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User: forgotten_my_nick

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  1. Not new. on Why Waste Servers' Heat? · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This isn't a new idea. Some buildings like this already and IIRC IBM also marked this as one of their next 5 in 5.

  2. Re:Why? on Apple Laptops Vulnerable To Battery Firmware Hack · · Score: 1

    Perhaps you should see someone to deal with your anger management and threats of violence.

    If you bothered to check up on it, Battery firmware does more then just give you the percentage back on the battery.

    For example if the voltage falls outside the safe range, then the battery disables itself from getting a charge (to stop it exploding/going on fire).

    It will also prevent the battery from being completely discharged (which kills the battery).

    That firmware needs to be programmed in, and editable at a later point in case of bugs.

    The only issue from the article is that the batteries have a factory default password. I suspect his tampering triggers a failsafe, rather then him actually knowing how to reprogram the battery.

  3. Re:Nethack already did it. on Can Minecraft Change the Gaming Industry? · · Score: 1

    UO was a great social experiment as well (until it started catering for people who wanted to pay to play basically a single player game without objectionable interaction).

    When I played for example, I would hang out in a town called Delucia. It was fun and you tended to meet the same people.

    After a while we got terrorised by a French PKer (person who kill for the sake of it). One person disrupted the gameplay of easily a 100 people an hour, by slaughtering, trapping (so monsters would kill them), tricking them into getting killed, robbing and generally being an ass.

    So it got a point where the second he logged in runners would go out around the town for people to go back to town or find somewhere not to interact with him.

    He would always come into town flagged to try and kill people who would start anything.

    The community got so close knit, that one night he came onto the server flagged and spouting garbage. The whole town said they had enough and all stood around him (30 or more people) and told him to cut it out. He was so worried that he started emptying all his gear into the bank for fear he would get spanked by the whole town.

    He didn't come around much after that.

  4. Re:No rage, just a lost customer. on Netflix Deflects Rage Over Price Increase · · Score: 1

    It is the concept of "Free" that is getting people. Netflix should have read some of Dan Arielys stuff before doing the price change.

    http://danariely.com/2009/08/10/the-nuances-of-the-free-experiment/

  5. Great to watch. on Bitcoin Mining Tests On 16 NVIDIA and AMD GPUs · · Score: 1

    I think it is great to watch a Ponzi scheme in action without being directly connected.

  6. Re:First Invent AI on Scott Adams Says Plenty Would Choose Life In Noprivacyville · · Score: 1

    Until it realizes that it could save more money by just killing all the humans.

    Something similar to that movie where Will Smith takes a dump on Asimovs grave. (the name escapes me).

  7. Re:News at 11 on Angry Birds Exec Says Console Games Are Dying · · Score: 1

    They are two different kinds of execs.

    You have an exec of an Indie game which probably never expected to make so much money.

    An EA exec on the other hand is employed to get the maximum money for the shareholders. More often then not experimental games don't make as much revenue as the mainstream ones. You mess up, you get fired. So it is safer for the exec to release another NFL/FPS/Sims game then it is to make something new.

  8. Re:Title is also misleading. on Safari/MacBook First To Fall At Pwn2Own 2011 · · Score: 1

    It is misleading because it implies that Mac was rooted faster then the others.

    It is like having a race between Bob and John except Bob runs on Saturday and John Sunday. Then have a headline "Bob to reach finish line first".

  9. Title is also misleading. on Safari/MacBook First To Fall At Pwn2Own 2011 · · Score: 1

    It says the Macs were the first to fall. This is because they were the first part of the competition. It appears to imply that all OS were being hacked at the same time.

  10. I read the article on Safari/MacBook First To Fall At Pwn2Own 2011 · · Score: 1

    So what I take it that the exploit is in WebKit (along with many others). They did mention it was quite hard to build the root kit for x64.

    So does this mean it is a cross platform exploit?

    Any word on when apple will patch it?

  11. Re:Simple on Safari/MacBook First To Fall At Pwn2Own 2011 · · Score: 1

    > who act as if owning an "unhackable" Apple

    I have never met this person you speak of. I can tell you now for dumb users (ie. My mum) the Apple Mac has had 1 *son* support call in the last year. Prior to that I would be fixing something every 1-2 weeks on Windows (pre Win7 of course).

    There is no such thing as unhackable.

  12. Re:The Apple Way on IOS 4.3 Now Available For Download · · Score: 1

    I find people who own apple devices appear to be much more rational. 99% of the time they just use it as a device and don't give a toss about anything else.

    The problem is that some get defensive because you get continual irrational attacks against you just because you bought something.

  13. Re:Xcode no longer free on IOS 4.3 Now Available For Download · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't compare XCode with Visual Express. Just because both are free doesn't mean they are the same.

    How about comparing XCode to MSDN?

  14. Kill the FUD on IOS 4.3 Now Available For Download · · Score: 1

    > A feature I wish it didn't come with... 30% of subscription revenues from "publishers" like Netflix, Amazon Kindle etc.

    ** This is the fault of the publishers, not Apple. **

    Here is what happens. When you sell an app on the iTunes store apple takes a cut of that sale for hosting/advertising. Every single app that you pay for on the app store has to do this.

    The only time you do not have to pay anything is if you give your app away for free. The consumer gets an application for free to play with and the developer isn't penalised for releasing for free.

    Now with the Publishing companies what they basically did was make their applications free in the iTunes store. So Apple didn't get any revenue from that.

    Add to that when the consumer downloads it they find it isn't in fact free, but totally useless until you pay for a magazine (which is basically downloading high res scans of a magazine). I know this because I downloaded a few of them thinking this.

    So they were circumventing the app stores rules while everyone else has to play by them.

    If the publishers want to make a magazine for the iPad and don't want to pay the iTunes fees then they can just create a website and have the user connect to that through the browser.

  15. Re:Anyone know... on iPad 2 Forces Samsung To Reevaluate Galaxy Tab · · Score: 1

    > massive gamechanger, and a clear rip-off.

    No it isn't. For starters when you put an App on the iTunes store apple automatically takes a cut of the sales (part of hosting and giving you a demographic to sell to). Only time you don't pay anything is if you give the app away for free. Which works great for the consumer.

    The magazine companies have been getting around paying Apple by giving away a free app which when you launch it does nothing except expect you to pay for what is basically screenshots of a magazine.

    I am not sure you have tried it, but I have. It is a total rip-off because it gets advertised as free when it isn't. It is also a rip for for Apple because they have to take the hit for the free apps while the magazine companies rake in the cash from those that do use it.

    > 2. Research touchscreen patents.

    Well you are kind of changing your argument here. As your initial claim was that Apple was screwing Nokia. But when I searched on that, I see it was Nokia that attacked Apple first with patents.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12010872

    But my question to you is have you googled Touchscreens? I did. Apple awarded touch screen patent. Counter sued by a company that put a patent in for touch pads.

    You can read them here:
    http://www.google.com/patents?id=IAkYAAAAEBAJ

    http://www.google.com/patents?id=dCKzAAAAEBAJ

    Not alike. But it is you making the claim so how about some thing a bit more concrete then "google it".

    > 3. Flash works fine on:

    Some people have pointed out that isn't the case. Apple are not banning it. They are just not supporting it. There is a difference. There is nothing to stop you from creating an App that is a ported flash (previously there was, but Apple relaxed the rules of the appstore).

    There is also nothing stopping you from say porting Flash to HTML5 and render that way (which Adobe plan to do).

    > classic iSheeple argument

    Again, if you have to resort to name calling you have already lost the debate.

  16. Re:Anyone know... on iPad 2 Forces Samsung To Reevaluate Galaxy Tab · · Score: 1

    > . 30% off subs "to avoid backdooring"?

    He is correct. The magazine vendors are making the money from the iTunes store while giving the middle finger to Apple. They are not offering a free app to the consumer, they only offering the ability to buy magazines on your iPad. I downloaded a couple to find they give you absolutely nothing for free in the app.

    Apple want their cut for giving the vendors a place to advertise their wares.

    At the same time Apple do give magazine vendors an out. For example if you have a web subscription then you can read their site fine on the iPad without ever having Apple taking a cut.

    > No flash "because it isn't mobile ready"

    Flash is a straight out a massive battery drain. Also a lot of flash apps simply are not designed for the tablet in mind.

    You can get Flash on the iPad though (a number of ways), but it really isn't worth it. HTML5 works and offers the same level of functionality.

    > they have problems releasing good touchscreen phones because apple bought out certain key patents?

    Unless Apple are all out refusing to license the patents then all Nokia has to do pay for the license and release their product. Or what a lot of companies do is share patents. Which I am sure Nokia has.

    Is this the case?

    > I do not know what world you're living on

    Helps to get a point across without resorting to name calling.

  17. Re:Seriously? on Study Shows Technology May Inhibit Good Sleep · · Score: 1

    I have been using this for 3 weeks now and it is excellent. It also tells me when I am working too late as my workplace has natural lightbulbs.

  18. Re:Sigh on UK Schools Consider Searching Pupils' Smartphones · · Score: 1

    The parents do have the rights and it would be them who would enforce.

    30 years ago, bullying would be localised. Yes it sucked being bullied.

    These days you can be posted to Youtube and watched over and over by numerous people. No child should have to go through that sort of crap.

    So I would certainly be against mobile phones in schools.

  19. Re:Anyone know... on iPad 2 Forces Samsung To Reevaluate Galaxy Tab · · Score: 2

    I know you are attempting humour. But there is a large market base who will not buy apple products out of sheer irrationality.

    My brother would be one of these. He would happly pay more for a non-Apple device.

    The irrational hatred for Apple devices is incredible to watch.

  20. Re:This is gonna be very rant like on Is Software Driving a Falling Demand For Brains? · · Score: 2

    > You need an intent checker,

    Isn't that what Watson can do?

  21. So easy to troll. on Is Apple Turning Into the Next "Evil Empire"? · · Score: 1

    > then you may find when you next try to sync it with iTunes that it has turned into an expensive, beautifully designed paperweight.

    I don't understand this fascination with working people up into a rage when it comes to Apple. The article is a complete troll. Apple do not remotely brick devices.

    As for the subscription system. The publishers can easily work around this by just offering the magazine in web format. You don't get charged for web apps. Only iPad apps bought through iTunes.

  22. Re:Wow... Yet more Apple bashing. on Melbourne College May Give iPad To Every Student · · Score: 1

    > iPad makes a better text book than, say, a Kindle...

    Kindle is electronic paper. The screen and size makes it great for reading eBooks but totally useless for anything else.

    > The iPad costs three or four times as much and has a worse screen and battery life

    You are comparing apples with oranges. Electronic paper only uses battery power when it needs to refresh the screen (ie. change a page). Unless you have wifi on it will use no other power. This is why it has a battery recharge rate of 1 month (10 days with wifi).

    iPad has 10 hours battery time (less if playing graphic intensive games). It is a multi-media device. For reading PDFs this is much better then the Kindle.

  23. Re:Big Battle on Bing To Become Default iPhone Search? · · Score: 1

    They may have improved Bing, but overall I find google gives me results "I am looking for".

    Tested this with Blindsearch.

    http://blindsearch.fejus.com/

    I would take the "gaining marketshare" with a pinch of salt. As it is very different then people actually changing search engines.

  24. Worst idea ever. on City of Heroes Sr. Designer Talks Architect System · · Score: 1

    If you ever want to know how to destroy an MMO the AE will be the best example of this.

    I was a hard core COX player. I have to say I really enjoyed the game. AE killed it.

    First you need to know something about how instances are made in CoX. They are cookie cutter dungeons made with the same map layout blocks. So if you have played for more then a month you will know how each corridor is laid out, where monsters spawn.

    There are exceptions to some of those dungeons, but very rare. Now they did attempt to improve on this at one point. For example Striga island and Croatoa have really good quests/arcs compared to other content. However apart from the Ritiki warzone redone the instances had not changed at all.

    So AE was meant to fix this in that you could create custom content. Except you can't. It is all cookie cutter dungeons. There are some nicely done stories by player content but the instances are all the same. So it gets boring fast.

    Add to that AE being easier then the actual rest of the game, meant that everyone was camped out in the AE building while the rest of the city zones were pretty much ghost towns.

    At that point I wondered why the heck was I playing the game anymore. The developers had no interest in putting any real new content into the game (except with micro-payments).

  25. Re:Conveniently forgetting the details on Israeli Border Police Shoot US Student's Laptop · · Score: 1

    I actually went and read the story. Your comments don't really add any weight.

    -hand drawn map of downtown Jerusalem

    "a map a friend had drawn with a main street in Jerusalem, the central bus station and my intended hostel. "Who are you meeting there?" They asked me."

    She answered their questions on it. Can't see how that warrants destroying a laptop.

    Arabic phrasebook, a journal entry that mentioned a Palestinian(yes, they even flipped through my journal), stamps from Syria, Qatar and the UAE, Palestinians in Palestine guidebook, and

    How does this make a person a terrorist? Or a threat? How does that relate to a laptop?

    -Arabic stickers on laptop

    They were keyboard cap stickers. I have Korean stickers on my keyboard so I know where to type for what character. It is clear they shot the laptop without opening it though.

    -"Fuck Star of David" pic on phone

    How does that relate to the laptop? She did answer the question to the soldiers though as to why. It was from a photo exhibition.

    -passport stamps from Arab countries

    "stamps from Syria, Qatar and the UAE"

    -various Arab publications

    Arabic phrasebook
    Palestinians in Palestine guidebook.

    -photos condemning Israeli military action in Gaza

    "pictures from a photo exhibit about Israel's January attack of Gaza"

    Sorry but your the one forgetting the details.