Comment Re:Ice storms and winter weather are nothing new (Score 1) 213
That recent storm was hard to really get my head around. Places 20 miles outside of BOSTON were without power for a week.
Comment Re:Cell phones with no battery chargers? (Score 1) 213
New England resident here: I've got a Duracell Pocket Power charger, a battery-less solar USB charger, and an old 4-AA battery iPod charger (clunky, but can still give an iPhone a charge). I'm in the city now, but long power outages used to be a problem back in the boonies. It's always good to be prepared.
It's crazy how many people who live anywhere (city or country) who don't have a maglite/crank radio/space blankets/stash of emergency food.
It's crazy how many people who live anywhere (city or country) who don't have a maglite/crank radio/space blankets/stash of emergency food.
Comment GOG Beta is Great So Far (Score 1) 227
But I seriously doubt I'll buy anything aside from Fallout 1&2 + Tactics from there.
GameTap is somewhat broken with Vista and gimped on Mac so I gave it up. I've got the Source engine pack from Steam, but I played it to death and got a bit bored with it. Steam overall seems to be relatively painless.
Physical DVDs have recently lured be back, especially when they contain both Mac and PC versions (as much as I want to hate EA, I can play Spore on the road and on the beast PC at home).
GameTap is somewhat broken with Vista and gimped on Mac so I gave it up. I've got the Source engine pack from Steam, but I played it to death and got a bit bored with it. Steam overall seems to be relatively painless.
Physical DVDs have recently lured be back, especially when they contain both Mac and PC versions (as much as I want to hate EA, I can play Spore on the road and on the beast PC at home).
Complaints Pour In After Digital TV Test 537
djupedal writes "'Even if all goes smoothly, next February's digital television shift is likely to generate hundreds of thousands of complaints from television viewers around the country.
A major problem during a test run in Wilmington, N.C., was the inability of over-the-air viewers to receive new digital signals, according to figures collected after the test.'"
China To Run Out of IPv4 Addresses In 830 Days 619
JagsLive writes "China is running out of IP addresses unless it makes the switch to IPv6. According to the China Internet Network Information Center, under the current allocation speed, China's IPv4 address resources can only meet the demand of 830 more days and if no proper measures are taken by then, new Chinese netizens will not be able to gain normal access to the Internet. Li Kai, director in charge of the IP business for CNNIC's international department, says that if a netizen wants to get access to the Internet, an IP address will be necessary to analyze the domain name and view the pages. At present, most of the networks in China use IPv4 addresses. As a basic resource for the Internet, the IPv4 addresses are limited and 80% of the final allocation IP addresses have been used."
"Dark Flow" Outside Observable Universe 583
DynaSoar writes "NASA astrophysicists have discovered what they claim is something outside the observable universe exerting an effect on the observable. The material is pulling clusters of galaxies towards a region of space known not to contain sufficient matter to create the effect. They can only speculate on what the material is and how space might differ there: 'In these regions, space-time might be very different, and likely doesn't contain stars and galaxies (which only formed because of the particular density pattern of mass in our bubble). It could include giant, massive structures much larger than anything in our own observable universe. These structures are what researchers suspect are tugging on the galaxy clusters, causing the dark flow.'"
Homeland Security Department Testing "Pre-Crime" Detector 580
holy_calamity writes "New Scientist reports that the Department of Homeland Security recently tested something called Future Attribute Screening Technologies (FAST) — a battery of sensors that determine whether someone is a security threat from a distance. Sensors look at facial expressions, body heat and can measure pulse and breathing rate from a distance. In trials using 140 volunteers those told to act suspicious were detected with 'about 78% accuracy on mal-intent detection, and 80% on deception,' says a DHS spokesman."
The State of Play - Violence and Videogames 108
mozen writes "The BBC has an article up discussing the effects of videogames on the mind and how the media are reluctant to talk more openly about violent games. From the article: 'People who've grown up with Mario see him keeping pace, running and jumping along the building tops that streak by on a train journey. At best, it's a pleasant daydream — a happy reminder of a pastime you enjoy, and at worst, it's a mild distraction. Until, that is, you swap the games around. What if my screen dreams aren't of something so patently harmless as Puzzle Quest? What if they're of the stealth kills in Manhunt?'"
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I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated. -- Poul Anderson
