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Space

Excalibur Almaz To Offer Commercial Orbital Flights 76

Posted by kdawson from the big-circle-in-the-sky dept.
xp65 alerts to the plans of an international consortium called Excalibur Almaz Limited to open up a new era of private orbital space flight for commercial customers. The group, consisting of Russian, US, and Japanese companies, will use a formerly top-secret Soviet re-entry vehicle called Almaz to carry paying research crews on one-week missions into Earth orbit by 2013. This ambition represents a large step beyond the sub-orbital flight market so far targeted by most other private space companies. "Excalibur has raised 'tens of millions of dollars' to initiate what will become a several hundred million dollar program, [CEO] Dula tells Spaceflight Now. He has spent more than 20 years eying this specific Almaz program... He also says 'the business plan closes' generating profits within a few years. His surveys have found research and science customers for space missions that are not tourist hops, but less demanding than ISS operations."
Microsoft

XP Users Are Willing To Give Windows 7 a Chance 720

Posted by kdawson from the light-at-the-end-of-the-long-tunnel-that-is-vista dept.
Harry writes "PC World and Technologizer conducted a survey of 5,000 people who use Windows XP as their primary operating system. Many have no plans to leave it, and 80% will be unhappy when Microsoft completely discontinues it. And attitudes towards Vista remain extremely negative. But a majority of those who know something about Windows 7 have a positive reaction. More important, 70 percent of respondents who have used Windows 7 say they like it, which is a sign that Windows 7 stands a chance of being what Vista never was: an upgrade good enough to convince most XP users to switch."

Comment Re:Psychology (Score 1) 399

by superphysics (#29085527) Attached to: Are Game Consoles Ruining DLC?
I could quote a study that compared gaming consoles owned to the job of the main earning member of the family. Problem is, it was taken by a print magazine in Pakistan (where I live), and I couldn't refer you to it. But I admit I may be wrong to generalize it for the rest of the world, particularly US.

Comment Psychology (Score 0) 399

by superphysics (#29084725) Attached to: Are Game Consoles Ruining DLC?
It probably has a lot to do with psychology too. Consoles are generally used by richer people (children and adults) who, in addition to owning a computer, can afford to own consoles too (people who own consoles, in all likelihood, own computers before they own consoles).

These people are then less likely to be smiffed by a surcharge of a few dollars. Not that they like paying it, but they have fewer gripes. Companies, of course, home in on this very psyche.

The fact that consoles are closed also makes matters different, like so many before me have commented. But if the demographic it caters to failed, how would paid DLC ever have taken off?

Comment Re:Not enough outsourcing, I suppose (Score 2, Interesting) 246

by superphysics (#29082725) Attached to: Financial Issues May Force Changes On Games Industry
Actually, I happen to live in one of the countries I mentioned, and I happen to be involved in the related circles. I can tell for certain that all IT companies actually come back over and over again to these 'low cost' outsourcing centres. What surprises me is that no game developers ever do...

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