Comment Re:Control Data Cyber 180 (Score 1) 78
I'll check them out. Thanks!
Comment Re:Control Data Cyber 180 (Score 2) 78
It is located in western Canada. Does anybody know of a place that would want something like this or should we just sell it for metal recycling?
0.o
It just so happens that TFA gives you a list of places to contact. Seriously, I know it's something of a Slashdot tradition to not read TFA, but this takes the cake.
I checked them out and a few even have wishlists so I know what they're looking for. I will be contacting the ones that don't. But maybe there is some other group that would like this hardware in particular. Did you even think of that? That there may be more than just the 9 places in the article that might want this? Oh look at that, someone replied with a lead that wasn't part of TFA!
You can have your cake back.
Comment Control Data Cyber 180 (Score 4, Interesting) 78
My in-laws have a Control Data Cyber 180 system that has been sitting in a barn for probably almost 10 years. They would really love to get rid of it but we have no idea where to send it. It includes a bunch of other heavy manufacturing equipment. Also what appears to be a CO2 laser head by GTE Sylvania. Klischograph K181. Magnetic tape stuff. I can't remember what else.
It has been in a barn so at least kept out of rain and snow but not so much the -40C weather and the few pigeons that like to sit in the rafters above it.
It is located in western Canada. Does anybody know of a place that would want something like this or should we just sell it for metal recycling?
Growing Consensus: The Higgs Boson Exists 254
It's a long, slow road from tentative discovery, to various forms of peer review, to wide acceptance, never mind theory and experimental design, but recent years' work to pin down the Higgs Boson seem to be bearing fruit in the form of cautious announcements. FBeans writes with excerpts from both the New York Times ("Physicists announced Thursday they believe they have discovered the subatomic particle predicted nearly a half-century ago, which will go a long way toward explaining what gives electrons and all matter in the universe size and shape.") and from The Independent ("Cern says that confirming what type of boson the particle is could take years and that the scientists would need to return to the Large Hadron Collider — the world's largest 'atom smasher' — to carry out further tests. This will measure at what rate the particle decays and compare it with the results of predictions, as theorised by Edinburgh professor Peter Higgs 50 years ago.")
Moving the Linux Kernel Console To User-Space 311
jones_supa sends this quote from Phoronix:
"David Herrmann has provided an update on his ambitious initiative to kill off the Linux kernel console. Herrmann has long been working on making the Linux kernel CONFIG_VT option unnecessary for providing a Linux console by punting it off to user-space. The Linux kernel VT console hasn't been changed much in the past two decades and Herrmann is hoping to see it replaced with a user-space solution he's been developing that would allow for multi-seat support, a hardware-accelerated console, full internalization, and other features."
Canada's Internet Among Best, Report Says 186
silentbrad writes "Canadians enjoy among the fastest, most widely available and least expensive broadband Internet in the developed world, says a report released Thursday. The report, based on the results of 52 million speed tests of broadband users across the G7 countries and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) membership, was produced by Montreal-based consulting firm Lemay Yates Associates Inc. on behalf of Rogers Communications Inc., the country's largest broadband service provider. It disputes the OECD's own report, published in July, that ranked Canada's high-speed Internet offerings significantly below those of other countries. The report comes days after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission revealed a sharp jump in the number of complaints it has received regarding Internet traffic-management practices, or 'throttling' in recent months."
And it's about to get a little better — reader ForgedArtificer points out that Rogers has promised to end all throttling over their network by the end of the year.
Optical Camouflage Puts Kinect Into Stealth Mode 60
UgLyPuNk writes "Takayuki Fukatsu, a Japanese coder who works under the name Art & Mobile, has done a bit of trickery with Kinect and openFrameworks. The peripheral will still track your movement and position, but turns your image nearly transparent. Take a look (it's particularly obvious at about 1:30):"
Police Officers Seek Right Not To Be Recorded 1123
linzeal writes "When the police act as though cameras were the equivalent of guns pointed at them, there is a sense in which they are correct. Cameras have become the most effective weapon that ordinary people have to protect against and to expose police abuse. And the police want it to stop. Judges, juries, and legislatures support the police overwhelmingly on this issue, with only a few cases where those accused of 'shooting' the cops being vindicated through the courts."
Ninth Suicide At iPhone Factory 539
shar303 writes "A ninth employee has jumped to his death at Taiwanese iPhone and iPad manufacturer Foxconn, China's state media reports. The 21-year-old worker was the eighth fatality this year. This raises questions as to whether the shiny finish of the latest gadgets available from mega corporations are tarnished by such information, and whether the mistreatment of workers deserves to be highlighted when considering such firms."
Pakistan Court Orders Facebook Ban Over Mohammed Images 949
jitendraharlalka writes with this excerpt from Al Jazeera English: "A Pakistani court has issued a ban on the social networking site Facebook after a user-generated contest page encouraged members to post caricatures of Prophet Mohammed. The Lahore High Court on Wednesday instructed the Pakistani Telecommunications Authority (PTA) to ban the site after the Islamic Lawyers Movement complained that a page called 'Draw Mohammed Day' is blasphemous. ... 'We have already blocked the URL link and issued instruction to Internet service providers,' Khurram Mehran, a spokesperson for the PTA, said."
Comment Re:Twitter's 140 Characters (Score 1) 451
Actually, I've lived in a small town in the Northwest for the past 17 years.
Comment The actual law states (Score 1) 1590
That the cop must have a valid reason for making legal contact. This means the individual is already under investigation for another crime or the police has probable cause to stop the individual. Then if during questioning he has reason to believe that person's legal status in the country may not be what he represent then he can ask for the required documents that visitors and legal foreign residents are required, by federal law, to carry. U.S. citizens just need to show a driver's license, state issue id or a valid passport. Just like when starting a job. The governor also issued an executive order requiring classes and training to avoid any type of racial profiling. Now as to the real reason why this law was passed 1) Phoenix, the state capital, is the kidnapping capital of the nation because of the illegal immigration. 2) It is not safe to live any where near the border with Mexico. Just ask the people who live in border towns like Bisbee, Nogales or Douglas. Or even the family of the rancher that was killed simply because he was on his land when illegal immigrants were trespassing. 3) No fencing along the border with Mexico along with inadequate patrols and no anticipation of any improvements. Now someone will mention how our wonderful Secretary of DOH stated that the border is as secured as it ever was. Well Janet Napolitano used to be Governor of Arizona. Then when everything began falling apart like the state economy and the violence from Mexico spilling over into Arizona she was given a lifeboat out of the situation by Obama so she would not be stuck with any of the blame. The same Obama who has not provided any solutions so this law would not have even been considered let alone enacted.
Comment Nice marketing (Score 1) 178
I see nothing in that article that is a concrete design choice the GW2 team has made to specifically address the "problems" of current MMOs. They simply provide out-of-context examples of potentially cool scenarios. Wouldn't it be cool if we fired through walls of fire!!!! Yes it would, the first 15 times.
MMO design needs to take a radical step away from "MMO combat mechanics" into other directions (some people suggested more social aspects which I do not like) in order to be innovative. These mechanics were spawned by old school D&D mechanics by way of MUDs, and honestly, these ideas are OLD. Not all are bad, either. Until they do innovate though, no amount of marketing by game studios will convince me to subscribe to their new games. Neither will it convince all the people currently playing WoW to switch to something else.
There is a reason millions are playing that game. It provides cheap entertainment value for them, through a myriad of activities that, although repetitive, are greatly enhanced through the social aspect that is provided by online connectivity to a context of a world. Combat is boring, UNLESS you have to orchestrate with 25 people. Crafting is boring UNLESS you can sell your wares to a market economy. And so on.
As soon as a game is created to provide the same or greater entertainment value to people, they will jump. It just has to be innovative enough to make them jump. And yeah, open world group quests already failed, with WAR. That game could have been a radical attempt to reforge the MMO landscape, but the designers instead opted to play it safe and re-create WoW. Who will be next? From what I have read it doesn't seem like GW2 is ready to take up that cup.
MMO design needs to take a radical step away from "MMO combat mechanics" into other directions (some people suggested more social aspects which I do not like) in order to be innovative. These mechanics were spawned by old school D&D mechanics by way of MUDs, and honestly, these ideas are OLD. Not all are bad, either. Until they do innovate though, no amount of marketing by game studios will convince me to subscribe to their new games. Neither will it convince all the people currently playing WoW to switch to something else.
There is a reason millions are playing that game. It provides cheap entertainment value for them, through a myriad of activities that, although repetitive, are greatly enhanced through the social aspect that is provided by online connectivity to a context of a world. Combat is boring, UNLESS you have to orchestrate with 25 people. Crafting is boring UNLESS you can sell your wares to a market economy. And so on.
As soon as a game is created to provide the same or greater entertainment value to people, they will jump. It just has to be innovative enough to make them jump. And yeah, open world group quests already failed, with WAR. That game could have been a radical attempt to reforge the MMO landscape, but the designers instead opted to play it safe and re-create WoW. Who will be next? From what I have read it doesn't seem like GW2 is ready to take up that cup.
Activision Hit With $500m Suit From Modern Warfare 2 Devs 77
Dragoniz3r writes "Activision has been served a lawsuit from 38 plaintiffs, including present and former Infinity Ward employees, demanding up to half a billion dollars. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for 'unpaid bonuses, royalties, profit-sharing, and future profits from games such as Modern Warfare 3, and punitive damages.'"
Comcast Awarded the Golden Poo Award 286
ISoldat53 writes "The Consumerist has awarded Comcast the Golden Poo award for the worst company in America. From the article: 'After four rounds of bloody battle against some of the most publicly reviled businesses in America, Comcast can now run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and hold its hands high in victory — it has bested everyone else to earn the title of Worst Company In America for 2010.'"
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