One of the things that we discovered, as more members of my family got kindles, is that it's easy to switch the account that your kindle is on. When you switch accounts you get access to all the books on that account. It also doesn't remove any of the books you already have on your kindle (just don't archive them).
Now, Is it sanctioned/legal? Nope. It's questionable at best, but the Amazon rep who basically explained the loophole to us said that there was no issue switching the account a kindle was on. The only issue is that there are download limits to books (another reason never to "archive" off your kindle), so it's not something that works on a massive scale, but for small groups that lend a lot, it's actually way nicer than paper books.
"Yes, we knowingly steal your data, but we do it through an semi-willing intermediary, so it's ok." - Microsoft
I'm not sure how because they are pulling the results through someone else, it's ok. That's like saying because I didn't pirate this piece of software directly, but downloaded it from a pirate site, it's fine.
"In what could be the most extreme and influential crowdsourcing project ever..
Isn't it a little early to call something like this "the most extreme and influential crowdsourcing"? Not that it's the end-all metric of popularity, but it has 16 follows so far 25 facebook likes for god's sake. Slow down a bit before you hurt yourself.
From working with the Torque Game Engine a while back - which was based on the Tribes engine (I think originally from 1998 but I might be wrong) - I think TGE works exactly like this in multiplayer mode. There's a central server that controls object position/etc so even if it's not a traditional MMO framework I think it fit's the bill.
Surprisingly, I had no problems running it on a AMD64 / Ubuntu Hardy Heron multi-screen setup. (Usually 32-bit apps need some futzing around to make it work)
Asshats. I love that they are hiding behind the affected student's right to privacy, yet wtf would they give her a different degree if it was an Academic issue? It makes no sense.
Due to federal student privacy restrictions, the University is unable to directly respond to media accounts related to the case. The University notes, however, that all of its educational decisions are based on a full range of academic performance issues, not solely on a student's personal website or social networking site. The University is committed to maintaining the academic integrity of its academic programs and degrees and will vigorously defend itself and the actions of its employees in legal proceedings related to the lawsuit.
I'm not generally an Apple/Jobs fanboy. But I think it's pretty obvious that by keeping their DRM completely in-house, they are are at least aren't going to fall into the issues that microsoft's plays-for-shite has. Or any of the DRM that's present in Windows MediaPlayer.
Take this example from earlier today: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/28/187258
Can you really blame Jobs? For me at least it does seems to Just Work, as long as you follow the rules: Itunes+Ipod only. I don't think it can be said that that's the case for any of the other DRM solutions that I've come across.
I'd say that Microsoft is pretty much the USA of software companies. Big, Bloated, Reviled and yet still getting by. While I hate to see the first term, I think he'd iron out the bugs and have an unbelievable second term. See: MS DOS, Windows, Word, Excel, Windows Server, X-Box...
Actually I think you missed the point a little bit. His point was the brick and mortar shops are going to disappear regardless, it has nothing to do with GameTap at all. Online delivery is the future. How that happens and the pricing model that dominates is what he's worried about.
If it's the GameTap model, then developers aren't going to have a viable market for older games because users are going to be used to the gametap pricing model (Expensive to start with, then basically free). That model isn't going to put a lot of food on the table of indie developers looking to innovate the industry and it's going to limit the industry to the big players that can make a big enough splash right off the bat to get a big of market in those first months that they can sell if for peanuts later.
This is among the most mornic slashdot stories I've ever heard. TFA is a little inflammatory, and Mr. Lerdorf is clearly giving a half tongue in cheek conference talk, but why is the story headed 'PostgreSQL Slammed by PHP'?
From the article:
One performance enhancement that Lerdorf suggested based on code analysis was to use MySQL instead of PostgreSQL for the database.
"If you can fit your problem into what MySQL can handle it's very fast," Lerdorf said. "You can gain quite a bit of performance."
If MySQL help's speed up the code, how is that a 'slam' (My translation: insult)? Is the 'unimpressed' PostgreSQL responding to the performance difference allegation? Or is the "MySQL is not a real database" discussion the way they are headed?
Wow this is bad.
If the class action lawsuit is like most other's around, probably not worth it. If they win the laywer will get $$$$ and the affected parties will all a $10 sony gift certificate.
I tried a number of the OSS editors, both for Web Development and C/C++ stuff (Quanta, Bluefish, Ajunta, KDevelop, and Eclipse) but ended up going with Slickedit after the trial.
I know it's blasphamy to choose a closed source tool in a field where there are so many other choices but it really provides exactly the features I want, does automatic tagging and correct syntax highlighting for every language I work in (PHP, Perl, Python, Java, HTML, C, C++), has good project functionality and a kick-ass diff tool that it was worth the $300.
Now the 3 monitors part is I think the sweet spot, although you need another gfx card to go that route. I use 1 for development, 1 for viewing the project I'm working on and 1 for documentation.
Oh, and a costco leather chair. That was the last thing.
"Sony will be releasing a stalker robot that can stalk celebraties and other individuals from afar, recording their everymove with a joystick and touch of a button. This is seen to be a major boon for disabled stalkers."
Reading a few comments here I understand the feeling of distaste for uninformed voting but here are a couple notes (I'm one of the creators):
1. Of the people signed up, 65% have left some sort of comment. This means people who are signing up do feel a certain way and aren't signing just to signup.
2. Unlike rock the vote or those sorts of drives we don't actually DO anything or try to force anyone. We are instead a opinion site aimed at being as middle of the road as we can be. Our goal is to create as many informed and excited voters as possible.
3. The gimmicks on the site (yes I know they are gimmicks) like the flash map and user tree are aimed at making users come back and read more and say more. We hope when someone comes back and logs on they see something on the homepage or user comments that interests/angers/excites them.
4. Of the users who put themselves down as black (undecided) almost 70% ARE registered. This means that there is a good chance they will vote. That means that they need to be digesting as much information/opinion as possible in the upcoming weeks to make their own decision an informed one. Again, our site aims to help that.
I am personally all for telling people to stay home and not vote if they dont know the issues (and will move a comment to the front page if someone wants to say that on the site) but given the tendency for static voting (always along party lines) I think the more interest and dialog the better. You don't have to tell your friend to vote just tell him to take a look at the site and signup if its piques their interest.
Slashdot Mirror
One of the things that we discovered, as more members of my family got kindles, is that it's easy to switch the account that your kindle is on. When you switch accounts you get access to all the books on that account. It also doesn't remove any of the books you already have on your kindle (just don't archive them).
Now, Is it sanctioned/legal? Nope. It's questionable at best, but the Amazon rep who basically explained the loophole to us said that there was no issue switching the account a kindle was on. The only issue is that there are download limits to books (another reason never to "archive" off your kindle), so it's not something that works on a massive scale, but for small groups that lend a lot, it's actually way nicer than paper books.
Here's how I parse this:
I'm not sure how because they are pulling the results through someone else, it's ok. That's like saying because I didn't pirate this piece of software directly, but downloaded it from a pirate site, it's fine.
Isn't it a little early to call something like this "the most extreme and influential crowdsourcing"? Not that it's the end-all metric of popularity, but it has 16 follows so far 25 facebook likes for god's sake. Slow down a bit before you hurt yourself.
From working with the Torque Game Engine a while back - which was based on the Tribes engine (I think originally from 1998 but I might be wrong) - I think TGE works exactly like this in multiplayer mode. There's a central server that controls object position/etc so even if it's not a traditional MMO framework I think it fit's the bill.
Surprisingly, I had no problems running it on a AMD64 / Ubuntu Hardy Heron multi-screen setup. (Usually 32-bit apps need some futzing around to make it work)
Comments Page: http://www.millersville.edu/comments.php
I'm not generally an Apple/Jobs fanboy. But I think it's pretty obvious that by keeping their DRM completely in-house, they are are at least aren't going to fall into the issues that microsoft's plays-for-shite has. Or any of the DRM that's present in Windows MediaPlayer.
Take this example from earlier today: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/28/187258
Can you really blame Jobs? For me at least it does seems to Just Work, as long as you follow the rules: Itunes+Ipod only. I don't think it can be said that that's the case for any of the other DRM solutions that I've come across.
I'd say that Microsoft is pretty much the USA of software companies. Big, Bloated, Reviled and yet still getting by. While I hate to see the first term, I think he'd iron out the bugs and have an unbelievable second term. See: MS DOS, Windows, Word, Excel, Windows Server, X-Box...
What, you paid for a drink when you met your girlfriend? You bought movie tickets for her?
There's any easier way to say this, Your girlfriend is a whore, loser
Actually I think you missed the point a little bit. His point was the brick and mortar shops are going to disappear regardless, it has nothing to do with GameTap at all. Online delivery is the future. How that happens and the pricing model that dominates is what he's worried about.
If it's the GameTap model, then developers aren't going to have a viable market for older games because users are going to be used to the gametap pricing model (Expensive to start with, then basically free). That model isn't going to put a lot of food on the table of indie developers looking to innovate the industry and it's going to limit the industry to the big players that can make a big enough splash right off the bat to get a big of market in those first months that they can sell if for peanuts later.
Wow, that's either more sarcasm than I can comfortably handle, or utterly missing the point. Either way very enjoyable!
If the class action lawsuit is like most other's around, probably not worth it. If they win the laywer will get $$$$ and the affected parties will all a $10 sony gift certificate.
should be filled out by all angry individuals... http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp/english/form8.html
I tried a number of the OSS editors, both for Web Development and C/C++ stuff (Quanta, Bluefish, Ajunta, KDevelop, and Eclipse) but ended up going with Slickedit after the trial. I know it's blasphamy to choose a closed source tool in a field where there are so many other choices but it really provides exactly the features I want, does automatic tagging and correct syntax highlighting for every language I work in (PHP, Perl, Python, Java, HTML, C, C++), has good project functionality and a kick-ass diff tool that it was worth the $300. Now the 3 monitors part is I think the sweet spot, although you need another gfx card to go that route. I use 1 for development, 1 for viewing the project I'm working on and 1 for documentation. Oh, and a costco leather chair. That was the last thing.
Actually its 'nano' that they have the installed by default for some reason, not vi. so I'm not sure if that moves it up or down the leet scale.
"Sony will be releasing a stalker robot that can stalk celebraties and other individuals from afar, recording their everymove with a joystick and touch of a button. This is seen to be a major boon for disabled stalkers."
actually it is supposed to display a state drop down if you don't have flash 6> . Probably not tested properly. I'll take a look.
Reading a few comments here I understand the feeling of distaste for uninformed voting but here are a couple notes (I'm one of the creators):
1. Of the people signed up, 65% have left some sort of comment. This means people who are signing up do feel a certain way and aren't signing just to signup.
2. Unlike rock the vote or those sorts of drives we don't actually DO anything or try to force anyone. We are instead a opinion site aimed at being as middle of the road as we can be. Our goal is to create as many informed and excited voters as possible.
3. The gimmicks on the site (yes I know they are gimmicks) like the flash map and user tree are aimed at making users come back and read more and say more. We hope when someone comes back and logs on they see something on the homepage or user comments that interests/angers/excites them.
4. Of the users who put themselves down as black (undecided) almost 70% ARE registered. This means that there is a good chance they will vote. That means that they need to be digesting as much information/opinion as possible in the upcoming weeks to make their own decision an informed one. Again, our site aims to help that.
I am personally all for telling people to stay home and not vote if they dont know the issues (and will move a comment to the front page if someone wants to say that on the site) but given the tendency for static voting (always along party lines) I think the more interest and dialog the better. You don't have to tell your friend to vote just tell him to take a look at the site and signup if its piques their interest.