Comment Re:libdvdcss ilegal? (Score 4, Informative) 252
Except that cyborg is short for "cybernetic organism". So yes, Robo-cop was very much a cyber cop.
Landmark Calculation Clears the Way To Answering How Matter Is Formed 205
First time accepted submitter smazsyr writes "An international collaboration of scientists is reporting in landmark detail the decay process of a subatomic particle called a kaon – information that may help answer fundamental questions about how the universe began. The calculation in the study required 54 million processor hours on the IBM BlueGene/P supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory, the equivalent of 281 days of computing with 8,000 processors. 'This calculation brings us closer to answering fundamental questions about how matter formed in the early universe and why we, and everything else we observe today, are made of matter and not anti-matter,' says a co-author of the paper."
Comment Re:Credit card number exposure (Score 1) 322
This is different because the end user signs a contract (as many have stated before) allowing the collection of data by the carrier. The onus is on the carrier to use the data with a neutral intent, but they are still given the right to collect the data by the end user.
In the case of a skimmer, the person using the pump or ATM has no a priori knowledge their information is being recorded, and that makes all the difference.
Comment Re:counting unhatched chickens (Score 1) 108
This. There have not been 135 separate vehicles, but five, which have each made an average of 27 flights. The average aside, losing 20% of your operating fleet due to mishaps like those don't bear well on the outlook of the fleet.
Comment Felt the same desire to destroy my machine (Score 1) 533
I used to work second tier customer service for a catalog based retailer. I had pretty much always worked second shift, which was a 2-11 time slot. Our IT department insisted on having all virus scans (network base) run at the same time during the day, which meant it was scheduled to run after 5 pm (so the sales department wasn't affected), during the busiest part of my shift. It got to the point where I would have to do a hard shutdown on my machine (yeah, bad form), but it was the only solution I had to stop it from running (it wouldn't restart when I powered back up). My PHB saw me sitting idly at my desk looking at a blank screen and asked what I was doing, and after explaining this over a two week period, the IT guys eventually rescheduled my scan to run in the morning.
Comment Re:One Word (Score 1) 122
That sounds like Second Life.
Comment Re:The Final Cut (Score 1) 347
This :
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101698/ (Defending your life w/Albert Brooks)
came to mind first
Game Endings Going Out of Style? 190
An article in the Guardian asks whether the focus of modern games has shifted away from having a clear-cut ending and toward indefinite entertainment instead. With the rise of achievements, frequent content updates and open-ended worlds, it seems like publishers and developers are doing everything they can to help this trend. Quoting:
"Particularly before the advent of 'saving,' the completion of even a simple game could take huge amounts of patience, effort and time. The ending, like those last pages of a book, was a key reason why we started playing in the first place. Sure, multiplayer and arcade style games still had their place, but fond 8, 16 and 32-bit memories consist more of completion and satisfaction than particular levels or tricky moments. Over the past few years, however, the idea of a game as simply something to 'finish' has shifted somewhat. For starters, the availability of downloadable content means no story need ever end, as long as the makers think there's a paying audience. Also, the ubiquity of broadband means multiplayer gaming is now the standard, not the exception it once was. There is no real 'finish' to most MMORPGs."
Infinity Ward Fights Against Modern Warfare 2 Cheaters 203
Faithbleed writes "IW's Robert Bowling reports on his twitter account that Infinity Ward is giving 2,500 Modern Warfare 2 cheaters the boot. The news comes as the war between IW and MW2's fans rages over the decision to go with IWnet hosting instead of dedicated servers. Unhappy players were quick to come up with hacks that would allow their own servers and various other changes."
Despite the dedicated-server complaints, Modern Warfare 2 has sold ridiculously well.
Comment I said mouse (Score 4, Interesting) 460
I'm a southpaw, and for the longest time, was stuck with the shitty M$/generic ergonomic mice that were not really made for one hand or the other. I finally got the Logitech MX610 left hand and it'll be a sad day if/when they are no longer manufactured.
Comment Re:Wow... (Score 3, Informative) 307
IIRC, from the 2005 article: it will be built as far from civilization as possible so "that will help people forget about it and avoid the contempt of familiarity."
Sun Slips Firefox Extension Into Java Update 311
pcardno writes "It seems it's not just Microsoft that have spotted a good opportunity to distribute their software through Firefox Addons. On installing the latest annoying, sysbar bubble based Java update, my Firefox informed me that I had a wonderful new Java addon automatically. Here's the addon screenshot. Yes, I could opt out of it, but why are Sun installing Addons to my Firefox without me making specific choices in the application itself? To be clear — I have never chosen to install this Addon, yet it has been installed without my permission with the latest Java Update."
Avalanche Effect Demonstrated In Solar Cells 234
esocid writes "Researchers at TU Delft (Netherlands) and the FOM (Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter) have found irrefutable proof that the so-called avalanche effect by electrons occurs in specific semiconducting crystals of nanometer dimensions. This physical effect could pave the way for cheap, high-output solar cells. Solar cells currently have relatively low output, typically 15%, and high manufacturing costs. One possible improvement could derive from a new type of solar cell made of semiconducting nanocrystals and could theoretically lead to a maximum output of 44%, with the added benefit of reducing manufacturing costs. In conventional solar cells, one photon can release precisely one electron. However, in some semiconducting nanocrystals, one photon can release two or three electrons, hence the term 'avalanche effect.' This effect was first measured by researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratories in 2004, and since then the scientific world had raised doubts about the value of these measurements. This current research does in fact demonstrate that the avalanche effect can occur."
4D Analogue of Megaminx Puzzle 80
roice writes "The crazy hypercubists who created the
4D and
5D Rubik's cubes (here are previous
Slashdot posts on
the 4-D one and
the 5-D one)
have now developed a free
working 4-dimensional software analogue of the
Megaminx puzzle. Composed of
120 dodecahedral cells, the
underlying structure is arguably the most beautiful of 4D geometrical shapes,
with amazing symmetries and no analogue in dimensions higher than 4.
Though some have already begun working on solutions for this 'Hyperminx,' it has
yet to be solved by anyone. Also, when it comes to
number of positions, it dwarfs the previous puzzles by many thousands of
orders of magnitude!"
Microsoft Upgrades Vista Kernel in SP1 231
KrispySausage writes "One of the big features discussed in early speculation of Windows Vista SP1 was the kernel upgrade, which was supposed to bring the operating system into line with the Longhorn kernel used in Windows Server 2008. With Vista SP1 going RTM, there hasn't been so much as a peep from Microsoft about the mooted kernel update. Has it happened? Well the answer is yes it has. Presumably the main reason for Microsoft's silence on the subject is that as they're keen to promote the improvements and enhancements to Vista, rather than placing emphasis on a kernel upgrade, which some people might see as a risk of newly-introduced instability."
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