 |
::: Thursday, February 28 ::: |
|
|
::: Monday, February 25 ::: |
Good grief: 4 students held after Columbine food fight
Ok. I can understand that the faculty at Columbine High School might be a little over-protective. This, however, is completely unacceptable behavior. Arresting teens, dragging them down the hallways half-naked, and generally causing the students to become even more disruptive is not solid school management.
[thanks to The Obscure Store for the link]
10:09 AM CST ::
|
|
Whatever: ICANN Needs an Overhaul
Don't let anyone kid you, this move has nothing to do with needing government involvement in ICANN's proceedings. The only reason Mr. Lynn wants to restructure is because a solid percentage of the registrars are refusing to pay their fees. This new goverment angle would give them a handy little crowbar to pry fees out of the interlopers.
9:53 AM CST ::
|
|
::: Friday, February 22 ::: |
|
|
Sad: Checkout the OS-free PCs at walmart.com
It's a sad demonstration of what our country has become that Wal-mart is the only company that is big enough to thwart Microsoft's OEM agreement. It will certainly be interesting to see Microsoft's reaction. It's particularly insulting to Microsoft because the Walmart.com site runs on IIS5.
10:17 AM CST ::
|
|
::: Thursday, February 21 ::: |
Interesting: Webcasters Learn Cost of Music
At first this doesn't seem like a very big deal. If you consider a standard radio station which play roughly 400 songs per day, their royalty would be 28 cents per day (since they get the half rate discount). Hardly a drop in the bucket.
The problem begins when you consider that, unlike a conventional radio station, a site such as Live365.com would likely have millions of streams playing simultaneously. Let's say they only have 50,000 streams, at .0014 per song that's $70 for that one slice of time. Over the period of a day they could easily rack up $50,000 or more.
In other words, this annoucement puts traditional radio stations back on top and shafts the true webcasters. Business as usual for an environment where big business controls the actions of big government.
9:03 AM CST ::
|
|
Hmm: Is ReplayTV the Next Napster?
Business 2.0 seem to disagree with the BusinessWeek article I blogged earlier. Personally, I think ReplayTV did a lot of groundwork making sure that their services, while pushing the envelope, didn't go against established case law regarding fair use.
8:51 AM CST ::
|
|
::: Wednesday, February 20 ::: |
|
|
Yep: Revamping recovery
I've said it before, but it bears repeating. HP makes great printers, but that's about it. This is just one more nail in the coffin.
9:30 AM CST ::
|
|
Hmm: Linux, Windows to run on IBM servers
This could get interesting. I wonder if Microsoft has the balls to yank IBM's Windows OEM license whilst the DOJ continues nipping at their heels? If not, IBM may have finally found a way of exacting revenge against BillG for the OS2 debacle.
9:20 AM CST ::
|
|
Uhm: Video games raise concerns over racism
Initially, "Ethnic Cleansing" looks little different from popular shooting games such as "Quake." The sophisticated graphics of the game could attract players who wouldn't realize the true nature of the material until they were well into the game, Foxman said.
Let me begin by saying that I abhor the existence of propaganda such as this. That said, don't you think the title alone would tip off the average person as to the content of the game? This guy seems to think gamers are a bunch of easily distracted buffoons who are held spellbound by the pretty colors.
[update: Wired's take on the issue]
9:08 AM CST ::
|
|
::: Monday, February 18 ::: |
|
|
Microsoft Bob: The Power of X
As much as I love Cringley, I think he overlooked one problem with this OSX on Intel argument. Namely, that Microsoft controls Office, Entourage, and IE for OSX. If Apple ever did pose a credible threat to Redmond, they could pull the plug on these apps and effectively shutdown OSX within six months to a year on Intel and Apple hardware alike.
Since Apple was nice enough to provide competition in the OS space, Microsoft would no longer need Office to hold up as a anti-trust buster. All Ballmer would need to do is cite rising costs and shrinking revenues in the Mac marketspace. These reasons are nothing new, but they are factual and couldn't really be countered by Apple.
Not that I wouldn't love to see Jobs give it a shot. The tech world has been pretty boring lately.
12:14 PM CST ::
|
|
Finally: Net snooping laws 'too costly'
At last someone stands up against the ridiculous Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). There are far more serious issues than just the cost of implementing the so-called anti-terrorist measures, but this tactic is most likely to generate results. Politicians, even the ones who couldn't work a microwave on a bet, understand the laws of business and are loath to upset the business community.
11:03 AM CST ::
|
|
::: Friday, February 15 ::: |
|
|
Hmm: Canadian skaters get gold; judge suspended
I guess this is the best that can be done, but it still sucks. The bigger problem here is that regardless of how well either pair skated there will always be a little star next to their medal listings. A little star that will forever call into question the true meaning of their accomplishment.
I suppose winning gold should be enough, regardless of circumstances, but I can tell you right now that I would be really frelling bitter if my last chance to win gold was marred by a tiny little star telling the world that even though I was the best it was more of a technicality than fact. That would truly suck.
2:08 PM CST ::
|
|
::: Thursday, February 14 ::: |
|
|
Hmm: Mythic sued over EULA
This is the strangest idea I've ever heard of for a start-up. I suppose the case is important, if only to establish case history in regard to the strength of EULA's, but I'd have to agree with Mystic here. It sort of ruins the game for everyone if experience and wealth goes to the highest bidder rather than the most dedicated player.
9:00 AM CST ::
|
|
::: Monday, February 11 ::: |
|
|
::: Friday, February 8 ::: |
|
|
::: Thursday, February 7 ::: |
|
|
Hmm: US votes on MS-DoJ deal
It appears that occasionally the system works as it should. This is assuming, of course, that positive changes are made to the settlement. I wouldn't exactly call that a sure thing as of yet.
10:59 AM CST ::
|
|
::: Wednesday, February 6 ::: |
|
|
::: Monday, February 4 ::: |
Hmm: 'Dangerous' hole discovered in Morpheus
Not that I would ever recommend ignoring a security bulletin, but this one seems fishy. There's no mention of what type of exploit it is, nor is there any mention of how to protect yourself. It seems possible, if not likely, that this could merely be a ruse promoted by those who want to shut Morpheus down. Either way, I'd hold off connecting until MusicCity comments on this.
8:31 AM CST ::
|
|
::: Friday, February 1 ::: |
|
|
|
dinoneil[at]newdream[dot]net
|
|
|
|
|
