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User: hedwards

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  1. Re:it is why on The Real Reason Apple Is Suing Samsung · · Score: 1

    2. Apple can't "affect" Android because there's nothing to affect. It's an OS and it does its thing. However, when another company makes a reasonable facsimile of their device, on purpose due to popularity and design preference, they have every right to go after them. Right or wrong it's what they have to do in this market.

    No, they don't. That was settled a long time ago when Apple was ruled against in their suit against MS over look and feel. If you look at the previous summary it's very clear that Apple is trying to do an end run around the normal prohibition on suits over look and feel. ZOMG Samsung is using a rectangle with rounded corners, it's not like everybody else does that, hell, my Nook is a rectangular shape with rounded corners. As is my Asus Eee PC when closed.

    They get no respect from me for using their patents to try and enforce a clearly unwarranted view of protection for their look and feel.

  2. Re:I hate it when people overuse the word 'scam'! on Why People Should Stop Being Duped By the 3D Scam · · Score: 2

    Agreed, the only scam here is that they don't adequately advertise when a movie was shot in 3D versus converted to 3D. It does make a difference. There's a limit to what you can do if you didn't shoot it in 3D to begin with.

  3. Re:*sigh* on Why People Should Stop Being Duped By the 3D Scam · · Score: 1

    The problem there is that a lack of drug laws also affects everybody. Which is a point that often times gets ignored. Even the legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco have a much wider impact on various people than the pro-legalization folks would have you believe. People regularly get killed by drunk drivers and being exposed to tobacco smoke definitely does cause harm.

    And it also lumps into one category a huge variety of substances, many of which aren't well understood, into the same category of classification. It's easier to ban substances first and talk legalization than it is to try to get things back that people are accustomed to taking.

  4. Re:It's not a scam if people like it on Why People Should Stop Being Duped By the 3D Scam · · Score: 1

    You do realize that this is normal when a new technology comes out, right? Granted 3D has been around for a while, but it's never stuck around long enough to be developed as a craft. Early on in film history they were doing similar things with silent films. But as time went on directors got more knowledgeable and some pretty amazing films were made. Just look at Nosferatu and Metropolis, if you don't believe me.

    Part of the problem is that because they charge a premium for it they then feel the need to use it and make it over the top. I played the GOTY edition of Batman Arkham Asylum and while not a game, they were significantly more subtle with the 3D and it added a surprising about to the experience without doing a lot of that juvenile crap.

    Assuming that it's here to stay this time, which it likely is, they'll figure it out and it will be useful. The main reason I'm bullish on it this time is because they've just about gotten to the point of being able to broadcast 3D in real time with a good degree of precision. Something that wasn't the case previously.

  5. Re:Titanic on Why People Should Stop Being Duped By the 3D Scam · · Score: 1

    That's one of the biggest problems. 3D conversions just don't work. There is genuine innovation going on in 3D, it's just for the most part not being done by Hollywood. An outfit has been working on televising football games in 3D for a while now. That's innovative and damn hard to do, it's really the aspect that needs the most work, and without which 3D TV won't be a particularly reasonable prospect. Pats-Giants preseason game will be broadcast in 3D

    I'm not sure how that ultimately turned out, I didn't watch, but it really indicates that at least somebody with money recognizes the actual problem. Any advances in the technology to display 3D aren't going to be particularly useful if nobody is working on this sort of instant 3D production.

  6. Re:ps3 sold at loss on Sony Should Pay For OtherOS Removal, Says Finnish Board · · Score: 1

    And don't forget that as time went by they started to remove hardware functionality such that the PS3 slim can't really be considered the same console as the original was. Seeing as it completely lacks any ability to play PS2 games because Sony felt the need to remove the necessary chips.

    I wonder sometimes what it's like to live in a country with actual consumer protection laws.

  7. Re:Seattle Police - Priorities Are Not Job One on Wardrivers Target Seattle Businesses · · Score: 1

    Just out of curiosity, how do you think a reasonable police officer should handle being assaulted? That woman in the second video is damn lucky she was only punched, the officer could very easily have hit her with pepper spray or shot her under those circumstances.

  8. Re:Seattle Police - Priorities Are Not Job One on Wardrivers Target Seattle Businesses · · Score: 3

    Since when? Around here you don't need a license to own a firearm. In fact if you're a woman capable of claiming to be stalked, you can even get a handgun the same day.

  9. Re:level on Minnesota School Issues iPad 2 To Every Student · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The unfortunate thing is that apart from science, classes to teach basic computing skills and the computer lab, there's little reason to believe that technology is going to solve any problem that most students are likely to have. Giving them iPads is basically a great way of ensuring that whatever the teacher is doing right won't be noticed because the students will be screwing around on facebook or playing angry birds.

    Spend the money on teacher training, paraprofessionals and improved curriculum, possibly even better resources, at least that has a reasonable connection to the outcome they're presumably looking for.

    That being said, things like document cameras, projectors and good A/V equipment do have value, just not necessarily enough to justify much outlay at this time.

  10. Re:iPads are cool and all on Minnesota School Issues iPad 2 To Every Student · · Score: 1

    $800 is not cheap, even when you factor in for the fact that they're presumably referring to New Zealand Dollars and not US Dollars.

    Around here's it's not hard at all to find netbooks selling for less than half that, throw in a Nook or Kindle and you're still paying less than for the iPad. I'm not sure how exactly you're coming up with the notion that the iPads are cheap.

  11. Re:Spend wisely on Minnesota School Issues iPad 2 To Every Student · · Score: 2

    Teaching aids and various paraprofessionals are a good use of money. But there are few ways that are more direct in effect than paying for a full time librarian and a librarian's assistant.

  12. Re:iPads are cool and all on Minnesota School Issues iPad 2 To Every Student · · Score: 1

    Precisely how are iPads better for education than a similarly priced laptop? Or a somewhat cheaper laptop combined with a Nook or Kindle?

    I'm not much of a luddite, I love my Nook, but this is a complete waste of money. Even in small batches you can find ebook readers for under $150 each, and getting a laptop for $300 can be a bit of a challenge if you want a good one, but between the two you'd be setting the students up much better for classes.

  13. Re:level on Minnesota School Issues iPad 2 To Every Student · · Score: 1

    If it's not a replacement for books, paper or laptops, then how exactly is it a "very useful tool in teaching/learning"?

  14. Re:Seattle Police - Priorities Are Not Job One on Wardrivers Target Seattle Businesses · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Did you even bother to read the summary? I get that this is /. and nobody RTFAs, but the summary was pretty clear that this wasn't just a case of wardriving, this was a case of wardriving until they found an unencrypted wifi connection and rummaging for credit card details. The details were then abused.

    Trust me, they wouldn't be wasting the money on that around here if it were just stealing a bit of bandwidth.

  15. Re:How much multiplayer do you want? on More Nintendo Console Rumors · · Score: 1

    I'd be surprised if they didn't start the process pretty much immediately after launching the previous system. These things take time to develop, and I'm sure that they started the necessary research pretty much immediately.

  16. Re:Hmm on More Nintendo Console Rumors · · Score: 2

    Indeed, it takes time to come up with a name as great as "Wii."

  17. Re:Been there, done that on Ask Slashdot: Are You Streaming-Only For Home Entertainment? · · Score: 1

    And you're not running into trouble with caps?

  18. Re:Nether kinda on Ask Slashdot: Are You Streaming-Only For Home Entertainment? · · Score: 1

    From the moral perspective I view it as stealing because I'm depriving someone, somewhere of a royalty payment.

    But, you aren't depriving them of a royalty payment. By that logic, I'm stealing all sorts of content because I don't watch, depriving the owner of a royalty payment. Theft refers to depriving the owner of the item, not the benefits of ownership. It's just as much grand theft auto if the car is normally used daily as it is if they just keep it in their garage with several other cars.

  19. Re:Glad someone is challenging this on Speed Tickets Challenged Based On Timestamped Photos · · Score: 1

    The poster was doing 8 over the speed limit which when accounting for the margin of error on the equipment would still put him over the speed limit. In the range that the readings could have been, he was still speeding, and they just wrote it for speeding and nothing more.

    Had the interval been 12mph and he'd only been doing 4 over, that would've been different.

  20. Re:One word: on FTC: "Video Game Self Regulation Works" · · Score: 1

    Typically they require a signature from somebody of legal age in whatever jurisdiction. The post office doesn't just leave a box like that sitting on somebody's porch or hand it off to a ten year old. I doubt very much that UPS or FedEx would either. They all have an option for mandatory signature just for such things.

  21. Re:Self. on FTC: "Video Game Self Regulation Works" · · Score: 1

    What about nudity and sex? I find it hard to believe that Fallout: New Vegas really required censoring out the sex scenes which were apart of the story was really reasonable. I don't know whether they ever planned to include more, but considering the amount of violence and other adult themes, I think they could have put more in than a cut away.

  22. Re:Uh, unless you're a programmer... on Microsoft Counts Down To XP Death · · Score: 1

    It does, what's not made clear in the summary is that this isn't much different than an old FreeBSD or Linux release. The biggest difference is going to be when they presumably shut off the authentication server and copies can no longer be activated. Other than that, you're free to use an insecure copy of windows in perpetuity knowing that there are no more security patches coming.

    Whereas with FreeBSD, Linux or whatever other opensource OS you might use you could at least patch it yourself or pay somebody else to do so.

  23. Re:really? on Ruling Confirms Postal Service Discriminated Against GameFly · · Score: 1

    Conceptually I liked Gamefly, but I had the problem of them not having any of the games I wanted, even ones which weren't brand new. The other problem was that during the trial it took an average of just under a week to get the games to me. The site promised that it would be under 4 days, but because they don't have any warehouses that cover the Northwest, and the USPS wasn't upholding its end of things, the games would wind up here a week later. Meaning that unless I played a game like FO:NV, I'd end up spending more time waiting for games to ship than actually playing.

  24. Re:Bad ruling on Ruling Confirms Postal Service Discriminated Against GameFly · · Score: 1

    Netflix is supposed to be paying for the hand sort that's required of their envelopes, but that isn't happening. Gamefly chose to comply with postal regulations by making the items fit in the standard equipment because they were going to be charged for it. They presumably pay in part by weight the way that the rest of us do, and as such I don't think there's any reasonable basis for pinning losses on gamefly, it sounds to me like they're doing their best to mitigate damage on their own.

    The real question is why Netflix gets special treatment.

    Also, you might want to provide some citations there, I don't see how you can attribute the size of the envelopes to theft prevention when postal regulations govern the size and shape of envelopes that are allowed to go through the machines and charge more for those that have to be hand sorted.

  25. Re:Discrimination? on Ruling Confirms Postal Service Discriminated Against GameFly · · Score: 1

    Why would there be a difference? In either case Gamefly isn't getting the same treatment as another outfit in a similar line.

    The main reason why I don't subscribe to Gamefly anymore is that the USPS takes as a matter of routine a full 6 days to deliver mail from any of the gamefly warehouses to me. Rather than the promised 4 days that it should take in the worst case. I wonder how much that costs them.