Comment What could be more hot... (Score 1) 215
...than the African Anteater Mating Ritual?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxIrQPffSIg
Comment Gamasutra has slightly more info (Score 1) 272
From the article:
"April 2010 may have been a disappointing month for video game industry numbers, but new top 20 U.S. console retail game from the NPD Group reveals that 14 titles sold more than 100,000 units -- above analyst expectations, and more than the 9 that were sold in April of last year."
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/28566/NPD_Top_20_Reveals_Aprils_Hits_FFXIIIs_Chart_Miss.php
Comment Re:I'd like to see... (Score 0, Redundant) 215
. . . water and electricity are not finite.
[citation needed]
"Hydroelectricity is a low-cost, non-polluting, renewable energy source. " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water
Comment Re:I'd like to see... (Score 2, Interesting) 215
If you use more water, or more electricity, you're consuming finite resources that wouldn't be used otherwise. The same isn't true of bandwidth--the ISP is paying for a certain amount on their outgoing connections, regardless of whether or not uses are actively using it.
You need electricity to use bandwidth... Even so, water and electricity are not finite.
Pirates as a Marketplace 214
John Riccitiello, the CEO of Electronic Arts, made some revealing comments in an interview with Kotaku about how the company's attitudes are shifting with regard to software piracy. Quoting:
"Some of the people buying this DLC are not people who bought the game in a new shrink-wrapped box. That could be seen as a dark cloud, a mass of gamers who play a game without contributing a penny to EA. But around that cloud Riccitiello identified a silver lining: 'There's a sizable pirate market and a sizable second sale market and we want to try to generate revenue in that marketplace,' he said, pointing to DLC as a way to do it. The EA boss would prefer people bought their games, of course. 'I don't think anybody should pirate anything,' he said. 'I believe in the artistry of the people who build [the games industry.] I profoundly believe that. And when you steal from us, you steal from them. Having said that, there's a lot of people who do.' So encourage those pirates to pay for something, he figures. Riccitiello explained that EA's download services aren't perfect at distinguishing between used copies of games and pirated copies. As a result, he suggested, EA sells DLC to both communities of gamers. And that's how a pirate can turn into a paying customer."
Modern Warfare 2 Not Recalled In Russia After All 94
thief21 writes "After claims that console versions Modern Warfare 2 had been recalled in Russia due to complaints from politicians and the gaming public over the infamous airport slaughter scene, it turns out the stories were completely untrue. Activision never released a console version of the game in Russia."
Instead, they simply edited the notorious scene out of the PC version. They did this of their own volition, since Russia doesn't have a formal ratings committee.
EA Shuts Down Pandemic Studios, Cuts 200 Jobs 161
lbalbalba writes "Electronic Arts is shutting down its Westwood-based game developer Pandemic Studios just two years after acquiring it, putting nearly 200 people out of work. 'The struggling video game publisher informed employees Tuesday morning that it was closing the studio as part of a recently announced plan to eliminate 1,500 jobs, or 16% of its global workforce. Pandemic has about 220 employees, but an EA spokesman said that a core team, estimated by two people close to the studio to be about 25, will be integrated into the publisher's other Los Angeles studio, in Playa Vista.' An ex-developer for Pandemic attributed the studio's struggles to poor decisions from the management."
Comment Re:Can you insultate yourself? (Score 1) 279
Good to know. Thanks for the info.
Comment Can you insultate yourself? (Score 1) 279
If you line your clothes with something conductive, would it disperse the waves before reaching skin? What about your house? What about tinfoil?
I know little about this stuff, but I'm genuinely concerned about being groped internally. Talk about spooky action from a distance.
Comment Re:EFF asking people to ask for Senate Hearings (Score 5, Insightful) 239
It would be nice to see this linked from the article but.... the EFF has a page up to send your reps a request to call senate hearings on this issue:
https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=383
I have been forwarding the link to everyone that I know, I recommend that everyone else who cares about transparency in the legal process to do the same.
-Steve
This is super important, thanks for posting. I have also begun sending it to everyone I know. Can we get this as an update to the main article, please?
Comment 3 fingers to move an application? Read between th (Score 1) 344
IMHO, an interface's success is directly proportionate to the amount of effort required to use it.
Comment DLC vs Feature Creep (Score 1) 241
IAAGD
As a game wraps up, the order of operations is generally thus:
As a game wraps up, the order of operations is generally thus:
- 1. Packaging / manual designs sent to printer
- 2. Code freeze on current build (content creation continues)
- 3. Q&A
- 4. Gold Master
- 5. Duplication
- 6. Package assembled and shipped
In an ideal world, this process is only a few months. This allows plenty of time to begin content creation for DLC and expansions. Including post-QA content and features to a stable build is way too risky. To ship software successfully, you need to know when to freeze an iteration and start scheduling features for the next one.
Woman Fired For Using Uppercase In Email 364
tomachi writes "An accountant in NZ has been awarded $17,000 NZD for unfair dismissal after her boss fired her without warning for using uppercase letters in a single email to co-workers. The email, which advises her team how to fill out staff claim forms, specifies a time and date highlighted in bold red, and a sentence written in capitals and highlighted in bold blue. It reads: 'To ensure your staff claim is processed and paid, please do follow the below checklist.' Her boss deemed the capital letters too confrontational for her co-workers to read after they woke up from naptime."
Comment Re:What Material Is the Pantacene Sitting On? (Score 5, Interesting) 169
This image isn't from an electron microscope, it uses AFM (atomic force microscopy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_force_microscope), which actually touches the molecules with its tip. In this case though, they bonded a single carbon monoxoide molecule to the AFM cantilever so that it would only interact with the oxygen atoms on the pentacene molecule. I imagine it didn't image the substrate at all because of that
It doesn't actually touch the molecules, because weak force cancels out the attraction. That's kind of a key point here because touching it was too destructive to get these images in the first place.
Comment Re:At the Risk of Sounding Like an Apologist (Score 1) 832
Skip the article, read eldavojohn's post above.
The article is a failure to sensationalize shallow observations in hopes of generating traffic. It's fiction, all that matters is if you're entertained.
"EPIC FAIL" as a term, as a meme, as a method of verbalizing extremes, has become an epic fail.
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