Comment * strokes cat * (Score 1) 438
I'm looking forward to seeing this appear in a James Bond movie.
Comment I like China's solution (Score 1) 651
If you ever go to an electronics market in China (and probably in a lot of other places), you buy a printer that's been hacked with a large inkwell practically taped to the side. The ink's cheap as anything, can't comment on the quality, though the prints I saw were fine. There's also the ease of use factor. You can see right there how much of each color you have left, since the container is clear and it's on the outside, and you don't have to open the printer up or even stop printing to change the ink. Someone needs to start selling these things in the West.
Comment All of their archives? (Score 1) 115
I see they conveniently omitted this.
Comment Re:Hamburger Earmuffs (Score 1) 194
I hear that the electric blanket mobile is coming along nicely though.
M.U.L.E. Is Back 110
jmp_nyc writes "The developers at Turborilla have remade the 1983 classic game M.U.L.E. The game is free, and has slightly updated graphics, but more or less the same gameplay as the original version. As with the original game, up to four players can play against each other (or fewer than four with AI players taking the other spots). Unlike the original version, the four players can play against each other online. For those of you not familiar with M.U.L.E., it was one of the earliest economic simulation games, revolving around the colonization of the fictitious planet Irata (Atari spelled backwards). I have fond memories of spending what seemed like days at a time playing the game, as it's quite addictive, with the gameplay seeming simpler than it turns out to be. I'm sure I'm not the only Slashdotter who had a nasty M.U.L.E. addiction back in the day and would like a dose of nostalgia every now and then."
PlayStation Network Expanding To Involve Other Devices 63
At CES, Sony's Kaz Hirai confirmed that the company will build out its PlayStation Network for use with other devices, such as televisions, Blu-ray players, and PCs. Quoting:
"... the expansion starts next month with the availability of the PSN video store on these other devices, and Hirai explained they are constructing a mechanism to create a single user ID across the entire network (if you have a PSN account, it's good to go on any other applicable Sony device, and if you create one on another device, it'll work on PSN). And finally, Hirai also announced the formation of a new Sony division — called Sony Network Entertainment, Inc. — to drive this expansion of the PSN service into a Sony-wide network."
Ocean-Crossing Dragonflies Discovered 95
grrlscientist writes "While living and working as a marine biologist in Maldives, Charles Anderson noticed sudden explosions of dragonflies at certain times of year. He explains how he carefully tracked the path of a plain, little dragonfly called the Globe Skimmer, Pantala flavescens, only to discover that it had the longest migratory journey of any insect in the world."
Microsoft Wants To Participate In SVG Development 292
rossendryv writes "After many years of fighting against the standard, Microsoft announced they are joining the WC3's SVG working group to help with the development of SVG. 'We recognize that vector graphics are an important component of the next-generation Web platform,' said Patrick Dengler, senior program manager on Microsoft's Internet Explorer team in a blog post."
Enterprise Security For the Executive 75
brothke writes "If Shakespeare were to write an information security tragedy, it would not be titled Hamlet, rather Bayuk. The story of Jennifer Bayuk is tragic in that she spent a decade as CISO at Bear, Stearns, building up its security group to be one of the best in the business; only to find it vaporized when the firm collapsed and was acquired by J.P. Morgan Clearing Corp. After all that toil and sweat, Bayuk was out of a job. (Full disclosure: Bayuk and I have given a presentation together in the past, and I did get a copy of this book for free.)" Read below for Ben's review.
Comment Re:The difference between China and the US (Score 5, Insightful) 420
Honestly, I've heard this argument so many times and there always seems to be something wrong with it.
What you are doing here is comparing two entities with the direct knowledge that it is theoretically impossible for any of them to be perfect. You then use this as a basis for your attack, essentially stating that since none can be perfect, that they must all be the exact same.
What you are missing is degrees. Do you honestly believe that a system founded under the notion of absolute power is essentially the same as one where at least some running it believe in limitations? Where in one people discuss ways to prevent abuses of power, and in the other they take it for granted?
No system will ever be perfect, but some are trying harder than others.
Emulating New Super Mario Bros. Wii At 1080p 76
KingofGnG writes "An impressive confirmation of the Dolphin Wii emulator's capabilities comes from a YouTube video, which shows off recently-added video clips of New Super Mario Bros. Wii in full HD. It demonstrates the growing compatibility of Dolphin with the latest games published for the Nintendo console."
Microsoft Tweaks Browser Ballot As EU Deal Nears 187
CWmike writes "Microsoft has revamped the browser ballot screen demanded by European Union antitrust regulators and may get final approval as early as Dec. 15, a source familiar with the case has told Computerworld. As first reported by Bloomberg, Microsoft modified the ballot screen after rivals, including Opera Software and Mozilla, demanded changes. Last month, Opera, Mozilla and Google submitted change requests to the European Commission, asking that the order of the browsers be randomized and that the ballot be displayed in its own application, not in Internet Explorer. According to the source, who asked not to be identified because the terms of the settlement have not been officially approved, the top five browsers — IE, Firefox, Chrome, Opera and Apple's Safari — will appear in random order each time the ballot is displayed."
SETI@home Project Responds To School Firing 295
SETIGuy writes "SETI@home Project Scientist Eric Korpela has responded to many of the allegations made by Higley Unified School District administrator Denise Birdwell regarding the difficulties caused by the installation of SETI@home, which led to the recent firing of the school's technology supervisor. One of the project's founders, David Gedye, takes issue with Dr. Birdwell's claim that 'an educational institution ... cannot support the search for E.T.' Meanwhile, the fired supervisor denies misusing school computers."
Comment Re:For those of us ignoring Skype... (Score 1) 49
I'm in the same situation that you were, and have not had the same experience. Skype's performance under Windows is absolutely horrendous for me (as well as others I know who are using it). Funnily enough, I'm dual booting and it is markedly better under Ubuntu on the same laptop. Both versions are inferior to Google Chat, which I am happily using now. Unfortunately there is no *nix version yet, but I hear Google is working on it.
Comment This comes to mind (Score 1) 958
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Karl's version of Parkinson's Law: Work expands to exceed the time alloted it.
