If you haven't seen the iTalk spec commercial for by award winning filmmaker Christopher DeSantis (design by Gregory DeSantis) you should check it out. In past speculative posts on/., it seems that the biggest reason "Apple will never do this" is that "the people" don't want a device like this. With the success of the iPod, I don't see how people *wouldn't* want a device like this. Millions of people want an iPod... I'd guess that most of those people are also cell phone users. Why wouldn't I want one device that does both assuming that Apple does it right?
I think it would be a huge success should Apple decide to build an iTalk that is a high quality phone, maintains everything we expect in an iPod, has decent battery life, and has the popular Apple style. I haven't had a decent cell phone in years. I find most of today's phones too small, lots of plastic and very lightweight. Count me in the camp that hopes they build one at some point.
While your comment has all the codewords folks on/. like to see when modding people up, your premise is your opinion. You flatly state that "The video game censorship law is just a symptom of a larger problem; the resurgence of social conservatism in the U.S." I'm sorry to say that whether you like it or not, you do have in the neighborhood of 300 million neighbors who all get a say in this representative republic. Historically, the US has had a great deal of ebb and flow when it comes to social behavior. To call the popular view of social standards today a "problem" is every bit as wrong as conservatives calling the free-love dope smoking hippies of the 60's a problem.
You also make the mistake of connecting your dissatisfaction of "the current administration" to the resurgence of social conservatism. Growing social conservatism isn't something that GW Bush introduced. This has been happening since Regan was voted in. The 80's marked the end of 20 or so years of very liberal social behavior. In my opinion, the country started to reel conservatism back in again and voted for President Clinton. Who knows how his behavior as President may have affected the social feelings of the population at large.
I'm very much a conservative. Regarding your list of "social issues" I'm: against media censorship, against gay marraige (but not against civil unions and gay couples having all "married couple" benefits), against the government setting any abortion laws (the issue of abortions being right or wrong is a very separate issue from the government setting the laws), and I'm okay with people having the right to burn the flag.
Lastly, regarding your remark that "social conservativism has taken hold at the state level", I should point out that Minnesota (I'm a resident of this state) has been a solid blue state (Democrat - DFL if you're from here) for as long as I can remember. Remember that one state that didn't vote for Regan in his 1984 landslide? That was Minnesota. That being said, this state probably does have the most socialy conservative liberals in the US:)
I'm assuming you're just kidding, at least about the US arsenal. This is something that is taken very seriously. Confidence in the performance of weapons is managed through stockpile surveillance, assessment and certification, and refurbishment.
Contrary to popular belief (and Hollywood movies) one doesn't just drop a nuclear warhead or "blow it up" and get a mushroom cloud. Thinking about these sorts of problems has been going on since at least 1960. Read up on the NIKE system (no, not the shoes) for a bit of history on air defense guided missile systems.
An exceprt on the guidance system:
The computer command circuits initiate detonation of the warhead by sending a burst command to the missile by the way of the missile tracking radar system. Upon receipt of the burst command, the command detonation control circuits activate the warhead detonation devices. In a surface-to-surface mission, the burst command does not detonate the warhead. Instead, the burst command arms the barometric fuze, which detonates the warhead at preset altitude above the target, and disables the fail-safe circuits. The fail-safe control circuits operate if ground guidance ceases or if a malfunction occurs within the missile. Should either condition prevail for approximately 2 seconds, causing interruption of the hold-off pulses from the transmitting circuits, the fail-safe circuits cause automatic destruction of the missile.
There are numerous layers of logic like this that are designed just for the issue you bring up. Clearly an ICBM should have enough smarts to know that it hasn't left reached it's target if it is only 20 yards from the launch site and the onboard altimiter never reached a height of over 200 feet.
Take a look at those links. I think you'll find the history of these systems very interesting. Since some of the technology is rather old, it is somewhat easier to understand (think of modifying a transistor radio versus an iPod full of SMT parts).
Did you not see the video from that prison in Iraq? Guess what, there's going to be a few morons in every bunch. Do you really believe these dozen or so people out of an active military of 1.4 million (not including 860,000 in the guards) are representative of our military? If they were, you'd have a lot more evidence. What is also important to note is that several of these soldiers have had trials, been found guilty, and are serving time. We take care of our problems unlike our enemy.
And do you really know what goes on in Guantanamo Bay? Yes. They are processed, which includes a medical checkup by the best doctors in the world. They get to send a postcard to their family to let them know where they are and that they're safe. They get clean laundry, prayer mat, soap, shampoo, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a one-quart canteen. Each detainee is given a Koran in their language, and a surgical mask. The surgical mask is used as storage for the Koran. There is a recorded call to prayer that is broadcast five times a day. Detainees receive three culturally appropriate meals a day. 64% of the detainees get "comfort items" that inclue perfume oil and prayer beads. There's plenty more, but you get the idea.
I fail to see how this even begins to fit the "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters" moniker.
Oh, it was on a BLOG on an INTRANET - guess that must make it newsworthy. Feh - this is partisan posting and nothing else.
Here we have a contractor who did something the employer didn't like. Employer fires contractor. End of story.
Having consulted for 10 years, I can tell you that generally contracts are written to allow either party to terminate their agreement for almost any reason with almost no notice. If you're lucky you'll get legal to make it two weeks in cases where you violate the terms, but I'm guessing legal at the CIA can dictate very tight terms.
AFAIK, it hasn't been used on a national scale, but the EBS has been activated over 20,000 times at the local level since 1975 (http://www.fcc.gov/eb/eas/FCC-94-288.pdf). I've heard tornado alerts over the system several times in my life, and frankly getting it via cell phone text message would be an asset.
Here's a couple articles on the subject in the event you were honestly wondering.
President Truman established CONELRAD in 1951. President Kennedy established the EBS in 1963. President Clinton established the EAS in 1995. Clinton Administration updated the EAS to all digital in 1996. President Bush began procedures to amend the EAS rules to include Digital Media Technologies on November 3, 2005.
With all due respect, you're spreading FUD, not FACTS.
If you look at a timeline of terror alerts, they all seem to coincide with the release of news that was damaging to the Bush administration.
Something "damaging" is headlined about the Administration every week, if not daily. It takes no skill to "correlate" these alerts.
If this is a tech that can be used for good or evil, based on historical evidence, I think the Bush administration will use it for evil.
Again, FUD. This tech *has* been available to the President during his entire term. The fact that it is being extended beyond 20th century technology (tv, radio) is a natural evolution. In fact based on historical evidence, there is no reason to believe they will use it now.
Anyhow... showing any signs of conservatism is bad for karma these days, so I'll stop now.
Clearly you did not RTFA. It states, "Only the president can order a national emergency alert" and "The new digital system will update the emergency alerts planned -- but never used -- during the Cold War in the event of a nuclear strike". More legislation...uggh.
While you can pretend to predict what will happen, over 55 years of history (this program started in 1951) shows that it is unlikely to be used. Only the President can issue the alert and the current President didn't on 9/11 or any other time since. Other than your own FUD, what reason do you have to believe that it will suddenly be used for evil?
Again, DHS is updating the technology to deliver the same old message (which they apparently have yet to send).
The difference between winning and losing for whom? Again, everything is about "the timing" and has to have an agenda.
First off, if you RTFA, it says, "The Homeland Security Department, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, expects to have the system working by the end of next year." Furthermore, this is extending 1950's policy (President Truman, Democrat) to 21st centrury devices. Lastly, it has never been used and only the president can issue its usage. But hey, feel free to don your tinfoil hat. I guess only time will tell - we should follow up on this after the elections.
What I find unfortunate is that DHS can't win. If they send out any kind of alert and nothing happens, they overreacted (even if there was a real threat and the perps simply scratched their mission once they were exposed.). If they don't send an alert and something happens, they take the blame for that. If they use it to send out emergency information on a hurricane bearing down on New Orleans... well, they won't do that right, because you believe this tech will only be used for political gain (though TFA says it may be used for natural disasters).
Again, this is a case where the technology can be used for good or evil. Looking back at how things unfolded on 9/11, it would have been highly beneficial to have system in place to alert officials of what was happening. It is amazing how much lag there was between the time we suspected we were under attack and when all the airlines found out and began issuing orders to their pilots.
Yeah, there is no such thing as terrorism, I forgot. George Bush invented it. Why is it that any good news at any time MUST have an alterior motive? We always hear, "It's an election year", or "isn't the timing just a little too convenient". The governement has been telling us about disrupted plots for years. The first link on a google search pulls up "Thwarted Terrorist Plots Since Sept. 11 Attacks" on the ABC news site (or is ABC a republican talking points shill now?)
The threats out there are very real. We're lucky to have people and processes in place to protect us. Worldwide there have been more than 5312 documented deadly attacks since 9/11. That's not a body or injury count folks, that's just the attacks. At that rate, there are going to be plots uncovered - some even in the US.
Feel free to be snide and cynical. Some of us will continue to fight for your right to say whatever you believe.
Now why don't you go back to the DU and work on the science experiment that proves 9/11 was engineered by the evil President Chimpy McHalliburton and his cronies.
While I agree that (assuming all the facts are in and it all plays out as it currently seems) "heads should roll".
Unfortunately the only ones screwed if a huge award is given to the family is the taxpayers. "The Police" don't really have any income other than that which is given to them by the taxpayer. I think it is more importnant that some people are kicked off the force than monetary damages.
When I see "plaintiffs...seeking billions" I see Lawyers seeking billions who will get me a three dollar credit on my long distance bill and cost me twenty dollars in taxes.
Regardless of where you come down on the issue, the way the lawyers are going about this makes me want to puke.
Ooops, that site doesn't link to perhaps the most classic mario parody ever. Link requires flash, but if ever there was a worthy reason to have flash installed, this is it...
Not to nitpick, but TFA doesn't say anything about adCenter on your games. It says "xbox.com", not xbox.
TFA doesn't give much detail either, so I'll wait to see if it really shows up in Office. I'd be VERY surprised to see that happen. What I can imagine is a stripped down freebie version that has ads to get eyeballs and to keep folks from switching to OpenOffice.
"The US said Mr McKinnon had assurances he would be tried in a federal court."
"But defence lawyers said his human rights could be breached if he was sent to the US."
And the reason for their thinking: "Defence lawyer Edmund Lawson said the US Embassy in London had provided an 'unsigned and anonymous' diplomatic note and said Mr McKinnon was still 'vulnerable' to such an order."
Given the fact that this guy is a national security threat, he should be lucky to get tried in court and NOT be going straight to Guantanamo. What he thinks he did is irrelevant. How does he know someone wasn't piggybacking on him? How do we know that he didn't give information to anyone else? I agree that Guantanamo might be a bit extreme if the guy had hacked in and defaced the IRS site or a state information portal. But the second you get into military (TFA says he hacked into Naval weapon station Earle) all bets are off. If he were to get off easy the message will be sent to our enemy: "Hack all you want and if you're caught just claim you were showing vulnerabilities and looking for UFO information".
His lawyers would do well to just try to get in writing that he'll get a court trial - they're not going to stop him from being sent to the US.
From the article: "Biggest surprise? The cell phone conversation is not dropped when the switch between cellular network and WiFi hotspot takes place."
Errr... why is this a surprise? I would have thought this feature would have been one of the first requirements in the spec. In fact what consumer would seriously consider a phone that would drop a call mid converstaion? Frankly, if that's the biggest surprise, I'm not expecting much.
This kid will look back at this some day and realize his missed opportunity. Seriously. Who hasn't done something similar in private? Most of us got a smile on our face when we saw this - not because we thought the kid was a joke - but because we got a glimpse of the kid inside us. There were several ways to cash in on his fame. Now he comes off as a thin-skinned whining kid.
I've got to belive his parents pursued this and convinced him to go along with the lawsuit. There had to be plenty of ways to cash in on this viral video without going to court. This action will effectively end any pursuit of cashing in on his 15 minutes of fame.
FWIW, I would have lauded people calling me "Star Wars Kid" back in high school. Any publicity is good publicity. Leaving school over this? Sheesh... TOTALY WEAK.
"The music industry is broadly unhappy with the fixed pricing and lack of subscription options at the market-leading iTunes Music Store and likely to support alternative services."
I thought to myself, "If the music industry is broadly unhappy, then Apple is probably doing something right."
What we should be hearing is how Google is stepping up to offer alternative services that address a gap that consumers are experiencing. Instead that quote would indicate that Google is stepping up to offer alternatives to the music industry. Frankly, I don't hear too many people (myself included) in the mainstream complaining about the options. I'm all for capitalism and competition and welcome Google to the game. However, I'm going to remain skeptical about this until I fully understand where Google is going with this.
-- "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Churchill
Reading all the highly modded comments (over 20 now), not one mentioned lighting. When we did our very extensive remodel, the most important feature to us was the lighting. Scene based lighting is wonderful on its own - sets the mood, saves energy and generally works with your lifestyle. Some of my favorite features include:
- Built-in clocks that can slowly bring up lights as the sun sets and turn on appropriate outdoor lights
- Integrate with security systesm, turning on lights when motion sensors are activated and only bring it up to 35% when it is after 9 pm.
- Flash all the lights in the house on and off when an alarm is triggered.
- Flash lights in the room or zone a fire alarm is set off in if it ever happens.
- Turn off all the lights in the house when we leave and arm the alarm (no more forgetting the light in the kids closet).
- Random scenes based on historical usage patterns when we're travelling.
- Really set the home theater feel with slow ramp-down dimming timed to work with the start of the show.
These are just some of the reasons we wanted the system and I don't think we'd ever buy another house that didn't have a similar system. It really becomes part of what you expect from your house (it's like the going back to tv without tivo.)
For the record here, I'm not talking about x-10 and a PC. I'm talking about a reliable system. See companies such as Lutron (homeworks), Centralite (Elegance) and Vantage. There are plenty more good hardwired systems that work with home automation controllers. This isn't to say there aren't some lower cost solutions (ALC comes to mind) but I wanted something that was 100% stand alone and just did one thing very well. Easier to integrate that into a controller in my opinion.
Oh, and the "crazy" thought of starting a bubble bath isn't so crazy. I've heard plenty of women who are aware of home automation ask if it can be done. We don't have it, but are still looking for a solution. Kohler used to made a slick system for this, but no longer does...
"In Katrina's wake, Louisiana politicians and other critics have complained about paltry funding for the Army Corps in general and Louisiana projects in particular. But over the five years of President Bush's administration, Louisiana has received far more money for Corps civil works projects than any other state, about $1.9 billion; California was a distant second with less than $1.4 billion, even though its population is more than seven times as large."
"..overall, the Bush administration's funding requests for the key New Orleans flood-control projects for the past five years were slightly higher than the Clinton administration's for its past five years. Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, the chief of the Corps, has said that in any event, more money would not have prevented the drowning of the city, since its levees were designed to protect against a Category 3 storm, and the levees that failed were already completed projects."
So WTF have they been doing with the money?
"By 1998, Louisiana's state government had a $2 billion construction budget, but less than one tenth of one percent of that -- $1.98 million -- was dedicated to levee improvements in the New Orleans area. State appropriators were able to find $22 million that year to renovate a new home for the Louisiana Supreme Court and $35 million for one phase of an expansion to the New Orleans convention center."
I've wasted enough time on this, you can google the rest yourself.
The liberal leadership in New Orleans reaped exactly what it sowed for so many years.
Slashdot Mirror
If you haven't seen the iTalk spec commercial for by award winning filmmaker Christopher DeSantis (design by Gregory DeSantis) you should check it out. In past speculative posts on /., it seems that the biggest reason "Apple will never do this" is that "the people" don't want a device like this. With the success of the iPod, I don't see how people *wouldn't* want a device like this. Millions of people want an iPod... I'd guess that most of those people are also cell phone users. Why wouldn't I want one device that does both assuming that Apple does it right?
I think it would be a huge success should Apple decide to build an iTalk that is a high quality phone, maintains everything we expect in an iPod, has decent battery life, and has the popular Apple style. I haven't had a decent cell phone in years. I find most of today's phones too small, lots of plastic and very lightweight. Count me in the camp that hopes they build one at some point.
While your comment has all the codewords folks on /. like to see when modding people up, your premise is your opinion. You flatly state that "The video game censorship law is just a symptom of a larger problem; the resurgence of social conservatism in the U.S." I'm sorry to say that whether you like it or not, you do have in the neighborhood of 300 million neighbors who all get a say in this representative republic. Historically, the US has had a great deal of ebb and flow when it comes to social behavior. To call the popular view of social standards today a "problem" is every bit as wrong as conservatives calling the free-love dope smoking hippies of the 60's a problem.
:)
You also make the mistake of connecting your dissatisfaction of "the current administration" to the resurgence of social conservatism. Growing social conservatism isn't something that GW Bush introduced. This has been happening since Regan was voted in. The 80's marked the end of 20 or so years of very liberal social behavior. In my opinion, the country started to reel conservatism back in again and voted for President Clinton. Who knows how his behavior as President may have affected the social feelings of the population at large.
I'm very much a conservative. Regarding your list of "social issues" I'm: against media censorship, against gay marraige (but not against civil unions and gay couples having all "married couple" benefits), against the government setting any abortion laws (the issue of abortions being right or wrong is a very separate issue from the government setting the laws), and I'm okay with people having the right to burn the flag.
Lastly, regarding your remark that "social conservativism has taken hold at the state level", I should point out that Minnesota (I'm a resident of this state) has been a solid blue state (Democrat - DFL if you're from here) for as long as I can remember. Remember that one state that didn't vote for Regan in his 1984 landslide? That was Minnesota. That being said, this state probably does have the most socialy conservative liberals in the US
It's the occasional story like this one that keeps me coming back.
A fun/clever hack with a brief description, code snips, and screen shots. Thanks editors!
Contrary to popular belief (and Hollywood movies) one doesn't just drop a nuclear warhead or "blow it up" and get a mushroom cloud. Thinking about these sorts of problems has been going on since at least 1960. Read up on the NIKE system (no, not the shoes) for a bit of history on air defense guided missile systems.
An exceprt on the guidance system:
There are numerous layers of logic like this that are designed just for the issue you bring up. Clearly an ICBM should have enough smarts to know that it hasn't left reached it's target if it is only 20 yards from the launch site and the onboard altimiter never reached a height of over 200 feet.
Take a look at those links. I think you'll find the history of these systems very interesting. Since some of the technology is rather old, it is somewhat easier to understand (think of modifying a transistor radio versus an iPod full of SMT parts).
Did you not see the video from that prison in Iraq?
Guess what, there's going to be a few morons in every bunch. Do you really believe these dozen or so people out of an active military of 1.4 million (not including 860,000 in the guards) are representative of our military? If they were, you'd have a lot more evidence. What is also important to note is that several of these soldiers have had trials, been found guilty, and are serving time. We take care of our problems unlike our enemy.
And do you really know what goes on in Guantanamo Bay?
Yes. They are processed, which includes a medical checkup by the best doctors in the world. They get to send a postcard to their family to let them know where they are and that they're safe. They get clean laundry, prayer mat, soap, shampoo, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a one-quart canteen. Each detainee is given a Koran in their language, and a surgical mask. The surgical mask is used as storage for the Koran. There is a recorded call to prayer that is broadcast five times a day. Detainees receive three culturally appropriate meals a day. 64% of the detainees get "comfort items" that inclue perfume oil and prayer beads. There's plenty more, but you get the idea.
via Global Security
How our our captured soldiers treated? We've had very few, but the enemy has gone out of their way to violate the Geneva Convention, has tortured and left beheaded bodies in the street, burned and left bodies hanging from a bridge. Do I need to go on?
We're not perfect but we sure as hell are doing our best to protect ourselves from an enemy who won't be happy until we're living under sharia law.
I fail to see how this even begins to fit the "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters" moniker.
Oh, it was on a BLOG on an INTRANET - guess that must make it newsworthy. Feh - this is partisan posting and nothing else.
Here we have a contractor who did something the employer didn't like. Employer fires contractor. End of story.
Having consulted for 10 years, I can tell you that generally contracts are written to allow either party to terminate their agreement for almost any reason with almost no notice. If you're lucky you'll get legal to make it two weeks in cases where you violate the terms, but I'm guessing legal at the CIA can dictate very tight terms.
FTA, "The biggest current stumbling block is the chip's size".
/., they are making them the size of a grain of rice or was it a tomato seed?
These folks should talk to HP. According to
I think this is another great example of how the technology can be used for good.
AFAIK, it hasn't been used on a national scale, but the EBS has been activated over 20,000 times at the local level since 1975 (http://www.fcc.gov/eb/eas/FCC-94-288.pdf). I've heard tornado alerts over the system several times in my life, and frankly getting it via cell phone text message would be an asset.
Here's a couple articles on the subject in the event you were honestly wondering.
The Emergency Alert System (EAS) page
National Alert System In Disarray
The Partnership for Public Warning
Facts that can be found in the above links:
President Truman established CONELRAD in 1951.
President Kennedy established the EBS in 1963.
President Clinton established the EAS in 1995.
Clinton Administration updated the EAS to all digital in 1996.
President Bush began procedures to amend the EAS rules to include Digital Media Technologies on November 3, 2005.
With all due respect, you're spreading FUD, not FACTS.
If you look at a timeline of terror alerts, they all seem to coincide with the release of news that was damaging to the Bush administration.
Something "damaging" is headlined about the Administration every week, if not daily. It takes no skill to "correlate" these alerts.
If this is a tech that can be used for good or evil, based on historical evidence, I think the Bush administration will use it for evil.
Again, FUD. This tech *has* been available to the President during his entire term. The fact that it is being extended beyond 20th century technology (tv, radio) is a natural evolution. In fact based on historical evidence, there is no reason to believe they will use it now.
Anyhow... showing any signs of conservatism is bad for karma these days, so I'll stop now.
Clearly you did not RTFA. It states, "Only the president can order a national emergency alert" and "The new digital system will update the emergency alerts planned -- but never used -- during the Cold War in the event of a nuclear strike". More legislation...uggh.
While you can pretend to predict what will happen, over 55 years of history (this program started in 1951) shows that it is unlikely to be used. Only the President can issue the alert and the current President didn't on 9/11 or any other time since. Other than your own FUD, what reason do you have to believe that it will suddenly be used for evil?
Again, DHS is updating the technology to deliver the same old message (which they apparently have yet to send).
The difference between winning and losing for whom? Again, everything is about "the timing" and has to have an agenda.
First off, if you RTFA, it says, "The Homeland Security Department, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, expects to have the system working by the end of next year." Furthermore, this is extending 1950's policy (President Truman, Democrat) to 21st centrury devices. Lastly, it has never been used and only the president can issue its usage. But hey, feel free to don your tinfoil hat. I guess only time will tell - we should follow up on this after the elections.
What I find unfortunate is that DHS can't win. If they send out any kind of alert and nothing happens, they overreacted (even if there was a real threat and the perps simply scratched their mission once they were exposed.). If they don't send an alert and something happens, they take the blame for that. If they use it to send out emergency information on a hurricane bearing down on New Orleans... well, they won't do that right, because you believe this tech will only be used for political gain (though TFA says it may be used for natural disasters).
Again, this is a case where the technology can be used for good or evil. Looking back at how things unfolded on 9/11, it would have been highly beneficial to have system in place to alert officials of what was happening. It is amazing how much lag there was between the time we suspected we were under attack and when all the airlines found out and began issuing orders to their pilots.
"...183 on-line stories to be written, as well as hundreds of blog entries (one expects) and untold numbers of appended comments"
While I'm sure they will come out with a useful tool of some sort, the bottom line is free marketing (IMHO).
+5 Insightful? So-called terrorist plans?
Yeah, there is no such thing as terrorism, I forgot. George Bush invented it. Why is it that any good news at any time MUST have an alterior motive? We always hear, "It's an election year", or "isn't the timing just a little too convenient". The governement has been telling us about disrupted plots for years. The first link on a google search pulls up "Thwarted Terrorist Plots Since Sept. 11 Attacks" on the ABC news site (or is ABC a republican talking points shill now?)
The threats out there are very real. We're lucky to have people and processes in place to protect us. Worldwide there have been more than 5312 documented deadly attacks since 9/11. That's not a body or injury count folks, that's just the attacks. At that rate, there are going to be plots uncovered - some even in the US.
Feel free to be snide and cynical. Some of us will continue to fight for your right to say whatever you believe.
Now why don't you go back to the DU and work on the science experiment that proves 9/11 was engineered by the evil President Chimpy McHalliburton and his cronies.
--
I miss the pre six-digit UID slashdot days.
While I agree that (assuming all the facts are in and it all plays out as it currently seems) "heads should roll".
Unfortunately the only ones screwed if a huge award is given to the family is the taxpayers. "The Police" don't really have any income other than that which is given to them by the taxpayer. I think it is more importnant that some people are kicked off the force than monetary damages.
When I see "plaintiffs...seeking billions" I see Lawyers seeking billions who will get me a three dollar credit on my long distance bill and cost me twenty dollars in taxes.
Regardless of where you come down on the issue, the way the lawyers are going about this makes me want to puke.
Ooops, that site doesn't link to perhaps the most classic mario parody ever. Link requires flash, but if ever there was a worthy reason to have flash installed, this is it...
Now that I'm in my 30's, married with kids, I have to be a bit more "cultured" or so my wife says.
If you *must* go to "the theater" to watch a live performance, I'd recommend Mario Live!
Lots and lots more Mario fun at MilkAndCookies. Mario on two guitars is not to be missed.
Not to nitpick, but TFA doesn't say anything about adCenter on your games. It says "xbox.com", not xbox.
TFA doesn't give much detail either, so I'll wait to see if it really shows up in Office. I'd be VERY surprised to see that happen. What I can imagine is a stripped down freebie version that has ads to get eyeballs and to keep folks from switching to OpenOffice.
FTA:
"The US said Mr McKinnon had assurances he would be tried in a federal court."
"But defence lawyers said his human rights could be breached if he was sent to the US."
And the reason for their thinking: "Defence lawyer Edmund Lawson said the US Embassy in London had provided an 'unsigned and anonymous' diplomatic note and said Mr McKinnon was still 'vulnerable' to such an order."
Given the fact that this guy is a national security threat, he should be lucky to get tried in court and NOT be going straight to Guantanamo. What he thinks he did is irrelevant. How does he know someone wasn't piggybacking on him? How do we know that he didn't give information to anyone else? I agree that Guantanamo might be a bit extreme if the guy had hacked in and defaced the IRS site or a state information portal. But the second you get into military (TFA says he hacked into Naval weapon station Earle) all bets are off. If he were to get off easy the message will be sent to our enemy: "Hack all you want and if you're caught just claim you were showing vulnerabilities and looking for UFO information".
His lawyers would do well to just try to get in writing that he'll get a court trial - they're not going to stop him from being sent to the US.
From the article: "Biggest surprise? The cell phone conversation is not dropped when the switch between cellular network and WiFi hotspot takes place."
Errr... why is this a surprise? I would have thought this feature would have been one of the first requirements in the spec. In fact what consumer would seriously consider a phone that would drop a call mid converstaion? Frankly, if that's the biggest surprise, I'm not expecting much.
This kid will look back at this some day and realize his missed opportunity. Seriously. Who hasn't done something similar in private? Most of us got a smile on our face when we saw this - not because we thought the kid was a joke - but because we got a glimpse of the kid inside us. There were several ways to cash in on his fame. Now he comes off as a thin-skinned whining kid.
I've got to belive his parents pursued this and convinced him to go along with the lawsuit. There had to be plenty of ways to cash in on this viral video without going to court. This action will effectively end any pursuit of cashing in on his 15 minutes of fame.
FWIW, I would have lauded people calling me "Star Wars Kid" back in high school. Any publicity is good publicity. Leaving school over this? Sheesh... TOTALY WEAK.
When I read the comment pulled from the article:
"The music industry is broadly unhappy with the fixed pricing and lack of subscription options at the market-leading iTunes Music Store and likely to support alternative services."
I thought to myself, "If the music industry is broadly unhappy, then Apple is probably doing something right."
What we should be hearing is how Google is stepping up to offer alternative services that address a gap that consumers are experiencing. Instead that quote would indicate that Google is stepping up to offer alternatives to the music industry. Frankly, I don't hear too many people (myself included) in the mainstream complaining about the options. I'm all for capitalism and competition and welcome Google to the game. However, I'm going to remain skeptical about this until I fully understand where Google is going with this.
--
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Churchill
I read this earlier this month and thought it could have some merrit, but probably not.
;)
After all, we are talking Apple rumors AND it is April Fools day.
Other Apple-April Fools links:
iGame - yeah, right.
New video iPod - possible?
iNote - nice pics
Media Center - err... nevermind.
Well if nothing else, maybe we get some fun new photoshopped Apple toys to dream about.
Reading all the highly modded comments (over 20 now), not one mentioned lighting. When we did our very extensive remodel, the most important feature to us was the lighting. Scene based lighting is wonderful on its own - sets the mood, saves energy and generally works with your lifestyle. Some of my favorite features include:
- Built-in clocks that can slowly bring up lights as the sun sets and turn on appropriate outdoor lights
- Integrate with security systesm, turning on lights when motion sensors are activated and only bring it up to 35% when it is after 9 pm.
- Flash all the lights in the house on and off when an alarm is triggered.
- Flash lights in the room or zone a fire alarm is set off in if it ever happens.
- Turn off all the lights in the house when we leave and arm the alarm (no more forgetting the light in the kids closet).
- Random scenes based on historical usage patterns when we're travelling.
- Really set the home theater feel with slow ramp-down dimming timed to work with the start of the show.
These are just some of the reasons we wanted the system and I don't think we'd ever buy another house that didn't have a similar system. It really becomes part of what you expect from your house (it's like the going back to tv without tivo.)
For the record here, I'm not talking about x-10 and a PC. I'm talking about a reliable system. See companies such as Lutron (homeworks), Centralite (Elegance) and Vantage. There are plenty more good hardwired systems that work with home automation controllers. This isn't to say there aren't some lower cost solutions (ALC comes to mind) but I wanted something that was 100% stand alone and just did one thing very well. Easier to integrate that into a controller in my opinion.
Oh, and the "crazy" thought of starting a bubble bath isn't so crazy. I've heard plenty of women who are aware of home automation ask if it can be done. We don't have it, but are still looking for a solution. Kohler used to made a slick system for this, but no longer does...
Cut funding? I wish. Complete and utter BS:
c le/2005/09/07/AR2005090702462.html
From http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/arti
"In Katrina's wake, Louisiana politicians and other critics have complained about paltry funding for the Army Corps in general and Louisiana projects in particular. But over the five years of President Bush's administration, Louisiana has received far more money for Corps civil works projects than any other state, about $1.9 billion; California was a distant second with less than $1.4 billion, even though its population is more than seven times as large."
"..overall, the Bush administration's funding requests for the key New Orleans flood-control projects for the past five years were slightly higher than the Clinton administration's for its past five years. Lt. Gen. Carl Strock, the chief of the Corps, has said that in any event, more money would not have prevented the drowning of the city, since its levees were designed to protect against a Category 3 storm, and the levees that failed were already completed projects."
So WTF have they been doing with the money?
"By 1998, Louisiana's state government had a $2 billion construction budget, but less than one tenth of one percent of that -- $1.98 million -- was dedicated to levee improvements in the New Orleans area. State appropriators were able to find $22 million that year to renovate a new home for the Louisiana Supreme Court and $35 million for one phase of an expansion to the New Orleans convention center."
I've wasted enough time on this, you can google the rest yourself.
The liberal leadership in New Orleans reaped exactly what it sowed for so many years.