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“Do you know what’s happened to the children?”Link, Subscribe to podcast feedEdward swallowed. Suddenly, he wanted to cry. “Yes. They’re…sleeping?”
He hoped and hoped and hoped and hoped, grimacing as he did. He looked around.
Makeshift beds lined the room. Small hands gripped blankets, small eyes stared at the ceiling.
“No.” The boy frowned. “They’ve died.”
“Because of Something Very Bad?”
“Yes. And I need you to be a Very Brave Bear. Can you do that?”
 NewsOXY | Video: Is Microsoft Open Source's Friend? InformationWeek - Microsoft made its most significant move since the 1992 release of Windows 3.1 on Feb. 21, when it pledged to make "strategic changes in technology and business practices to expand interoperability. Is Microsoft turning over a new leaf? Week in review: Microsoft the magnanimous? |
Sony's Harrison steps down GameSpot - Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios president Phil Harrison is leaving after 15 years; Kazuo Hirai to fill his shoes. By Alex Sassoon Coby, GameSpot UK Sony today announced that Phil Harrison, one of the founding members of Sony Computer ... Sony head of game software development to resign Sony CEO resigns |
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
 Enews 2.0 | Mozilla seeks growth and tie-ups in China market Reuters - By Sophie Taylor SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Mozilla, which develops open-source Web browser Firefox, the biggest alternative to Microsoft Corp's (MSFT. Recent entries in this blog: The Browser Choices We Make |
 KIMA CBS 29 | 'Vista Capable' class action lawsuit gets certified Inquirer - By Egan Orion: Monday, 25 February 2008, 10:18 AM A FEDERAL JUDGE in Seattle, Washington certified a lawsuit pending against Microsoft as a class action last Friday, letting plaintiffs pursue claims that the Vole's labeling of some computers loaded ... UPDATE: US Judge Allows Suit Vs. Microsoft On Vista Marketing ... Judge OKs suit over 'Vista Capable' |
Nintendo to charge for online services? CVG Online - Takashi Aoyama, group manager for Nintendo's Network Administration Group, said at GDC that Nintendo will soon be charging for some online services offered through its network. GDC 08: Nintendo Launching Pay-to-Play Program for Online Gaming Nintendo confirms Wii micro-transactions, online charges |
 KSFY | Cheering the death of HD DVD San Jose Mercury News - By Larry Magid I don't usually cheer the death of a product or a technology but I'm glad to see the demise of HD DVD. After years of contentious battle between two competing high-definition DVD standards, Toshiba, the primary backer of HD DVD, ... No more HD DVD drives for Xbox Sony suspected in HD DVD death (and parlez-vous geek?) |
 eFluxMedia | Adobe merge on and offline worlds BBC News - Adobe has launched software designed to make it easier for computer users to use online applications offline. Adobe Air allows developers to build tools that still have some functionality even when a computer is no longer connected to the net. Adobe Blurs Line Between PC and Web Adobe Technology Platform for RIAs Propels Innovation on the Web |
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
From the article: "instead of joy resulting from victory and success, wounding and killing the opponent elicited anxiety, anger, or both." In addition, "death of the player's own character...appear[s] to increase some aspects of positive emotion." This latter finding the authors believe may result from the temporary "relief from engagement" brought about by character death. Whatever the underlying basis, however, the results seem highly counterintuitive...Link (via Collision Detection)The researchers also found that: 1) Players showed no signs of desensitization over the course of multiple play sessions; and 2) Subjects who tested higher for psychoticism (based on a pre-trial psychoticism questionnaire) experienced less anxiety from killing enemies. That higher psychoticism would correlate with lower negative feelings about violence is not surprising. It is interesting, however, that players showed no signs of physiological or emotional desensitization. While this doesn't necessarily disprove that desensitization to videogame violence can occur over long periods of time, it does suggest that brief exposure has little or no desensitizing effect.
Link, Link to blog post with background
As part of eliminating TimeSelect, The New York Times has decided to make all the public domain articles from 1851-1922 available free of charge. These articles are all in the form of images scanned from the original paper. In fact from 1851-1980, all 11 million articles are available as images in PDF format. To generate a PDF version of the article takes quite a bit of work — each article is actually composed of numerous smaller TIFF images that need to be scaled and glued together in a coherent fashion.
Vast computer databases give curious employees the ability to look up sensitive information on people with the click of a mouse. The WE Energies database includes credit and banking information, payment histories, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and energy usage. In some cases, it even includes income and medical information.Link (via /.)Experts say some companies do little to stop such abuses even though they could lead to identity theft, stalking and other privacy invasions. And companies that uncover violations can keep them quiet because in many cases it is not illegal to snoop, only to use the data for crimes...
"People were looking at an incredible number of accounts," Joan Shafer, WE Energies' vice president of customer service, said during a sworn deposition last year. "Politicians, community leaders, board members, officers, family, friends. All over the place."
Her testimony came in a legal case involving an employee who was fired in 2006 for repeatedly accessing information about her ex-boyfriend and another friend. An arbitrator in November upheld the woman's firing. The AP reviewed testimony and documents made public as part of the case.
Novel: Ragamuffin by Tobias Buckell, The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon, The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman, The New Moon's Arms by Nalo Hopkinson, Odyssey by Jack McDevittLinkNovella: "Awakening" by Judith Berman, "The Helper and His Hero" by Matthew Hughes, "Fountain of Age" by Nancy Kress, "Stars Seen Through Stone" by Lucius Shepard, "Kiosk" by Bruce Sterling, "Memorare" by Gene Wolfe
Novelette: "The Children's Crusade" by Robin Wayne Bailey; "Child, Maiden, Woman, Crone" by Terry Bramlett; "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang; "The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change" by Kij Johnson; "Safeguard" by Nancy Kress; "Pol Pot's Beautiful Daughter" by Geoff Ryman; "The Fiddler of Bayou Teche" by Delia Sherman
Short Story: "Unique Chicken Goes in Reverse" by Andy Duncan, "Always" by Karen Joy Fowler, "Titanium Mike Saves the Day" by David D. Levine, "The Story of Love" by Vera Nazarian, "Captive Girl" by Jennifer Pelland, "Pride" by Mary Turzillo
Scalzi does an excellent job of summing up Burt's failures as a writer, a SFWA volunteer, and a policy setter, and his rant is world-class, even if you don't care about politics in SFWA.
Which is to say that to a very large extent, SFWA’s entire last year has been spent dealing with the problems that Andrew Burt, during his tenure as SFWA vice president, has personally created. To be sure, he had help for at least part of it (he couldn’t have been elected onto the newly-formed copyright committee on his board vote alone), but at the end of the day, his bad actions were the ones that damaged public perception of SFWA, tore at the unity of the organization, and caused it to invest significant time and resources repairing the wounds Burt inflicted with his initial lack of care, and his subsequent, entirely self-serving drive to install himself into a chairmanship he had no business seeking.
The fact Burt wants to be president of SFWA after jamming the organization into a wall twice in the last year suggests to my mind either an Aspergian lack of cluefulness, or a grim, committed drive to prove that the Peter Principle is wrong, and that, indeed, one can rise beyond one’s level of incompetence, perchance to explore heretofore unknown, virgin realms of incompetence none have ever seen before. Alas toward the latter, SFWA would be chained to him and dragged along as he frisked about these new lands.
Burt’s lack of writing career and penchant for publicly immolating himself and SFWA have not gone unnoticed, which presents a third issue:
3. Andrew Burt’s Reputation in the Professional SF/F Community. Simply put: It’s bad.
LinkOther SFWA members have posted their own horrified reactions: Charles Coleman Finlay's The Secret Life of Walter Burty is an hilarious Thurber pastiche, with Burt as Walter Mitty:
"Quiet, man!" said Burty, in a low, cool voice. He sprang to the machine, which was now going pocketa-pocketa-qwerty-pocketa-qwerty. He began fingering delicately a row of glistening keys. "Give me a fountain pen!" he snapped. Someone handed him a fountain pen. He scribbled a series of hasty apologies, shifting blame to the villainous enemies intent on ruining his brilliant investments. And then he wadded up the pages and shoved them in the mouths of everyone who spoke against him. "That will hold for about ten minutes," he shouted. "Get on with the loan!"And SC Smith's done fine work translating Burt's campaign platform into plain speech:An accountant hurried over and whispered to the treasurer, who, surprisingly, looked like Burty would look if Burty were the treasurer, and Burty saw the man turn pale. "Due diligence has set in," said the treasurer nervously. "If you would take over, Burty?"
Burty looked at him and at the cowardly figures of the ordinary mortals who doubted his fiduciary genius. "Glad to," he said. "As you know, I'm a doctor."
They slipped him a blank check and . . .
I have a track record as a problem solver and in handling unexpected situations calmly.I am the instigator of flame wars unprecedented even in SFWA’s long and contentious history. If someone disagrees with me, I quickly resort to personal attacks and attempt to bolster my credibility with specious publication credits and irrelevant remarks about my education. If I appear to be losing the argument, I will pick up my ball and go home.
See also:
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/08/30/science-fiction-writ-1.html">Science Fiction Writers of America abuses the DMCA
Science Fiction Writers of America reinstates E-Piracy Committee -- new name, same chairman
Source: Boing Boing | 25 Feb 2008 | 7:50 amFREE: Wired's Chris Anderson explores the Divide-By-Zero problem in the Long Tail
Wired editor Chris "Long Tail" Anderson has written a long rant for Wired, introducing his next book: FREE. When I read The Long Tail (which explores the new markets that get opened by cheaper and cheaper cost of manufacture, distribution and marketing), I thought it was fantastic, right up to the part where Chris started talking about stuff that doesn't cost anything to copy, digital goods like music and ebooks and so on. As I read that chapter, I thought, oh ho, a divide-by-zero error! The market for digital goods isn't a market for goods at all: since the potential customers can choose to get all digital goods for free on the darknet, the digital goods market is actually a digital services market: what iTunes Store and the rest sell is the service of getting the digital files in a way that's easier, smarter, or faster. The end "product" is the same (actually, the end product is often superior when you download it for free than when you pay for it -- the paid-for versions are often crippled with DRM, something that file-sharers thoughtfully remove for you before uploading).So Free appears to be an exploration of the Divide-By-Zero problem in the Long Tail, and it's the kind of thing we really, really need:
Link
This difference between cheap and free is what venture capitalist Josh Kopelman calls the "penny gap." People think demand is elastic and that volume falls in a straight line as price rises, but the truth is that zero is one market and any other price is another. In many cases, that's the difference between a great market and none at all.The huge psychological gap between "almost zero" and "zero" is why micropayments failed. It's why Google doesn't show up on your credit card. It's why modern Web companies don't charge their users anything. And it's why Yahoo gives away disk drive space. The question of infinite storage was not if but when. The winners made their stuff free first.
Traditionalists wring their hands about the "vaporization of value" and "demonetization" of entire industries. The success of craigslist's free listings, for instance, has hurt the newspaper classified ad business. But that lost newspaper revenue is certainly not ending up in the craigslist coffers. In 2006, the site earned an estimated $40 million from the few things it charges for. That's about 12 percent of the $326 million by which classified ad revenue declined that year.
Source: Boing Boing | 25 Feb 2008 | 7:49 amCrazy "agreement" on calorie-counting site
Felix sez, "Just found my way onto this site (on the promise of a list of calories burned during sex), and noticed the little note at the bottom saying I'd agreed to their user licence just by visiting. And what a joy it is! My favourite condition was probably forbidding 'Accessing a maximum of 20 pages per day and a maximum of 200 pages per month.' And of course the usual ridiculous copyright bumpf. How common are ridiculous agreements like this? "Link (Thanks, Felix!)CalorieLab, Inc., grants you a license to use the CalorieLab nutrition databases as follows:
You may:
* Access CalorieLab's Calorie Counter and Nutrition Facts database pages manually, selecting links manually, via a Web browser on a personal computer
* For personal, noncommercial use only
* Accessing a maximum of 20 pages per day and a maximum of 200 pages per month
Note to CalorieLab employees and officers: READ CAREFULLY. By reading this blog-post, you agree, on behalf of your employer, to release me from all obligations and waivers arising from any and all NON-NEGOTIATED agreements, licenses, terms-of-service, shrinkwrap, clickwrap, browsewrap, confidentiality, non-disclosure, non-compete and acceptable use policies ("BOGUS AGREEMENTS") that I have entered into with your employer, its partners, licensors, agents and assigns, in perpetuity, without prejudice to my ongoing rights and privileges. You further represent that you have the authority to release me from any BOGUS AGREEMENTS on behalf of your employer.
Source: Boing Boing | 25 Feb 2008 | 7:20 amJapan launches Internet satellite - Inquirer
Inquirer -5 hours ago
By Nick Farrell: Monday, 25 February 2008, 7:42 AM WHILE many countries have created a broadband digital divide between rural areas and cities, Japan has launched an experimental communications satellite in a bid to extend the Internet beyond populated ...
Japan launches high-speed Internet satelliteNetworkWorld.com
Japan Launches Internet SatelliteThe Associated Press The Tech Herald -Aero-News Network -BBC News -United Press International all 236 news articles
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 25 Feb 2008 | 7:07 amYouTube access blocked in Pakistan
Pakistan's government has banned access to the video-sharing website YouTube because of anti-Islamic movies users have posted on the site, an official said. The...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 6:36 amIridium(R) Satellite Announces Q4 and Fiscal Year 2007 Results
BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium(R) Satellite LLC today announced financial results for the quarter and fiscal year ending December 31, 2007. ...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 6:36 amPericom's 'Industry First' Graphics Switch Connects to PCI Express(R) and DisplayPort(TM) in Next Generation PCs
SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pericom Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: PSEM), a worldwide preferred supplier of high-speed integrated circuits and
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 6:30 amMichael H. Moskow Joins Diamond Management & Technology Consultants' Board of Directors
CHICAGO, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Diamond Management & Technology Consultants, Inc. (Nasdaq: DTPI) announced today that Michael H. Moskow, previously President and CEO
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 6:30 amJapan's eAccess plans new move in cell phone war
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's eAccess Ltd, a broadband Internet and wireless data services provider, said on Monday it will offer a mobile phone service with no basic monthly fee. eAccess, one...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 6:05 amTransUnion Addresses Ohio Attorney General's Concerns Surrounding Non-Profit Tax-Exempt Status
CHICAGO, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The TransUnion Healthcare Revenue Cycle Platform, a solution that automates the process that assists hospitals in determining whether a...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 6:05 amAn Epidemic of Snooping
Travoltus writes "Privacy advocates are frequently confronted with the rhetorical question, 'If you don't have anything to hide, you don't have a good reason to worry about losing your privacy, right?' This AP story uncovers a vast, distributed, decentralized epidemic of snooping into databases of personal information by workers at major utilities, the IRS, and other large organizations. In a number of cases these incidents have led to real harm. One striking example involves now ex-Mayor of Milwaukee Marvin Pratt, who had a pattern of being late paying his heating bills. This fact was leaked to the media by a utility worker and may have led to Pratt's losing a bid for re-election. As one can imagine, the harm becomes much greater when this same snooping is done by Government officials to deal with political enemies, or by corporations to uncover whistleblowers."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Feb 2008 | 6:02 amVoIP-PAL.com, Inc. Launches AirIncentives Rewards Program for Customers
SUN VALLEY, Calif., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VoIP-PAL.com, Inc. (Pink Sheets: VPLM - News), a provider of cutting-edge communications products and services for...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNewsTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 6:00 amAT&T, Tenn. create medical info exchange
AT&T Inc. is partnering with Tennessee to provide the country's first statewide system to electronically exchange patient medical information, the telecommunications company said Monday.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 5:04 amAdobe AIR puts companies on desktops
EBay Inc.'s customers don't need to open a Web browser to search the site or auction an item anymore.
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 5:04 amPutting terabytes of memory into servers, the cheap way - CNET News.com
Earthtimes
CNET News.com -7 hours ago
MetaRam has a chip that lets you put more memory into your server. And it's got a cavalcade of server celebrities behind it. By Michael Kanellos Disk drives have only recently begun to be measured in terabytes.
MetaRAM Says It Has Answer To High Cost of Memory ChipsWall Street Journal
Start-up to unveil memory advanceSan Jose Mercury News Web Services Journal all 16 news articles
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 25 Feb 2008 | 5:01 amFree! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business
King Gillette's 1895 disposable blades made good freebies to help sell other products. Companies use his business model today to create demand for their goods: Give away the cell phone, sell the monthly plan; make the videogame console cheap and sell expensive games. Now, the underlying technologies that power the web are making "freeconomics" a full-fledged economy.
Source: Wired: Top Stories | 25 Feb 2008 | 5:00 amFeb. 25, 1723: He Built His City With Rock and Rule
Christopher Wren is known today mainly for his magnificent architecture, but his accomplishments in hard science are also something to behold.
Source: Wired: Top Stories | 25 Feb 2008 | 5:00 amGet "Free" for Free
It's free -- really. No subscription, no purchase. Just fill out the form and be one of the 10,000 who can get this issue for $0.00.
Source: Wired: Top Stories | 25 Feb 2008 | 5:00 amRay Wu, 79, a Genetic Transformer of Crops, Is Dead
Ray Wu, a biochemist and genetic engineer who helped lead research at Cornell University on genetically modifying rice and other crops to better withstand environmental stresses, died on Feb. 10 in Ithaca,...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 4:36 amGeek Wins Copyright Lawsuit Against Corporation
Chris Gregerson writes "I work as a stock photographer/web developer. I saw a photo of mine used in Vilana Financial's full-page phone book ad. They wouldn't pay the licensing fee, and I wrote about it online (mirror). They sued me for defamation, producing a sales agreement signed by one ' Michael Zubitskiy' (who they said took the photo and sold the rights to them). I sued them for copyright infringement, and they added claims against me for trademark infringement, deceptive trade practices, and tortuous interference. There was a trial I'll long remember on the 5th of November, and the judge recently issued her verdict (PDF; mirror). She ruled Vilana Financial forged the sales agreement and willfully infringed my photos, and awarded me $19,462. All claims against me were denied. I represented myself during the litigation."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Feb 2008 | 4:07 amMicrosoft Should Acquire SAP, Not Yahoo
Reservoir Hill writes "Randall Stross has an insightful article in the NY Times that says that if Microsoft thinks this is the right time to try a major acquisition on a scale it has never tried before, it should pursue not Yahoo but SAP, another major player in business software, thus merging Microsoft's strength with that of another. This is more likely to produce a happy outcome than yoking two ailing businesses, Yahoo's and Microsoft's own online offerings, and hoping for a miracle. Stross points to Oracle as a company whose acquisition strategy has picked up key products and customers while avoiding venturing too far from its core business, or overpaying. Stross recommends that Microsoft acquire SAP and leave it alone as an autonomous division — which would avoid a culture-clash integration fiasco. Besides, large enterprise customers are arguably the best customers a software company can have. A few dozen well-paying Fortune 500 customers may actually be more valuable than tens of millions of Web e-mail 'customers' who pay nothing for the service and whose attention is not highly valued by online advertisers."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Feb 2008 | 2:11 amTop 10 Wired Holga Photos, Decided by You
We challenged our readers to give us their best Holga photos and vote on which ones they liked best. Here are the results.
Source: Wired: Top Stories | 25 Feb 2008 | 2:00 amEditor's Picks for Best Wired.com Holga Photos
These photos didn't get the most votes in our Holga contest, but we thought they were exceptional.
Source: Wired: Top Stories | 25 Feb 2008 | 2:00 amWired.com Photo Contest: Red
Submit your best "red" photo and win a spot in a gallery on Wired.com.
Source: Wired: Top Stories | 25 Feb 2008 | 2:00 amAdobe Blurs Line Between PC and Web
SAN FRANCISCO On sabbatical in 2001 from Macromedia, Kevin Lynch, a software developer, was frustrated that he could not get to his Web data when he was off the Internet and annoyed that he could not...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 1:35 amL.I. Duck Farms Struggle With Water Regulation
MORICHES, N.Y. Long coops, each housing ducks of a different age, hug the ground and form a courtyard at the entrance to the Jurgielewicz family property believed to be the only major free-range duck...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 12:36 amBiofuel, Partly From Nuts, Is Tested on an Airline Flight
Virgin Atlantic Airways, the British carrier controlled by Richard Branson, tested a jumbo jet on Sunday that was partly powered by a biofuel made from babassu nuts and coconut oil, a first for a commercial...
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 12:36 amIP Address: Partially Personal Information - New York Times
dBTechno
New York Times -12 hours ago
By Saul Hansell My post about whether Google’s records of the Internet Protocol address should be considered personal information under privacy law, brought two comments from Googlers: Matt Cutts, an engineer, and from Peter Fleischer, Google’s global ...
Search Engines Face New Privacy RestrictionsMediaPost Publications
Google argues against calling IP addresses "personal data"Ars Technica The Associated Press -dBTechno -TMCnet -Mashable all 43 news articles
Source: Google News - Sci/Tech | 25 Feb 2008 | 12:27 amIBM Wants To Patent Restaurant Waits
theodp writes "If all goes IBM's way, it'll soon constitute patent infringement if Bennigan's gives you a free lunch for being inconvenienced by a long wait for your meal. Big Blue is seeking a patent for its Method and Structure for Automated Crediting to Customers for Waiting, the purported 'invention' of three IBM researchers, which IBM notes, 'could be implemented completely devoid of computerization or automation of any kind.' Can we count on IBM to withdraw this patent claim, or will Big Blue weasel out of its patent reform pledge again?"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 25 Feb 2008 | 12:15 amWhy short is tweet for the blogging community
New media, Jeff Jarvis: When I first used Twitter I thought it was silly, but it is an important step in the rise of blogging
Source: Infocious RSS raw feed - channel BNPaperTech | 25 Feb 2008 | 12:02 amElectronic Arts Offers $2B For Take Two
quanticle writes "The New York Times is reporting that EA has offered $2B for Take Two Entertainment. The effort appears to be a move to consolidate the two companies before Take Two releases the next iteration of its blockbuster franchise, Grand Theft Auto 4. Take Two has politely declined the offer."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 24 Feb 2008 | 11:11 pmMatching Up Current Tech News With Oscar-Nominated Films
In observation of the 80th annual Academy Awards, the Gadget Lab crew attempts to see all the year's best in a crazy movie marathon week. They match up three of this year's nominees with their favorite current tech stories.
Source: Wired: Top Stories | 24 Feb 2008 | 11:00 pmPakistan Bans Access to YouTube
Pakistan bans access to the video-sharing website YouTube because of anti-Islamic movies that users have posted on the site.
Source: Wired: Top Stories | 24 Feb 2008 | 10:30 pmMicrosoft To Drop HD DVD
HockeyPuck writes to let us know that Microsoft has decided to stop making HD DVD players for the Xbox 360. No word on supporting Blu-ray on the platform though. "Microsoft said Saturday it would continue to provide standard warranty support for its HD DVD players. Toshiba President Atsutoshi Nishida last week estimated about 300,000 people own the Microsoft video player, sold as a separate $130 add-on for the Xbox 360."Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 24 Feb 2008 | 10:06 pmLinux At the Point of Sale
NegativeK writes "I work at a local comic and games shop, and I've been kicking around what it would take to implement a barcode scanner and more detailed inventory control. Currently, the setup is a low-tech register that tracks general areas of sales: new comics, ccgs, Games Workshop, rpgs, etc. Requirements include FOSS on Linux, the ability to use a cheap scanner, datamining, and output in a useful format (perhaps OpenOffice spreadsheet). The idea hasn't been pitched to the shop owner yet, so ease of use is probably more important than anything — but breaking out the programming books to work on parts isn't out of the question for me. Assuming the actual register stays, what resources are out there for a barcode/inventory implementation?"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 24 Feb 2008 | 9:05 pmDonahue Tackles Iraq in Body of War
Talk-show legend Phil Donahue speaks with Wired.com about his film, Body of War, which he and co-director Ellen Spiro use to explore the tragic ramifications of a foolish, illegal and unnecessary war in Iraq.
Source: Wired: Top Stories | 24 Feb 2008 | 9:00 pmMicrosoft Calls It Quits With HD DVD
Microsoft announces it will stop making HD DVD players for its Xbox 360 videogame system after Toshiba ceded the high-definition video format battle to Sony's Blu-ray.
Source: Wired: Top Stories | 24 Feb 2008 | 8:45 pmLibrary of Congress's $3M Deal With Microsoft
Cory Doctorow sounds the alarm over a Library of Congress deal with Microsoft that will have collections locked up in Silverlight. I'll double the Microsoft deal and offer them $6M in perl scripts and an infinite value of free OS software if they let me (or Google or any other honest company) publish their collections in free formats. "This deal involves the donation of 'technology, services and funding' (e.g., mostly not money) with a purported value of $3M from Microsoft to the Library of Congress. The Library, in turn, agrees to put kiosks running Vista in the library and to use Microsoft Silverlight to 'help power the library's new Web site, www.myloc.gov.'"Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Source: Slashdot | 24 Feb 2008 | 8:03 pm
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