-age dept.

theodp writes "Think you've got a bad job? Think again. You could be making keyboards for IBM, Microsoft, Dell, Lenovo and HP at Meitai Plastic and Electronics, a Chinese hardware factory. Prompted by the release of High Tech Misery in China by a human-rights group, a self-regulating body set up by tech companies will conduct an audit of working conditions at the factory. In return for take-home pay of 41 cents per hour, workers reportedly sit on hard wooden stools for 12-hour shifts, seven days a week. Overtime is mandatory, with workers being given on average two days off per month. While on the production line, workers are not allowed to raise their hands or heads, are given 1.1 seconds to snap each key into place, and are encouraged to 'actively monitor each other' to see if any company rules are being transgressed. They are also monitored by guards. Workers are fined if they break the rules, locked in the factory for four days per week, and sleep in crowded dormitories. Okay, it's not all bad news — they're hiring."

Comment 14 pages... (Score 4, Insightful) 154

by fyleow on Tuesday January 20, 2009 @11:58AM (#26529497) Attached to: Unboxing a 1984 Atari Peripheral, 25 Years Later

14 pages for 14 535 x 383 resolution pictures. Ugh.

A Look Back At Kurzweil's Predictions For 2009 307

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday January 06, 2009 @12:42AM from the no-one-expects-the-mule dept.

marciot writes "It's interesting to look back at Ray Kurzweil's predictions for 2009 from a decade ago. He was dead on in predicting the ubiquity of portable computers, wireless, the emergence of digital objects, and the rise of privacy concerns. He was a little optimistic in certain areas, predicting the demise of rotating storage and the ubiquity of digital paper a bit earlier than it appears it will actually happen. On the topic of human-computer speech interfaces, though, he seems to be way off." And of course Kurzweil missed 9/11 and the fallout from that. His predictions might have been nearer the mark absent the war on terror.

Comment Metal Gear Solid 4 doesn't even make the list? (Score 1) 109

by fyleow on Wednesday December 31, 2008 @04:07AM (#26277591) Attached to: The Best Games of 2008

Huh? It's probably debatable whether it should take the #1 spot but I think most people would agree it deserves a place in the top 10. I'm glad to see Valkyria Chronicles make the list though. Definitely the best PS3 game this year that nobody played.

Comment Re:Addons (Score 4, Insightful) 444

by fyleow on Thursday December 11, 2008 @07:22PM (#26083513) Attached to: Google Chrome Is Out of Beta

My experience is the opposite. I discovered adblock and never looked back at Privoxy. The user friendliness differences are just staggering. Adblock is a one click install affair while you have to edit text based configuration files for Privoxy.

Comment Re:I want Grand Central/Google Talk intergration (Score 1) 219

by fyleow on Monday December 08, 2008 @08:43PM (#26041813) Attached to: Google To Sell Truly Open Android Dev Phone

There's no prepaid data plan for Tmobile so that won't work. It's a real bummer as I'm on Tmo prepaid and would have loved to get the G1 unsubsidized but the lack of data pretty much renders the phone useless.

Submission + - iPhone 1.1.3 Update Confirmed, Breaks Apps, Unlock (gizmodo.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 29, 2007 @09:38PM

An anonymous reader writes: Gizmodo has gathered conclusive evidence which confirms that the iPhone Firmware 1.1.3 update is 100% real. It installs only from iTunes using the obligatory Apple private encryption key, which nobody has. The list of new features, like GPS-like triangulation positioning in Google Maps, has been confirmed too. Apparently it will be coming out next week, but there's bad news as expected: it breaks the unlocks, patches the previous vulnerabilities used by hackers and takes away all your third-party applications.

Submission + - PC Mag slams Everex gPC (pcmag.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 27, 2007 @05:29PM

An anonymous reader writes: PC Magazine reviews the $200 Linux desktop wonder sold by Wal-Mart. This desktop sold out quickly and has been cited as proof that consumers are tired of the Windows tax and ready for Linux. Not so according to PC Magazine giving the gPC a 1.5 star rating. "The gPC is not the alternative to Windows or Mac OS X it's cracked up to be; it's very frustrating to use."

Submission + - Microsoft Announces New Zune Lineup, Wireless Sync (pcworld.com)

Submitted by BarlowBrad on Wednesday October 03, 2007 @01:47AM

BarlowBrad writes: From PC World: "Microsoft announced a new slate of Wi-Fi-equipped Zune players today, including $150 4GB and $200 8GB flash-based players, and a $250 80GB model that's slimmer than the original Zune. All of the new models feature touch-sensitive controls and wireless syncing with your PC, a much-demanded feature that Microsoft will also make available on the original 30GB Zune when the new models debut in mid November."

Wireless. More space than a Nomad. But draw your own conclusions.

Submission + - Microsoft Unveils Multitouch User Interface

Submitted by longacre on Wednesday May 30, 2007 @12:39AM

longacre writes: Popular Mechanics takes the Microsoft Surface system for a hands-on video test drive. To be announced at today's D5 conference, the coffee-table-esqe device allows manipulation from multiple touch points, while infrared, WiFi and Bluetooth team up to allow wireless transfers between devices placed on top of it, such as cameras and cell phones. Expected to launch before the end of the year in the $5,000-$10,000 range, the devices might not make their way under many Christmas trees, but will find the insides of Starwood hotels, Harrah's casinos and T-Mobile shops.

Journal Journal: Do Slashdot Editors Need Remedial English?

Journal by gbulmash on Friday May 25, 2007 @12:45PM

In two different front page stories, one on May 23 and one on May 25, the headline proclaimed that one party sued another. In both cases, they were threatening potential lawsuits if their demands were not met, meaning no one was actually suing in either story.

Submission + - Apple sued - Macbook LCD not "millions" of

Submitted by

qu1j0t3

on Tuesday May 22, 2007 @09:41PM

qu1j0t3 writes: "Business 2.0 reports, "Two MacBook owners ... have filed a class action lawsuit ... charging the company with deceptive advertising, misrepresentation and unfair competition over the use of the phrase 'millions of colors' to describe the capability of the LCD displays in MacBook and MacBook Pro computers." (Engadget broke the story. I can't comment if these guys have a genuine complaint; I've no plans to upgrade my Powerbook G4.)"

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